Now or never? Since its 2011 premiership, Geelong has only once missed finals, but its record there is a miserable 3-9.
1. There’s one team we should all be barracking for this weekend, and it won’t be running out on the MCG.
It won’t stride through a banner at the Gabba, dish out big hits in Perth or take shots from outside 50m in Sydney.
Instead, it will be out of sight – but certainly not out of mind – in a bunker deep in the bowels of Marvel Stadium. It is the AFL Review Centre, or “ARC” for short.
And unless you’ve spent the bye week living under a rock or already scooted off on your post-season footy trip, you’ll understand the impact Steve Hocking’s latest creation could have on the 2019 finals series.
Upgraded cameras, including so-called “extreme super slow-motion” cameras, have been installed at each of the finals venues in an attempt to fix up the messy and inaccurate score review process that has caused grief all season.
There have been too many errors in recent times. Football gods forbid there is another with a much bigger prize on the line in September.
2. Is it a case of “now or never” for Geelong?
With some of its biggest names reaching the end of their careers and increasing doubt over Tim Kelly’s future at Kardinia Park, there is a case to be made that the minor premier must strike while the iron is hot.
A poor recent finals record will come into focus in front of more than 90,000 fans at the MCG on Friday night.
Since claiming the 2011 premiership, the Cats have only missed the finals once. But they are 3-9 in all finals matches and have not yet returned to the grand final stage.
The start will be crucial in the qualifying final against Collingwood, which falls against the backdrop of reports Kelly is poised to request a trade to West Coast for the second straight year.
The explosive West Australian midfielder, for what it’s worth, denied the reports were true, declaring his personal situation would be sorted out once the Cats’ season is over.
Of course, the forecast hot start won’t only test Geelong.
Collingwood, too, is under an intense microscope as it prepares to usher back a host of players who have been under injury clouds or haven’t played a lot of football in recent weeks.
Darcy Moore, Jordan De Goey, Jaidyn Stephenson and Steele Sidebottom are all set to line up against the Cats, raising questions over whether the Pies as a whole will be too underdone for a big final.
Skipper Scott Pendlebury rubbished the questions when he pointed out the Western Bulldogs brought back five players and upset West Coast in Perth three years ago in one of the great elimination final boilovers.
Can the Pies produce a similar feat? Only time will tell.
3. Speaking of the Bulldogs, can a team that has built up a big head of steam over two months have all its momentum grind to a halt in the space of a week?
We are about to find out. In stark contrast to the situation they confronted three years ago, the Dogs are the side that least wanted the pre-finals bye this time around.
Luke Beveridge’s men are 8-3 since midway point of the season, have kicked triple-figure scores in four of their last five outings, and can make a case that they are in better form than any other finals side, save for Richmond (which has won its last nine).
Furthermore, the Dogs smacked Saturday’s opponent Greater Western Sydney at Giants Stadium three weeks ago, and have history on their side after winning a preliminary final thriller on the same deck in 2016.
Psychology can play a big part in football, and how the Giants approach this test will be intriguing.
While heeding the lessons from round 22, they must overcome the demons associated with that horror second-half fadeout, when the Dogs piled on 10 goals to none.
The heat is also on coach Leon Cameron to fire up the stuttering GWS “Ferrari” as vultures circle.
4. If you believe what you read – and sometimes the merits of that are debatable – then D-Day has come for John Worsfold.
His job might just hinge on the result of Essendon’s elimination final. And there’s an intriguing sub-plot in the fact that the axe hanging over the soon-to-be 51-year-old’s head might fall at the hands of his old side.
Of course, reports that replacements are already being lined up to take Worsfold’s job could be incorrect. But he wouldn’t want to tempt fate by seeing his Bombers cop a hiding on the big stage.
West Coast at Optus Stadium on Thursday night presents a daunting challenge. Even more so given that Essendon (still) hasn’t won a final since 2004.
Yet the Bombers will take confidence out of some strong performances in the west since Subiaco Oval was replaced by the new cauldron on the banks of the Swan River.
They upset Fremantle on their last trip west to lock in a finals berth, and should be buoyed by last year’s big win over the Eagles – also in a Thursday night standalone fixture.
5. We know it’s September, but this year there could be huge ramifications in what’s going outside the finals series – particularly in South Australia.
Port Adelaide has backed in Ken Hinkley and looks set to hold the line over summer, however, it’s a different story altogether at West Lakes, where Adelaide is staring down the barrel of another off-season of upheaval.
The Crows are in a race against time to get their house in order before the trade period and draft swing into full gear.
Don Pyke is sitting precariously in the coaching hot seat and a long list of senior and uncontracted players are in the dark as to where their futures lie.
Bryce Gibbs, Josh Jenkins, Eddie Betts and Richard Douglas were all dropped at stages throughout the season and the meek finish against the Bulldogs left a sour taste in fans’ mouths.
Now, intriguingly, Adelaide has turned to Hawthorn legend Jason Dunstall to spearhead an external review that will shape the club’s immediate future.
This is not where the Crows thought they would end up after approaching the 2019 season as one of redemption for a horror 2018 campaign.
It’s a similar story for Fremantle, which is rudderless for the time being without permanent replacements for coach Ross Lyon and chief executive Steve Rosich, both of whom were abruptly sacked last month.
The Dockers are also bordering on irrelevant outside WA after missing the finals for the fourth straight season.
They look likely to lose outside runners Bradley Hill and Ed Langdon to Melbourne-based clubs, and are seemingly losing the battle for Tim Kelly’s services.
Key players will return from injury next season, such as Jesse Hogan, Rory Lobb and Alex Pearce, but the plenty rests on how the off-field appointments, trade period and draft play out as the club attempts to appease a success-starved fan base.
