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All completely acknowledged in AFL circles, just a few on BF still refuse to admit it.SHocking literally said he didn’t like the way Richmond and Cotchin in particular were able to stifle ball movement by aggressive manning of the mark.
So it’s not actually a secret his motivation was to help other teams with an ability to move the ball - an area of the game Richmond didn’t have a problem with.
Did it help Geelong ? Yes.
Did it help other teams ? Yes.
Did it hinder Richmond? Yes.
I don’t doubt his main motivation was to try and improve the aesthetic of the game. Would he have done the same if his beloved Geelong had won 3 x flags, with a rule to give a leg up to their competition that was rushed in with limited testing . That’s highly debatable.
The way the AFL handles rule changes in general is like a substitute teacher having a brain fart at kindergarten, and this was no different.
(the dissent rule which came and went. ‘Hands in the back’ came and went. HTB interpretation changes with the wind. Deliberate out of bounds is an inconsistent joke…. The list goes on).
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Easily answered, 2022 was the last great year for a number of players: Hawkins, Selwood, Smith, Duncan and Tuohy for starters. It wasn't an age profile where that very old senior core would be able to carry it further, so a handover of sorts took place which bore fruit in 2024.
In 2023 Cameron went from top 5 to about a top 40 player in the league. Selwood's loss was felt keenly for a number of reasons. SDK and Kolo had poor seasons so the defence was shaky, in 2022 they were impeccable.
By 2024 several players in the 20-25 year old bracket took over and carried the side very close to a GF appearance while the veterans (mostly) continued to decline. Compare the 2024 versions of Cam Guthrie, Hawkins, Dangerfield, Stewart, Blicavs, Duncan, Tuohy, Stanley, Bews to 2022. They went from the core of the team to peripheral, or lesser versions of their old selves. Same happened to Richmond. Meanwhile Holmes, Stengle, Zuthrie, Miers and co (plus some newer players) were some of the side's MVPs.
Just because 2022 didn't carry on, doesn't mean it was a weaker side than 2017-2020. The 2022 side would've sliced the 2017-2020 team apart in the same way the 2007-2011 team would've dominated them.
If I don't think that Adelaide team was an all timer and they thumped the 2017 Cats by 1000 points in a prelim...it's fairly logical that it wasn't the "unbelievably outstanding" Geelong team you seem to be pretending they were.Hmmm … yet you’ve previously denigrated the dominant Adelaide team of 2017 who finished top and blitzed their first 2 finals because they didn’t make finals in 2018…. interesting.
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lol, what does that even mean? Selwood had gone altogether, Dangerfield missed 5 games, Duncan missed 7, Rohan missed 8, Jack Henry missed 12, Stanley missed 10, SDK and Stengle missed four each.
We underwhelmed, sure, and should have done a better job defending our title but we were still in finals contention until a fortnight from the end of the regular season and Still managed 10 wins, and making out like we just wheeled out exactly the same team each week as the one that beat Sydney is somewhat misleading.
Hang on, I just realised who I’m replying to.
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Yep … this ‘great’ team of 2022 copped a few injuries and the retirement of a 35yo and dropped to 12th in 2023. But they were much better than a team that went PF, PF, EF, PF, GF, PF in the 6-years from 2016-2021…
Alrighty then.
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Yep … this ‘great’ team of 2022 copped a few injuries and the retirement of a 35yo and dropped to 12th in 2023. But they were much better than a team that went PF, PF, EF, PF, GF, PF in the 6-years from 2016-2021…
Alrighty then.
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I think the 2022 team was a step up on those teams but most importantly the team's form and fitness came together all at once.
2017 we weren't great. 15-1-6 with a percentage of 117. That's only winning a premiership if you massively improve by finals like Richmond did that year. We didn't.
2018 we were well off the pace.
2019 we had the quality to win it. But by finals we had a lot of players struggling for form and we were missing Hawkins and Duncan for the prelim who were in our best 7-8. Add in Rohan and our forward line was a joke.
2020 we were a genuine shot. Ultimately in the second half of the GF we made bad blues while Richmond were more composed and Martin played an outrageous game.
2021 similar to 2019. Cooked with injuries (Stewart the big one) and form by finals.
2022 we were a good team and it all came together.
Realistically pre 2019 we would've absolutely stolen it if we won a flag. 2019-2022 we were a genuine shot at the flags. Winning only one is maybe a slight underperformance. But this isn't some great team where winning only 1 is a massive choke.
