But until Saturday's game is done and dusted - and analysed to within an inch of its life - our papers' sports pages will be filled with little else.
End of Cats era?
Many of us tipped Geelong's golden era was over after its humbling 41-point loss to Collingwood in last season's first preliminary final.
Our views were only fortified when the Cats lost their two-time premiership coach, Mark Thompson, and best player, Gary Ablett, not long after.
With the ravages of old age also bearing down on a number of key Cats, it stood to reason the Cats' era that began with the 2007 premiership would end with two premierships, three Grand Finals appearances and an incredible 83-17 win-loss record over those four seasons.
But, as we know now, the Cats had not used up all nine of their lives. Under new coach Chris Scott, it soon became apparent the jaded Cats of late 2010 were revitalised. They won their first 13 games of the season and, despite a minor late-season form slump, finished second after the home and away season.
More, importantly, Geelong went into the finals in form, closing its regular season campaign with a 96-point thumping of - an admittedly switched-off - Collingwood. The Cats have continued that form in the finals and look to have peaked at just the right time.
But as impressive as they've been, the reality is this Cats era can't go on forever.
The Herald Sun's Sam Edmond observed that if the Cats win on Saturday they will be the oldest flag team in 67 years and the fourth oldest in League history.
On this basis, Edmond argues Geelong will be "a club in transition" over the summer, regardless of whether it wins or loses this year's premiership.
That transition has already started. Cameron Mooney, 32, has announced he will retire at the end of the season, and Darren Milburn, 34, who has not been part of the Cats' finals campaign to date, looks set to join him.
The Cats have also been injecting youth into their team at a success rate that suggests Stephen Wells is a recruiting genius. Youngsters such as Daniel Menzel, Allen Christensen, Nathan Vardy and Trent West all look like being core members of Geelong's generation next.
So just how quickly will the Cats look to bring on that new generation?
Edmond wrote that rumours persisted over the futures of Brad Ottens and David Wojcinski, both 31, and noted captain Cameron Ling had said this month if he didn't retire after Saturday's game, next year would be his last.
Fortunately for Cats fans, star defender Matthew Scarlett, 32, has said he will play on next season.
But alongside Edmond's story, the Herald Sun ran a table to ram home just how long in the tooth the Cats have become. The six veterans highlighted above were listed under the heading "Last Hurrah?" and beneath them under the heading "Not far away either" were James Podsiadly, 30, Corey Enright, 30, Paul Chapman, 29, Joel Corey, 29, and Josh Hunt, 29.
We're talking about some key players here, but all appear to have good football left in them.
Their ability to blend with the Cats' emerging band of youngsters, which seems certain to grow next year, will determine just how smoothly Geelong moves into its new era.
Malthouse's long goodbye
The celebration of Mick Malthouse's career continued on Thursday.
In the second part of his feature "The Malthouse years", the Herald Sun's Mark Stevens revisited Malthouse's time at West Coast and Collingwood.
Malthouse's prickly relationship with the media appeared front and centre. Stevens revisited the 1993 incident when Malthouse pushed his Herald Sun colleague Daryl Timms up against a wall after a terse exchange at a post-match press conference.
Veteran Perth journalist Tim Gossage told Stevens Malthouse had been a "hard bastard" as Eagles coach. "He was genuinely scary to deal with at times, sometimes unreasonable," Gossage said.
Gossage recalled how Malthouse had radically reined in the media's access to the Eagles. Where TV crews had previously been able to conduct impromptu after-training interviews with players at Subiaco Oval, Malthouse banned these boundary-lined interviews and introduced closed training sessions.
"They weren't a friendly club," Gossage said. "But you know what? You would have to say Mick made us better journalists."
Former Eagles defender Glen Jakovich acknowledged Malthouse had played "bad cop" to the media and "good cop" to his players.
"He had to because all he was doing was building and protecting our football club," Jakovich said. "He defined our club."
Jakovich also said a three-quarter time preliminary final spray from Malthouse had been the catalyst for the Eagles' 1994 Grand Final win against Geelong. Home and hosed against Melbourne in that home final, the Eagles had started to play with "a bit of flair and confidence", Jakovich said.
But an "almighty spray" from Malthouse in which he said no one's position was safe in the Grand Final team "reinforced the fact you should never take anything for granted", Jakovich said.
Such lessons had ensured the Eagles playing group had not only enjoyed on-field success but success later in their lives, Jakovich said.
Former Collingwood midfielders Paul Licuria and Brodie Holland also praised their former coach's influence on them.
Licuria, who was memorably photographed crying in Malthouse's arms after the Magpies' near miss in the 2002 Grand Final, said Malthouse had the ability to get his players to play for him.
"You always felt a little bit intimidated by Mick," Licuria said. "He's got that aura and persona about him. You're not best mates with him, but there's enough respect that you do what's needed."
