Two greats, two chances for home fans to say thanks. Hawthorn’s Jarryd Roughead (left) and Fremantle’s Aaron Sandilands.

1. Get set, the finals have effectively come early.

The experience is nothing new for three clubs in the top four. But the fourth – or second, according to the current ladder – is entering foreign territory.

Brisbane has only two premiership players (Luke Hodge and Allen Christensen) on its list and two more with grand final experience (Charlie Cameron and Lachie Neale). Only one (Daniel Rich) has seen September action with the Lions. That was way back in 2009, two years before current skipper Dayne Zorko was drafted.

Brisbane has done just about everything possible to stamp itself as a genuine premiership contender so far, but rounds 22 and 23 will serve as a litmus test.

A fortnight featuring matches against Geelong (Gabba) and Richmond (MCG) is one when the Lions could truly announce themselves, be put back in their box or have some questions raised about them going into September.

Are they good enough? Time will tell.

Brisbane has won a competition-best eight straight matches and boasts a 4-2 season record against current top-eight sides. But it hasn’t faced Geelong since a seven-goal drubbing at Kardinia Park late last season, or Richmond since a 93-point thrashing at the MCG almost 16 months ago.

The Lions will need Neale, Hodge, Christensen, Cameron, Rich, Zorko and the rest of their troops firing on all cylinders. If they do, it could lead to the club’s first minor premiership since the Brisbane Bears-Fitzroy merger at the end of 1996.

More importantly, it would set them up perfectly for a crack at a first premiership since Leigh Matthews’ Lions were kings of the AFL jungle.

2. There’s a very good chance we’re about to see a grand final preview 41 days prior to the last Saturday in September.

Count them out and you’ll soon realise we’re not talking about the aforementioned top-of-the-table clash between Brisbane and Geelong at the Gabba on Saturday night.

Instead, we’re looking squarely at the MCG, where fourth-placed Richmond hosts third-placed West Coast in a match-up that will have significant ramifications in the top portion of the ladder.

The competition’s last two premiers have been building ominously since the bye rounds. The Tigers have won seven straight by an average margin of 40 points, while the Eagles suffered their only defeat in a one-point ball game against Collingwood.

The stage is set for a genuine blockbuster between two competition heavyweights.

Amazingly, if West Coast wins, it will set a new record for the most consecutive victories at the MCG by a non-Victorian team. The joint record Adam Simpson’s side holds with the 1992 Eagles, 2001-2003 Brisbane Lions and 2005-06 Sydney Swans stands at five matches.

Previously derided as flat-track bullies, the current Eagles don’t mind getting their hands dirty on the road these days, do they?

West Coast has also won its last four trips to Marvel Stadium in a run that has well and truly put to bed any fears over traveling to Melbourne, where, as we all know, you have to win when it counts most.

3. Let’s stay with the top-four theme, because, let’s face it, that’s where most attention will be focused this week as the premiership race really heats up.

Rewind a few months to round one … Richmond’s flag chances seemingly took a massive hit when All-Australian defender Alex Rance went down clutching his knee.

Rance has now officially been ruled out for the season, yet the Tigers’ defensive unit has been back to its miserly best in recent weeks, conceding just 61.3 points a game since round 15.

It will be tested this week by a West Coast attack that ranks third for scoring across the season and has scored 90 points or more in each of its last four matches, averaging 100 points a game in that period.

The Eagles have 11 players who have kicked double-figure goal tallies this season. Only Collingwood (12) boasts more. And it is that spread of threats in the front half that makes West Coast so dangerous.

Jack Darling and Josh Kennedy make up one of the most threatening one-two punches in the competition.

Liam Ryan and Willie Rioli are also capable of wreaking havoc close to goal, and fellow Indigenous goal sneak Jarrod Cameron showed potential before being replaced by the experienced Jamie Cripps on return from injury.

Oscar Allen and Jack Petruccelle have stepped up as regular members of the forward set-up this year, and Jake Waterman has averaged two goals a week since returning a month ago.

The range of scoring options means midfielders Dom Sheed, Elliot Yeo and Luke Shuey haven’t been relied upon for scoreboard impact – yet they are all more than capable.

How Richmond goes about blunting the West Coast attack will go a long way towards deciding which side snares four crucial points in the hunt for a top-two spot.

4. An extremely cynical theory was put to me this week. You may have heard or even suggested it yourself.

The theory was that Jarryd Roughead had been gifted a “farewell match” in a desperate attempt by Hawthorn to draw a crowd this week.

You see, the Hawks’ crowd numbers have taken a hit this season and a 4.40pm fixture on Sunday against Gold Coast at what is effectively their third home ground (Marvel Stadium) is about as unappealing as it gets for fans of the brown-and-gold.

But with Roughead in the side for (at least) one last match, the crowd could swell from as few as 20,000 to as many as 40,000. Double the crowd, double the take. There is a nice tie-in, too, with Gold Coast being led by a pair of former Hawthorn men in coach Stuart Dew and chief executive Mark Evans.

It’s all very convenient, of course, but if anyone deserves such a send-off this season it is Hawthorn hero Roughead.

Four premierships, two All-Australian blazers, one Coleman Medal, 282 games (ninth in club history) and 572 goals (sixth in club history). It’s a brilliant resume.

Of course, there was also a cancer battle that he overcame. But there may be a few more paragraphs left to write in “The Jarryd Roughead Story”. Hawks master coach Alastair Clarkson left door open for Roughead to play a greater role in the team’s finals push than just a late-season cameo.

Percentage could be crucial in that top-eight bid and Roughead’s inclusion might inspire the side to pile on a few extra goals against the hapless Suns this week.

In the west, Fremantle will bid farewell to one of its own champions after Aaron Sandilands announced his retirement this week.

The 211cm and 118kg ruckman, originally form East Fremantle, has quite literally been a giant of the game since his debut off the rookie list in 2003.

Only two Dockers have played more games for the club, and only four WA-based players have featured more times at AFL level than “Sandi”, who has squeezed his significant frame on to planes about 250 times across his decorated career.

Sandilands will leave a significant hole on the Fremantle list, which emerging big man Sean Darcy will attempt to fill next season.

5. There are only two fixtures this week that have no bearing on the make-up of the final eight.

That one of them falls in the premier Friday night timeslot is far from ideal for the league and official broadcasters.

But at the start of the year, who would have thought that the both Melbourne and Sydney would be “also-rans” at this point of the season? The Dees were many experts’ tip for the flag.

Yet their appearance in a virtual “dead rubber” on the biggest weekly stage in football has sparked discussion about whether the league needs a “floating fixture” for a greater portion of the season than just the final home-and-away round.

Broadcasters would love it. But what about clubs? And travelling fans trying to book flights and accommodation in advance?

Melbourne coach Simon Goodwin offered his take on Thursday, saying he’d be “all for it”. He declared the floating fixture wasn’t an issue in terms of preparation, as long as the schedule was confirmed a few weeks in advance.

The weekend’s other dead rubber arguably takes on a little more significance. It was initially dubbed the “Caretaker Cup” early in the week, but David Teague’s appointment as full-time Carlton coach has since turned that on its head.

Remarkably, there could be three caretakers appointed to full-time posts by the end of the year. Teague joined North Melbourne’s Rhyce Shaw, while Brett Ratten is one of the front runners for the Saints gig.

A win over Teague’s Blues could even see Ratten, too, appointed sooner than later.