And I countered your narrative with the first part of my reply! This issue with Richmond vs Adelaide is a "clash" concern. Nothing to do who was higher on the ladder getting a preference. I take your point, but it is not a direct comparison as The Eagles weren't forced to wear their yellow clash strip (which looks hideous) in the 2015 GF. Like I said... the white shorts are the go to solution when there is no clash of both teams primary strip. Away strip and clash strip are two separate outfits for MOST teams.
But it's not even the posters narrative. They just explained what the AFL have said in those 2 separate occasions.
2015 - Hawthorn is the home team due to AFL decision, not ladder position. Therefore they wear the home strip, West Coast wear the away strip.
2017 - The ladder dictates that Adelaide is the home team, not Richmond. Therefore, Adelaide get the the home strip, Richmond wear the away strip. However, in this instance, the away strip (regular jumper, white shorts) hasn't been deemed good enough for this year to avoid a clash, so they will wear their clash jumper.
In conclusion, the AFL have no policy in place. They just make it up as they go.