It's Sunday evening, 5.49pm to be precise.
The final siren has just blown down in Launceston, and the Western Bulldogs have defeated Hawthorn by 22 points to temporarily lift themselves into the top eight on the live ladder.
The team they have replaced is Carlton.
After starting the year 8-2 and looking destined to be part of September for the first time in nine years, the Blues' finals hopes are now hanging by a thread.
For you see, there are still 30 seconds remaining at the MCG and they trail the old enemy Collingwood by three points.
None of the 91,238 fans have left their seats. This is as gripping and dramatic as sport gets.
After numerous ebbs and flows in Launceston and the MCG, the season comes down to half a minute for both the Dogs and Blues.
And then, Carlton defender Adam Saad pounces on a loose ball, goes for a run on the Members' wing, takes a bounce, and another bounce, and then spears the pass into Charlie Curnow's chest.
Carlton fans are going absolutely bananas in the stands.
Curnow is 45 metres out on a 45-degree angle at the Punt Road End.
The seconds keep ticking down, and like all good forwards do, Curnow will certainly take the full 30 seconds allotted to him before he lines up for goal.
Three, two, one... the siren sounds. Those 30 seconds don't matter anymore.
Bulldogs and Carlton fans all over the country, including the 45,000 Blue Baggers at the MCG, are watching on with bated breath. It all comes down to this. One kick to decide which team will be playing finals in a fortnight's time.
And don't forget, the Magpies are playing for a top-four spot.
With half the Collingwood team on the mark, frantically attempting to put him off, and the other half in the Carlton goal square, Curnow starts his run-up, gathers momentum and let fly.
You can hear a pin drop.
The kick looks good initially, but it swings late to the left for a minor score. The Pies win by two points. It's total devastation for Carlton and utter ecstasy for the Bulldogs who return to the finals. The Blues miss out after spending 22 rounds in the top eight. It's the cruellest of cruel blows.
And, of course, Collingwood players, fans and coaches are in delirium, because they have been guaranteed a double chance against all the odds after finishing 17th on the ladder last year. This is the ninth time they've won a game by seven points or fewer this year.
It's drama at its absolute finest.
Lamentably, it's drama that won't happen, consigned to the realm of fantasy. For you see, the AFL in all its wisdom has decided against shifting the Hawks-Bulldogs game back a couple of hours from its 1.10pm starting time.
Despite being “agile” and showing it could easily move games around at the drop of a hat during the COVID-impacted seasons, for some reason the league won't budge on this occasion. And don't give me the broadcast money excuse, this is just one game out of 207 being “sacrificed” for the greater good – the integrity of the competition and the excitement for the average footy fan.
But because of the AFL's stubbornness, if the Bulldogs lose, the heat will be taken out of the Carlton-Collingwood game by quarter-time. No unpredictability, no uncertainty, and no pulsating drama extended over the course of an afternoon. The Blues will be safe in the knowledge in the final three quarters that they are in the finals (barring the unlikely event of them being smashed and then Sydney being annihilated by St Kilda, opening the door for the Saints). What an anti-climax.
The issue goes beyond just Sunday, though, because there are other games this weekend that have huge ramifications for the make-up of the final eight. Melbourne, Brisbane and Fremantle are all jockeying for top-four spots, while the Swans are desperate to secure a top-two position and two home finals.
However, the AFL remains steadfast on treating the final round like every other round during the season, which means each game gets as much “clean air” as possible.
But for a sporting league that is so obsessed with overseas sporting trends, especially those coming from America's NFL, you'd think the AFL would pay a bit of attention to another of the world's biggest markets and sporting competitions – England's Premier League.
The EPL do it brilliantly, scheduling the final 10 games of their season all on the same day at the same time, depriving teams the knowledge of what they need to do to either win the title, qualify for Europe or avoid relegation – all affected teams just have to go out there and play as if their lives depend on it.
Why wouldn't the AFL do it here? There is certainly no shortage of grounds to choose from in order to schedule nine games simultaneously, and we certainly have enough commentators and journalists floating around these days to ensure all games receive adequate coverage.
Instead, the AFL remains unimaginative and uninspired when it comes to the final round of the season, when it could be so much more, and then some.
Aren't we routinely reminded that footy is an entertainment “product” these days?
If the Dogs lose to Hawthorn on Sunday, the much-hyped Carlton-Collingwood game will be about as thrilling as a knitting contest.