Coaches won't be wired for sound
Anyone who's watched AFL Media's recent documentaries on the 1981, 1991 and 2001 Grand Finals will probably agree that we should be trying to capture as much behind-the-scenes footage from future Grand Finals as possible.
Such insights into the preparations of the competing teams, their coaches and their players, gives you a context to the clash that you'd never get from watching the game in isolation.
Little doubt, this explains the AFL's request to have the coaches in this Saturday's Grand Final wear microphones.
The Age's chief football writer Caroline Wilson revealed that the AFL's request had sparked a "behind-the-scenes dispute" that ended on Wednesday, with both Collingwood and Geelong telling the League Mick Malthouse and Chris Scott were not prepared to wear microphones on the day.
Geelong football manager Neil Balme told Wilson the club could understand the AFL's desire to record Scott for historical purposes but said it would be "an unnecessary distraction for a first-year coach on Grand Final day".
According to Wilson, the request to record the coaches was instigated by AFL Media and not Saturday's broadcaster Channel 10.
Pies' press loses its edge
The Magpies rode to last year's premiership on the back of innovative forward press that helped them steal a tactical edge on the rest of the competition.
However, it seems Collingwood will not able to press home that advantage on Saturday.
At least that's what Nathan Buckley told the media contingent at Gosch's Paddock on Wednesday. Buckley said opposition teams had learned to go through or over the press this season, forcing the Pies to change the way they moved the ball too.
Sydney Swans premiership coach Paul Roos agrees. In his Herald Sun column, Roos wrote: "Collingwood's press looks to have completely broken down and its ball movement has been slow and lacking cohesion."
Picking a winner
The Magpies' faltering forward press and the form struggles of players such as Alan Didak and Dayne Beams has swayed Roos to tip Geelong as premier.
Roos wrote that although it was hard to find an out-of-form Geelong player, only Scott Pendlebury, Dane Swan, Luke Ball, Travis Cloke and Chris Tarrant had performed at their "optimal level" for Collingwood during the finals.
So, although he conceded Collingwood at its best would beat Geelong, Roos decided to tip on current form.
Collingwood premiership players Tony Shaw and Mick McGuane told the Herald Sun they also had reservations about the Magpies' form. Shaw said the Magpies had not been in great form for a month, noting that Geelong had beaten West Coast a lot more comfortably in the finals than the Pies.
Players in focus
The Herald Sun spoke with Harry O'Brien about how his view of Travis Cloke had shifted since they both arrived at Collingwood in late 2004. O'Brien conceded his initial impressions of Cloke were not favourable: "What is all the hype about?" he remembered thinking early in their first pre-season.
But O'Brien said opposition forwards were now in awe of Cloke.
"I have been playing in defence watching him and opposition forwards comment to me, 'How do you stop this guy?'" O'Brien said. "He has the strongest hands ever."
The Age retraced the tough journey that's brought Geelong's Tom Lonergan to the brink of premiership success. From losing a kidney in 2006, to missing the 2007 premiership team, to playing in the losing 2008 Grand Final, to again missing out when the Cats redeemed themselves against the Saints the following season.
Recently departed Geelong assistant coach, and now Adelaide senior coach, Brenton Sanderson said Lonergan's ability to hold down a key defensive post this season had been "invaluable" for the Cats, releasing Matthew Scarlett to play as a counter-attacking weapon.
If the Cats win this Saturday, Sanderson said Lonergan would be one of three great Geelong stories, along with former VFL star James Podsiadly and emerging ruckman Trent West.
Interest outside Victoria
The Gold Coast Bulletin wrote that local boy Dayne Beams' strong performance against Geelong in round 24 might save him from being dropped from Collingwood's Grand Final team after a quiet finals series.
Port Adelaide premiership captain Warren Tredrea writes in The Advertiser that the build-up to the Grand Final is more daunting than the game itself.
The West Australian reports that Joel Corey has declared himself fully fit for the Grand Final after his recent groin injury, saying he would "better for the run" against West Coast in last week's preliminary final.
In short
Collingwood is interested in former Western Bulldogs coach Rodney Eade as a prospective senior assistant to incoming coach Nathan Buckley in 2012, The Age reports. Eade also remains in the running for St Kilda's senior coaching vacancy.
Adelaide will review its player retention program in the wake of the departure of Phil Davis and looming exits of Ivan Maric, Jack Gunston and Tony Armstrong, The Advertiser reports.
Former Carlton spearhead Brendan Fevola told Adelaide's FIVEaa radio the Blues would be playing in this Saturday's Grand Final if he was still at the club.
The Herald Sun's Jon Ralph used his online column, The Buzz, to ask whether St Kilda's Jason Gram should be awarded a retrospective Norm Smith Medal after tying with Geelong's Paul Chapman. Chapman won the Medal on a countback after receiving more best-on-ground votes than Gram.
The views in this story are those of the author and not necessarily those of the clubs or the AFL.
