Legacies are defined by what teams and players achieve, or fail to achieve, in September.
The stakes are higher. Every effort is amplified. Every mistake is compounded. Every victory is glorified. Losses are rarely forgiven.
With the first week of finals upon us, let's take a look at some of the most memorable matches this corresponding point of the season has blessed footy fans with in recent memory.
The eight best first-week finals of the last decade:
8GWS Giants v Sydney Swans, 2021 Elimination Final
This Covid-era game is a microcosm of the Toby Greene experience. Breathtaking brilliance and headline-grabbing controversy, in equal measure.
His three goals were influential in the result, but it was to be his last match for some time, after his ban for making “aggressive, demonstrative and disrespectful" contact with umpire Matt Stevic, landing him a six-match ban.
Tim Taranto had one of his best games as a Giant in the contest, finishing with 25 disposals, five tackles, five clearances and a goal, while Sydney stars Lance Franklin (three goals), Isaac Heeney (21 disposals and four goals) gave their all in the hopes of mounting a successful comeback.
The Giants led by 23 at halftime, and 19 at three-quarter time, and held on to win by a solitary point. Jacob Hopper's behind five minutes into the last quarter was the Giants' only score in the final stanza, as Sydney dominated play.
The Swans finished with 20 more inside-50 entries than the Giants, but 2.7 in the fourth quarter meant they could not overcome ‘little brother', in Launceston.
Fittingly, the ball was in Greene's hands when the final siren sounded.
