There's a lot of rolling of eyes among AFL fans of clubs not involved in the last two weekends of the season, and for obvious reasons.
Yeah OK, so Geelong, Collingwood, Brisbane, Hawthorn have been around the traps, we get it. Indeed, those four clubs have shared 11 of the past 18 premierships. But there's still room for some novelty.
Because while these four perennials have been hanging around in September a long time, they haven't necessarily hung out with each other that much on the biggest stage of them all -- grand final day.
Ahead of Friday and Saturday's massive preliminary finals, there's four potential grand final matchups. And three of them are face-offs we've never seen previously in the premiership playoff. Which of them is likely to give us the grand final classic we all crave? I've had a crack at ranking them in terms of desirability.
1. Geelong vs. Collingwood
Many won't agree with this as the best case grand final scenario, and I get that. After all, it's been 10 years now since neither side was at worst playing off for a grand final spot. And they've played seven finals against each other over the past 18 years.
But it's been 14 years since these finals giants actually clashed in THE big one. And their 2011 playoff was a ripper, until the last 10 minutes or so one of the highest-standard most hotly-contested grand finals of the modern era.
Their recent jousts have been consistently close and exciting, too. There was the Cats' Round 8 win by three points when Jack Crisp missed a shot after the siren to pinch it for the Pies. And indeed, none of their last seven meetings have been determined by any more than 22 points.
That battle-hardness would make a close grand final more likely, and the extra week off this time might actually work to the advantage of the AFL's oldest (Collingwood) and fifth-oldest playing lists. Trust me, this grand final combination would give us a memorable game indeed.
2. Collingwood vs. Hawthorn
It seems quite bizarre that two clubs which have both been part of this same competition for 100 years now and collectively been in no fewer than 62 grand finals (not including two replays) have never played one against each other. Indeed, they've met in only five finals of any description, only two of which are widely remembered.
They were the 1977 second semifinal, when Phil Carman's silly swipe on Hawk Michael Tuck cost him a grand final spot and quite possibly Collingwood a premiership (they would famously lose a grand final replay to North Melbourne). And there's the 2011 preliminary final, when Luke Ball's last-minute snap got the Pies over the line. So past due these two September leviathans did battle for the grandest prize of all, right?
Likely result? Who knows? Because Collingwood and Hawthorn have swapped wins for their past eight clashes now. And often decisively. The Pies smashed the Hawks by 51 points in Round 12. A serve answered with interest in Round 22 when Hawthorn belted Collingwood by 64 points.
About the one thing you could guarantee in a grand final rematch is that the margin would be considerably less than on either of those occasions.
3. Geelong vs. Brisbane
Gives you an idea how good the Cats and Lions have been for a while now that of their last 11 meetings, four have been finals. Geelong has won three of those, decisively, too. But it's the one the Cats didn't which is the spice in this potential grand final clash.
Last year's preliminary final was an epic, one of the best finals the AFL era has delivered. It swung this way and that and finished in a nail-biting 10-point win to the Lions, who'd go on and toy with an insipid Sydney on grand final day.
And that's the sting for Geelong. Letting slip a lead as much as 25 points in the third quarter conceivably cost the Cats another premiership. You sensed that frustration accounted also for some extra grunt about Geelong's qualifying final win over the Lions the other week.
So a grand final rematch? Why not? It would be a ripper. And with a little added intrigue. Since 2000, we've had five qualifying finals reprised on grand final day. Interestingly, in four of them, the qualifying final result has been reversed in the big one, and 2018 (West Coast vs. Collingwood) was only a couple of minutes away from making it 5-0.
4. Brisbane vs. Hawthorn
A precocious young Hawthorn outfit was only a couple of kicks away from playing off against Brisbane for the 2001 flag. Since then, though, they've been like ships in the night, the Hawks rebuilding from the ground up, Brisbane also at a low ebb when the Hawks won their premiership hat-trick from 2013-15.
So novelty is the hook here. There's no finals history between them, let alone a previous grand final meeting. Nor have they even played at the MCG much, just nine times in their 41 meetings, and Brisbane's win earlier this season only the third time the Lions had beaten the Hawks there and the first time since 2004.
But recent form is intriguing, too. Because until the Lions won both clashes with the Hawks this year (by 33 points at the MCG and just 10 points at the Gabba), Hawthorn had consistently proved a stumbling block for Brisbane right through the Chris Fagan era, having won the previous five straight.
A grand final between these two would be third up against eighth in name. In practice, however, you sense the Hawks, should they get there, wouldn't be all that upset about having to play a non-Victorian team. After all, remember what happened in their most recent grand finals against West Coast, Sydney and Fremantle.
You can read more of Rohan Connolly's work at FOOTYOLOGY.