So, caveats and details out of the way, which players step up for finals? Among currently active players, Luke Dahlhaus stands out as a player who looks different in September. In his 132 home-and-away games, Dahlhaus has averaged a respectable 83 Fantasy points per game. But in his five finals, the Bulldog has put up an average 103 Fantasy points each match. That means his average in finals is a league-leading 124 percent of his average in the regular season. He's followed by Isaac Heeney, whose average in finals is an impressive 118 percent of his home-and-away average.

At the other end of the scale, the Cats' Jordan Murdoch and the Dockers' Nick Suban are tied for the worst ratios in the league.

Statistical fiends might be wondering whether Dahlhaus' strong numbers are just noise. The difference between his average in finals and the regular season is significant - his performance in finals is unlikely to just be the result of random variation. But with five finals under his belt, the sample is small and not necessarily a great guide to how he'll fare in future finals series.

The difference between finals and the regular season isn't statistically significant for most players. So keep in mind that we're generally looking at small samples here - few players have taken the field in enough finals to give us confidence about whether they're truly better or worse in September than the rest of the year.