In a competition as tight at the top of the ladder as is 2016, consistency isn't always an easy quality to find.

It's an aspiration for the up and coming teams in the AFL, the likes of Melbourne and St Kilda. Failure to play out a game right until the last second on Saturday night, meanwhile, literally, might well end up costing Greater Western Sydney a top-four spot.

No side can expect to hold complete dominance over an opponent now for every second of a contest. Which means that when a team is right on top, the premium on getting maximum reward is greater than ever.

Enter the two perennials of latter-day finals football, Hawthorn and Sydney. Even they can be reduced to mediocrity on occasion, and have this season. But when it comes to the capacity to land a killer blow, there's still no teams who do it better than the Hawks and Swans.

Hawthorn's opening term against North Melbourne on Saturday was reminiscent of their starts to the past two grand finals. So power-packed was the Hawks' first 30 minutes that as hard as North Melbourne worked subsequently to get back into the contest, it was always going to be an uphill battle.

A massive 20 inside 50s produced 8.4, a score every 1.6 entries. The Hawks had 30 more uncontested possessions than the Roos. Significantly, key parts of that assault were two runners in Isaac Smith and Brad Hill.

Cyril Rioli is a consistent attacking force, Sam Mitchell, Jordan Lewis and Luke Hodge are constants, but it is the extra run of Smith and Hill that always pushes Hawthorn from a team simply to be feared to one almost impossible to stop.

Hawthorn's efficiency has been a key to their success this season despite only average rankings in many supposed key statistical areas.

But it's also the fact that efficiency is most pronounced not when they're trying to stay in a game, but when they're putting the foot to the throat. Five of those eight first-quarter goals came in an eight-minute burst when the Hawks completely held sway.

Just before the 12-minute mark, North Melbourne trailed by only 14 points. By the 20-minute mark, it was 45 points and as good as game over.

Sydney, meanwhile, landed their killer blow not at the start of their game against St Kilda, but after half-time. St Kilda had played a terrific first half to trail by only five points at the long break. But from there, the Swans simply went into overdrive.

A third term producing 8.3 was the result, seven of those goals coming within the first 20 minutes, the Swans almost doubling St Kilda for disposals, 117-59, and racking up 17 forward entries.

It's arguable Lance Franklin has ever played a better quarter of football, roaming up the ground for 15 disposals as well as three of his six goals.

The third-quarter burst is proving a Swans specialty this season. They've won 16 of 20 now, along with Adelaide (before Sunday night's game against Fremantle) the best in the competition.

But again, it's what they do with those periods of dominance that sets them apart. The Swans are converting it, averaging 7.5 points more per game than last season, and more even than in 2014, when they went into a grand final a warm favourite.

Those imposing periods on Saturday from the Hawks and Swans were a salient reminder why some of the reactions to Hawthorn's loss to Melbourne a week ago in particular were so over-the-top.

Even their rare bad days are never about the exposing of serious structural flaws, but simply four quarters when something didn't click. And the addressing of those setbacks never involves major overhauls, just a little tweak here and there.

So it's no great surprise that for all the twists and turns this season has taken, there's every chance we're going to end up with another Hawthorn-Sydney grand final.

That would be three in five seasons, and the first time we've had three grand finals featuring the same two teams since Hawthorn met Essendon in three successive premiership play-offs from 1983 to 1985.

Sydney have undergone some significant generational change since their last grand final clash two years ago.

Only 12 players from that side lined up against St Kilda on Saturday night, and their 22 across the board weighed in at more than two years younger than that which took the field in 2014. Of the 18 teams that lined up last weekend, the Swans were younger than 11 rivals.

Hawthorn has changed only marginally in terms of personnel. No fewer than 16 players from that 2014 grand final side played against North Melbourne on Saturday. The Hawks on Saturday were a little younger than last year's premiership version, but almost the same age as that which won the 2014 flag.

But what the Swans of now still have, and what Hawthorn continue to possess, is the ability to steal a winning break on an opponent in the blink of an eye, rendering much else of what happens in a game a moot point.

And in terms of this year's premiership race particularly, that's a priceless commodity.

And while I'm at it ...

Red and back: Bomber Zach Merrett celebrates with supporters after the win over Gold Coast. Photo: Scott Barbour

Essendon are still a warm favourite to claim their first wooden spoon since 1933. Their 17 consecutive defeats this season is another unwanted record. But you wouldn't have gauged any of that from the scenes in their rooms after Sunday's win over Gold Coast.

Well, maybe but for the tell-tale sign of no fewer than five players – Craig Bird, Sam Grimley, Jake Long, James Polkinghorne and Jonathan Simpkin – forming their own inner circle during the club song after playing in their first win for the Bombers.

