With the home and away season now in the rearview mirror, our attention turns to September, and therefore, AFL finals.
Collingwood will enter the post-season as the hunted, having claimed the minor premiership after booking their top eight spot months ago.
Contrastingly, the likes of Carlton, GWS and Sydney secured their positions in the finals frame within the last few weeks of the regular season campaign, but will carry some good form into the final stretch of the premiership race.
St Kilda have been the quiet achievers this year, with Ross Lyon's return to Moorabbin lifting the red, white and black back into contention, while Melbourne, Brisbane and Port Adelaide have all gone better to book themselves a top four finish.
All eight sides have a reason to look forward to this finals series, but each club also has at least one weakness that could upset their premiership prospects.
Here we assess the reasons why each team can win the premiership, and the reasons why they can't.
Brisbane
Why they can...
Brisbane are the Golden State Warriors of the AFL.
Offensively, they are littered with more talent than just about anyone in the competition; Neale, McCluggage, Daniher, Cameron, Bailey, Rayner, and the list goes on.
Unfortunately, defence holds far more weight in the AFL than in the NBA, which may be why Brisbane aren't a four-time champion of the past eight years.
Still, the offensive power and home-ground advantage have the Lions as the clear favourite of any team to feature on grand final day, ideally not having to leave the Gabba until then.
They win the clearance and inside 50 battle more than any other side, and with the talent at their disposal, they can put on big scores quickly and against anyone.
The majority of their stars are not only in the prime of their career, but riped with a near half decade's worth of finals experience, including some premiership integrity brought by recruit Josh Dunkley.
They are yet to lose a home game this season and do not appear to be trending downward, so it is hard to see them bowing out before the big dance.
If they do make it, strange things tend to happen on grand final day...
Why they can't...
Clearly, that September experience also leaves them with a relatively poor finals pedigree.
In every finals year under Chris Fagan, Brisbane have been eliminated on disappointing terms.
- 2019 - Home semi-final loss to GWS
- 2020 - Home preliminary final loss to Geelong
- 2021 - Home semi-final loss to Western Bulldogs
- 2022 - 71-point preliminary final loss to Geelong
They are adamant that their 'MCG hoo-doo' has faded, and, granted, their two performances against Melbourne provide some evidence of that, but the rest of the league is yet to be convinced.
Any type of loss in weeks one through three of the finals series would mean trouble for the Lions in what could be a fading premiership window. They'll be more focused on whether they can bring their best to the MCG on the last day of the season.