This is a fair summary. Your 2017-18 teams weren't flag material. But your 2019-20 teams would have won flags in some other seasons for sure. But for Richmond, they would have almost certainly won both flags in 2019-20. All your teams 2019-20-21-22 could have won the flag if they fired at the right time and didn't bump into what were very strong Melbourne and Richmond teams.
We lost the qualifying finals in both 2019 and 2020.
I think in 2020 we would've been a good shout against Port after we kicked ourselves out of it in the QF.
But in 2019 we were a mess by finals. I actually think we did really well to push Richmond in the PF. The forward line we rolled out that day was truly comical.
This argument falls down once you realise Geelong lost finals to Collingwood in 2019 and Port in 2020. That doesn't automatically predict Geelong would've lost another final if Richmond weren't there but its absolutely ludicrous to somehow lock in winning any other final by default. Your point would make more sense if Geelongs only finals losses 2019-2020 were to Richmond.This is a fair summary. Your 2017-18 teams weren't flag material. But your 2019-20 teams would have won flags in some other seasons for sure. But for Richmond, they would have almost certainly won both flags in 2019-20. All your teams 2019-20-21-22 could have won the flag if they fired at the right time and didn't bump into what were very strong Melbourne and Richmond teams.
This argument falls down once you realise Geelong lost finals to Collingwood in 2019 and Port in 2020. That doesn't automatically predict Geelong would've lost another final if Richmond weren't there but its absolutely ludicrous to somehow lock in winning any other final by default. Your point would make more sense if Geelongs only finals losses 2019-2020 were to Richmond.
Could've would've should've - great sides get the job done. The argument you guys are putting forward is that those Geelong sides were great.Geelong could as easily have won those finals v Collingwood & Port, both of whom have plenty of top 4 finishes between them from 2018-2024(8 between them.) Cats had level scoring shots with Collingwood, and 4 more than Port Adelaide.
If you put 2019 Geelong into that 2019 GF v GWS, with the benefit of all available hindsight, Geelong would be starting a very short priced favourite, it would be silly to say otherwise.
But you are saying otherwise.
Could've would've should've - great sides get the job done. The argument you guys are putting forward is that those Geelong sides were great.
Once is unlucky but look how many finals those apparent flaws were exposed in, year after year. You simply couldn't book in any finals win that wasn't a SF through that era. Too much was left to too few and the game plan + personnel was only finals proficient in 2022.
It's valid to say, despite the flaws, the group under performed in finals 2017-2020. However its simply wrong to state that only Richmond stopped some dynasty run. It can easily be argued that if Richmond weren't around, all that would've happen is sides like Adelaide, Port, Brisbane, Collingwood or GWS would've saluted.
I do love the Tiger fans trying to convince us that we were a great team from 2017-2020. That Lachie Henderson (in his only game for us as a forward) and an inexperienced Esava Ratugolea is a premiership worthy key forward duo.
Geelong fans know what a truly great team looks like.
2007-11 we went 105-20. 84% win rate.
2017-20 we went 60-1-33. 64% win rate. No season had better than a 67% win rate.
One of those is a great team that dominated the competition. The other is a good team that competed but were never the clear best team in the comp let alone dominant. Could've snuck a flag but didn't. Annoying but it would be a lot more annoying if 2022 didn't happen (or 07, 09 and 11).
This argument falls down once you realise Geelong lost finals to Collingwood in 2019 and Port in 2020. That doesn't automatically predict Geelong would've lost another final if Richmond weren't there but its absolutely ludicrous to somehow lock in winning any other final by default. Your point would make more sense if Geelongs only finals losses 2019-2020 were to Richmond.
You could as easily have won either of those QF's you lost in 2019-20.
Your forward line in the 2019 PF had 1 player of any note missing - Hawkins, who Richmond had well and truly covered in 2 other finals. Richmond of course also had Rance missing and Graham crocked early in the game. Your forward line in that match was populated by players of the calibre of Ablett, Kelly, Dangerfield, Miers, Dahlhaus(a Premiership player.) Henderson(a very experienced player you traded a rd 1 pick for 3 years earlier) & Ratugolea struggled but it is not like you had no firepower. Geelong were the second highest scoring team in 2019, and were by far the lowest conceding team. That team could easily have won a flag and you would back the 2019 Geelong team with an average full strength indicator to more than match it with plenty of runners-up this century.
