Russell: Richmond’s Cinderella story will end against Power on SundayHerald-Sun
September 06, 2014 6:26PMSORRY to spoil the fun and write a dead Bambi story, but Richmond cannot possibly win the AFL premiership, and their fairytale will end dramatically on Sunday.
Nine victories in a row to steal the very last finals spot is a wonderful bedtime story for Tiger toddlers to be told for generations, but it will not just end against Port Adelaide at the Adelaide Oval on Sunday, it will end with a blown out margin.
The Tigers’ grand final was last week. Eight weeks of emotion fuelled energy and spirit, parlayed for the ninth time into an exhausting, final moment victory an against a weakened Sydney, which used that game to rest key players and prepare for yesterdays clash with Fremantle.
That fighting Richmond win was epic, and the stats in isolation were extremely flattering. But it was fools gold.
The Swans had their Brownlow Medal contender Josh Kennedy out, gave the day off to their superstar matchwinner Lance Franklin and number one ruckman Mike Pyke, and had two other best eighteen players Ben McGlynn and Craig Bird also sidelined.
Richmond rightly celebrated the victory like the season highlight it was.
But across the other side of the country, Port Adelaide’s extremely disappointed and steely focused team watched the Tigers become their opponents from the Virgin lounge of the Perth Airport following the Power’s loss to Fremantle.
I watched Richmond win with the Port players. The contrast in emotions was extraordinary.
The Tigers’ impossible dream of 13 wins in a row to win the unwinnable premiership from a horror 3-10, season start, would be the greatest football Cinderella story ever told if it happened. No AFL team has ever won a premiership from eighth. Under the current finals system, no team has ever won a flag from outside the top four.
But what has propelled the interest and hysteria to fantasy levels is the fact that the ever hopeful and resilient Tiger army has lived on dreams and fairytales for much of their lives. The joke is on them. They know it, and they don’t care.
Richmond’s internal standard for AFL/VFL success has long been debated.
The Tigers have never won an AFL flag, have only reached the finals three times in the past three decades, and have not played in a grand final for 31 years.
Last season was considered a success when Richmond finished the home and away year in fifth spot, and then subsequently and embarrassingly lost their elimination final to the ninth finishing lucky loser Carlton.
On Sunday night, when the Tigers’ year ends and the dust has settled, this season will also be viewed as a success without any finals success.
Their familiar feeling of contentment will prevail despite the fact that Richmond will have dropped from fifth last season to eighth this season.
And the man who echoed exactly where Richmond is at right now is its captain, Trent Cotchin, who revealed this week that he would seriously consider not leading his Tigers into their history making battle on Sunday if his heavily pregnant and expecting wife suddenly went into labour.
Each to his own, and many would respect his decision if he missed Sunday’s contest. I would applaud it if he were not captain, or it was a mid season game.
But I can’t imagine an Australian cricket captain missing the final day of a series deciding Ashes Test, or a professional tennis player walking out on a Wimbledon singles final, or a professional golfer leading the US Masters and suddenly abandoning his final round.
But I thank Trent and Richmond for their reminder to the football world that Sunday’s cutthroat, sudden death, history making, club defining moment is only a footy game.
The AFL’s embarrassingly mismanaged jumper controversy has also added some tasty spice. How a team that refused to act on an AFL demand to produce an adequate away jumper, could be given priority ahead of a club that both finished higher on the ladder and got of its backside and adhered to AFL guidelines and created an alternative strip, needs further investigation.
And Port captain Travis Boak’s comment about former Power teammate turned Tiger Troy Chaplin, “I hope he is enjoying his year”, after Chaplin kissed his Richmond jumper to rub salt into Port’s losing wounds at Etihad Stadium in round 17, was pure gold. More please!
Political correctness and the desire to not hand opponents ammunition has filtered modern football reality of it’s true anger, passion and rivalry.
It’s OK to not like each other. Only one team wins and seventeen others lose by the end of September, and football is a man’s game, played by emotionally charged warriors with opinions. It’s nice to see and hear a couple of opinions occasionally.
And in my opinion, the top five teams this season were a whole class above the bottom three finalists, Essendon, North Melbourne and Richmond.
Which is why Port Adelaide will win make venison of Bambi on Sunday.
http://www.news.com.au/sport/afl/russell-richmonds-cinderella-story-will-end-against-power-on-sunday/story-fndv8s6g-1227050069841
