The penultimate weekend of AFL footy is upon us, with tonight's preliminary final between Geelong and Brisbane at the MCG looming as a thriller.
As the final hours tick down, everyone has an opinion, and we here at Zero Hanger are no different.
In our latest Zero Hanger TV segment, our very own Mitch Keating and Jake Benoiton put their reputations on the line as they preview the game.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, both Benoiton and Keating picked a tight affair, with Benoiton in particular reluctant to write off Brisbane, saying, "I've written Brisbane off twice in two weeks now so I'm remiss to do it again, but I think Geelong will get the job done."
Keating was of a similar mind, agreeing that the Cats should get the job done and that having the week off will have been beneficial for them.
"I'm tipping the Cats by maybe a couple of kicks, the week off is certainly going to help" he said.
Despite the week off often not favouring sides heading into a prelim, his thinking is that "it's going to help them, [they'll be] a bit refreshed, especially with the older bodies".
The worry for Geelong however, is that according to Benoiton, "this is as big a game as Geelong has played in 10 years".
Benoitoin claimed that despite having played in numerous preliminary finals and a grand final in that time, the Cats had proven their own worst enemy across the past decade.
"Their record of not getting it done, Geelong have been clearly the best side for 10 years... if they get beat by a side they really should take care of here, I think it's a big blow," he stated.
Prior to giving their tips, Benoiton and Keating dissected the key areas in tonight's match-up, with both largely agreeing it would be a battle of the backlines.
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With Geelong's structure likely to see a shift due to the possible absence of Jake Kolodjashnij, the question became whether Mark O'Connor would be brought in to tag Lachie Neale.
"If Kolodjashnij comes out, do they bring in Mark O'Connor? Do they tag Lachie Neale? He's not the easiest man to tag, it hasn't exactly been the case for a lot of of clubs that have tried this year, some have gotten through it, but they haven't necessarily won those games," Keating said.
"I think we spoke last week and said, 'yeah you should tag Neale'...Neale took the mickey last week," Benoiton said.
"I think you do need to do something.... He did say [on a podcast] that Mark O'Connor is one that has gotten hold of him before so, I think you have to give it a go."
Both agreed that the midfields were evenly matched, with the Lions having one of the best in the competition, while for the Cats, their "clearance game the last 8-10 weeks has been really good so they can probably match Brisbane there, especially if O'Connor can go to Neale and have an influence there" he said.
The key area for difference was Geelong's defence, which is widely regarded as one of the competition's best, if not the benchmark.
"Geelong's defence won't get sucked up [the ground], they're smarter than that so you need to outmark them, it's as simple as that." Benoiton added.
Keating was quick to praise them however, noting that "Marcus Adams was huge for the Lions [last time] I thought" before noting that his absence will be keenly felt.
With a game of such fine margins looming and some rain hitting Melbourne late in the afternoon, tonight's final promises to be hard-fought.