How Tigers overcame all the obstaclesJake Niall
The Age
October 25, 2020 In winning the club's 13th VFL/AFL premiership and third in four outstanding seasons, the Richmond Football Club overcame these myriad obstacles: the loss of a key player early in the grand final and a 22-point deficit, hub trouble, suspensions, a loss to the Lions in their first final and, on the day of reckoning, a formidable Geelong.
The Tigers reprised their 2019 preliminary final victory over Geelong, which blew both opportunities in the first half and that sizeable lead - as the Cats had in that final of 2019 when they were not as well-placed as in this eventful and compelling grand final that gave the AFL enormous traction in Queensland.
Again, Dustin Martin was instrumental in Richmond's victory, booting four inspired and improvised goals, one that arrested Geelong's momentum late in the second quarter, a second that regained a lead that seemed unreachable only 20 minutes earlier, and then the third that probably sealed their third premiership in four seasons.
The fourth, just as good, simply was for the celebrations. "Let's go,'' said taciturn Dusty, as he stepped off the stage with his third Norm Smith Medal.
Martin and his skipper Trent Cotchin earned special places in AFL and club history: Martin as the winner of a third Norm Smith, Cotchin as the Tigers' first skipper of three premierships.
Martin confirmed his unique stature in the game and at his club, where he must have claims as best Tiger of all, arguably surpassing Kevin Bartlett and Royce Hart and even Jack Dyer from a pre-television era.
Martin's performance was in marked contrast to that of his Geelong superstar counterpart Patrick Dangerfield, who was subdued.
In a game marked, but not really marred, by constant sub-tropical rain during the day, the Tigers also rained on Gary Ablett's parade in the champion's final game, as the 2017 and 2019 premiers repeated their successes with a remarkable comeback win that seemed a longshot late in the second quarter.
The Tigers, comprehensively outplayed by Geelong in the first half and particularly in the second quarter, managed a turnaround that began just before half-time and was confirmed by a Jack Riewoldt free and goal to begin the second half.
The Tigers were staggering and seemingly on the edge of not just defeat but a comprehensive one when Tom Hawkins booted a long goal that capped off a deft Ablett handball. To this point, defender Tom Stewart and midfielder Mitch Duncan were the most influential afield.
But then Martin intervened, booting his first and probably most crucial goal that triggered a yellow-and-black swarm and the rapid eradication of Geelong's lead, cut to three points early in the third term, as the game's tempo turned hectic and on to Tiger terms.
The match contained a sensational and extraordinary sequence of play six minutes into the opening minutes when Dangerfield collected Richmond defender Nick Vlastuin with a forearm in the head after punching the ball forward, seeing the tough defender stretchered off and out of the game.
The incident, doubtless, will be the subject of immense discussion and continued a tough 24 hours for Vlastuin, whose house in Torquay had been torched by fire the night before the game.
Almost simultaneously, Ablett hurt his shoulder when tackled by Cotchin - an injury that had troubled him in his latter years at the Gold Coast - raising the possibility that Ablett would struggle to make the impact that so many willed.
He returned to the field some moments after the collision, to rapturous cheering.
If Martin's influence was bound to be celebrated, he was joined by the unheralded defender Jayden Short, also a major factor in the transformation.
Shane Edwards, who had missed several games because his wife was giving birth, also underscored his imposing finals record with another clean and efficient grand final performance and nine clearances.
By three-quarter-time, the Tigers held what seemed a parlous two-point advantage, but the question remained of whether the loss of Vlastuin - so important to their defensive system - would undo them at the end.
But goals to Dion Prestia and Tom Lynch, the latter following brilliance by Shai Bolton, turned that lead of under a kick to 15 points - the question that had been asked of Richmond was thus put to the Cats, who did not have the same capacity to lift themselves from the floor.
When Martin added his third, the 29,707 crowd knew that deja vu was afoot: Richmond would be premiers for the third time and Martin would have a third Norm Smith hanging around his tattooed neck.
For Geelong and coach Chris Scott, this defeat will be more of a stab than any of the five preliminary finals that the Cats have lost, for they had chances to put the Tigers to the sword in the second term, but did not convert their territorial dominance and edge in play into a sufficient lead.
The first grand final played at night and in shortened quarters was also the only one to be played outside of Victoria, which ironically had far better weather on the day than the Queensland capital, whose government and stadia had saved the code from the pandemic this year - a reality acknowledged by AFL chief executive Gillon McLachlan in his pre-game speech to dignitaries.
Richmond's victory confirmed Damien Hardwick's stature as a coaching great and - remarkably - was the third flag that the Tigers won after finishing third in a home-and-away season.
The Tigers' third premiership followed a loss to the Brisbane Lions in the qualifying final at the Gabba. - a recovery that was redolent of Hawthorn's turnaround in 2015, when the Hawks lost in Perth to West Coast but reversed the result on grand final.
The Tigers then accounted for St Kilda and scraped home over Port Adelaide.
The result meant that the highly ambitious targets set by Richmond chief executive Brendon Gale and his board, of zero debt, three premierships and 75,000 members by 2020 has been achieved - fulfilling an ambition that was viewed as foolhardy when made in 2010.
Over the season, the Tigers overcame periods of indifferent form and behavioural blemishes. On field, their nadir was after losses to Hawthorn and St Kilda in Melbourne.
Off-field, the low point was the suspension of Sydney Stack and Callum Coleman-Jones after the pair found trouble at 3.30am outside a strip club in Gold Coast's equivalent to Kings Cross.
But the Tigers, as defender Dylan Grimes suggested during the finals, had been galvanised by their setback, which appeared to sharpen this champion team, which remained champions - a team for all seasons, stadia and states - in 2020.
https://www.theage.com.au/sport/afl/champion-tigers-fight-to-the-end-20201024-p5689h.html
