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There is now a rough 50-50 chance that a rousing story will unfold on grand final day – either a premiership hoodoo smashed by the Western Bulldogs or a first flag snared by GWS.
The AFL needs this. Nine of the past 11 flags have been spread among three teams – Hawthorn (four), Geelong (three) and Sydney (two). It has become tiresome watching the same handful of sides contending for the premiership.
Many AFL fans have worried that free agency would only further concentrate power among the elite clubs. The fear is that, when competing for the signature of a quality free agent, the likes of Hawthorn, Sydney and Geelong would have the “premiership-lure” advantage over less successful clubs.
It’s too early to tell exactly what lasting impact free agency will have on the evenness of the AFL. Few AFL followers would want it to follow the path of the English Premier League, where traditionally only the same few powerhouse clubs are in contention each year.
Sport needs unpredictability. Look no further than the example of Leicester City in winning the EPL title last year. (Click to Tweet)Their wildly unlikely success generated more good will among global soccer fans than would a dozen title wins by Manchester United combined.
Unlike some AFL followers, I don’t dislike the Hawks. But I can’t deny feeling a sense of relief when the back-to-back-to-back premiers were knocked out by the Bulldogs on the weekend. Winning four premierships on the trot would have been an extraordinary achievement by the Hawks. It also would have put many of us neutral fans to sleep.
The Bulldogs, by comparison, will have plenty of independent observers in their corner if they can defeat GWS on the road this week. Ditto for the Giants should they qualify for their first grand final. That’s not to suggest that the Swans or Cats would be unworthy premiers.
Geelong have been wonderful big game performers this season, holding an enviable record against the other leading teams. Sydney, meanwhile, have had an incredible year considering their inexperience. We still tend to think of the Giants as a very young team.
Yet when they beat Sydney in the first week of the finals, the Swans had six players who had played 20 games or less, compared to just one for the Giants. So if Sydney can haul themselves to a third flag in the past 12 seasons it will be their single biggest achievement as a club.
It still wouldn’t be as thrilling, though, for the football community at large, as the Bulldogs or Giants lifting the cup. Ever since the uber-scragger Liberatore senior retired, the Bulldogs have been among the competition’s most likeable teams. It is 62 years now since the Bulldogs last won a flag, and some 55 years since they even made the grand final.
It’s become a cliché that Australians love to support an underdog. But there is no doubt that it’s beguiling to witness an individual or a collective overcome a long-standing hurdle.
As I write this story I’m racked with nerves about the fate of my home county, Mayo, who in a few hours will attempt to end an even greater hoodoo than that of the Bulldogs. Mayo last won the All-Ireland football title 65 years ago, losing in the final seven times since then. Six of those crushing final defeats have come in just the past 20 years.
Here in Mayo there has been an odd sense of defeatism among the locals since the boys in green-and-red qualified for this year’s final.
Fan after fan has told me they’ve been let down too many times to get their hopes up. Mayo are up against it opposed to County Dublin, who have ten times the population to draw from, in a competition where players strictly represent their home county, unlike in the AFL.
If Mayo finally can bring home the Sam Maguire Cup the scenes of celebration here will be extraordinary. It sends a shiver down my back just thinking about it. I can only imagine how long-suffering Bulldogs followers must feel.
As a sports fan it would be amazing to watch the Bulldogs finally shed their baggage. It would be almost as invigorating to see the new kids from GWS make their initial imprint on the competition. Here’s hoping.