Best individual finals performance in AFL/VFL history

[Mr Meow]

Leo Barry’s mark is amazing, courageous and vital but Tad Keneally never gets the credit he deserves for facilitating it by grounding Ashley Sampi by grabbing a big handful of guernsey and pulling him down.

Was that the greatest finals shirt tug in history?

 

[PieLebo87]

2023 Preliminary Final

Collingwood 8.10 (58) def Greater Western Sydney 8.9 (57)

Jordan de Goey... 34 disposals @ 73.5% efficiency

17 contested, 17 uncontested... 13 clearances

He probably broke about 20 tackles.

Talk about a big game player standing up when his team needed him

If Pies can go on and win the flag, this performance will grow some real legs over the years. Single-handedly got Collingwood into a Grand Final.

Then spent the last 8-9 mins on the bench with his feet up.

 

[Back One Out]

Fritsch should have got the NSM.

You're on your own there.

Fritsch played a top game, but Petracca was the unanimous pick as the 'Best on Ground'


Luke Hodge
3 – Christian Petracca
2 – Bayley Fritsch
1 – Clayton Oliver

Harry Taylor
3 – Christian Petracca
2 – Bayley Fritsch
1 – Christian Salem

Tania Armstrong
3 – Christian Petracca
2 – Bayley Fritsch
1 – Clayton Oliver

Andrew Krakouer
3 – Christian Petracca
2 – Bayley Fritsch
1 – Caleb Daniel

Callum Twomey
3 – Christian Petracca
2 – Bayley Fritsch
1 – Clayton Oliver




Simon Goodwin
5 – Christian Petracca
4 – Bayley Fritsch
3 – Clayton Oliver
2 – Christian Salem
1 – Angus Brayshaw

Luke Beveridge
5 – Christian Petracca
4 – Bayley Fritsch
3 – Caleb Daniel
2 – Clayton Oliver
1 – Marcus Bontempelli

 

[TheEscapeClub]

You're on your own there.

Fritsch played a top game, but Petracca was the unanimous pick as the 'Best on Ground'


Luke Hodge
3 – Christian Petracca
2 – Bayley Fritsch
1 – Clayton Oliver

Harry Taylor
3 – Christian Petracca
2 – Bayley Fritsch
1 – Christian Salem

Tania Armstrong
3 – Christian Petracca
2 – Bayley Fritsch
1 – Clayton Oliver

Andrew Krakouer
3 – Christian Petracca
2 – Bayley Fritsch
1 – Caleb Daniel

Callum Twomey
3 – Christian Petracca
2 – Bayley Fritsch
1 – Clayton Oliver




Simon Goodwin
5 – Christian Petracca
4 – Bayley Fritsch
3 – Clayton Oliver
2 – Christian Salem
1 – Angus Brayshaw

Luke Beveridge
5 – Christian Petracca
4 – Bayley Fritsch
3 – Caleb Daniel
2 – Clayton Oliver
1 – Marcus Bontempelli

Every time Melbourne needed a goal Fritsch delivered, including 2 in a minute that lit the fire.

 

[Back One Out]

Every time Melbourne needed a goal Fritsch delivered, including 2 in a minute that lit the fire.

Yeah, I'm not arguing that he wasn't good. Fritsch played really well.

Petracca was the most dominant player on the ground though... as shown by his unanimous selection as BOG

 

[peetoo]

Jack Gunston

19

Jack Gunston

Age

32

Ht

193cm

Wt

86kg

Pos.

Fwd

Career

Season

Last 5

D

15.5

4star

K

10.5

4star

HB

5.0

4star

M

5.7

5star

T

2.2

4star

G

1.9

5star

D

10.6

3star

K

8.0

3star

HB

2.6

2star

M

4.3

4star

T

1.7

3star

G

1.6

5star

D

11.2

3star

K

7.0

3star

HB

4.2

4star

M

3.2

4star

T

2.6

4star

G

0.6

3star

type

 

[mattyc25]

Yes am aware- in both cases their team would have won even if they didn’t play. 2 absolute floggings. No fault of their own - they couldn’t have played any better. As I made clear, there are different criteria you can use to judge great performances, and my list was based on impact on the game, so I didn’t include any performances from one-sides floggings

Agree 100%.

If Dusty played for the cats in 2020, then the cats win that game. He was undoubtedly the difference and a pure match winner that day.

Stats are stats but you cannot watch that game and not understand he was the man that day.

 

[Mr Meow]

Agree 100%.

If Dusty played for the cats in 2020, then the cats win that game. He was undoubtedly the difference and a pure match winner that day.

Stats are stats but you cannot watch that game and not understand he was the man that day.

Always an interesting argument.

Take Martin out of the coaches votes that game and it's 14 to Richmond players, 6 to Geelong. Look at the top 10 ranked players on the ground and 8 are Richmond players, 2 are Geelong players.

