It wasn't always pretty but that's finals footy.
The first week of the finals was done and dusted by Saturday night after West Coast and Collingwood delivered neutral fans the match they craved in front of a record crowd for Western Australian football, while long-suffering Melbourne supporters (and not-so-long-suffering Richmond fans) were treated to classy displays by their respective sides -- both of which displayed premiership-winning brands of footy.
The biggest disappointment of the weekend came in Sydney, however, with the Swans capitulating to a GWS side led admirably by co-captain Phil Davis, who managed to keep All-Australian skipper Lance Franklin goalless.
The good was good -- the pressure was through the roof, droughts were broken and freakish goals were kicked -- while the bad was pretty bad (we're looking at you, Toby Greene).
Here are your Heroes and Villains from the first week of finals...
HEROES
September Dusty: It was a moment of pure magic which signalled that Dustin Martin had officially shifted up a gear.
Yes, September Dusty -- in all of his Brownlow and Norm Smith Medal-winning glory -- was back, and in a tight first half in trying conditions against the Hawks, it was the Tigers' main man who was the difference.
With just a few minutes remaining in the first half, Martin collected a slippery ball close to the boundary line just inside 50 but instead of slowing down or looking inboard for a non-existent handball option, he used his momentum and swung his leg through the ball which faded beautifully through the goals in Jason Akermanis-like fashion. It was a moment of brilliance and one that sent the Tiger Army into raptures.
By half time, not only was he the leading possession winner on the ground with 18 touches, Dusty had kicked arguably the Goal of the Year (it's a shame they don't include finals, but that's a discussion for another day) and had by far the greatest impact of anyone on the ground.
After the break, his side didn't look back.
It was clear he had been building towards September after a relatively quiet -- at least by his own standards -- middle third of the year, but there's no doubt September Dusty has arrived and is firing on all cylinders.
The built-for-September Demons: They're far from the finished product, but has there ever been a team assembled that looks more built for finals footy than the suddenly red-hot Dees?
There was a huge question mark lingering over the heads of this Melbourne outfit ahead of their elimination final against the Cats: the Demons' lack of finals experience against the vastly more experienced Cats. But within a quarter, those doubts were dispelled as the Demons physically overwhelmed their shellshocked opponents.
It started at the coalface with Clayton Oliver, Angus Brayshaw, rookie revelation James Harmes, Christian Petracca, Dom Tyson, Nathan Jones and returning captain Jack Viney all setting the physical tone needed to win in September. The midfield maestros had able support from similarly hard-nosed teammates up forward and down back -- see the crunching tackles laid by Nev Jetta, Sam Weideman and Aaron vandenBerg -- as the match was effectively put to bed with a five-goal-to-nil first term.
The Demons' physicality rocked the Cats and never wavered. In the end, Melbourne's dominance in clearances, contested possession, tackles and inside-50s paved the way for a famous victory, one that announced the Demons as a September force to be reckoned with.
Of course, they may not win this year's flag -- there's a team based at Punt Road Oval that looks almost unbeatable at the moment -- and they may well come up short against the battle-hardened Hawks on Friday night, but with the majority of their key players still in their early-to-mid 20s, there's no doubt Simon Goodwin's list has all the attributes to suggest the Dees will be perennial contenders for at least half a decade.
Phil Davis: We wrote in the lead-up to Saturday's elimination final that Lance Franklin could be the difference between the two teams in Saturday's Sydney derby.
We couldn't have got it more wrong - it was his opponent, Davis, who proved the match-winner as the Giants sent the Swans packing from the 2018 premiership race.
The Giants' co-captain has fought many engaging battles against Franklin but he completely blanketed the Swans talisman to inspire his team to an emphatic, possibly finals-shaping victory.
Davis was just about impenetrable, completely curtailing Franklin who could only manage eight disposals and two marks to Davis' 18 and 10. The star Swan was held goalless - a major reason the Buddy-centric Swans could only manage four goals for the match.
While Franklin appeared proppy at times, Davis was simply magnificent, repelling countless Sydney attacks and helping set up many forays forward for his team.
