Finally, barring an extraordinary series of results in the final round of the season, the top eight is locked in.
Melbourne's 12-year September drought is over after they finally beat a top-eight side -- the Eagles in Perth, no less -- while Port's off-season gambles appeared to backfire after they lost to Collingwood.
The Swans are looming as genuine threats again after claiming bragging rights in Sydney, North Melbourne's brave charge to a surprise finals campaign fell short after a thrilling loss to the Crows, while the suddenly interesting Q-Clash -- thanks, Nick Robertson -- provided plenty of talking points before, during and after the match won by the Lions.
Here are your Round 22 Heroes and Villains...
HEROES
Top form Dusty: Should we really be surprised that Dustin Martin has hit peak form just as the home and away season is set to transition into finals? No, we should not.
After a mediocre start to the season -- at least by the lofty standard he set in last year's record breaking Brownlow Medal year -- Martin has burst to life, rediscovering that supreme form as the Tigers chase back-to-back premierships for the first time since 1973-74.
Martin was electric in skipper Trent Cotchin's absence (hamstring soreness), helping Richmond snuff out Essendon's fading finals hopes with an eight point win on Friday night at the MCG.
In what's become a trademark role, Martin split his time between the midfield and forward line to amass a team high 26 possessions at 80 percent efficiency, a game high 10 marks and an equal team high four goals straight. He also contributed three clearances and six inside 50s in a vintage performance.
The invincibility surrounding Richmond in 2018 looks to be growing stronger and with Martin hitting top form at the right time there might be no stopping them.
Resilient Pies: Questions about the coaches, questions about the value of their traded players, questions about their depth and questions about their conditioning team -- this Collingwood outfit has faced it all in 2018.
But, and kind of miraculously, the Pies are just one more win away from a top four spot, having already sewn up their first finals appearance since 2013 after defeating the Power at the MCG on Saturday.
Cast your minds back to the offseason, and the Pies were in all-sorts, having undertaken an independent review of the club from top-to-bottom. Ultimately, the Pies decided to back coach Nathan Buckley, back the game plan and back the players they brought in, and it's fair to now admit it has all worked beautifully.
Hard not to admire the Pies and what they've overcome this season. Not just injuries, but an inexperienced group, injuries, a coaching panel under significant pressure... did I mention injuries?
— Matt Walsh (@MattWalshMedia) August 18, 2018
The crazy thing is they're still a bloody good shout for top four.#AFLPiesPower
Despite having battled injuries to a number of players crucial to their structure (such as Treloar, Elliott, Scharenberg and Dunn), despite having backed depth players like Chris Mayne, and having thrown inexperienced names like Sier, Mihocek, Madgen and Murphy into the mix, the Pies have managed to prevail despite a patchwork defensive unit and a group which no doubt lacks in match-day synergy.
But to their credit, the Pies sewed up a finals berth and kept their top-four hopes alive with a stunning last quarter against Port Adelaide, in which they piled on seven straight goals to boost their percentage ahead of Round 23.
Could the Pies be Richmond's biggest challenger in September?
The drought-busting Demons: Finally, finally, Melbourne will feature in September.
The laughing stock of the league for much of the past 12 seasons, the Demons proved their mettle with a gritty, topsy-turvy win against West Coast in Perth to cement a spot in the top eight and possibly even a top-four launching pad depending on the results in Round 23.
The rebuild of the rebuild started with Paul Roos five years ago and coach Simon Goodwin has added an attacking flair to the hard-nosed, defensive-first squad first assembled by the former Swans premiership mentor. The AFL's highest-scoring side beat the Eagles at the contest and that midfield power helped snap their opponent's record streak of 19 matches without conceding 90 points.
The win was vital for so many reasons. Not only did it secure a vital four points for the Demons, it also wiped away the doubts hovering over their ability to beat a quality side and deal with the pressure of growing expectations.
It also allowed supporters to finally extinguish a decade-worth of disappointment, ridicule and even questions about the club's relevance.
"I am so happy for our supporters right now," Goodwin said post-match. "They have had 12 years of misery, but now they have a team they can really get in behind and support and build some momentum from here."
VILLAINS
Irrelevant Dockers: Every footy fan is aware of the low-hanging fruit in the AFL at the moment. Carlton, the Suns, and Steve Hocking and the rules committee are all easy targets when it comes to dishing out a bashing.
But it's time Fremantle copped its right whack after they allowed a world record 23 goals in a row to Geelong on their way to their worst ever loss.
Yes, making the trip down to the Cattery, the mediocre Dockers threw in a woeful performance which -- for them -- ended at quarter time. After kicking 3.2 in the first term, the admittedly young Dockers could manage just five behinds for the rest of the match, while their opponents piled on 23.9 after the first break.
But it's not just one embarrassing performance that needs highlighting, it's the last three years of mediocrity which has seen Western Australia's second team slip into irrelevance.
In 2016, the Dockers won four matches and finished 16th on the ladder. In 2017, they won eight but finished 14th. This year, they're once again likely to 14th with just eight wins. They're not good enough to gain too much positive press, but they're not bad enough for fans to demand answers about the kids or the coach.
Simply, right now the Dockers aren't doing much to inspire the greater footy community.
Decimated Giants: There's having rotten luck and then there's being cursed, well, borderline cursed anyway. GWS has been injury-hit harder than any other club in 2018 yet still, remarkably, is challenging for a top four finish.
A week after losing star half-back Heath Shaw for the season and silky midfielder Josh Kelly through concussion, the Giants' medical team were again having to work overtime in a 20-point loss to cross-town rival Sydney.
This week it was skipper Phil Davis (hip), Ryan Griffen (hamstring), Jeremy Finlayson (left leg) and Daniel Lloyd (laceration) who were struck down, and at one stage in the third term, the Giants were playing with no bench for the second occasion in three weeks.
Leon Cameron's side can still finish in the top four and earn a coveted double chance in finals with a win over West Coast in Perth next week, but will likely have to do it without the likes of Jonathan Patton, Tom Scully, Brett Deledio, Toby Greene, Dawson Simpson, Matt de Boer, Shaw, and potentially Griffen and Finlayson.
There's only so much one club can take before it all gets too much.
Nick Robertson: Yes, the Brisbane Lions won the match (just!), but Nick Robertson was the "villain" the Q-Clash desperately needed.
With the past few rounds having featured the return fixtures of the Showdown, the Western Derby and the Sydney Derby, the match-up between Gold Coast and Brisbane had largely gone under the radar.
That was until Lions enforcer Nick Robertson labelled the Suns players "soft" on radio during the week. Admittedly, it wasn't the best P.R. move for the Lions, but it added some much needed spice to a fixture which was as bland as boiled veg.
As a result -- and as expected -- the Suns came out firing on all cylinders; with spotfires breaking out at breaks and the margin staying within 12 points for the entire second half, Robertson's words almost backfired in the most spectacular manner.
Luckily for Robertson, the Lions came away with a four-point win. For his part, he didn't lay a single tackle and conceded three free kicks.
After the match, the 23-year-old admitted he might have editorialised just a little too much.
"I regret saying what I said, Gold Coast are a quality side and we're a humble team, so I've learned from that," he told Fox Footy after the win.