Richmond won a storied premiership in 2017, surging, both on the field and through September.
After finishing well clear on the top of the ladder in 2018, the Tigers faltered in the preliminary final against Collingwood despite being a heavy favourite.
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After an off-season that saw them land Tom Lynch as the big free agency fish, and sparked by a flag possibly gone begging, they were a popular pre-season tip to get another trophy in the cabinet come year end.
But less than a month into the season, and it had all gone tits up.
Alex Rance did an ACL in Round 1 and Bachar Houli a hamstring. Jack Riewoldt injured both his knee and wrist in Round 2. Trent Cotchin had also done a hammy.
Dylan Grimes and Dustin Martin were suspended, Josh Caddy had yet to appear after an interrupted pre-season, Jayden Short broke an elbow.
Jack Graham and Toby Nankervis were soon to miss long stretches.
In less than a month, the Tigers had suffered more misfortune than most teams in a year. The detractors nodded knowingly, saying they had been blessed with no injuries in the previous two seasons, and were sure to be found out.
“RANCE IS THE SYSTEM” thundered David King at one point on AFL360, saying Richmond were no longer a premiership threat. Many agreed, and intimated that finals may well be out of reach now.
Alex Rance won’t play again in 2019. (Photo by Michael Dodge/Getty Images)
By the end of Round 3, such predictions looked on the money. The Tigers had been thumped by Collingwood and GWS respectively, sitting 14th with a percentage of 79.
They responded as good teams do under duress, winning six of their next seven in a series of gritty and well structured performances. Lynch kicked a bag. Grimes and Nick Vlastuin became impenetrable.
Dion Prestia and Shane Edwards produced career best football. Brandon Ellis stepped up. Sydney Stack was discovered. Ivan Soldo grew into himself.
Richmond were more than just a gun player or players. They were greater than the sum of their parts, as all teams strive to be.
With three weeks to the mid-season bye, the Tigers had clawed and scrapped their way into the top four. The effort took its toll, and they lost their next three to some moderate sides by a combined 137 points.
Come Round 15, Richmond were out of the eight, but confident. A host of players were to be welcomed back, the tired players were well rested, and two soft post-bye games were to be followed by seven matches at the MCG.
Richmond’s Jack Riewoldt celebrates. (Photo by Dylan Burns/AFL Photos)
The Tigers won all of them. In fact, they haven’t lost since the 13th of June, some 108 days ago.
Among the scalps in the back half of the season were their grand final opponents, GWS, reversing their Round 3 result. Admittedly, the Giants have a much stronger team in this time around.
While GWS have won three cut-throat finals in varying fashion to be primed for the big dance, Richmond have sharpened up with four wins against high-quality opposition, also in a variety of circumstances.
In Round 22, the Tigers ran down West Coast after conceding a seven-goal first term and a 29-point deficit. Round 23 saw them blitz Brisbane early and withstand a spirited Lions comeback. That set up a trip to the Gabba to face the same team again, and despite being on the back foot for the first term, peeled off nine goals in a row.
Geelong controlled them in the first half of their preliminary final match-up, before another burst of high quality football saw them take control with five unanswered goals.
It’s the devastating bursts of unstoppable football that sees Richmond enter the grand final as hot favourite. When they get their game going, there is a sense of inevitability about the result.
They usually start by intercepting the ball at halfback through Grimes, Vlastuin, Astbury and Houli, then run-and-gunning through the middle by hand, or sometimes through the feet of Short. They tap and knock on better than any team we’ve seen, creating irresistible momentum.
When the time does come to kick it forward, Lynch is in super marking form, and a three-time Coleman medallist in Riewoldt is happy to play second fiddle, often getting the third best defender if Martin is resting forward. What a luxury.
Dustin Martin and the Tigers are in the box seat. (Adam Trafford/AFL Media/Getty Images)
The Tigers won’t have it all their own way though. Even with no Stephen Coniglio and Callan Ward, the midfield of Josh Kelly, Lachie Whitfield, Tim Taranto, Jacob Hopper and Zac Williams has been running hot. Toby Greene has been spending time there too.
Matt de Boer has been claiming scalps in his tagging roles, and will likely spend time on Martin, Prestia and Edwards depending on who is running the hottest at various stages.
Jeremy Cameron has enjoyed playing Richmond this year, having 49 touches, 15 marks and kicking 10.9 in their two meetings. Jeremy Finlayson and Harry Himmelberg will look to separate and isolate Cameron on his likely match-ups of Astbury and Nathan Broad.
In defence, Phil Davis will take Tom Lynch and Sam Taylor will have Jack Riewoldt. That will leave Nick Haynes to play his intercept role as he does so well. If he gets up and running, it will be tough for the Tiger forwards to penetrate.
Richmond have proven they can win against a variety of game styles, against all manner of opponents and in a variety of conditions. They’ve done it with fast starts, strong finishes or all day arm-wrestles.
They’ve had an extra week’s rest compared to their GWS counterparts who have slogged their way to two last gasp wins in their last two finals.
It’s easy to suspect the Giants may have run out of petrol tickets, and winning a grand final against a team that owns the MCG will prove a bridge too far.
The Tigers are due to put together four quarters too, and if they do it could well get ugly.
Richmond has the form, the history and the hunger. It’s going to be Tiger Time again.
Round 5 of the AFL provided plenty of action, from big scorelines to upset wins and pressure starting to build on some clubs and coaches already.
Geelong has been crafty and creative in its list management and has quietly assembled a very exciting young group of midfielders and half-forwards.
Brisbane co-captain Lachie Neale will be looking to lead his team to a victory against Melbourne in what will be his 250th AFL game.
It’s high stakes with five teams having lost their first three games of season 2024, and in desperate need of a win.
It could be a weekend for contenders to emerge, teams to hopefully break droughts, o and overall footy to have a party.
We’ve already seen what Jack Ginnivan is capable of at Collingwood with his ability to grasp big moments - how will he go against his former teammates?