Richmond had twice as many players with 15 or more disposals.

Richmond had three times as many players with multiple goals.

Richmond had three times as many players with multiple goal assists.

Richmond had twice as many players with 4 or more clearances.

Richmond had twice as many players with 3 or more inside 50s.

Martin was terrific but the narrative that he alone and not the entire team were dominant for the last two and a bit quarters is a silly assertion.

 

[My Tilly]

Always an interesting argument.

Take Martin out of the coaches votes that game and it's 14 to Richmond players, 6 to Geelong. Look at the top 10 ranked players on the ground and 8 are Richmond players, 2 are Geelong players.

Richmond had twice as many players with 15 or more disposals.

Richmond had three times as many players with multiple goals.

Richmond had three times as many players with multiple goal assists.

Richmond had twice as many players with 4 or more clearances.

Richmond had twice as many players with 3 or more inside 50s.

Martin was terrific but the narrative that he alone and not the entire team were dominant for the last two and a bit quarters is a silly assertion.

Bit like Diesel Williams in 1995. Take him out that day and they probably still win. The flood gates were bulging. Was just a matter of time before the pressure bust the game apart

 

[MarcusP2]

If you’re going to include party time grand final performances, please mention Greg Williams kicking 5 to go with 31 in a 10 goal victory in 95, and Stevie J kicking 4 with 23 in an 80 point flogging in 07

If Stevie J didn't play it would've been an 80 point flogging, let's not underestimate his record breaking contribution to 119 though.

 

[Sphynx]

Depends on the criteria - I’m most impressed by finals performances that greatly impacted their team’s chance of winning. Simon Black couldn’t have played any better in 2003, (ditto Stevie J in 07) but Brisbane and Geelong would have won even if they didn’t play, so I wouldn’t put them in a list of most influential finals performances.

Also don’t think you can necessarily rank them in a precise order, as there’s too many other factors.

So if we’re talking about finals performances that had massive impacts, I would put together a top bracket - don’t necessarily have an opinion on which of these are ‘better’ or ‘worse’ than Martin’s 2020 GF. But for GFs I’d include in the same bracket:

• Jarman 98
• Ablett 89
• Matera 92
• Dusty 20
• Hodge 08

Then I’d have another bracket with:

• Buckley 02
• McLeod 98
• Goddard 10

That’s just from memory - no doubt have forgotten plenty.

Generally you’ll find more impressive individual performances in non-GF finals, like Davis in 05, Carey in 94, etc, so I personally wouldn’t compare them - GFs are a different beast

You somehow managed to miss the greatest finals performance of the 90's and arguably one of the best games ever played. With his game the week prior probably placing as well.

Congrats.

Oh, and he tore his calf in the first qtr of the qualifying finaland carried it against Hawthorn and Geelong.


24 touches, 14 marks, 6.4 and broke the contested mark record. In the prelim.

 

[davywap]

Ablett Snr in 2009 GF
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any other performance

 

[HTPunter]

Always an interesting argument.

Take Martin out of the coaches votes that game and it's 14 to Richmond players, 6 to Geelong. Look at the top 10 ranked players on the ground and 8 are Richmond players, 2 are Geelong players.

Richmond had twice as many players with 15 or more disposals.

Richmond had three times as many players with multiple goals.

Richmond had three times as many players with multiple goal assists.

Richmond had twice as many players with 4 or more clearances.

Richmond had twice as many players with 3 or more inside 50s.

Martin was terrific but the narrative that he alone and not the entire team were dominant for the last two and a bit quarters is a silly assertion.

Bit like Diesel Williams in 1995. Take him out that day and they probably still win. The flood gates were bulging. Was just a matter of time before the pressure bust the game apart

First impact - wins an in dispute ball, bites off the inboard kick and nails it, Richmond kick their 2nd goal

Then going into half time Richmond were down 35 to 14. Dusty creates a goal out of nothing and finishes, a 20% chance goal for anyone else (Kolodjashnij likely nails the tackle on anyone else). If the ball had rebounded out and the last goal of the half had gone the other way Richmond are on the canvas at half time.

He then goes on to kick the go ahead goal, another in dispute goal where he created it out of nothing.

And then the sealer, a 55 meter kick while being tackled and under a lot of pressure?

Add into that he had a big inside 50 tackle, another centering ball that should have been goaled, and a goal assist…not to mention the icing on the cake with a goal that would have been as good as any in that final series (but yes no influence on the result by then).

He won that grand final for Richmond.

 

[HTPunter]

Leo Barry’s mark is amazing, courageous and vital but Tad Keneally never gets the credit he deserves for facilitating it by grounding Ashley Sampi by grabbing a big handful of guernsey and pulling him down.

