Richmond had its greatest-ever Grand Final-winning margin, smashing the Greater Western Sydney Giants by a whopping 89 points, winning 114-25.
The Tigers overcame an injury-riddled season to demolish their closest rivals and establish a powerful dynasty.
Dustin Martin won the Norm Smith Medal for being the best player on the ground, his second medal following on from his win in 2017, when the Tigers ended a 37-year premiership drought.
Damien “Dimma” Hardwick’s Dynasty, you’ve done us proud.
Richmond Football Club takes on the Greater Western Sydney Football Club in the Australian Football League 2019 Grand Final at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on the afternoon of September 28.
The Tigers enter the game as a slight favorite against the league’s youngest club, which is playing in the Grand Final for the first time ever.
The Giants are the league’s Baby Frankenstein, having received hundreds of millions of dollars since league headquarters formed the team in 2010 to tap into one of Australia’s fastest-growing urban areas and to add another match to make broadcast rights more attractive to bidders.
Richmond makes the Grand Final despite having been plagued by long-term injuries to key players throughout the season. They will go into the game knowing that the last time these two teams met, the Tigers walked away victors at the MCG, a ground where they have won 34 of their last 38 matches.
The Giants have been brilliant throughout the finals series, winning their way through to the championship game by defeating highly favored opponents in the Western Bulldogs, Brisbane Lions and Collingwood Magpies along the way. They also add some mongrel and talent with stars Lachie Whitfield and Toby Greene coming back into the team. If they fire, things might get tough for the Tiges.
Greene will be refreshed, having sat out the previous week’s final against Collingwood after the tribunal (whose composition is two-thirds former Collingwood players) suspended him for a trivial infarction he denied committing, but probably paid the price for a season filled with a litany of unpunished offenses.
Kangaeroo.com is a lifelong supporter of the Tigers and, borrowing a turn of phrase from our aMerkin brethren, expects them to become the world champions of Australian football for 2019 by reducing the Giants to size.
Eat ’em alive, Tigers!
Richmond take on Geelong in the AFL Preliminary Final tonight at the MCG.
An easybeat team for the better part of 2 1/2 decades, the Tigers ushered in a glorious era in 1967 by beating the Cats in the 1967 Grand Final.
Relieve that moment as Richmond seeks to create another dynasty more than half a century later.
Eat ’em alive, Tigers!
Richmond are Australian Rules football champions of the world!
After 37 years!
The feeling of joy is indescribable.
Sheer, utter, unadulterated bliss does not do the feeling justice. Ecstasy doesn’t come close.
Decades of disappointment, anger, despair, longing, envy, mistakes, yearning, praying, desperation were all lifted in a handful of minutes and shared with hundreds of thousands.
Commiserations to the Adelaide Crows. What a fabulous team the Crows are. Like the Tigers, their time will come. Hopefully after the Tigers have established a couple of dynasties and become the team most hated by other teams again.
(Sung to the tune of Me & Bobby McGee)
Buggered at the Jolimont Road end, playing the Blues again
Back when having tats meant you were mean
Robbie pulled a durry out, though it was still during the game
Sucked a tinny filled with Tiger dreams
Balmely hooned and swiped a dirty big coathanger
Got ‘em playin’ soft while the Tiges smashed the Blues, yeah
Cheer squad at the Punt Road end was showing form was fine
Grog Squad singing every chant it knew
Freedom’s just another word for beatin’ up the Blues
Beatin’ don’t mean nothin’ without a flag like ’73, no no
And winnin’ under Tommy was easy Lord, ‘specially ‘gainst the Blues
You know, Tigers winning flags was good enough for me
Good enough for me and Robbie McGhie
From Tommy Hafey’s gold mines to always getting done
The past 37 years have destroyed my soul
Through all kinds of weather, through everything we done
Belief in the Tigers kept us from the cold
Now we’re at the ‘G again, the Crows have to play away
We’re at home, a gold jumper is gonna be just fine
And I’m sure all of our tomorrows are gonna be like yesterday
Holdin’ that Premiership cup is gonna be sublime
Freedom’s just another word for beatin’ the Adelaide crew
2017 premiers, that’s what we’re gonna be, yeah
Yeah, feelin’ good is easy when you’re beatin’ up the Crows
A premiership is gonna be good enough for me, mm-hmm
Good enough for me and Robbie McGhie
La da da
La da da da
La da da da da da da da
La da da da da da da da
Robbie McGhie, yeah
La da da da da da da
La da da da da da da
La da da da da da da
Robbie McGhie, yeah
La da La la da da la da da la da da
La da da da da da da da da
Hey, Robbie
Oh, oh Robbie McGhie, yeah
La la la la la la la la
La la la la la la la la la la la la la la la
Hey, Robbie
Oh, oh Robbie McGhie, yeah
Well, I call him an idol, a premiership back man
I said, not too high on talent, but did the best he can, c’mon
Hey now, Robbie now
Hey now, Robbie McGhie, yeah
Woo
La da, la da, la da, la da, la da, la da, la da, la la
Hey, hey, hey Robbie McGhie, yeah
La da, la da, la da, la da, la da, la da, la da, la
Hey, hey, hey, Robbie McGhie, yeah
* Apologies to Janis Joplin and Kris Kristofferson
Robert “Bones” McGhie was a dual premiership player (1973-1974) for the Richmond Football Club. The heavily tattooed McGhie started his career with Footscray, returned there following his time at Richmond and ended his career at South Melbourne, the team that became the Sydney Swans. He was a fine defender who perhaps didn’t get the accolades he deserved because of his looks, but he has forever been immortalized for having a smoke and a beer on the football field following the 1973 Grand Final, symbolizing a different age from the current milquetoast world of the AFL and extremely healthy lifestyles.
