Which premiership side is the best of the last four years?

[Gavin Excell]

2019 was better, but 2017 definitely was not deserved. They got pumped by Adelaide away that year, along with losing @ GWS, @ PA, @ Fremantle I think

And at Kardinia Park

 

[BF Tiger]

Because Richmond lost, sometimes heavily away, then win at home

How does that explain WCE losing to Port, Collingwood and Hawthorn at home last year? Surely HGA gets you over the line, especially against two non-finals sides and three sides with less exposure to Perth Stadium than what Adelaide(17) and GWS(19) had to the MCG.

 

[Spanish_Fly]

2019 was better, but 2017 definitely was not deserved. They got pumped by Adelaide away that year, along with losing @ GWS, @ PA, @ Fremantle I think

Richmond played Adelaide away and were pumped, but that was early in the year and Richmond improved dramatically as the season went on.

2 weeks after Richmond lost to Adelaide, we got beat by Freo at home, then beat Freo away by over 100 points in round 22, how is that possible....

We also beat Port away that year and only lost to GWS away by a dodgy umpiring call, we should have won that game.

 

[russ]

first ive heard of eagles / essendon rivalry

learn something new every day

Essendon are our arch enemy

 

[Gavin Excell]

And there it is. The undercurrent of West Coast supporters angst.

The belief that Richmond did not deserve the success it had.

If you can’t win, then what better thing to do but s**t on others achievements.

How arrogant.

The beauty about the final 8 system generally means the premier in most cases has to beat all of the fellow top4 teams to win it, as Tigers did in 2017.

The premiership is always hard earned- as it should be

 

[Tiger Mopsy]

Did the MCG give richmond an advantage from 1983 to 2016?

Sometimes you've got to look in the mirror at home and own your deficiencies in common sense and logic before you can improve and build your capacity to think critically and honestly.

Amen to that.

 

[kaiserchief13]

Richmond played Adelaide away and were pumped, but that was early in the year and Richmond improved dramatically as the season went on.

2 weeks after Richmond lost to Adelaide, we got beat by Freo at home, then beat Freo away by over 100 points in round 22, how is that possible....

We also beat Port away that year and only lost to GWS away by a dodgy umpiring call, we should have won that game.

Here are the facts. Adelaide finished 1st, Richmond 3rd. Adelaide also annihilated them in their only meeting that year. In what world does Richmond deserve home ground for the gf?

 

[Tiger Mopsy]

2019 was better, but 2017 definitely was not deserved. They got pumped by Adelaide away that year, along with losing @ GWS, @ PA, @ Fremantle I think

Home and away games are the prelims. Finals are what counts.

And when it counted Richmond absolutely pumped every team it faced, teams that finished 1st, 2nd and 4th on the ladder.

The season is a marathon, not a sprint. Something your mob could do well to realise given how they s**t the bed late last year.

 

[BF Tiger]

Here are the facts. Adelaide finished 1st, Richmond 3rd. Adelaide also annihilated them in their only meeting that year. In what world does Richmond deserve home ground for the gf?

No-one said we deserved it. It was just the rules in place at the time.

As I have said before the AFL could make the decision to rotate the GF. Because of the logistics involved that decision would have to be madeat least a year in advance I imagine. You might then end up with the higher ranked team playing a lower ranked team at the lower ranked side's home ground, where they may have only played once in two years and not at all in that season due to inequities in the draw. Would that be fair? Would you be happy with WCE playing GWS in the 2025 GF at Showground Stadium if you had finished top and they had finished 6th, and your last game at that venue was rd6 2024? Because that is a scenario that could happen.

At least with the GF at a ground with so many tenants then all teams should get at least a moderate amount of exposure to it. If an interstate side is considered a likely top four finisher I would want the AFL scheduling at least four games there throughout the season for that side. Expected mid-table... at least three games and lower end they should expect at least two games. Over 2 or 3 seasons the collective exposure reduces the HGA that the MCG tenant has on GF day, even if the MCG tenant has finished higher on the ladder.

 

[WWSD]

Last four Premiers

The best 23 and under: Bulldogs
The most talented best 22: Richmond
The best spine: West Coast
The best depth: Richmond

 

[Red Black and Blue]

Richmond 2019. They have reached that level that great sides do where they can coast, turn it on for five minutes and blow the opposition away. Brisbane had it, Geelong had it and Hawthorn had it. We had it in 2000 as well.

 

[Gavin Excell]

In a round about way, I think you have the core of it.

After years of mocking Richmond for being considered as a bad team, Richmond won.

People could either adjust their thinking and admit Richmond had a good team now (more than just 'a few top end stars') or find excuses.

They chose to find excuses.

The other thing with no football being played for 3 months people have more time to “analyse” things

 

[Partridge]

Well, you can phrase it that way if you want to, as you support a big Vic club whose home ground also happens to be the MCG where the Grand Final is always held regardless of where your team finishes compared to your opponent, so have the most to lose if the AFL makes any changes on this issue, but how do things ever change if not for people agitating for change?

I don't. My team isn't even in Melbourne. It wasn't a problem for us from 2007-2011. Isn't a problem now either.

 

[Partridge]

In a round about way, I think you have the core of it.

After years of mocking Richmond for being considered as a bad team, Richmond won.

People could either adjust their thinking and admit Richmond had a good team now (more than just 'a few top end stars') or find excuses.

They chose to find excuses.

That explains a lot more of the anti-Richmond angst than anything else.

It's school bully syndrome 101. No one remotely has a problem with your team when you're a compliant whipping boy who takes beatings. They suddenly have a very big problem when you dare give it back. And don't apologise for it. This happened exactly the same with us ten years earlier.