Mate nobody is saying you were a great team 2017-20. You were proven to be 19, 39, 51 points short of the one great team of the era, Richmond. Basically 6 goals per final on average. Had Richmond somehow magically choked the 3 finals, it is not inconcievable Geelong wins all 3 flags, but would almost certainly have won 2 of them. Had that happened Cats supporters everywhere would be claiming your team was great, with no variation in your own team's performance.
More bizarre and hilarious inaccuracies by you.I don’t think it’s stretching things to say if Cats win the 2019 PF they would beat GWS in the Grand Final. GWS were competitive with Richmond for 20 mins then obliterated.
2019 Cats finished top with a percentage of 135%. They were 11-1 after round 12 with a percentage of 151%. Took the foot off the pedal once top spot was assured mid-season. A really dominant season.
But 2020 was the biggest missed opportunity. They lost an away final to Port they could’ve easily won. But then destroyed Magpies and Lions at the GABBA, which was Geelong’s home ground for that COVID season.
Grand Final was at the GABBA. Where for the 2020 season Cats were 6-0 with a percentage of 237%! Richmond had played the GABBA 3 times in 2020 for a 2-1 record and percentage of 111%. It was a real gift to Geelong for the GF to be played there.
I remember the odds had it split 50/50, so Geelong were genuinely on fire heading into that Grand Final after two dominant finals victories… they were fit and healthy and at their COVID home ground they had everything in their favour. They’d have easily accounted for any other team in the GF at the GABBA that year - they even flogged the Lions.
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For now, the side with the most recent premiership and total premierships in the national era.What's done is done, Richmond won the last great AFL dynasty, not Geelong.
BUT things change. The rules changed.
Richmond doesn't play breakneck, dirty clearance football anymore, and they just selected a bunch of big-bodied mids and mobile talls in the draft, classic Chris Scott body-type players.
We have Geelong-type players, and will attempt to play Geelong-style footy.
So, who really won?
I wouldn't call that Geelong style footy. Not really, anyway.What's done is done, Richmond won the last great AFL dynasty, not Geelong.
BUT things change. The rules changed.
Richmond doesn't play breakneck, dirty clearance football anymore, and they just selected a bunch of big-bodied mids and mobile talls in the draft, classic Chris Scott body-type players.
We have Geelong-type players, and will attempt to play Geelong-style footy.
So, who really won?
you can't argue against Geelong being the preferred destination for the best players, and as you say, the best place for you to have a long career on the off-field side. Nobody loses sleep, nobody gets fired, if you keep finishing in the top 4.I wouldn't call that Geelong style footy. Not really, anyway.
It was for a time of course, mainly the '13-21 era, but it's just not our identity before or since, and the vast majority of our fans hated it as a result.
Naturally, if we'd been winning flags or even competing better in finals, I'm sure we all would have been much more accepting of a game-style that wasn't easy on the eye...but that just wasn't the case during that period.
With that being said, I don't blame the staff for their choices during that period. The personnel dictated the game-plan, and looking back, we probably were a bit spoiled and ungrateful coming off '07-11.
With a lack of speed, no viable second key forward, and an oversupply of seasoned veteran bodies, it made sense to move in that direction despite the eye-sore it became at times.
Despite its flaws, it was a viable way of winning games regularly. Not necessarily premierships, but clubs (more so board members) don't always look that way.
If you're winning regularly, building membership/staying relevant, and continuing to play in the prime time slots, that's enough for them to not force the issue and feel that something needs to change.
Those benefactors are getting their money either way, and we're seeing that with Port at the moment, and some would argue Sydney too. Near enough is good enough, and everyone keeps their jobs.
I know it's a meme in here, but it genuinely took Hocking coming back to swing the axe a bit, and let everyone know that what we were doing wasn't working.
It changed in 2022 as a result, and if people want to argue we implement a bit of 'Richmond' into our game-plan then that's fine.
I'd argue we just reverted back to the attacking, fast paced football club we'd always been before an unusual period in our history, but hey, it's all a matter of opinion.
Good teams finish top 4/make prelims. Great teams win premierships. It's as simple as that. Very occasionally an average team will win a flag or a great team misses out (because there's a really spectacular, mind blowingly elite side in the way). The Richmond/Geelong rivalry was a case of one great team and one good team. Not a really spectacular side beating a great team. That's what supporters seem to differ on.you can't argue against Geelong being the preferred destination for the best players, and as you say, the best place for you to have a long career on the off-field side. Nobody loses sleep, nobody gets fired, if you keep finishing in the top 4.