Richmond star Shane Edwards has admitted it has been hard not to think about playing in a grand final this year and that he has frequently dreamed about the possibility.
The Tigers are just one win away from their first grand final in 35 years. In order to get there, they must overcome Greater Western Sydney in the second preliminary final at the MCG on Saturday.
But Edwards has already visualised what it might feel like running out on the MCG on that last Saturday in September.
Having been at Richmond for 11 years, Edwards has seen his fair share of highs and lows at the club.
The forward admitted there were times where he thought the Tigers would never get this far into a season and said it was "surreal" to be playing in the first preliminary final of his career.
And now that the Tigers have made it to the final four, Edwards doesn't see why they can't go all the way this year.
One of the most one-sided crowds in VFL/AFL history is expected to attend Saturday's match, with 95,000 mostly Richmond supporters set to cram into the MCG and Edwards believes that massive show of support is "priceless".
Edwards revealed he likes to crack a few jokes in the lead up to a big game in order to counteract his "over the top" feeling of being uptight.
"That brings me back down to a level I like playing at," he said.
The winner of Saturday's preliminary final will play either Adelaide or Geelong in the 2017 AFL grand final next week.