It's been a long time between drinks. But when coach John Worsfold sits back to review the past six months in a few weeks, he'll be able to look back on a season that has produced more for the long-term than perhaps even he could have imagined when the CAS suspensions were handed down in January.

For a wretched year on the win-loss front, 2016 has served up a considerable share of plusses for the Bombers. Here's a list: Zach Merrett, Darcy Parish, Orazio Fantasia, Joe Daniher, Anthony McDonald-Tipungwuti, Mitch Brown, Matt Dea, Michael Hartley, Patrick Ambrose and Conor McKenna.

Merrett has been outstanding all season. He'll bolt in this season's best and fairest.

On Sunday, he added a leadership mantle to an ever-burgeoning CV. Parish was rested but has been a real find, a 10-year midfield career in the offing.

Kicking issues aside, Daniher has stood up very well despite often being his side's sole forward target. It should be a tougher, more resilient player who fronts up next year. Fantasia has quickly become a key, a midfielder/forward with genuine pace. "Tippa" has the potential to be more than a cult figure, and has a cool enough head already.

Brown and Hartley have often wrongly been thrown in among Essendon's "top-ups", but have shown real courage and defensive abilities, and will both be hard to dislodge from the Dons' senior side even when the better players return.

Dea has had a really good season at half-back, defending and rebounding well. Ambrose has finally found a spot in the backline, and should gain even more value not having to play on a key defender as much in 2017. And McKenna has improved dramatically in recent games, Sunday's win over Gold Coast arguably his best yet.

That's a fair roll call of bonuses out of a season which may have been nothing more than a holding mission.

Of course, the return (in Essendon colours) of Michael Hurley and Michael Hibberd, even skipper Jobe Watson, is no certainty. Worsfold also has to get almost two halves of a new team to gel.

But you won't find too many coaches of a wooden spoon team turning their attention to the future with as much genuine optimism as Worsfold and his coaching assistants will have come the start of next pre-season.

the Last word

THE THRILLERS

Last gasp: Richmond 200-gamer Jack Riewoldt takes the final mark of the day against Geelong. Photo: Michael Dodge

There's been a few weekends lately when it seemed the finals couldn't come fast enough, too many one-sided contests and too many teams with not enough to play for. But you certainly couldn't quibble about Round 21 on the excitement front, with no fewer than five of nine games decided by a goal or less, one literally with the last kick of the match. Nic Naitanui's match-winner for West Coast against GWS will be replayed for years, as will the "what ifs" of Jack Riewoldt's last-second fly for Richmond against Geelong be pondered. There's a lesson to be learned, too. Whether places in the eight are up for grabs or not, this season don't take anything for granted.

THE PROGRESS (I)

Cometh the hour: Nic Naitanui celebrates kicking the winning goal. Photo: Getty Images

It's perhaps been a little too easy to dismiss West Coast's 2016 as not a patch on last year's campaign, their reputation as "flat track bullies" seemingly ensconced. But a record on the road which was a dismal 1-4 after the Eagles lost to the Western Bulldogs in round 11 has been dragged back to 4-5 after Saturday night's inspiring win over the Giants. And the bottom line remains that West Coast have now won seven of their last eight games, still have designs on a top four spot, and may end up hosting a final in week one of September even if they don't get it. Friday night's game against Hawthorn is huge. Win it, and the Eagles may go into this finals series in nearly as good shape as last year.

THE PROGRESS (II)

Tap out: Port Adelaide's Matthew Lobbe competes in the ruck with Melbourne's Max Gawn. Photo: Daniel Kalisz

Another week, another significant landmark for Melbourne, this time winning a third consecutive game for the first time in just on six years, and with a 10th victory, their most wins in a season since their last finals appearance in 2006. It's not a patch on the 23-year drought the Demons broke when they played in September in 1987, but there are some echoes of that late charge this season. And with North Melbourne teetering, Melbourne to play Carlton and at Geelong (where they won last year) and the percentage gap between the Roos and Demons less than four per cent, what even last week looked the stuff of fantasy might actually be very achievable.

THE FIFTYS​

Contentious call: St Kilda's Sam Gilbert was unfairly penalised for his tackle on Lance Franklin. Photo: Scott Barbour

Fifty-metre penalties have always been contentious, in many cases a dramatic penalty for what are sometimes pretty innocuous breeches. But their appropriateness is perhaps under the microscope more now than at any time since their inception 30-odd years ago. That's mainly because of the increase in the "protected area" around a marking player, a call which sometimes runs counter to players' best attempts to get out of the way. But you wonder if that has also made umpires a little trigger-happy on other 50-metre calls, too, like the shocker against St Kilda's Sam Gilbert for minimal contact on Lance Franklin on Saturday night. Yes, a penalty has to be harsh enough to make it an effective deterrent. But perhaps it's time to consider in some cases a 25-metre penalty instead.