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Amid fears of thunderstorms ruining the Gabba grand final spectacle, Geelong coach Chris Scott has given up trying to predict Queensland’s weather.
The 44-year-old spent 14 seasons in Brisbane as a player and admits he never worked it out.
But his Cats are prepared for whatever Mother Nature throws at them and Richmond after the 7.30pm AEDT bounce down on Saturday night.
“(Wet weather) would change the way we play against anyone, but it would be the same for the opposition as well,” Scott said.
“They (Richmond) have got a bit of recent experience with slippery conditions over in Adelaide, but I’ve given up forecasting the weather.
“I’ve made too many mistakes year after year and it’s become a bit of an in-joke with our coaching team.”
(Photo by Matt Roberts/Getty Images)
The Bureau of Meteorology has forecast a shower or two with possible evening thunderstorms and a top of 27 degrees in Brisbane on Saturday. There is a 70 per cent chance of rain.
“My experience is it’s either going to rain all night or it will come and go really quickly and there won’t be much in between,” Scott said.
“We’ll think about it, obviously, but we’re not going to get confused by trying to forecast difficult-to-predict weather.”
Rain and slippery conditions would add another layer to Richmond coach Damien Hardwick’s theory that the grand final will be a tough, contested affair.
“Finals have been built on the back of the fundamentals of the game for a long time and I think this game will be no different,” Hardwick said.
“The strength of Geelong is around contested ball and it’s something we do reasonably well, as well.
“We’ve got two really good sides that are going to go at it and whoever’s system stands up the longest will come away with (the premiership).”
Richmond have won two of the last three flags and Geelong have played four preliminary finals in five years. The Tigers won lead-up finals against the Cats in 2017 and 2019.
But the two clubs have not met in a grand final since Richmond won a thrilling VFL decider in 1967.
“We’re two pretty good sides who have been playing a great brand of footy for a long time and I’m looking forward to the challenge,” Hardwick said.
“They’ve been a yardstick, along with our football club, for a number of years and it’s about time we played off in a grand final.”
© AAP
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