Land of the Giants
Premiership Player
Our maiden Grand Final.
I cannot believe I am finally writing this preview. I thought I was going to write it in 2016, but we've had to wait that little bit longer.
Last night’s victory
Last week’s win was special, but that moment of realisation we were in our first Grand Final, well, that was the only time that will ever happen. No wonder so many Giants supporters hung around mesmerised so long after the siren.
Before we have a look at next week, some reflections on where we're at, with help from a Richmond supporter:
“They’re playing with a changed mentality now. They’ve had enough. They’re sick of losing big finals, and they’re sick of having that MCG hoodoo of theirs thrown back in their faces whenever they play a team whose home ground is the MCG.”
I don’t think any of us could have said it better. It's a perfect fit for the last three weeks, where, in spite of being written off by the punditry, the bookies, opposition supporters, umpires, commentators, the match review panel, and the Tribunal (did I forget anyone?) we’ve kept on winning.
It was a real team effort last night, and three players stand out in particular – Williams, Haynes and Keeffe. Haynes – 30 disposals, 10 contested possessions, 9 rebound 50s, 9 marks, easily best on ground. How did he miss being AA? Williams was a revelation in the midfield in the absence of Whitfield and Toby – 25 touches and 16 contested possessions. And Keeffe, despite the doubters, did a brilliant job nullifying Mihocek, one of Collingwood’s key forwards.
You can also add Perryman and Taylor to last night’s roll of honour. As for Mummy, well, he lost the hit-outs 16-78, but some of those 16 were in the frantic last few minutes when they counted, and he justified his place in the last few seconds anyway by selling Pendlebury some candy.
There will be some tough choices to be made at the selection table this week. Toby will return, and Whitfield is almost certain, but there is some real doubt about Coniglio. And as much as I would love to see Brett Deledio get even five minutes on the field, we can’t be sentimental about team selection. Ian Hill will probably make way for Toby. Does Keeffe deserve to be dropped? After last night, probably not. But then, who wants to change a team that can win a PF?
The Opposition
Having tortured their supporters for decades, the sleeping giant that was the Richmond Football Club finally awoke in 2017, breaking a 37 drought between premierships. They won that year by playing a compelling brand of pressure football.
Having lost their best defender Alex Rance at the start of this season, they were almost written off, but they’ve gone on with it and no one is surprised to see them in the Grand Final.
Richmond play a slick game based on fast passing and precision by foot. Their back-up plan of swarming the opposition and making sure no one is loose is very effective and difficult to counter. Not many teams have found a way around it. We hammered them at home in Round 3 and they accounted for us without too much trouble in Round 17.
The Last Hoodoo
We've broken some important hoodoos this year. A fortnight ago we'd never won a final outside of Sydney. Now we've won two.
But we’ve never beaten the Tigers at the MCG. I think it’s time we did something about that. Next Saturday would be ideal.
The Road to the Grand Final
Whenever we made the decision to join the Giants, we did so in the hope that we would see, at some point in the future, the creation of a champion team.
It’s been an uncharted journey for all of us – coaches, players, administrators, and members. We’ve needed patience along the way to endure a few embarrassing defeats and the uncertainty of whether a second team in Sydney would even be viable. There’s been much disrespect from some of the established clubs. We’ve been called plastics, tinnies, and various other put-downs.
We’ve been criticised for having too many favourable draft picks and for being given too much. But there was never any guarantee those talented draftees would form a cohesive unit. Raw talent only goes so far. Egos clash, and friends fall out. Effective leadership and management were needed. Ours has proven to be inspirational.
Along the way, we’ve seen glimpses of the team we were hoping for on several occasions. Just enough to keep the faith. But sometime during this season, the team we’ve been waiting for has arrived. We probably didn’t realise it at the time, but the signs were there if we cared to look – or dared to hope.
The whole has now become greater than the sum of the parts.
The Verdict
It's been a real privilege to be part of the journey to this moment.
Our time has come. We are going to win. You can feel it.
