Seven’s Footy Vault: The premiership win that stunned Matthew RichardsonGlenn Valencich
7NEWS
Friday, 3 April 2020 8:18 pmMatthew Richardson would never call a premiership team overrated.
Grand finals are just too hard to get to, let alone win.
But one set of celebrations made the Richmond great think about his own team’s fortunes more than most results.
At the MCG 12 years ago Hawthorn shocked a Geelong side that had lost just one match all year.
The 2013-15 hat-trick of flags with the same nucleus proved the 2008 victory was no fluke.
Yet at the time, Richardson couldn’t believe his eyes.
Six weeks before the Hawks’ incredible result his 11th-placed Tigers were never headed in a 29-point win over second-placed Hawthorn.
“I don’t think I would ever overrate a premiership team but I do remember beating Hawthorn in round 20 (when) we didn’t play finals, Richmond, in 2008,” Richardson told 7NEWS.com.au.
“That was one year I go ‘jeez, we beat that team five weeks ago and didn’t even play finals’.
“Clearly Hawthorn have shown after that they’re one of the great teams after the modern era.”
Prior to the win Richmond’s morale couldn’t have been much lower - they’d just gone down by a combined 126 points to Adelaide and Geelong.
The Hawks had beaten the Tigers’ ladder rivals Collingwood and Brisbane by a combined 123 points.
“(Hawthorn) were always a good team that year, they probably just had an off day and we beat them,” Richardson said.
“But then six weeks later, watching them win the granny, you think ‘hang on a minute, we actually beat that team recently and here we are on holidays’.”
Richardson’s reflections come as he prepares to open Seven’s Footy Vault on Saturday night, throwing back to the five greatest grand finals this century.
After just one grand final between 1980 and 1999 was decided by under two goals, from 2000 onwards the AFL has witnessed seven such results and four were decided by a kick.
Taking on the hard task of ranking the five best, Richardson was forced to weigh up drought-breaking wins with the close contests that footy fans will never forget.
“We have had some blowout grand finals. If it’s your team that’s winning by a lot you think it’s a great grand final,” he said.
“But 2019, last year, when Richmond won by 80-odd points Richmond people think it’s a good grand final. Everyone else thinks it’s a pretty ordinary game!”
https://7news.com.au/sport/afl/sevens-footy-vault-the-premiership-win-that-stunned-matthew-richardson-c-955458