"Phil was unbelievable. Best on ground by a long way," Giants vice-captain Stephen Coniglio said post-match.
Perhaps the only error Davis made during his masterclass was when interviewed at half-time with the Giants leading by 15 points. When asked about his battle with Franklin, he described the Swan as a "f***ing" great player ... before quickly apologising.
He more than made up for his slip of the tongue with a superlative performance that may pave the way for a serious flag tilt for the Giants.
VILLAINS
The unusually inaccurate Hawks: If ever there was a bad omen for the Hawks on Thursday night, surely it was when one of the league's cleanest ball users fluffed a kick on goal from just 15 metres out.
Yes, when silk himself, aka Shaun Burgoyne, skewed one wide to the right early in the first quarter it seemed to rattle the Hawks both on the field and in the stands, not to mention allowing Richmond to kick clear on the scoreboard.
And when Luke Breust also failed to capitalise on a similarly easy opportunity in the dying minutes of the second term, those in the stands would have been trying to pinch themselves awake from a bad dream.
Just minutes earlier, Martin popped up for a moment of brilliance which had the Tiger Army roaring (see above) and had Breust slotted the quick reply, the Hawks might have been able to wrestle back some momentum heading into half time.
Instead, and after a second, albeit tougher miss from Jaeger O'Meara, the Tigers swiftly moved the ball forward and Kamdyn McIntosh gave Richmond a handy and ultimately unassailable 15-point half time advantage in the wet.
They might only seem like small moments in time, but in big matches they are all significant.
Slow-starting Cats: Friday night's elimination final between Melbourne and Geelong wasn't exactly over at quarter time but it may has well have been.
The Cats dug themselves into an almighty hole by conceding the first five goals of the match and at one point early in the second term trailed 36-2. So much for all of that finals experience, hey?
They were outworked, lacked ferociousness and couldn't hit a target to save themselves. Patrick Dangerfield's full time stats might look respectable but of his 25 possessions, 12 were clangers as he time and time again blasted the ball only for it to come back the other way.
Despite making a couple of mini runs through Tom Hawkins, the Cats never really got into the game and to Melbourne's credit they continued to have the answers, going on to record a comfortable 29-point victory at the MCG.
You can only sum up Geelong's 2018 as a failure. Not because they didn't land a premiership or even get to the big dance but because they never looked a genuine threat for a prolonged period of time despite boasting the likes of Dangerfield, Hawkins, Joel Selwood and favourite son Gary Ablett.
Oh, and Chris Scott will be thanking his lucky stars for signing a three-year contract extension earlier in the year. Friday night's loss means he has now won just three of his past 13 finals. Ouch.
Toby Greene's studs-up approach: The game might have been over but it was a moment that stemmed heated debate in the football community.
With a high ball coming into the Giants' forward 50, divisive GWS forward Toby Greene made his way into a favourable position while Sydney's Nic Newman was closing in for a spoil. In a moment we've seen before from Greene, he stuck his leg out -- studs up -- to stop Newman from getting to the drop of the ball.
Greene took the mark and the Swans on the ground and in the crowd were left fuming that Newman wasn't awarded a free kick.
Thoughts on the Toby Greene mark:
— Matt Walsh (@MattWalshMedia) September 8, 2018
Good on him for exploiting a lack of rule surrounding a studs-up technique. It was rightly paid a mark.
Having said that, it's time the AFL looks at introducing a rule prohibiting it. Not a good look, could cause injuries.#AFLSwansGiants
As it stands, there's currently no black and white rule on studs-up "fending" moves, but there is a rule which prohibits the act of kicking another player. It's a grey area the AFL will no doubt look at -- probably in the offseason.
But one of the questions it raises is whether or not Greene's move was unsportsmanlike.
Greene is a figure who does attract hate from opposition fans, but others -- including recently retired Jarrad Waite -- are also fans of a studs-up approach to protect the space. What Greene doesn't have in his favour is he has a track record of causing injury with such a move, something Bulldog Luke Dahlhaus can attest to.
It might not currently be an illegal act, but it should be.