AFL grand final 2017 final score: Richmond finally get their flag

The problem is home and away games aren't equivalent. Not all teams play each other twice. I'm all for a big monetary reward for minor premiers, ie $2m, so there is a nice pot of gold there for a good seasons work.

Thanks MattyB, didn't know the AFL had a minor premiers trophy and yeah it's held in little regard by some..

And home ground advantage.

They had their turn in 2009 and 2010.

Yes agreed, Houli was another who was fantastic. First goal for Richmond & linked beautifully between defence & attack.

Maybe the Adelaide coach in pre season is gonna have a serious lightbulb moment and change his outlook on footy tactics, out defence no 1 and offence no 2. The relentless defensive pressure was like Italy/Germany in soccer, just a wall and endless defensive patterns that strangles the opposition like a python...

Knoxy,whats tiresome is those who won't embrace a national competition and those who think asterisks must be placed before premierships and umpire blaming,I clearly state tigertime as legitimate premiers. Are you saying the league isn't Victorian centric while trying to grow in the northern states? Are you saying the old VFL clubs weren't your common day beggars that we are again moving towards if not for tv money? My club won the flag last year after finishing sixth and playing the top side on home soil,for 26 rounds we tip based on home ground advantage and ignore that come the most important game,the game needs to go national. As Victorians we are already preempting GWS success with complaints,this home gf is a major issue,as Victorians it is us who are the biggest whingers of them all. WC,Brisbane,Swans and the yet unproven GWS proves that,we whinge about everything. Tiger fans,this comment isn't about you,you ate em alive and are true premiers,its tigertime,and how many tipped that.

Oh give it a rest Matty. It's getting tiresome. Like or not the grand final is played at the MCG and that won't be changing for the foreseeable future.

Good on you Sheek. It's been a good day.

" I wouldn’t be pointing out individuals" But isn't that the whole point of the Norm Smith medal?

Not so sure it was the dominance of Rance and Martin that won Richmond the game. I wouldn't be pointing out individuals. I'd argue it was their relentless pressure all over the ground as a collective that stifled the Crows and won Richmond the game.

I would argue that the relentless pressure was a result of Richmond having better smalls and Adelaide not being able to exploit its height advantage. The crows were poor after half time because the Adelaide coaches had destroyed their structures and any semblance of their game plan by trying to get their forward line to function (i.e get past/around Rance). They tried so hard that they tied themselfs up in knots. Perhaps another way of looking at who should have got the Norm Smith medal might be to ask the question what if Alex Rance had played an ordinary game and what if Dustin Martin had played an ordinary game. The answer to this is that if Alex Rance hadn't played such an outstanding game, if he had turned in an ordinary game (even with Martin playing the very good game he played) the score line could easily have been reversed,( i.e Adelaide beat Richmond comfortably). If Martin had an ordinary game (all other things being equal) the margin might have been closer but Richmond would still have won.

Johnno,the minor premiers is awarded a trophy called the McLelland Trophy,although it is held with little regard by some. It's one of my favourites for the humour. McLelland was once in charge of the VFL and when he came up with the award under it original criteria,a adding of points from seniors,reserves and U19,he was kind and noble enough to name the award after himself.

Pts I'm in Perth and I can't wait to see west coast win again at the MCG in a gf and I reckon if you ask the players from non Victorian teams they'd all say that's where they want to play aswell.

It was the relentless pressure by the Tigers on the Crows all over the ground that was their undoing. The Crows were continually under pressure when they were in possession and didn't have enough time or space to set up plays from defence or the midfield to feed their forwards. Full credit to the Tigers for the way they shut the Crows out of the game. The Crows were poor after half time but i don't think any team could have beaten the Tigers the way they played today.

If we are just going to ignore the fans and tell them to go to soccer,while ignoring the national competition,I hope the VFL clubs still have those tin cans to rattle. No Interstate supporters and the Victorian centric league could be in for some dark times...again,and I don't think they'll come back to save our skins a second time.

Sheek, that surprises me in your views, I thought you were someone who didn't always fall for the hype and wanted rewards for teams that are consistent e.g. minor premiers, and mediocrity punished etc. But in saying that you have been ruthless as well by saying finals-footy you have to step up and be extra-gutsy and that steel edge that winning the big matches requires. Either way today, both NRL/and rugby union could learn a thing or two about promotion pre-game and post game, the AFL grand final this year was immense far surpassing anything iv'e seen rugby union do or NRL do this year. The shute shield which is only semi-pro and run on not much money did a decent job, but yeah the AFL $$ cashed up as they are have blown the NRL/and Australian rugby out of the water in my view with there product on GF day this year. Maybe the ARU should ditch nighttime bledisloes and trial a 4pm kick off(food for thought) and same applies to NRL having a day GF.. AFL GF started at 2.30pm, I wouldn't oppose a 3.30pm or 4pm kick of a bledisloe or NRL GF..

The Adelaide team had more height, Richmond had more smalls. When the ball was kicked in high to the Adelaide forward line Rance was generally in a key spot to either effect the spoil or intercept mark. If they wanted to avoid Rance, he was generally in a position that required Adelaide to go the long way to goal. In short, Rance destroyed any advantage Adelaide could gain from having the taller team. Without Adelaide being able to exploit that advantage it was game over.

Back in early August, it was reported that Crows coach Don Pyke didn’t like to experiment with player selection too much, and preferred the playing group to just keep training and playing. Maybe that was a clue to the Crows performance today in the GF, when, after the Tigers wrestled their way to a half time lead, it seemed to me the Crows were crying out to try something different. But nothing much happened that was different, and the Tigers exposed the Crows playing style as rigid and unadaptable to events. Credit and congrats to coach Hardwick and the Richmond team. You didn’t need to be clairvoyant after the lead up games in this finals series to know how they were going to play, but to look at Adelaide’s performance, you could be excused for thinking they never saw it coming.

Johnno, I like the finals system. Being minor premiers is one thing, but the job remains undone. It's one thing to be best week-out, week-in in home & away, but another thing altogether to handle finals pressure. To win the grand final requires extra steel. I love the finals concept.