The premiership dream ended for two more teams, including the reigning champs, while others enjoyed historic victories that could set the scene for greater glory.
Welcome to the AFL Round-Up, where we digest the week that was.
A proud night for Brisbane
It's not an exaggeration to say that was probably the best Brisbane Lions win since the 2003 grand final.
With honourable mentions to the 2004 prelim, the 2009 elimination final against Carlton (the Kevin Rudd game), The Miracle on Grass and the Lincoln McCarthy game against Geelong in late 2019, this was a milestone moment for the Lions.
Their season had seemingly petered out with such alarming malaise that few gave them much chance of beating Richmond at home a week ago. And yet here they are, en route to a prelim having seen off the holders of four of the last five premiership cups in consecutive knockout finals.
It didn't seem possible with 15 seconds left in the first half, with Melbourne leading by 28 points and keeping a timid Brisbane at bay.
It again felt like it had slipped away with a minute left in the third quarter, after back-to-back Melbourne goals gave ominous flashbacks to the 2021 surges that habitually killed off finals and led the Dees to a flag.
But at each critical juncture, the Lions chose resistance.
There was always time for one more goal to claw back some momentum. There was always scope for one more tackle to stop the breakaway. There was always one more desperate diving lunge to complete a mark.
One particular clip of Lachie Neale outhunting both Clayton Oliver and Christian Petracca and whipping out a barrel-roll handball on the fly — yes, he certainly did handball it — summed up Brisbane's second-half endeavour.
That play didn't lead to anything tangible for the Lions, but with every little win and every moment of inspiration, the collective belief rose.
How could it not, with Jarrod Berry willing himself to stare down Oliver and beat him at his own game? Busted shoulders and all, Berry played perhaps the best individual half of football we've seen this season to turn the Lions' greatest area of weakness into a match-winning strength.
It was a pinch yourself night for Lions fans, the sort of game when everything you think your team might be capable of spontaneously manifests all at once.
Geelong await, so they'll have to go again. With the same courage and with nothing to lose. But you can bet these Lions will never doubt themselves again.
Dees' defence ends with a whimper
Ten rounds into this season, it was impossible to see this coming. Having casually strolled to a 10-0 record, Melbourne's airtight premiership defence was the only thing keeping the season from being truly interesting.
That feels a long time ago now. But even when the Demons hit the skids, and even when they were punching on with each other outside fancy restaurants, the assumption they would pull it together when it mattered most persisted.
Perhaps they believed that too. Melbourne had earned that grace because they had been that good in the 2021 finals, but this time around the magic eluded them.
In both of their finals, the margins have been so fine that any major criticism is unwarranted. But throughout both there was an inescapable sense that the Demons were just waiting for their game-breaking burst, the "bang, bang, bang" that last year crushed opponents in a single five-minute spell.
And it never came.
So the challenge for 2023 will be taking what they currently have and adding something that is sustainable, a way of scoring that isn't as reliant on complete offensive purity.
The premiership defence has come to an early and disappointing end in 2022, but these Demons are far from finished going forward.
Pies primed for challenges ahead
Only dreadful inaccuracy prevented Collingwood from beating Fremantle by a truly punishing margin.
But there was nothing in the Magpies' performance to change the feeling that this is a team very capable of lifting the cup in two weeks' time.
Granted the Dockers played into their hands with their slow and methodical ball movement, setting the table for Jeremy Howe and Darcy Moore to completely dominate the defensive airways and launch attack after attack from half-back.
Sydney won't be so generous next week, but the Pies have become multifaceted at just the right time.
For one, their clearance game has clearly risen a level or two, largely off the back of Jordan De Goey's stellar form. Collingwood attack with the same vigour and urgency no matter where on the ground they win the ball, and the sight of De Goey or Jack Crisp charging forward with a tail of black and white jumpers behind them is becoming more and more regular.
Make no mistake, they can beat the Swans in Sydney. And should they reach a grand final, the Pies will not fear Geelong or Brisbane one iota.
But for now, they've achieved the bare minimum — when you finish in the top four, you must play in a preliminary final. The same can be said of Fremantle, who thankfully got to enjoy last Saturday night at home before politely bowing out.
We were probably due a somewhat uninspiring final. Let's hope it's the last of the year.
Around the grounds
Jarrod Berry and Lachie Neale took most of the plaudits for the Lions, but Hugh McCluggage's game was one of the best of his career. He offered such composure and maturity in an awfully hectic game.
Brisbane has battled the balance of its forward line all season, and though they'll gratefully welcome Joe Daniher back next week, boy did Eric Hipwood rise to the occasion of being the main man. Next year shapes as a big one as he approaches the echelon of the game's top key forwards.
If that is to be Luke Jackson's last game for Melbourne, it ushers in an interesting new period for Max Gawn. Clearly playing sore for large parts this year, how the Dees manage Gawn and a prospective new ruck partner (Brodie Grundy?) next year will be critical, as Jackson's unique attributes really did make him the perfect foil.
Though not quite the send off David Mundy had been dreaming of, this was still pretty special. Not many players get a standing ovation from 90,000 after their final game, but there haven't been many players like Mundy. One of the game's true gentlemen, whose example will have set the scene for Freo's upcoming era of contention.
Jamie Elliott is having one hell of a season. Given the way the Pies like to set up on the counter, he often has to operate as a one-man forward line and is very rarely beaten. Few have done more for the Pies throughout this miraculous campaign.
