Autopsy The 2017 AFL Grand Final - What did you like, learn or hate?

[Nostradumbass]

"Power stance"

 

[energyquant]

Yeah and I do agree with you to an extent. It's black and white that the team that wins the flag can claim to be best in the comp because that's the objective of the comp.

But it's also pretty clear that the best team across the season doesn't always peak on the last Saturday in September.

And that's the difference. Much like the Bulldogs in 2016, Richmond were the best team in September, albeit not the best team across the year.

Sorry, but if David Mundy's kick after the siren misses then Richmond also would have won the minor premiership.

Richmond are a damn fine team that started the season with a bang, had a few hiccups along the way and then beat the teams that finished the minor round 2nd, 4th and 1st to win the cup.

Best team all year, best team during the finals, best team on the day.

Cheers.

Dave P.

 

[TigerTime99]

Liked: Can't believe the boys and the club did it. Loved watching the love for each other
Learned: That people and things can change quick. We were a rabble at the end of 2016 shades of the early 90's. Delidio gone risky trades, coaches head on chopping block, shit game plan, board almost gone. So proud we stuck fat and realized the people were right but the plan was wrong.
Hate: I don't give a crap about trade week for the first time ever

I also feel wierd that we will be the chased, the team that other clubs will alter there game style to suit, but now we've won the flag next year will be a different challenge, how do we cope? I can't wait to find out

 

[mattpolo8]

Sorry, but if David Mundy's kick after the siren misses then Richmond also would have won the minor premiership.

Richmond are a damn fine team that started the season with a bang, had a few hiccups along the way and then beat the teams that finished the minor round 2nd, 4th and 1st to win the cup.

Best team all year, best team during the finals, best team on the day.

Cheers.

Dave P.

And if Sydney hadn't have started 0-6 then they would have finished the season on top by about 4 games. Beat 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 4th all on their home decks.

If GWS didn't have 2 draws and won them they would have finished top.

Dude, so many what ifs. Richmond weren't the best team over 1-23. 80 point beltings by a couple of teams prove that. If they were 10 point losses, maybe. Just maybe. But they were drubbings. They were the best team in September by a country mile. They showed up. The other 7 teams simply didn't.

 

[energyquant]

And if Sydney hadn't have started 0-6 then they would have finished the season on top by about 4 games. Beat 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 4th all on their home decks.

If GWS didn't have 2 draws and won them they would have finished top.

Dude, so many what ifs. Richmond weren't the best team over 1-23. 80 point beltings by a couple of teams prove that. If they were 10 point losses, maybe. Just maybe. But they were drubbings. They were the best team in September by a country mile. They showed up. The other 7 teams simply didn't.

Dude, you are right. If Sydney hadn't sucked at the start of the season and then been smashed by Geelong during the finals, they could have won the premiership.

 

[kranky al]

That a team that sucks that hard away from the g gets to beat a team at home when it hasnt earned it.

And people dribble that “theyd have won anywhere” when clearly they wouldnt.

 

[Tzatziki_Man]

Like
The premiership was won by the best side in September. Defeating each of the other top four teams by an average of 45 points.

Learn
That Adelaide were massively overrated and are no guarantees to be up there and about next year. Richmond figured them out and you can expect other sides to try emulate this process Richmond followed.

Hate
How arrogant the Adelaide supporter base was before the game. theyve ****ing gone silent now! 8 goal pumping!!!

 

[Go the Guts]

From who? Everyone agrees he had a great game. Whatever you think of the medal, everyone has been pretty unanimous that Martin, Houli and Rance were the three best.

Liked: really liked that josh caddy has found his place in the game. At the suns he was a talented kid in a bad side, at Geelong he was a trier who was reasonable but just never really found the right fit. At the Tigers he has a perfect role for himself and is playing it very well. Good on him.

Hated: the crows insipid effort. Doubtless they were fantastic this year but losing a prelim and then seeing the side that smacked us put in such a poor showing makes the prelim even harder to take. We wouldn’t have beaten Richmond today but I’d like to think we’d have put in a better effort than what the crows showed.

Learned: Martin is at the very least the equal of Dangerfield and truth be told, he is the better player right now.

You didn't lose the prelim, you were smashed. Suck it up. Just like we have to.

 

[Royce Hafey]

That a team that sucks that hard away from the g gets to beat a team at home when it hasnt earned it.

And people dribble that “theyd have won anywhere” when clearly they wouldnt.

