And then there were four.

We have two great (at least on paper) preliminary finals to look forward to, and premiership cases can be made for all the remaining contenders. But only two of them will progress to the last Saturday in September, so we are here to break down who they might be.

Storyline to watch: The eighth-placed Hawks have won consecutive cut-throat finals interstate to book their first preliminary final in a decade. Sam Mitchell’s men also won a final last year, so are gaining valuable experience in the September cauldron – and have one of the most in-form midfielders in Jai Newcombe. Could Hawthorn be the 2025 version of Luke Beveridge’s 2016 Bulldogs, who stormed from seventh place to win an unlikely premiership?

This will be the great rivals’ first finals showdown sinc

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