The AFL may be enduring its most one-sided finals series of the modern era but a potential saviour looms this weekend for those fearing the two preliminary finals will also be cakewalks for Geelong and Hawthorn respectively.

And that saviour is St Kilda and specifically its champion skipper Nick Riewoldt with the Saints having the weapons to trouble the Hawks in Saturday night's second preliminary final at the MCG.

While Geelong and Hawthorn remain odds-on to progress to their first grand final meeting since 1989 - let's hope at least one of this weekend's preliminary finals provides the kind of heart-stopping, memorable finish that has been such a part of the penultimate weekend of the season for so many years.

Who could forget Carlton's memorable one-point win over hot favourites Essendon in 1999 or Sydney's one-point win - with a Tony Lockett behind after the final siren - against Essendon in 1996 or Gary Buckenara's famous goal after the final siren as the Hawks shattered Melbourne's dreams in the 1987 preliminary final.

This finals series is desperately crying out for a close game and in fact it has been the first time under either the final five, final six or final eight systems that not one final has been decided by less than five goals over the first two weeks of the finals series.

In fact one has to go back to 1969 - under the final four system when just one final was played each week - to find the last time no final had been decided by less than five goals coming into the preliminary final.

Put simply everybody - bar probably nervous Cats, Hawks, Dogs and Saints fans - is crying out for a close final.

And Saturday night's Hawks-Saints clash looms as the best chance to end this year's run of one-sided finals.

The Bulldogs simply don't have the height in either attack or defence to cope with a Geelong side that has won its past 14 matches and 41 of its past 43 overall.

And the Cats - with the experience of last year's drought-breaking premiership win behind them - won't suffer the same kind of stage fright they did in last year's preliminary final when they fell in by just five points against a Collingwood side given little chance.

However the Hawks are a different story.

While there is no doubt the Hawks deserve to go in favourites against the Saints - considering they have