Only four teams are left remaining in the premiership race, and if Richmond’s form this season is anything to go by, then the other three teams will have their work cut out trying to prevent them from repeating as premiers in 2018.
The Tigers’ 31-point win over Hawthorn in the qualifying final not only earned them a week off, but it also guaranteed that they will not have to leave the boundaries of the MCG for the rest of what remains in their season.
Their clash against Collingwood this Friday night has already been sold out, while Melbourne will be hoping to continue riding the wave of momentum it has gained out of beating the Geelong Cats and Hawthorn when they face the West Coast Eagles in Perth on Saturday afternoon.
The 1:20pm (AWST) start will allow Simon Goodwin’s men to be back in Melbourne by midnight, should they win their way through to their first Grand Final since 2000.
However, even without Andrew Gaff and Nic Naitanui, the Eagles will be no pushover, especially at their new home, Optus Stadium, where they have won ten from thirteen.
Here is your full preview to the two preliminary finals this weekend.
Richmond vs Collingwood
Friday, September 21
7:50pm
Melbourne Cricket Ground
This season: Richmond 16.17 (113) defeated Collingwood 10.10 (70) at the MCG in round six; Richmond 16.9 (105) defeated Collingwood 12.5 (77) at the MCG in round 19.
Last meeting in a final: Richmond 23.21 (159) defeated Collingwood 9.24 (78) at the MCG, 1980 Grand Final.
To many people, especially those in Melbourne, the Grand Final may have come one week early, with two of Victoria’s biggest clubs, Richmond and Collingwood, to do battle in front of what is expected to be the year’s biggest crowd at the MCG this Friday night.
Nearly twelve months after completing the biggest single-season turnaround in AFL history to capture its first premiership in 37 years, the Tigers have shown why they are the team to beat in 2018, winning all 18 of their matches played at home in Victoria.
This includes defeating Hawthorn by 31 points in their qualifying final at the MCG on September 6, which earned them the week’s break, during which there were several major scares including Dustin Martin limping off training last week.
However, the Tigers insist he will play and his presence will be crucial towards his side reaching another Grand Final.
While Damien Hardwick’s men enjoyed the week off, they watched on last Saturday night as Collingwood broke free in the final quarter to defeat the GWS Giants by ten points to win its first finals match since 2012 and progress to the preliminary final for the first time since that same year.
Brayden Maynard played the match of his life to shut Toby Greene out of the game, this coming after the latter had said “see you next week” to a young Richmond supporter who he’d met pre-match.
Toby Greene is confident ????#AFLPiesGiants pic.twitter.com/OqkAitJN32
— 7Sport (@7Sport) September 15, 2018
The Pies’ progression to the last four comes over twelve months after many feared for the future of coach Nathan Buckley, under whom the club had regressed following their 2010 premiership win.
But after being endorsed by the club’s board and earning a contract extension, the former captain and 2002 Norm Smith Medallist has led his side into the final four, where they will pose a serious hurdle to Richmond and their hopes of going back to back.
Daniel Rioli of the Tigers (Photo by Quinn Rooney/Getty Images)
In both meetings this season, the Pies proved to be competitive, but the Tigers’ class proved to be the difference as they won by 43 and 28 points in rounds six and nineteen respectively, both times at the MCG.
So, will it be third time lucky for the Pies, or will the Tigers roar their way into another Grand Final?
For the winner: A berth in the Grand Final at home.
For the loser: Lights out for 2018.
Prediction: Richmond by 13 points.
West Coast Eagles vs Melbourne
Saturday, September 22
1:20pm (3:20pm AEST)
Optus Stadium
This season: Melbourne 16.12 (108) defeated West Coast 14.7 (91) at Optus Stadium in round 22.
Last meeting in a final: West Coast 16.21 (117) defeated Melbourne 8.4 (52) at the WACA, second preliminary final, 1994.
If someone had said five years ago that Melbourne would be playing for a place in the Grand Final this Saturday afternoon, they would’ve been told to “keep dreaming”.
The year was 2013 – a year where the club hit rock bottom, losing their CEO, president and coach, costing them over $1 million in payouts.
They won just two matches for the season, and were the only club to be beaten by the GWS Giants in round 19. The future wasn’t looking bright at all.
Flash forward to now and the Dees, now coached by Simon Goodwin and led fearlessly by Nathan Jones and Jack Viney, will be playing for a place in next Saturday’s Grand Final.
Sam Weideman of the Demons celebrates (Photo by Quinn Rooney/Getty Images)
After finishing fifth at the end of the regular season, the Dees went up a level in their first finals series for twelve years, comprehensively defeating the Geelong Cats and Hawthorn, two clubs which dominated at the club’s expense in that period, to reach the final four for the first time since 2000.
Standing in their way are the West Coast Eagles, whom many wrote off at the beginning of this season after Sam Mitchell, Drew Petrie and Matt Priddis all retired at the end of last year.
Many believed they would be in for a long and painful rebuild after they lost their season opener to the Sydney Swans by 29 points at home.
However, since then the Eagles have flown under the radar, and coach Adam Simpson should get all the credit he can for extracting the best out of his squad.
Along the way, the club has also faced many challenges, including Nic Naitanui suffering yet another serious knee injury against Collingwood in round 17 and Andrew Gaff copping an eight-match suspension for his sickening blow to the face of Andrew Brayshaw in round 20.
But here they are, back in the preliminary final for the first time since 2015, where they will be hoping to qualify for their seventh Grand Final and first since they were humiliated by Hawthorn in the decider three years ago.
While they’ll be refreshed and raring to go after defeating Collingwood in a tense qualifying final at home last week, they’ll be aware of a Melbourne side that is clearly riding a wave of momentum, having won four consecutive matches to get this far for the first time in 18 years.
It was that win over the Eagles which kick-started the Dees’ ride into September, also marking their first win over a top eight side this season. It came after many questioned whether the club would go far into the finals after they’d lost to the Sydney Swans by nine points at home the previous week.
Jack Darling of the Eagles celebrates a goal. (Photo by Paul Kane/Getty Images)
Now, the Dees return to Optus Stadium hoping to complete the double over the Eagles this year, and make it an all-Victorian Grand Final for the first time since 2011.
However, the Eagles will be hoping to continue their own fairytale season, and a Grand Final berth would come to show how far they have come this year, given the adversities the club has faced along the way.
For the winner: A first Grand Final berth since either 2015 (West Coast) or 2000 (Melbourne).
For the loser: Season over.
Prediction: West Coast Eagles by 18 points.
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