September has officially arrived, and every team remaining will naturally have optimism.
Fremantle appears to be the clear front-runner for the flag; Brisbane's experience holds it in good stead, and Hawthorn and Geelong are among the challengers.
So what does every club need to focus on?
Sydney
Midfield rejig
The Swans' greatest strength now shapes as its most fascinating position following Chad Warner and Isaac Heeney being stood down. Errol Gulden is arguably the form player of the competition - but cannot be expected to do it all.
Against North Melbourne, Sydney's pressure was excellent, which is a positive step, but does the midfield have enough firepower and depth to match it with the competition's best and most in-sync engine rooms?
James Rowbottom and Jai Serong got plenty of midfield minutes against the Kangaroos, with Angus Sheldrick and Tom Papley also rotating through. Expecting a role-playing trio and burst forward/midfielder to ably support Gulden is a tall task though. Will opponents feel like shutting down Gulden will shut off the Swans?
Serong also has a big role to play if the Swans want to nullify an opposition star, with James Jordon's exclusion likely putting him in line to play any negating roles the Swans look at.