The last few years we have been one of the best away sides from Victoria. Not saying we weren't favoured by playing at the G, but to say we suck away is nonsense. If you're referring to the differential between our performance against Adelaide in Adelaide (where, btw, we comfortably beat Port) the turnaround is far too great to put down to a change of venue.

 

[Grockadoc]

Liked:

Winning a flag. Amazing feeling.

Kane Lambert: Brilliant year.

Shane Edwards: His hands in traffic yesterday were amazing.

Bachar Houli: Severely underrated and stood up when the game was on the line.

Jack Graham: This kid is a gun. Shut down Sloane and his composure to slot 3 goals under immense pressure was amazing.

Learnt:

Home and Away form counts for nothing in finals.

A good defence generally beats a good offense.

Getting the right assistant coaches is more important than getting the right head coach.

Loyalty is a massive thing in football.

Hated:

People already trying to discredit us. We were the better side on the day.

 

[kranky al]

The last few years we have been one of the best away sides from Victoria. Not saying we weren't favoured by playing at the G, but to say we suck away is nonsense. If you're referring to the differential between our performance against Adelaide in Adelaide (where, btw, we comfortably beat Port) the turnaround is far too great to put down to a change of venue.

Orly

Ok lets look at your record in 2017 away from your safe space - the mcg :

18th - Beat brisbane at the gabba by 52

1st - Lost to adelaide at ao by 76

10th - Lost to the dogs at etihad by 5

4th - Lost to gws by 3 at spotless

15th - Beat roos by 35 at etihad

5th - Beat port by 13 at ao

11th - Lost by 67 to saints at etihad

18th - Beat brisbane at etihad by 31

17th - Beat gc by 33 at metricon

2nd - Lost to geelong by 14 at skilled

14th - Beat freo by 104 at subi


The best you managed away from the mcg was port - 5th - who were beaten twice by the eagles at adelaide - and 14th - freo

 

[Tzatziki_Man]

Orly

Ok lets look at your record in 2017 away from your safe space - the mcg :

18th - Beat brisbane at the gabba by 52

1st - Lost to adelaide at ao by 76

10th - Lost to the dogs at etihad by 5

4th - Lost to gws by 3 at spotless

15th - Beat roos by 35 at etihad

5th - Beat port by 13 at ao

11th - Lost by 67 to saints at etihad

18th - Beat brisbane at etihad by 31

17th - Beat gc by 33 at metricon

2nd - Lost to geelong by 14 at skilled

14th - Beat freo by 104 at subi


The best you managed away from the mcg was port - 5th - who were beaten twice by the eagles at adelaide - and 14th - freo

Take Subiaco away from your mob and you'll be relegated to the diamond valley football league.

 

[kranky al]

Take Subiaco away from your mob and you'll be relegated to the diamond valley football league.

Mate in years where weve ccompeted in grand finals we have beaten teams away from subi

More than you can brag

 

[Tzatziki_Man]

Mate in years where weve ccompeted in grand finals we have beaten teams away from subi

More than you can brag

What the **** are you even talking about? Back in 1980 we annilaited everything too, defeated all the south Australian sides, in 2017, we the best, suck a lemon. Your opinion is illogical and your intelligence is in question.

 

[kranky al]

What the **** are you even talking about? Back in 1980 we annilaited everything too, defeated all the south Australian sides, in 2017, we the best, suck a lemon. Your opinion is illogical and your intelligence is in question.

18th - Beat brisbane at the gabba by 52

1st - Lost to adelaide at ao by 76

10th - Lost to the dogs at etihad by 5

4th - Lost to gws by 3 at spotless

15th - Beat roos by 35 at etihad

5th - Beat port by 13 at ao

11th - Lost by 67 to saints at etihad

18th - Beat brisbane at etihad by 31

17th - Beat gc by 33 at metricon

2nd - Lost to geelong by 14 at skilled

14th - Beat freo by 104 at subi

 

[blaisee]

Like

That the most loyal and passionate supporters in the world got to enjoy a premiership at long last

Learnt

That one Richmond premiership us probably worth 3 hawthorn premierships as far impacting on life in Melbourne

Hated

Obnoxious crows supporters dissapearing from social media after we pulled their pants down.

 

[skwunk]

Youve got to be kidding mate - you obviously watched a different game to me !!

