The grand final awaits for Geelong and Sydney after the preliminary finals offered up pride, pain and one last Collingwood comeback.
Welcome to the AFL Round-Up, where we digest the week that was.
Many roads to a grand final
What's the best way to win a preliminary final?
It's a trick question really, because there is no bad way to win a prelim per se. But what is it you really want to get out of your last game before a grand final?
Do you want a relatively cruisy win, where everything you try comes off and you are able spend basically the last quarter in self-preservation mode with eyes on a grander prize?
Or would you prefer the ultimate test, a game that challenges every last sinew of your team's character and quality and isn't decided until the final, desperate seconds?
In a way, we will find out next week because Geelong and Sydney's respective paths to the last Saturday in September could hardly have been more different.
The Cats had largely seen off the Lions by midway through the second quarter. They were able to enjoy themselves from that point on, systematically dismantling a Lions side resigned to their fate with some of the most clinically devastating football we've seen this year.
Sydney may have hoped for a similar result, but were playing a side who would rather have not turned up at all than lay down and accept defeat.
The Swans saw both sides of themselves on Saturday evening — the team that burst out to a six goal lead and the one that shut up shop and had to hang on for dear life in the face of a black and white avalanche.
At the end of it all, we should be pleased to be able to say the best two teams in the competition this year will compete in the grand final.
Both had to overcome Collingwood in the finals, and both succeeded by one-kick margins. Both had to adapt to massive occasions at the MCG, and both had to adjust on the fly due to key injuries in a prelim.
And now there are storylines to savour wherever you look. Patrick Dangerfield and Lance Franklin's chase, Tyson Stengle and Paddy McCartin second chance, Jeremy Cameron and Isaac Heeney's moment to own.
Saturday can't come soon enough.
Ode to the Pies
So Collingwood's 2022 story ends with heartbreak. A miss so near as to feel cruel, the dream dangled in front of their noses and snatched away with an evil laugh.
The pain was visceral in the stands and on the field. It will hurt the club for a while, it has to.
But none of that Sydney sadness can overshadow what Collingwood have achieved this year. Outside of premiership years, seasons do not get better for fans than this one.
There is no thrill like watching a team emerge before your eyes in real time. It was mesmerising to watch Collingwood find that inner belief in their way of playing and trust in teammates with every passing week and each miraculous last-gasp win.
Jack Ginnivan kicked 40 goals and implanted himself in the heads of millions, his bleached hair and smiling face serving as a metaphor for Collingwood's complete commitment to embracing individuality.
Nick Daicos was even better than any draft watcher predicted, a truly special talent who within 20 games has become a leader of one of the biggest clubs in the country.
Ash Johnson came from nowhere to become a crucial cog, Jeremy Howe and Darcy Moore became impenetrable, Scott Pendlebury remained Scott Pendlebury, Jamie Elliott proved to be king of the clutch.
Pendlebury's claims that people don't hate Collingwood that much anymore is probably a step too far — that's not how the caper works, I'm afraid — but it is true that we will all owe Collingwood a debt of gratitude for this year.
No team has ignited and enlivened this season like the Pies. Even if Craig McRae takes this team to a premiership in the coming years, there's every chance the journey won't be as special as the 2022 season.
Around the grounds
A bridge too far for Brisbane, then. It's a little too simplistic to say they played their grand final last week, but when they needed the magic again on Friday night they found the tank was empty.
The Lions should be better in 2023, but there are no guarantees. Adding a number-one draft pick in Will Ashcroft is a pretty rare luxury for a preliminary final team, but Brisbane's biggest issue is in transitional defence. Maybe you can put it down to fatigue, but Geelong scorched them on the break.
Chad Warner is an absolute marvel. Poise and power in a little blonde package, his emergence has been a big factor in Sydney reaching the grand final. Can't wait to watch him play next week.
There will be a close watch on Max Holmes's hamstring this week, as he would be a pretty big loss for the Cats. For his sake you hope he finds a way to get up, as his devastated reaction on the sidelines was the worst part of the weekend.
Jack Crisp's 200th game might have been the best of his career. Crisp has been a titan all season, and right to the last was driving his Pies forward with all his might. He is one of many Collingwood players whose standing in the game has increased exponentially this year.
