His long wait to appear in an AFL grand final is over but Patrick Dangerfield admits it’s a bittersweet feeling after Geelong’s 31-point loss to Richmond.
It’s taken a long time for Dangerfield to appear in a grand final.
After 13 seasons and 268 games, the Geelong star finally graced a premiership decider against Richmond at the Gabba on Saturday.
Sadly for the 30-year-old, his big day ended sourly with the Tigers claiming a 31-point win over the Cats for their third flag in four years.
“It’s why you play the game,” Dangerfield said.
“It’s the greatest day and the most devastating all in one.”
Much of the talk in the build-up to the match had been on the heavyweight battle between Dangerfield and Richmond’s Dustin Martin.
While Dangerfield landed some early blows, including his 300th AFL goal in a second quarter where the Cats raced to a 22-point lead at one stage, it was Martin who claimed a knockout win.
A four-goal display to lead the Tigers’ second-half comeback secured Martin’s status as the greatest grand final player in AFL history with a record third Norm Smith Medal.
“He was incredible. He’s a champion of our game and he was dominant,” Dangerfield said.
“That’s what the great players do and they perform when the stakes are at their highest and he’s done that so consistently over the last few years.”
While the pain of falling at the final hurdle is still raw for both Dangerfield and his teammates, he’s confident the wait for his second grand final appearance will not be anywhere near as long as it was for his first.
“We’re bitterly disappointed, but we had a great run, we just couldn’t quite execute when it mattered most,” he said.
“Whilst we’re incredibly disappointed, Richmond were fantastic.
“We’ll learn a lot from it. We’re down, not out. We’ll regroup.”
Rowdy
Roar Rookie
Hey Spanner, I'm a Crows fan too, but l agree with Sven. We were going somewhere with him. We didn't miss him in our the first year without him but then reality bit after that.
Spanner
Roar Rookie
Amen
MB
Roar Rookie
Dangerfield and Dusty should never be used in the same sentence again. The game only proved what most of us already knew
Peter the Scribe
Roar Guru
Ironically wasn’t it Danger who Dusty fended off for his finale goal Bird?
sven
Roar Rookie
to be fair reckon he gave the crows great service & u cant knock a bloke for wanting to go home towards the end of his career ... reckon he would have been handy for u in the '17 granny
Spanner
Roar Rookie
No moments in the big one at all and Martin brushed him aside each time they came together. Some karma for suffering Crows supporters like me who hope he never wins one !
Birdman
Roar Rookie
If Chris Scott was less conservative, he might have had Dangerfield go head to head with Martin for parts of the game.
sven
Roar Rookie
yeah guess the ko was his main impact on the game
2dogz
Roar Rookie
The KO wasn’t a bad one. Sad if he gets reported for it
The Brazilian
Roar Rookie
Any of those 'great moments' in the GF? Just askin'.
Goalsonly
Roar Rookie
Thanks Danger. A lot of great moments in those finals. Your best series so far....
The Brazilian
Roar Rookie
Danger a huge disappointment. Obviously played the game in his head during the week.
sven
Roar Rookie
reckon he almost wants it so much & is trying so hard its affecting his undisputed abilities
Peter the Scribe
Roar Guru
Maybe he gets so cold playing forward when he gets a contest he’s got too much adrenaline for the moment.
sven
Roar Rookie
reckon danger has almost been too intense this finals series, he was hitting the contest so insanely hard the pill is bouncing off him at times like its hitting concrete
sven
Roar Rookie
yeah too much talent not to & if they land cameron will be very potent up forward... reckon they might want to tweak their game a bit though, not the first time the tiges have been able to break it down in a final, that said its also got them in positions where they could have put themselves far enough in front to weather the tiges comebacks in last years prelim & last night,... but end of the day they didnt & were comprehensively beaten in the 2nd half both times
fabian gulino
Roar Rookie
cats will make the 8 again 2021.