"Who would have thought the sequel would be just as good as the original!" That classic line of football commentary from Anthony Hudson summed up beautifully the predominant feeling as the siren sounded to end the 2006 grand final.
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In 2005, Sydney full-back Leo Barry's mark for the ages against West Coast had signalled the Swans' first premiership for 72 years amid unbearable tension. This time, the Eagles had prevailed by a solitary point in an even better standard game.
It won't be quite the case in Saturday's grand final, of course, as last year was an intermission of sorts in the ongoing production of the Hawthorn and Sydney series.
But there remains a sense that we could be in for a follow-up, in terms of quality, of Godfather II proportions. And so good was the 2012 grand final, that would be some game of football.
Either way, we're about to enter territory football hasn't seen since those two Sydney-West Coast grand finals nearly a decade ago.