While things may have eased off locally with the major winter sports all coming to a close, nationally it is just getting into the best time of the season.

Today is the AFL grand final that everyone wanted to see; the Sydney Swans going up against Hawthorn.

Ever since Lance 'Buddy' Franklin made his move to the Swans from the Hawks during the off-season it has added a whole new level of interest to the already fierce rivalry between the two sides, who have been among the best in the competition for the past four years.

If you only take a passing interest in the AFL, it's time to jump on the bandwagon. If there's just one game you watch all season, it's got to be the grand final.

Love or hate the game you've got to admire the huge crowds and incredible atmosphere the MCG provides this time of the year.

The Swans won the title in 2012 while the Hawks are the defending premiers. It looks set to be a great clash but for me I just think Sydney have got too much firepower.

Big men Franklin and Kurt Tippett dominate headlines but the truth is the Swans have threats all over the park and with their high-intensity midfield feeding the big men up front, I can see the Swans lifting the Cup again this afternoon.

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While it is the crescendo of the AFL season this weekend, it is also a huge weekend of rugby league action.

The NRL preliminary finals kicked off last night with the Rabbitohs-Roosters clash and today Penrith meet the Bulldogs in a battle of two teams who weren't expected to go this far in 2014.

The Panthers have been a revelation this season and the way they have seemed to put together a bunch of misfits has been a great story.

Jamie Soward is without doubt the buy of the year and while there were always doubts about his quality at St George, he's been a player of class this year.

There's a bit of local interest too with Isaah Yeo part of the Panthers squad.

While he won't line up today unless there's a stack of last-minute injuries, his involvement this season has led to a lot of people around here adopting the Panthers as their second side.

The Dogs topped the table earlier this year but then suffered a slump which threatened their spot in the eight all together.

Des Hasler seems to have them firing now and while last week's golden-point win over Manly would have been draining it would have also been a huge confidence booster.

The Panthers have been the fairytale team this season and while I'd like to see them keep going, I think the Dogs are just firing at the right time and will get over the line in another thriller.