Picking a way between the broken beer bottles and discarded face masks in Invermay Road the morning after the biggest weekend in Tasmanian football history prompted the thought: is this the beginning or the end?
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With no new contracts on the table for Tasmania's two existing tenant clubs and the final series heading back to the mainland, was this the end of 21 years of constant AFL content in the state?
Or was this the shape of things to come - Tassie playing a bigger role in the sport it loves but which repeatedly fails to reciprocate the devotion?
Superb though both weekend games were, they were awarded to Tasmania out of desperation rather than obligation while reports that the state finally has a timeline for its own team have been greatly exaggerated.
It doesn't, it has a timeline for when it might get a timeline - a typically AFL way of avoiding commitment which surprisingly appeased Premier Peter Gutwein, particularly as a greater example of kicking a can further down the road would be harder to find.
As Tasmania debates whether it would prefer a relocated or newly-created franchise in the national competition, it was rather apt that it hosted one of each on Saturday.
With 10 times the Tasmanian membership of its opponent, the team formerly known as South Melbourne dominated the crowd support with the only eye-catching orange on show coming from the ground staff's high-vis vests and the cranes towering above the city end.
Despite the supporter imbalance, the omens were there for a tight Giants' win.
The AFL record tipped GWS by three points and when the sides met in round five, the Giants' winning margin was two points.
On that occasion, Toby Greene kicked 1.7 individually.
In Saturday's last quarter, the Swans kicked 2.7 collectively.
In contrast, GWS managed just 0.1 (1) but that proved to be the difference between the sides.
It was a magnificent match that will live long in the memory with a splendid storyline and numerous intriguing subplots.
Eight seasons into the nine-year $10 million contract many thought he would never see out, Lance Franklin returned to the venue of perhaps his greatest individual triumph.
He fell 10 short of reproducing that 13-goal haul but demonstrated that, despite the scepticism, injuries and passing of time, he's still got it. The hair may have gone but the magic hasn't.
Aptly, his hat-trick included one soccered finish, one silky dribble and one long-range screamer although the greatest drama came in missing a potential winner in the midst of the thrilling finale.
If Buddy was the hero, there's no doubt who revels in the role of villain.
Forever labelled as "The Grub" by Roy and HG, Greene was fresh back from one high-profile suspension and destined for another.
The final siren sounded with the diminutive devil about to take the last of several controversial free-kicks. If that is not his last touch in anger for several weeks then the AFL tribunal is as weak as its TSL equivalent.
Sunday's Melbourne derby between Essendon and the Western Bulldogs appeared to be following a similar script, until the interval.
But the Bombers clearly over-indulged on the popcorn and dozed off in a goalless second half as the unleashed Bulldogs cantered home and Cody Weightman did his best Toby Greene impersonation, kicking all four of his goals from free-kicks.
Whether the fixtures were worth either the $1 million investment or COVID risk remains debateable.
The 18,395 who attended would argue they were - even the Bombers fans whose wait for a finals win will extend to an 18th year.
However, the case against comes with Saturday's Sydney derby coinciding with a new record of 1218 locally-acquired COVID cases in NSW - the largest number recorded by an Australian jurisdiction in a 24-hour period.