The last Saturday in September is drawing nearer, and just four teams remain in the hunt after GWS Giants and Hawthorn were sent packing for 2018.
Yes, Melbourne's fairytale is still alive after another resounding victory in front of another 90,000-strong crowd, while Collingwood will have to face the reigning premiers next week after winning through to their first prelim since the Mick Malthouse era.
Interestingly the stars didn't fire as many anticipated, and it was the role players who stole the spotlight. Jake Melksham was instrumental in sealing the Dees' big win over Hawthorn, while Magpies defender Brayden Maynard was just about best on ground for his excellent stopping role on Toby Greene.
Here are your Heroes and Villains from the semifinals.
HEROES
Jake Melksham: He was banned for a year as part of the punishment for the Essendon supplements saga. He was dropped six games into his career with Melbourne as a running half back. He was forced to reinvent himself as a defensive half forward. He sealed a Melbourne win which lifted his side into a drought-busting prelim.
It's fair to say Jake Melksham has been through the ringer over the past three years, but there aren't many better stories in footy right now. With his career at the crossroads after he was dropped from the Dees' side just six games into a return from a year away from the AFL, there might have been a few writing Melksham off completely.
But his move to half forward has paid dividends for Melbourne, and on Friday night he showed why he is an incredibly vital cog in the Demons' September plans.
Aside from kicking one of the most clutch goals of the finals series so far -- when he gathered a ball at centre half forward, turned on to his non-preferred left and slotted a stunning major to halt the Hawks' last quarter momentum -- Melksham has proven to be a terrific competitor and link-up man to the Demons' dangerous deep forwards.
On Friday night Melksham was one of two non-key-position players (along with Angus Brayshaw) to take two contested marks, while his five inside 50s and two sealing goals were crucial in sending his side through to a fairytale preliminary final berth. When the Dees needed someone to stand up and put the game beyond doubt, Melksham delivered.
But Melksham's strong patch of form isn't a new thing. The 27-year-old has now hit the scoreboard in his last 12 straight games, and is averaging career best numbers in inside 50s, goals, contested marks and marks inside 50.
Brayden Maynard: It was touted as a must-watch match-up, but the battle of the serial on-field pests was disappointing ... in a good way (if you're a Collingwood fan!).
Yes, while the spotlight was firmly on Giants forward Toby Greene at the start of the week (in the wake of kung fu-gate), the focus later shifted to the man tasked with stopping Greene -- Brayden Maynard.
After taking a stroll down media street ahead of Saturday's win, Maynard said that he expected his tussle with Greene to get "a bit lippy", but in the late hours of Saturday night, with the game sewn up in Collingwood's favour, there wouldn't have been much coming from the mouth of the Giants' renowned chirper.
Maynard, just 21 years of age, was excellent in shadowing the dangerous Greene from start to finish. Held goalless, Greene was also kept in check up the ground, amassing just nine disposals at 44 percent efficiency in conditions which would have suited the smalls more than the talls. Of Greene's nine touches four were turnovers, while the Magpies' stopper had 16 touches at 75 percent, while he also contributed with 10 one percenters.
Compare Greene's dour game with that against Sydney last week, and it's easy to appreciate Maynard's close checking role on the GWS star. Against the Swans, Greene had 27 touches, nine marks and had six scoring shots and was easily the most dangerous man on the ground.
Had Greene been able to influence the match and hit the scoreboard, the tight, low-scoring game might just have swung the other way. But in contrast to what many might have expected, Maynard played the best game of his career and claimed a monster scalp in the process.
VILLAINS
Jack Gunston and the wasteful Hawks: For Hawthorn, it's been a finals series of 'what could have beens'.
Against the Tigers in the qualifying final, fans were left to bemoan uncharacteristic set shot misses from two of the Hawks' best ball users in Shaun Burgoyne and Luke Breust, while on Friday night against the Demons it was Jack Gunston who became the "poster boy" (pardon the pun) of missed opportunity.
With the game in the balance in the third term, the margin hovering around the 15-point mark in favour of the Demons, the Hawks managed to manufacture a quick break into their forward line. Gunston was first to the ball which was popped over his head into space, then he gathered, ran to 20 metres and curled one ... into the post.
It should have been just a nine-point game had Gunston dobbed the easy opportunity. Instead, the Dees hustled the ball back to their forward line and forced an uncharacteristic back 50 mistake from Liam Shiels. Alex Neal-Bullen then found himself on the end of some quick hands and slotted a chance from a similar spot to Jack Gunston's miss -- blowing the game out to a 20-point margin and dashing any momentum the Hawks had.
Of course, Gunston (3.5 for the match) is not the only Hawk who failed to capitalise on the run of play that Hawthorn accumulated throughout the match. In the second quarter -- and despite winning the inside-50 count 17 to 6 -- the Hawks could manage just six behinds and one out-of-bounds for the quarter. Melbourne, despite not having the run for most of the term, scored three goals and one behind.
The telling moment of the second term came when Angus Brayshaw kicked his first for the night, ending a streak of four (gettable) Hawthorn behinds. From then on the Hawks were simply playing catch-up for the rest of the night.
The Giants' era of lost opportunity: Another year, another finals exit for the GWS Giants. Following two heartbreaking back-to-back preliminary finals losses in 2016 and 2017, the Giants have again missed out on securing a maiden premiership, but it was the sombre mood reported from the change rooms following their loss to Collingwood which suggests an understanding of what this loss could mean.
With talk surrounding the Giants and the trade table at its hottest since the club's inception -- and considering the salary cap squeeze the Giants are expected to face in coming years -- 2018 might have been the club's best chance at snagging a flag before what could be a significant exodus over the next couple of years.
Dylan Shiel is being targeted by a number of clubs already, as is young gun Will Setterfield. Josh Kelly signed on for two years and the end of 2017 in the hope the Giants might win a flag before his expected return to Victoria, but as is the case in the AFL, clubs are increasingly prepared to deal in trades while players are contracted to avoid receiving "unders" in terms of free agency compensation.
Kelly isn't the only big-name Giant out of contract come 2019 -- that list includes the likes of Stephen Coniglio, Adam Tomlinson, Jacob Hopper, Nick Haynes and Rory Lobb.
It's a big offseason for the Giants, but if they start to haemorrhage some of the A-grade talent, it's easy to see the premiership window shrinking. While 2018 might not have been the Giants' best shot at a flag, it could -- depending on what unfolds in October and November -- have been their last for some time.
Like the Saints' inability to jag a premiership between 2008 and 2010, the 2016-2018 era could be the one of lost opportunity for Greater Western Sydney.