Geelong might clearly be the team to beat going into the 2007 finals as they chase their first flag in 44 years but all South Australian football fans are also entitled to be feeling a touch confident heading into the September action.
The Power and the Crows were the big winners out of a thrilling round 22 as the make-up of the top eight was finally settled.
The two big prizes heading into the last round was who would grab second spot and with it the possibility of the easiest passage into the grand final and who would clinch the last available place on offer in the finals.
And it was the two South Australian clubs that grabbed the prizes.
Now as the finals get underway it is Port which is best placed to challenge the Cats' season-long dominance and it is the experienced Crows who loom as the most dangerous team in the bottom half of the eight.
The Power's effort to grab second place - after finishing 12th last season - is equally as fine an effort as the Cats' rise from 10th last season to minor premiers and flag favourites this year and the Kangaroos' rise from 14th to finish in the top four this season.
It comes just three years after the club's first premiership in 2004 and with virtually a new team - making a mockery of the theory that teams have to bottom out and access early draft picks in order to re-build their list.
Of the 22 members of Port's premiership side in 2004, only ten are likely to play a role in this year's premiership push although Darryl Wakelin would make eleven if he can overcome his groin injury.
While there is no doubt some of the stars of that 2004 flag win are still amongst Port's key players such as the Cornes brothers, the Burgoyne brothers and ruckmen Dean Brogan and Brendon Lade, half of Port's best 22 is now different to that of three years ago and yet the team is already back challenging for another premiership.
It's little wonder that Port Adelaide coach Mark Williams is finally getting the recognition he deserves as arguably the best coach in the AFL and why other clubs such as Hawthorn with Alastair Clarkson and now Melbourne with Dean Bailey are selecting their new coaches from Alberton.
While Port - which now has the chance to reach the grand final without leaving AAMI Stadium - will start underdogs against reigning premiers West Coast next week in the second qualifying final, the Power look the best equipped team to challenge the Cats.
Apart from Wakelin, Port has a full list to choose from while in contrast the Eagles either have key players out injured such as Daniel Kerr and Ashley Hansen or under a fitness cloud such as Chris Judd and Andrew Embley and the teams that usually triumph in September are those that have their best team up and running.
And Port will have home advantage against an Eagles side that has not beaten them at AAMI Stadium since 1998 and who succumbed against them there by 91 points earlier in the season.
There is no doubt the winner of the Port-Eagles game will be in pole position to make the grand final - alongside presumably Geelong provided they can overcome the huge burden of expectation