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Tigers make the eight, but have they played their grand final?

Expert
31st August, 2014
13

My face wasn’t exactly covered in egg after the weekend footy results, but there was a certain amount of yellow and white, courtesy of the yellow and black.

Last week I wrote that Port couldn’t match it with Fremantle in the battle for fourth.

While the Power stuck strong and genuinely battled until the final siren, the Dockers’ class got them over the line, a top-four berth, and a showdown with Sydney… one tick.

But I also wrote the Richmond Tigers couldn’t come and “beat the Swans in the form the red and whites are in”.

I had the Tigers finishing 10th, but as we all know now they showed me. And credit where it is due, with Richmond making successive finals for the first time since 1975.

Nine wins in a row is a huge achievement, regardless of which nine teams you beat. To have come from a woeful 3-10 position to reach the finals is another tremendous feat.

But where to now? Having reached their seemingly unreachable goal of the finals, will that be it, or can they take another step up and be competitive in September?

Their coach Damien Hardwick believes they can, starting next week in Adelaide against Port.

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Twelve months ago, making the finals was in many ways winning their grand final. For the Tigers, the big goal was to finally make the eight. They did that – even better, they finished fifth. But with mission accomplished they whimpered away in the first week of the finals, losing to a team which actually finished ninth but got in when Essendon were let out.

This season the mindset will be so different. Last year against Carlton, the pressure was right on them. They were expected to move on. This year, despite winning nine straight, they won’t be favourites to beat Port, and most expect another season to end for the Tigers exactly where it did in 2013.

It won’t be easy. Port looked good at Adelaide Oval two weeks back, belting Carlton, and lost few admirers on the weekend when they took it to Fremantle in Perth.

But the Tigers did comfortably beat Port back in Round 17, albeit in Melbourne. They also went to South Australia and beat the Crows at Adelaide Oval in Round 21 in front of 50,000 parochial fans.

As Hardwick said after the win which got them into the finals, over the minor premiership-winning Swans, they fear no one.

They should carry confidence into the clash with Port, but not get too carried away with the win in Sydney, as the home team was missing a handful of stars – Lance Franklin, Mike Pyke, Josh Kennedy, Ben McGlynn and Craig Bird – most of whom will be back this week for their big clash with Fremantle.

At the risk of wearing more egg, Port will end the Richmond dream and advance to week two of the finals.

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As for the other finals, North can get over Essendon, with the curse a distant memory, Hawthorn will beat Geelong and then we have Sydney versus Fremantle.

At their best the Swans will win, my only concern is that it’s actually been a few weeks – possible back to the Round 20 game against Port, coincidentally, the last full game Kennedy played – since we’ve seen Sydney at their best.

Buddy is vital but Kennedy is too, and if he returns and isn’t hampered or rusty, then the Swans can win. If not, then Fremantle, who appear to have timed their run perfectly for September, are poised for an upset and a home preliminary final.

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