From QTR 2 onwards - every time Adelaide got the ball - they got absolutely smashed - there was no time or space for them to do anything creative - even their quick blokes like Cameron and Betts - they were under enormous pressure . And as the game progressed ( and the scoreboard went south ) they got worse and worse ( because of the pressure applied to them all over the ground )

McAveney called it perfectly - early in the 3rd - even when the margin was still only about 2 and a half goals - he said - the Tigers have got their foot on the Crows throat - and from that point on - they basically crumbled - couldnt handle the pressure .

Adelaide unfortunately for them - their previous 2 finals were a Walk in the Park - yesterday they Walked into an Ambush .

Yeah I meant low intensity as a whole, Richmond were obviously high intensity, but to me, it is kind of boring watching one team dominate from high intensity, I count high intensity being both teams contesting as hard as they can for the ball. I think I just didn't communicate my point across properly, but as I said, I can't really complain, as Hawthorn produced two GFs where the other team disappeared as well.

 

[JackFlash]

You left Essendon out of your salary cap rorters list

They didn't beat us in a GF.

 

[Neese]

Reading fail my bad
Edit: **** them anyway

 

[dean33]

And if Sydney hadn't have started 0-6 then they would have finished the season on top by about 4 games. Beat 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 4th all on their home decks.

If GWS didn't have 2 draws and won them they would have finished top.

Dude, so many what ifs. Richmond weren't the best team over 1-23. 80 point beltings by a couple of teams prove that. If they were 10 point losses, maybe. Just maybe. But they were drubbings. They were the best team in September by a country mile. They showed up. The other 7 teams simply didn't.

The other 7 teams didn't show up? What a stupid comment. The swans "showed up" against the bombers, the Giants "showed up" against the eagles, the cats "showed up" against the swans, the crows "showed up" against the Giants and cats. The fact is none of those teams could get near the tigers, we won our 3 finals against 1st, 2nd and 4th in the exact same manner and by similar margins. None of those teams could handle the heat the tigers brought and none could go with the tigers in the 2nd half.
Our game is pretty simple, apply immense pressure around the ball, move it quickly and lock it into our fwd 50 until we score. We do it better than anyone else and are crowned the best team for 2017.
Premiers

 

[BTs Nana]

Take Subiaco away from your mob and you'll be relegated to the diamond valley football league.

See? Richmond supporters do know the MCG is a huge advantage.

 

[Woody Woodman]

"They said you'd never make it but you finally came through, for all of those who've made it this Swan's made for you..." And with that Tiger fans mused about the halcyon days when Alan Bond owned the world and Richmond was one of his two dollar shelf companies. That fleeting moment gone, it was back to celebrating and wondering just how the preordained favourites fell so badly at the last hurdle and why the unbelievable had been just been delivered to true believers.

The story unfolds back last Thursday when, having failed to secure a third straight home final, the Adelaide entourage begrudgingly boarded a Jetstar to Avalon. With the entire team and support staff now hopelessly lost in the western suburbs, it was up to the coaching panel (having opted to land at Essendon due to safety concerns about Tullamarine) to conduct a ring-around and cobble together a new side. Meanwhile, the real team, having taken a maxi-taxi via Simmonds Stadium (to observe the physical design of a real home ground advantage) had been dropped in Footscray after a disagreement over the selected fare tariff (Level 3 - Interstate and Overseas passengers). This now presented as a real dilemma with those assembled fearing that they had actually arrived a day late in 2016. In an arrangement resembling a poorly executed defensive zone, they set about harassing locals inquiring as to the whereabouts of the MSG.

Fortunately, a private training session on Richmond's other home had been hastily organised by the AFL for the Crows allowing Pyke's hurriedly assembled collection doppelgangers to pass themselves off as the real deal. Put through a serious of punishing drills around witches hats (each emblazoned with the name of a Richmond player) Pyke announced to the heavily vetted media throng that the Crows not only "fly as one" but they would also play as they trained". When queried about the seemingly obvious difference between cones with names and actual opponents, Pyke simply pointed to selected footage of their latest appearances against GWS and Geelong where opposition players could be clearly seen remaining motionless. Satisfied and chiding themselves for being so silly, the AFL propaganda unit raced off to furiously attack their Twitter accounts. The fall from grace was now in motion.

Footnote: After spending Friday negotiating a TAFE course on how to purchase and top up a MYKI account, the real Adelaide team arrived at Jolimont Station at 1.55 pm, by their watches. Unfortunately, before disembarking at Avalon, their friendly Jetstar pilot Captain Tony Jewell, failed to inform the Adelaide group to wind their watches half an hour forward. With no time remaining to strap, get changed and compare their latest ankle tattoos, it was left to the doppelgangers to take the field for the first half. Of course the ability of this group to run out four torrid quarters was always going to be questioned (much like the decision of Spotless Catering not to serve a pie floater and West End combo) and they were replaced at half time by the original side. The rest, as we know, is history!