Go Giants!
I cannot believe I am finally writing this preview. I thought I was going to write it in 2016, but we've had to wait that little bit longer.
Last night’s victory
Last week’s win was special, but that moment of realisation we were in our first Grand Final, well, that was the only time that will ever happen. No wonder so many Giants supporters hung around mesmerised so long after the siren.
Before we have a look at next week, some reflections on where we're at, with help from a Richmond supporter:
“They’re playing with a changed mentality now. They’ve had enough. They’re sick of losing big finals, and they’re sick of having that MCG hoodoo of theirs thrown back in their faces whenever they play a team whose home ground is the MCG.”
I don’t think any of us could have said it better. It's a perfect fit for the last three weeks, where, in spite of being written off by the punditry, the bookies, opposition supporters, umpires, commentators, the match review panel, and the Tribunal (did I forget anyone?) we’ve kept on winning.
It was a real team effort last night, and three players stand out in particular – Williams, Haynes and Keeffe. Haynes – 30 disposals, 10 contested possessions, 9 rebound 50s, 9 marks, easily best on ground. How did he miss being AA? Williams was a revelation in the midfield in the absence of Whitfield and Toby – 25 touches and 16 contested possessions. And Keeffe, despite the doubters, did a brilliant job nullifying Mihocek, one of Collingwood’s key forwards.
You can also add Perryman and Taylor to last night’s roll of honour. As for Mummy, well, he lost the hit-outs 16-78, but some of those 16 were in the frantic last few minutes when they counted, and he justified his place in the last few seconds anyway by selling Pendlebury some candy.
There will be some tough choices to be made at the selection table this week. Toby will return, and Whitfield is almost certain, but there is some real doubt about Coniglio. And as much as I would love to see Brett Deledio get even five minutes on the field, we can’t be sentimental about team selection. Ian Hill will probably make way for Toby. Does Keeffe deserve to be dropped? After last night, probably not. But then, who wants to change a team that can win a PF?
The Opposition
Having tortured their supporters for decades, the sleeping giant that was the Richmond Football Club finally awoke in 2017, breaking a 37 drought between premierships. They won that year by playing a compelling brand of pressure football.
Having lost their best defender Alex Rance at the start of this season, they were almost written off, but they’ve gone on with it and no one is surprised to see them in the Grand Final.
Richmond play a slick game based on fast passing and precision by foot. Their back-up plan of swarming the opposition and making sure no one is loose is very effective and difficult to counter. Not many teams have found a way around it. We hammered them at home in Round 3 and they accounted for us without too much trouble in Round 17.
The Last Hoodoo
We've broken some important hoodoos this year. A fortnight ago we'd never won a final outside of Sydney. Now we've won two.
But we’ve never beaten the Tigers at the MCG. I think it’s time we did something about that. Next Saturday would be ideal.
The Road to the Grand Final
Whenever we made the decision to join the Giants, we did so in the hope that we would see, at some point in the future, the creation of a champion team.
It’s been an uncharted journey for all of us – coaches, players, administrators, and members. We’ve needed patience along the way to endure a few embarrassing defeats and the uncertainty of whether a second team in Sydney would even be viable. There’s been much disrespect from some of the established clubs. We’ve been called plastics, tinnies, and various other put-downs.
We’ve been criticised for having too many favourable draft picks and for being given too much. But there was never any guarantee those talented draftees would form a cohesive unit. Raw talent only goes so far. Egos clash, and friends fall out. Effective leadership and management were needed. Ours has proven to be inspirational.
Along the way, we’ve seen glimpses of the team we were hoping for on several occasions. Just enough to keep the faith. But sometime during this season, the team we’ve been waiting for has arrived. We probably didn’t realise it at the time, but the signs were there if we cared to look – or dared to hope.
The whole has now become greater than the sum of the parts.
The Verdict
It's been a real privilege to be part of the journey to this moment.
Our time has come. We are going to win. You can feel it.
Go Giants!
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