 

[Gavin Excell]

That explains a lot more of the anti-Richmond angst than anything else.

It's school bully syndrome 101. No one remotely has a problem with your team when you're a compliant whipping boy who takes beatings. They suddenly have a very big problem when you dare give it back. And don't apologise for it. This happened exactly the same with us ten years earlier.

It would have been interesting had Dogs gone on and cemented themselves as a power side of the comp.

Dare say the feel good 2016 Cinderella story would have grown tiring

 

[Partridge]

It would have been interesting had Dogs gone on and cemented themselves as a power side of the comp.

Dare say the feel good 2016 Cinderella story would have grown tiring

For some it did anyway. Just this week I've seen some still repeat the line that they only won due to the umpires. Just ridiculous.

 

[Partridge]

Happens almost every year:

#freekickhawthorn
MaYnArD wAs BlOcKeD

Main travesty from that game was JJ winning the Norm Smith.

Agree with that part completely.

 

[Frank Grimes]

They did beat Brisbane away wk1 finals

And also by a larger margin than playing them at the MCG the week before.

 

[Deadly Assassin]

For some it did anyway. Just this week I've seen some still repeat the line that they only won due to the umpires. Just ridiculous.

Sydney simply weren't good enough, just as GWS weren't good enough the week prior, Hawthorn weren't good enough the week prior to that and West Coast weren't good enough the week prior to that.

Bulldogs were the best team when it mattered in 2016 and any complaints about umpiring, fairytale narrative etc are just born out of jealousy. It's that simple.

Having said that, the 2016 Bulldogs premiership has been proven to be a flash in the pan given their performances in preceding and subsequent years.

It wouldn't surprise me to learn Luke Beverage fired up the boys with Eminem's famous quote..

"You only have one shot, one opportunity, to seize everything you ever wanted. Are you going to capture it, or let it slip?"

The Bulldogs were certainly inspired by Eminem in 2016. No doubt.

 

[Grin]

2019 was better, but 2017 definitely was not deserved.

I think this goes to the heart of the floored reasoning and the pathological psychology.
Some supporters feel that their club is entitled to unearned premierships. Adelaide in 2017 and West Coast in 2019. They feel that not being gifted these unearned premierships by the AFL is proof of an AFL Vic bias. So you get an absolutely ridiculous and irrational comment like the above, where the poster insists that the Crows were the better team despite losing by 8 goals. The rational: The Crows won at home in round 6 therefore were the better team for the remainder of the year.

Let's look at another grand final between a MCG club and an interstate club West Coast v Collingwood 2018. West Coast played at home against Collingwood in early September and won by 16 points. 3 weeks later they played at the MCG and West Coast won by 5 points. This indicates a less than 2 goal advantage to the MCG tenant, not the 20 goad advantage as suggested above by our irrational and extraordinarily entitled friend from the west.

As I have said earlier in this thread, belittling another's premiership does not make yours greater, it just proves you a bad sport and a sore loser.

 

[Tiger2709]

2019 was better, but 2017 definitely was not deserved. They got pumped by Adelaide away that year, along with losing @ GWS, @ PA, @ Fremantle I think

Winning flags is firstly about winning enough games to get there, then it is all about hitting peak form at the right time, which is what Richmond did in 2017.

 

[BF Tiger]

Can we all agree that Richmond are the best dual premiership side of the past four years?

 

[Partridge]

I think this goes to the heart of the floored reasoning and the pathological psychology.
Some supporters feel that their club is entitled to unearned premierships. Adelaide in 2017 and West Coast in 2019. They feel that not being gifted these unearned premierships by the AFL is proof of an AFL Vic bias. So you get an absolutely ridiculous and irrational comment like the above, where the poster insists that the Crows were the better team despite losing by 8 goals. The rational: The Crows won at home in round 6 therefore were the better team for the remainder of the year.

The problem is it becomes too easy to fit form neatly into one year. So if you beat a side comfortably early in the season, you must still be superior in September. Doesn't always work that way. Sometimes doesn't remotely work that way. Form changes, and sides can continue to either decline or improve as the year goes on. Richmond weren't close to being the best team in early or even mid-2017 - though it was pretty clear they were made of sterner stuff than previous Richmond teams. But by September they were going as well as anyone, and by Grand Final day they were the best. For different reasons (mostly injuries) they did a similar thing in 2019, except it was clear by pretty much the Qualifying Final they were the team to beat.

 

[Yojimbo]

2019: Richmond (16-6-64), Points For 1892 (6th), Points Against 1664 (4th).
2018: West Coast (16-6-64), Points For 2012 (5th), Points Against 1657 (5th).
2017: Richmond (15-7-60), Points For 1992 (8th), Points Against 1684 (3rd).
2016: Western Bulldogs (15-7-60), Points For 1857 (12th), Points Against 1609 (3rd).

Not really a stand out period for quality football, very much defence orientated, but as I have said in the past
defence is easier to teach and draft or trade significantly cheaper.

 

[Final Siren]

2019: Richmond (16-6-64), Points For 1892 (6th), Points Against 1664 (4th).
2018: West Coast (16-6-64), Points For 2012 (5th), Points Against 1657 (5th).
2017: Richmond (15-7-60), Points For 1992 (8th), Points Against 1684 (3rd).
2016: Western Bulldogs (15-7-60), Points For 1857 (12th), Points Against 1609 (3rd).

Not really a stand out period for quality football, very much defence orientated, but as I have said in the past
defence is easier to teach and draft or trade significantly cheaper.

They're four sides who peaked for finals, rather than dominating their whole season, so you wouldn't expect their H&A results to be too flash.

Best H&A team of each year:
2019: Geelong
2018: Richmond
2017: Adelaide
2016: Not sure who but not the Dogs