Look at 100 still photos of 100 pack marks, and you’d see 100 jumper holds. Pretty easy to get away with, how on earth is the ump meant to see it?

 

[HTPunter]

2023 Preliminary Final

Collingwood 8.10 (58) def Greater Western Sydney 8.9 (57)

Jordan de Goey... 34 disposals @ 73.5% efficiency

17 contested, 17 uncontested... 13 clearances

He probably broke about 20 tackles.

Talk about a big game player standing up when his team needed him

I guess the only dampener on it (in terms of remembering it for years to come) is he spent the final 9 minutes not able to impact the contest.

If he had the game saving clearance in the last minute it’d undoubtedly be up there for mids in prelims.

Fantastic performance and not criticising it at all, just when we think in the future it will be that he wasn’t out there to save the game late.

 

[Blackhawk42]

I always rewatch old Grand Finals in this week of the year.

Today was 1997.

Don't care what anybody says, but Darren Jarman's second half that day dwarfs any of Dusty's performances. It's criminal that isn't talked about enough.

 

[RichLeMonde]

You somehow managed to miss the greatest finals performance of the 90's and arguably one of the best games ever played. With his game the week prior probably placing as well.

Congrats.

Oh, and he tore his calf in the first qtr of the qualifying finaland carried it against Hawthorn and Geelong.


24 touches, 14 marks, 6.4 and broke the contested mark record. In the prelim.

You somehow managed to miss that I’ve clearly referred to GFs only in all my posts. I even specifically said that players have better individual performances in non GF finals, and mentioned Carey in 94.

Did you even read the post?

 

[Spook]

Underrated performance by Derm considering how young he was at the time.

He earned every one of those goals with Essendon defenders on his hammer all day.

While the rest of the hawthorn rabble gave up at halftime, Brereton kept going all the way to the end playing with aggression.

You don’t see that often from key forwards in GF slaughters.

Paul Salmon was actually younger than Dermie and kicked 6 that day. Then again, Salmon probably only got our 3rd best tall defender, During that era, Essendon had the best combination of talls ever. Madden, Merrett, Salmon, Vander Har, and not in that league but Kevin Walsh was an Awsome full back….. * me, 4 of the best talls ever, all playing in the same team at the same time.

Edit North if the mid 90s had pretty good talls; Carey, McKeenan, Longmire, Fridge Roberts, Mick Martin, Capuano.

 

[Kapow!!!]

Yes am aware- in both cases their team would have won even if they didn’t play. 2 absolute floggings. No fault of their own - they couldn’t have played any better. As I made clear, there are different criteria you can use to judge great performances, and my list was based on impact on the game, so I didn’t include any performances from one-sides floggings

Hmm, Black you could make that case but Petracca was a big part of both of the 3 goals in 1 minute bursts in the 3rd quarter that, respectively, put Melbourne in front and then pushed it from a tight 6 point margin at 3 quarter time to the Bulldogs needing to overcome a record 24 point 3 quarter time defecit. He was dominant and integral to both dragging them in front then putting them in a near unloseable position. I'd dare say that game could've been drastically different without Petracca.

But yes, I was at the 2020 GF and was in awe of the impact of Martin. Nearly single handedly won the premiership for Richmond when they were gone for all money at half time. Nothing but the highest praise for Dusty's 2020 GF and is certainly the best performance I've seen in the flesh.

 

[peetoo]

The crazy thing about Ablett 89 is langers went to him and curbed his influence ‘enough’ to sneak home

That and a crazy big lead gathered while Geelong were playing faux tough

 

[Captain_Bender]

The crazy thing about Ablett 89 is langers went to him and curbed his influence ‘enough’ to sneak home

That and a crazy big lead gathered while Geelong were playing faux tough

If it wasn't for Hawthorn's injuries they probably win that game by 10+ goals

 

[peetoo]

If it wasn't for Hawthorn's injuries they probably win that game by 10+ goals

Always annoying any repeats are always the last quarter…and dermie. Rest of it was a master class

 

[Captain_Bender]

Always annoying any repeats are always the last quarter…and dermie. Rest of it was a master class

The fact that Hawthorn beat Geelong by over 100 points round 1 the next year tells a lot

 

[Mr Meow]

The fact that Hawthorn beat Geelong by over 100 points round 1 the next year tells a lot

Yes, it says that in 1990 Geelong would go on to have a poor season that was nothing like 1989.

Take Ablett out of '89 and Hawthorn win by 100 points that day though. It would've ended up playing out like 119.

 

[Captain_Bender]

Yes, it says that in 1990 Geelong would go on to have a poor season that was nothing like 1989.

Take Ablett out of '89 and Hawthorn win by 100 points that day though. It would've ended up playing out like 119.

8 of Ablett's goals came after Geelong were already 40 points down, a real junk time game, a fit Hawthorn he probably only kicks 4 or 5