THE 2018 Toyota AFL Grand Final between West Coast and Collingwood is barely hours away.
Whether you're a Magpie or Eagles fan looking to calm the nerves, or just a neutral whiling away the hours before festivities begin, we recommend these six great Grand Final reads.
1. Suma's boot
As AFL.com.au's Dinny Navaratnam has explained, there will be no draw in Saturday's Grand Final. If scores are tired at the final siren, West Coast and Collingwood will play extra time, then on and on as needed until eventually there is a winner.
That wasn't the case in 1990, when the Eagles and Pies met in an unforgettable qualifying final. Peter Sumich's kick for goal sealed a famous result that would pave the way for an equally historic premiership.
Read 'Suma's boot' - a special AFL.com.au feature on the 1990 qualifying final
2. Have the Eagles unlocked their MCG hoodoo?
Just how strongly will the Grand Final venue play in Collingwood's favour?
While the Pies play more games than not on the Melbourne Cricket Ground, young Eagle Liam Ryan will step foot on the MCG for the first time in his career on Saturday.
He's not the only Eagle with limited MCG experience, but in this mid-year analysis, our reporter made the compelling case that West Coast's new home, Optus Stadium, is in fact preparing the Eagles much more effectively for MCG football.
Read the analysis of how the Eagles' new home changed their football
3. How the Grand Finalists' lists were built
Which club has the highest share of bargains from the lower rounds of the draft, and which are the trades that have paid dividends?
AFL.com.au's Callum Twomey details the recruiting strategies that have delivered both clubs to the Grand Final. It's a five-minute read, and you'll be able to remind your mates while watching the big game that Jeremy McGovern represents one of the all-time draft bargains.
Read Cal Twomey's Grand Final list analysis
4. The moment: Jack Darling's 2015 Grand Final drop
If there's one Eagles player desperate to deliver in Saturday's decider, it's Jack Darling. Plenty of Eagles failed on the big stage in 2015's Grand Final loss to Hawthorn, but it was Darling's spilled mark which came to epitomise his side's nervy performance.
Here's how the moment unfolded, what it meant and how they called it from the commentary box.
Read the original story from 2015
4. Patchwork Pies
Perhaps the most remarkable aspect of Collingwood's charge to the Grand Final has been their decimated defence.
The list of injured Collingwood backmen is compelling reading. This must-read stats feature, written ahead of the Pies' preliminary final against premiership favourites Richmond, looks at how the unheralded group of patchwork Pies propelled Collingwood into a prelim - and as it's turned out, beyond.
6. Control v chaos - who wins?
Saturday's contest will be a battle of contrasting styles. In the blue and yellow corner, the Eagles, playing old-school footy with a forward line packed with menacing talls. In the black and white corner, the new age Magpies with their smaller Richmond-style forward line and a surge mentality.
Tactics guru Marc McGowan turned to an opposition analyst to break down the two teams. It's the most insightful piece you'll read on how the Grand Final will be won.
