It is still 50 or so days to the opening of the 2021 AFL men’s season, although we have the AFLW to enjoy in the meantime.
The season begins with the traditional Thursday night game between last year’s premiers and the improving Blues at the MCG on March 18.
But those statisticians among us can hardly wait to see the next chapter of traditional and historical achievements be established, equaled or broken as another season unfolds.
Will the Tigers’ juggernaut extend its record unbroken sequence of wins against Carlton to 11, and equal the best current winning sequence by any team over another?
At the end of the home-and-away season last year, Richmond had the best current winning sequence against any one team in the league, having beaten Brisbane on 15 straight occasions. But that all went pear-shaped with a loss to the Lions in the first week of the finals, so the counter was reset to zero.
Round 21, 2013 was the last time that Carlton beat Richmond. Mick Malthouse was coach and the win by ten points squared the ledger with Damien Hardwick in Richmond-Carlton games at one win apiece.
Two further attempts by Malthouse, one by John Barker, five by Brendon Bolton and two by David Teague have all proved unsuccessful since, but times are changing.
In the first win of the current Richmond sequence, Carlton had only two of their current playing list in the team whereas the Tigers had already recruited the eight players who are now top 100 champions under the coaching of Damien Hardwick.
All eight players were in that team that started the current period of Tigers domination and they have been the backbone of the winning sequence ever since.
Jack Riewoldt is one of those eight players. (Photo by Robert Cianflone/Getty Images)
These eight players have now been together for so long that four of them now appear in the top 20 game players of all time at the club, and two more are inside the top 50.
In this rarefied atmosphere it is no surprise that their games record is now impacting on some of the greatest names that have played for the club over its 114 years in the competition.
Shane Edwards will pass Joel Bowden – who was still at the club when Edwards started in 2007 – and become the 11th greatest game player at Richmond.
Trent Cotchin – who already holds the record for most games as captain at the club – will surpass the games total of one of the greatest AFL legends of all time in Kevin Sheedy.
Two other former captains, Roger Dean and Roy Wright, will be equaled by Dustin Martin (who will pass present CEO Brendon Gale) and Bachar Houli respectively, and Dylan Grimes will equal the games record of Andrew Kellaway.
The AFL’s traditional highlight of Round 1 will hopefully be Eddie Betts’ 200th game for the Blues, joining Michael Sexton on this number, and being the 37th Carlton player to reach that landmark.
Betts – courtesy of his six-year, 132-game and 310-goal sojourn with Adelaide – features prominently in both the AFL game players and goal scorers lists. His 332nd game will see him join Leigh Matthews, Drew Petrie, Corey Enright, Justin Madden and – temporarily at least – the second most experienced AFL player still playing, David Mundy.
Ed Curnow will join former Blue Cresswell William ‘Mickey’ Crisp on 183 games while Levi Casboult will pass Alex Duncan. Duncan was born in 1900 and was a star at Carlton in the 1920s, so much so that one match was remembered as “Duncan’s match”.
Collingwood, a club not generally known for magnanimous gestures towards its opponents, were so impressed with Duncan’s outstanding performance (perhaps, even, a best of all time performance) that they had the match ball suitably mounted and inscribed and presented the trophy to Duncan.
Thom Roker
Roar Guru
The AFLW is part time semi-pro, so I’m not sure what your expectations were. Richmond’s AFLW team is poor and they’ve defunded the program, so I wouldn’t bother either. However, the AFLW isn’t in any way comparable to the AFLM for a myriad of reasons. What is the point? Seriously, if it isn’t for you, why comment at all?
Micko
Roar Rookie
What about it?
Ukraine Tiger
Roar Rookie
Been a few times when they were bad at the same time, does that count.
Ukraine Tiger
Roar Rookie
Not all of us are woke my man. Some of us don't need wokeness shoved down our throat. We don't need to be educated in correctness, we had respect for others well before wokeness became a thing to assist the likes of you.
Ukraine Tiger
Roar Rookie
Even NFL commentators refer to the American game as gridiron. Usually they are referring to the field, "the Gridiron".
Ukraine Tiger
Roar Rookie
The women's comp is no better than reserves amateur but good luck to them for having a comp. I just won't be bothering.
Macca
Roar Rookie
I prefer Sam Cooke's "A change is gonna to come"
J.T. Delacroix
Guest
He also wrote, ‘Its all over now, Baby Blue.’
Mr Right
Roar Rookie
Grid Iron?
Rowdy
Roar Rookie
But what changed? Men, then good enough played AFL, men good enough now still play AFL
Rowdy
Roar Rookie
Actually it’d describe “Australian Football” if we want to be pedantic about semantics. Having moved from an AF state to RL state l found it strange that a game based on throwing was called “footy”?
Naughty's Headband
Roar Rookie
No-one is calling it the AFLW women's competition. You know why? Because everyone knows what AFLW is, just like everyone knows what the AFL is. This argument is very circular...
RT
Roar Rookie
Hawthorn though had the worst fixture last year. They could have been pretty jaded by round 18.
RT
Roar Rookie
Actually, I think the AFL is an open competition rather than a men's competition. If a transgender person is banned from AFLW then we should not refer to AFL as a men's competition in the interest of inclusiveness. A women who is good enough should be allowed to nominate for the AFL draft too, which as far as I know they can.
Thom Roker
Roar Guru
Calling it the AFLW women’s competition is a tautology, like ATM machine or PIN number. Calling it the AFL men’s competition is a perfectly normal and commonly used disambiguation.
Thom Roker
Roar Guru
The only people who have a problem with political correctness are the ones too stubborn to change. Go watch The Merger. You’re Bull Barlow, I’m Troy Carrington. Let me know what it’s like to look in the mirror.
Naughty's Headband
Roar Rookie
Everyone knows that the AFL is the mens competition and the AFLW is the women's competition. You're looking for bogey men that don't exist, and it seems to me that you're trying to gender neutralise a mens competition, for whatever warped reason you've come up with.
Naughty's Headband
Roar Rookie
I don't know, probably AFL. I'm not sure what your point is. I'd never been to Queensland before when this happened, I didn't know that they called the game "AFL", it was just an amusing anecdote.
Naughty's Headband
Roar Rookie
Hmm, but the distinction is already there. You're the one who seems upset by this, not me. I was just pointing out a fact.
Micko
Roar Rookie
You're just stubbornly bringing PC politics into something that's just not necessary. :thumbdown: