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:
5West Coast Eagles v Collingwood Magpies, 2020 Elimination Final
Collingwood has a proud history of producing backs-to-the-wall performances. This victory may well be Exhibit 1A.
Kane Cornes famously said Collingwood were heading to Perth to "make up the numbers", and The West Australian newspaper smeared the black and white with the "Dirty Pies" moniker, crudely suggesting that Nathan Buckley's men hadn't been asked to quarantine for long enough.
Add the heartbreaking loss of the Eagles in the grand final two seasons prior, and this tense encounter provided the perfect storm of media narratives.
Midway through a thrilling final quarter, three incredible goals in six minutes to Brody Mihocek and Jordan de Goey provided the Pies with enough of a buffer to withstand a late Eagles surge.
In front of a raucous Optus Stadium crowd, West Coast key forwards Josh Kennedy and Jack Darling would slot the final two majors of the contest, but the Pies would emerge one-point winners in a remarkable chapter of what was an underrated and frequently intense rivalry.
Collingwood would go on to be pantsed a week later, by Geelong, while the Eagles have not tasted September action since, in what has been a dramatic fall from grace.
