AFL finals: how the eight shape up after a thrilling end to the regular season

How do you top that? It wasn’t until deep into Sunday afternoon, as Seven’s commentators were hacking up their last chunks of rhetorical phlegm over Jamie Elliot’s goal in the closing minutes of the biggest game of the home-and-away season, did we know just how this finals thing was going to shake out.

Yes, it’s only a game, but as it says in the Hagakure: “Matters of great concern should be treated lightly. Matters of small concern should be treated seriously.”

So now we come to the final eight, staring with…

Two games clear at the top of the ladder, the Cats were five points away from having the league’s stingiest defence, have two generational forwards in Tom Hawkins and Jeremy Cameron – the latter sure to benefit from a week’s rest – and 650 games of midfield experience in Patrick Dangerfield and Joel Selwood. Sure, they’ve a finals record of late that will have many fans nervous, but Geelong simply looks more solid and durable than anyone else in the eight.

There’s a line in Denis Johnson’s Angels that sums up Melbourne’s season so far: “Things hummed, and things trembled. But things held.” Melbourne’s 10-goal win in Brisbane on Friday night was a reminder that the Demons have what it takes to go back-to-back. We were reminded that Max Gawn is sui generis among big men, and on their day Clayton Oliver, Christian Petracca and Angus Brayshaw have most midfield covered by a considerable margin.

Sydney runs into September on a seven-game winning streak. While they didn’t smash the Saints to secure an SCG final, their record at the MCG stacks up. Sydney’s ability to unearth young talent is remarkable, and this season has been driven by the likes of Chad Warner and Callum Mills.

Those who question the worth of the week’s