McGhie’s tale of durries and tinnies has been picked up by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation in the lead-up to Saturday’s Grand Final, when the Tigers take on the Adelaide Crows. Should the Tiges win, it’s likely to be slabs all round in Melbourne at least.
Robert ‘Bones’ McGhie: Famous smoking Richmond Tigers footballer revisits MCG
1973 VFL Grand Final (featuring Robbie McGhie)
1974 VFL Grand Final (featuring Robbie McGhie)
1980 VFL Grand Final (Richmond’s most recent premiership, but not featuring Robbie McGhie)
Richmond Football Club will play in the 2017 Grand Final, tackling the favorite Adelaide Crows, who must be beaten at all cost.
It’s the first time in 35 years that the Tigers will play off in Australian Football League’s most important game of the year. Richmond would lose that game after a stripper took off all her gear and streaked across the hallowed turf, her illegal actions much more appealing to the Tigers’ opponent Carlton, traditionally a favorite haunt of Australian organized crime, than a Richmond known for its hearty applications of elbow grease and welcoming acceptance of battlers from all over the world.
It has been 37 years since the Tigers won the premiership.
1980 Grand Final Record
When the Tigers won the 1980 flag, one pundit famously dubbed them the Team of the ’80s. Richmond would not win much in the 1980s. In fact, its star players mostly walked out on the club, it almost went broke, did not play finals after 1982 and twice finished bottom of the league, a dubious honor that bestows a wooden spoon on the team that accomplishes it. The 1990s were no better, the finals drought finally broken in 1995, but misery ruled the day. The Noughties were even worse. More wooden spoons followed and despite almost twice as many teams being eligible to compete in finals as had traditionally been the case, the Tigers developed the alarming tendency to finish agonizingly short of the Top Eight qualifiers, finding itself labeled with the mocking nickname of Ninthmond.
Things changed, slowly as they are wont to do when a winning culture has eroded, upon entering the 2010s. Gradually, the Tigers redeveloped a winning culture. From 2012 to 2015, Richmond was a finalist every year, losing each time it played off, but being an A-list team for three consecutive years for the first time since the club’s mid-1970s heyday.
Things seem a hell of a lot different in 2017 Still, there’s lots of similarities at work. In the Tigers’ last Grand Final, 1982, they were valiantly inspired by the late, great Maurice Rioli, the first even and one of just a few players from a losing to be awarded the Norm Smith Medal for Man of the Match. Maurice’s nephew, Daniel, will be playing for the Tiges on Sept. 30. Richmond’s captain 35 years ago was David Cloke, who was suffering a niggling problem that cast his appearance in doubt. This year, Richmond’s captain, Trent Cotchin, may be suspended (for an alleged transgression that would not have even been a blip on the radar of umpire concern in 1982) and his appearance is in doubt. (FWIW, Cloke would play, but walked out on the club after the game to take big bucks from vile Collingwood, one of Richmond’s fiercest rivals. He would be unceremoniously dumped a few years later and return to Tigerland with his tail between his legs). Also of note in the 1982 game was Mick Malthouse, who would famously fail a fitness test. Malthouse would go on to claim the record for coaching the most league games.
Cloke had also been an uncertain starter when he was vice-captain in 1980, the Tigers’ last premiership year. He would make it. The Tigers’ captain at that time, however, was Bruce Monteath, who would spend most of the day as a reserve in what was his final game for the club even though he was only 25.
There’s also similarities to 1980, the Tigers’ last premiership year. That year, one team was clearly ahead of the pack before an upstart team clawed its way through the finals to lay down a challenge. It’s a similar case in 2017, when the Crows have been at the head of the pack all year and go into the Grand Final as a clear favorite, especially after flogging the Tigers in the teams’ only encounter for the year, if not the sentimental choice, which is clearly behind Richmond. It’s converse to 37 years ago when the Tigers had been the dominators and challenged by Collingwood as the first team to make the Grand Final after finishing in 5th place. The Tigers would go on to win by what was then a record margin (here’s hoping the same doesn’t happen again).
1982 Grand Final Record
Richmond Football Club will contest the 2017 AFL Grand Final!
The mighty Tigers triumphed over the Australian Football League’s newest team, the Western Sydney Giants, a talent-packed outfit created to boost revenue from TV broadcasts.
Now, Richmond will play the rampaging Adelaide Crows to determine the Aussie Rules champion of the world!