IT’S FITTING that the remaining four teams were the top four teams at the end of the home and away season.

Both preliminary finals will involve some of the best players in the game. 

Dane Swan, Scott Pendlebury, Lance Franklin, Cyril Rioli, Jimmy Bartel, Paul Chapman, Dean Cox and Daniel Kerr, to name but a few, will rise to the challenge and remind all supporters why they’re held in such high regard.

We expect the greats to play well; it’s what sets them apart.

Playing well in finals can take a good player and elevate him into the elite bracket.

Dale Thomas’s performances in both Grand Finals last year catapulted him into the rarified air occupied by a select few.

You rely heavily on your best players in finals, because they are predictable and you know what you can expect.

You expect them to handle the pressure and lead those players around them.

What you don’t know is which of your peripheral players will stand up.

It’s vital your best players perform, but it’s equally important that some of your supporting players also play well.

Invariably, these are your second-tier or younger players.

Peripheral players who play well take pressure of your stars needing to have great games in order to win.

You’re less reliant on your leaders.

It also means the opposition will need to focus on other players as opposed to just concentrating on your best players.

Glenn Freeborn’s three-goal performance in the 1996 Grand Final was significant on the day and recognised once again at North Melbourne’s recent 15-year reunion.

Freeborn’s effort is not an isolated example.

Recent history shows that finals tend to consistently unearth a player who few would have expected to play such a significant role in determining the outcome of a match.

Shane Ellen’s five goals in the 1997 Grand Final, Lewis Roberts-Thompson’s 17 disposals and six marks in the 2005 Grand Final, Mathew Stokes’ 18 possessions, and five marks in the 2007 Grand Final and Xavier Ellis’ team-high 28 possessions in the 2008 Grand Final are performances that come to mind.

More recently. Steele Sidebottom finished second to Pendlebury in the voting for the Norm Smith Medal in the 2010 drawn Grand Final.

All played a major role in helping their respective teams win premierships.

Each of the final four teams have a player who can elevate their game to a new level and influence the outcome of their match this weekend.

Jarryd Blair became a premiership player in only his 12th game of AFL football in 2010.

In 2011, he cemented his position in the Collingwood side, playing all 22 matches.

He averages a modest 14 disposals in his 11 games against top-eight teams this year, but in his past two matches against West Coast and Geelong, he’s averaging 17 disposals, seven contested possessions, three inside 50s and a goal.

Blair’s game is built on power, strength and tenacity.

He understands the situation of a game and knows when to push up the ground to add another hard body at the stoppages, be a link in the chain going forward from defence, or being at the feet of key forwards in Travis Cloke and Chris Dawes.

That mix makes him much harder to stop.

Speed, power and tenacity add to his weaponry, but it’s his work inside 50 that makes him a dangerous player.

Blair’s importance to Collingwood is two-fold inside 50.

He is ranked fourth in tackles and goal assists at the Magpies.

When he’s not creating goals or kicking them himself, he’s hunting the opposition when they’re looking to rebound from defense.

Hawthorn’s Isaac Smith is a very different player to Blair.

The lightly-built Smith relies heavily on his aerobic ability, pace and endless workrate to impact games.

Smith has played 15 matches in his debut season and averages 19 disposals in six games against top-eight teams.

Like Blair, Smith’s last two games have been impressive, averaging 23 possessions and eight marks against the Cats and Swans.

Smith is an important link in the Hawthorn chain either coming out of defence running into space on a wing or driving the ball forward.

He ranks second for inside 50s in the last six weeks for the Hawks.

Collingwood’s trademark press is the reason why Smith is the perfect player to run through it.

Smith should be encouraged by Alistair Clarkson to take the press on.

He needs to open the press by running through it or be used as the kick outlet over the back of the press.

His disposal efficiency of 63 per cent is the only blight on his past two performances, so minimising his mistakes will be important.

Geelong’s Alan Christensen has played 17 games in his first season of AFL football.

Cut from the same cloth as teammate Stokes, Christensen averages 12 possessions a game against top-eight teams this year.

Similar to Blair and Smith, Christensen has good form going into tomorrow’s game against West Coast.

In has past two matches he’s averaging 20 possessions, 11 contested possessions, three clearances, three inside 50s and four tackles.

Christensen mirrors Blair’s game in that he can play inside as well as link up with his defenders and midfielders but also find space inside 50 and finish well.

Like Blair, Christensen can add another hard body around the stoppages.

He’s a good decision-maker who knows when to get front and square, when to provide a target, and when to apply the trademark defensive pressure these opportunistic forwards have become known for.

West Coast took Chris Masten with pick number three in the 2007 draft.

A highly-rated player who has struggled with fitness and form in his four years with the Eagles looks as though he may have finally came of age in his 50th game four weeks ago.

In a hard-fought win against the Brisbane Lions in round 23, Masten played a leading role, finishing with a career-high 31 possessions and three goals.

Although quiet against Carlton last week with 13 possessions, his last month, where he has averaged 23 disposals, has been very good.

So much will be expected of Cox, Kerr, Matt Priddis, Andrew Embley and Scott Selwood that Masten could get off the leash.

Brady Rawlings regarded Masten as one of the fittest players he had played against, and Masten must use his aerobic capacity to full effect on Saturday.

The MCG rewards players who work harder than their opponents to get to as many contests as possible.

Masten not only worked hard in his best game against the Lions four weeks ago; it was his willingness to find the contested football that underlined his performance.

A blend of inside contested football and an outside running game could cause enough of a headache for Chris Scott to redirect his attention away from any number of the Eagles’ big-name players to Masten.

This could allow a Kerr, Embley or Priddis to have an even greater influence on the contest.

Reputations can only be enhanced in finals with good performances.

The expectation is that the best players will naturally rise to the challenge. If they don’t, success will rely on the efforts of the unheralded players.

Blair, Smith, Christensen and Masten may not be the stars of their respective teams, but a great performance this weekend will take them a step closer to becoming an elite player.

The views in this article are those of the author and not necessarily those of the clubs or the AFL.