With four rounds remaining, here are the players from clubs in the finals race who are key to their side's September ambitions.
Jack may have lost his place as the Tigers' out and out best player to Dustin Martin some time ago, however for the Tigers to play the way they do he is the key. Riewoldt, playing as the lone tall in their forward line has to compete aerially time and again to ensure the Tigers' small forwards can cause havoc once the ball hits the deck. For the Tigers to go back to back, Jack will be all important, especially to nullify the potential danger that Jeremy McGovern can be.
The two-time All-Australian will more than likely make it three in a row this year, due to his outstanding season so far. McGovern can be a one man brick wall for the Eagles, with any balls coming in high almost a lock for him to have a big impact on. The Eagles have the scoring power up front with Josh Kennedy and Jack Darling but McGovern holds that defence together and makes it a formidable task to penetrate when he is on form.
May be the best ruckman in the competition at the moment, flip a coin between him and Max Gawn. Grundy's ability to link up in the play and move around the ground has turned him into a star, averaging 20 disposals per game. This to pair with his rucking ability, feeding the likes of Taylor Adams, Scott Pendlebury and Steele Sidebottom makes him crucial to the Pies' chances come the end of the year.
As he showed against the Bulldogs, Charlie Dixon can be close to unstoppable when he is full of confidence and can get a running jump at the footy. Combining this with how strong Dixon is as a one on one player means if the Power can get him up and running consistently, then they will be hard to stop.
Whitfield has been a revelation since being moved to half back at the start of this season. The 2012 number one draft pick is ranked in the top ten for marks, uncontested possessions, metres gained, disposals and effective disposals. His smooth moving use of the footy sums the Giants up to a tee and that free-wheeling style of the AFL's Ferrari will scare some come crunch time.
Big Maxy has dominated the competition this year, amassing 303 hitouts to advantage in season 2018 (via @sirswampthing on twitter). To put that in context, no club (yes, club) has reached 250 so far this year. This ability to feed his on ballers such as Clayton Oliver along with the fact Gawn ranks 2nd in the AFL for total contested marks this season makes him the key to Melbourne's finals aspirations.
This year's Brownlow Medal favourite leads the Hawks in most areas, including leading the league in disposals and clearances. The clearances aspect of that is especially crucial, as the Hawks are ranked 15th in the competition for clearances per game. Mitchell is also ranked in the top ten for tackles in the competition.
The Cats' powerhouse could be in career best form at age 30, having kicked 18 goals in the past three weeks. Hawkins' hot form has moved him into second on the Coleman Medal tally. The big Cat is also 4th in goal assists in the competition, as well as 4th in contested marks.
Sometimes the most obvious answer is the answer and perhaps there is no better player to carry a side on his own than the great Buddy Franklin. The Swans have struggled to score all season long and will need the very best of Buddy to carry them back to September and potential glory.
Oft-injured and maligned but the best from Jarrad Waite has proven to be as good as anyone in the competition over the years. Waite is expected to return to the team very soon as the Kangaroos give one more push for the finals. In the nine games Waite has played in 2018, he has averaged 16 disposals and 2.4 goals per game and can be the perfect foil for Ben Brown.
The two-time All-Australian has enjoyed another outstanding season as the rock in the Essendon defence. Hurley has the tough job of playing on the opposition's number one forward as well as organising the rebound of the ball from defence. Hurley is 5th in the AFL for rebounds per game in 2018.
The Crows' extremely slim finals chances will be helped by a big final month from Rory Laird. Laird is 2nd in total intercept possessions over the 2018 season and ranked 11th in total rebound 50s. A big last month could help the Crows replicate that dashing style which carried them to a Grand Final last season.