 

[Greg Tivendale]

And if Sydney hadn't have started 0-6 then they would have finished the season on top by about 4 games. Beat 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 4th all on their home decks.

If GWS didn't have 2 draws and won them they would have finished top.

Dude, so many what ifs. Richmond weren't the best team over 1-23. 80 point beltings by a couple of teams prove that. If they were 10 point losses, maybe. Just maybe. But they were drubbings. They were the best team in September by a country mile. They showed up. The other 7 teams simply didn't.

Didn't Adelaide get drubbed by North one game?

Still a lot of people looking to take pot shots at Richmond but at the end of the day the season means nothing if you can't get it done in September, the Tigers did that and deserve to be classed as the best team for the entire year!

 

[The full package]

And if Sydney hadn't have started 0-6 then they would have finished the season on top by about 4 games. Beat 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 4th all on their home decks.

If GWS didn't have 2 draws and won them they would have finished top.

Dude, so many what ifs. Richmond weren't the best team over 1-23. 80 point beltings by a couple of teams prove that. If they were 10 point losses, maybe. Just maybe. But they were drubbings. They were the best team in September by a country mile. They showed up. The other 7 teams simply didn't.

We won the flag, in my book that decides who is the best team for the whole of 2017. I'm glad we copped a couple of beltings, we learnt a lot from those. We are the best team of 2017 so what ever theories you or others come up with, you can't change history. Richmond Premiers 2017...... there isn't prizes for everyone you know. Just the best team that earns the cup over the course of the year, and that was us.

 

[BTs Nana]

Liked:

The Killers were amazing.

Also a fan of our stance. Got people talking about it and it's been hilarious reading comments of people telling us it's why we lost as if it really has an impact on a game.

Our boys now have GF experience.


Learnt:

Adelaide still have a small club mentality. Thought we had moved past it but clearly not. We definitely prefer underdog status.

To win a Grand Final you need everything to go right. Ladder positions are vital. Venues are vital. If Richmond go to AO in the QF or if Geelong are allowed to play their QF at SS, Richmond don't win the flag. I'm not saying Adelaide do, but I reckon Richmond don't make the granny. Key injuries to Adelaide and a gift MRP decision for Richmond and home ground advantage really helps. then most importantly they backed it all up on the day. I'm not saying this takes away from what Richmond achieved, my point is everything has to go right and for Richmond it did and for Adelaide it didn't.

The game has become incredibly professional. I don't think there is any doubt that Adelaide played the best attacking brand of footy this year. The numbers don't lie. But nowadays game plans are able to be so complex that teams can now shut down footy. They can make it ugly and get a result. Richmond obviously came up with a game plan that suited them and was able to stifle the best attacking side in the comp (and the other finalists). They deserve their win. But I doubt you'll find any neutral calling their brand beautiful. I wonder if 20 years ago Adelaide would have won this matchup if we were 'just playing footy'

The old adage about offense selling tickets but defence winning championships holds true.

This will no doubt be taken as a whinge but it's actually just an observation - it's up to teams to beat that.

Hated:

Our insipid effort when it mattered most.

We don't have a plan B still and that really hurts. It cannot be tolerated. There were people calling for Adelaide to change their style of play pre-game which I didn't agree with. Why change what isn't broken? But we had to be prepared for if Richmond got the game on their terms. But to wAtch Richmond do the same thing twice to Geelong and GWS and not have any defined way to counter it is unforgivable.

Whatever happened at HT wasn't good enough. Five minutes into the third quarter we knew the game was up.

Hated the first half umpiring. Blah blah biased sure but there were key decisions that they blatantly missed and got wrong. It robbed our chance of building momentum.

Hated BF doing it's classic knee,-jerk reactions to match results. All of a sudden the losing premier is overrated, nowhere near it and the shittest finalist ever. All of a sudden the winning team has been the best team all year and the only decent team in the comp. It's ****ing stupid. There were 5 genuine flag chances this year. Part of this hatred is fueled by the fact I'm in the minority who believes finals are a gimmicky blight on the game. It doesn't test the best team in the comp it tests the best team in a month. There are arguments for and against but that's for another time.

Bonus: Adelaide 2017 is Hawthorne 2012 - on the cusp of a three-peat.