Do Richmond or North Melbourne have more to lose?Wayne Carey
The Age
September 11, 2015Let the (real) games begin! As harsh as that may sound for those who've sweated it out during the home and away season, footy isn't about winning the battles. It's about winning the war - playing finals and winning premierships.
That's what every footballer dreams about and it is the prize that is now within reach of just eight clubs, half of which are Victorian and three of which are adding a fresh, yet welcome, twist to September.
Whilst you clearly can't ignore the might of Hawthorn and what they've been able to achieve over the past seven years, it's the Doggies, Tigers and Kangas who've got most of Melbourne talking because of the droughts that their fans have had to endure.
And on Sunday two of those clubs - Richmond and North - will go head-to-head in a battle that has a sub-plot that is as intriguing as the match itself.
Which club, and which coach, has more to lose? Damien Hardwick and Brad Scott have almost had parallel lives as coaches. While Hardwick's six years at the Tigers have yielded 66 wins, 66 losses and two draws, the same six-year period has netted Scott and his Kangaroos 72 wins and 60 losses.
Scott probably inherited a better list than Hardwick and North's performances under his reign tend to tell the story. They've always hit double figures when it comes to wins in the home and away season and showed just how far they'd come last year by making a preliminary final.
By contrast, Hardwick's tenure at Punt Road began in truly awful fashion, with nine straight losses eventually ending in a year that netted just six wins. While they won just eight games the following season, they've improved to such an extent since then that many of the Tigers faithful now consider them genuine flag contenders.
Indeed, Richmond's improvement – across their entire playing list - has been impossible to ignore which is why, when you sit and compare these clubs, it becomes more apparent that North have more to lose on Sunday.
Both of these clubs will consider 2015 a wasted year if they don't advance past this weekend, but the Kangas have more on the line. Whether they like it or not, they are going to have to go through significant change over the next two years as a group of core players hang up their boots or are pushed out the door.
It's highly unlikely that Harvey, Petrie, Firrito and Dal Santo will still be going around in 2017 and if it wasn't for their key recruits in Jarrad Waite and Shaun Higgins winning games off their own boot this season, they may well have missed the finals. So where are they heading?
Just compare the Kangas' future in Tarrant, Goldstein, McMillan, Wright, Atley, Cunnington, Ziebell, Swallow, Bastinac, Brown and Turner.
There's some real talent there, but the Tigers appear destined for greater heights as they mould their future around the likes of Myles, Ellis, McIntosh, Lennan, Lambert, Batchelor, Hunt, Grimes, Martin, Cotchin, Edwards, Riewoldt, Vickery, Rance and Lloyd.
The Tigers' quality really is plain to see and it's been on show since midway through last season. Apart from that less-than-memorable finals shellacking at the hands of Port, they've actually now won 24 of their past 32 games.
They have built their side on sound defence and it's the type of football that's needed to go deep into September. Their players – led by Trent Cotchin – also seem to have matured enormously. They are developing a consistent hardness to their game and the improvement has been across the board.
North, on the other hand, are arguably a better offensive side and, discounting last Friday's 'dead rubber', boast a really good recent record against Richmond.
They'll also enter this match with valuable finals experience which can go a long way when the going gets tough.
All in all, it boils down to one heck of a showdown. One which both clubs, both coaches and all of their players and fans will be desperate to win.
And while Richmond's huge army of fans might be giving the impression that the heat is on Hardwick and the Tigers to win their first final in years, Scott and his Kangaroos will be acutely aware that there may not be a tomorrow for this playing group. Their time has to be now.
Club versus club, coach versus coach… and 90,000 screaming fans at the mighty MCG for a September final. Yep, this is what football is about. Bring it on.
http://www.theage.com.au/afl/afl-news/afl-finals-2015-do-richmond-or-north-melbourne-have-more-to-lose-20150910-gjjjvm.html
