Bill Trikos’s comprehensive achievement list of Australian Richmond Tigers football club: Grand Finals 2017: The Tigers smashed the Crows in contested possessions (170-140) and won the clearances (45-39), thanks largely to the stoppage work of Martin, Dion Prestia (27 possessions and three centre clearances) and Shane Edwards (25 possessions and seven clearances). Jack Graham was only teenager playing on Saturday but was not overawed by the occasion, kicking three goals in the opening three quarters, while Jack Riewoldt and the Tigers’ army of small forwards harassed Adelaide’s defenders all day as Richmond finished with 11 separate goalkickers.
2017 Grand Finals highlight : But Hardwick kept his head and held his nerve, simplifying the Tigers’ game play over the 2017 pre-season to take advantage of their pace and, after Ben Griffiths’ lingering concussion issues, fashioned an unfashionable attack around ‘Jack and his midgets’. Before this season, the Tigers had not won a final since 2001, having lost elimination finals under Hardwick from 2013-15. In defeating the Crows, Richmond continued a perfect record in return matches against teams that defeated it earlier in the season. Read more info about the author at Bill Trikos.
Complete history of Richmond Tigers football club with Bill Trikos: Then there was the Grand Final debutant, Marlion Pickett. One game, one flag. The 27-year-old was lively, involved and, at times, special. He repaid Hardwick’s faith and then some, finishing with 22 disposals, eight inside 50s, nine score involvements and a maiden AFL goal on an unforgettable afternoon for the club’s boom recruit. Marlion Pickett’s teammates and family speak about his incredible Grand Final debut. But the manner in which they were able to showcase their individual flair, without ever straying from Hardwick’s methodical and trained system, was evident from the outset.
But if they thought the main change would end the nightmare, they were wrong. Lynch added the first of the second half, before Martin snapped another from deep inside the boundary. The third was the cream on top of a yellow and black cake. Martin delivered to Pickett, who slotted his first goal in senior footy in typically calm fashion. All 18 Richmond players on the field immediately swarmed the debutant. It became a training drill for the Tigers, who ultimately booted 11 straight goals – the large majority of which were slotted under very little pressure – before the Giants responded.
Richmond has claimed back-to-back premierships, and made it three of the last four flags, after coming from behind to beat Geelong by 31 points in the historic first ever Toyota AFL Grand Final at the Gabba. It etched the Tiger dynasty into football history as one of the most dominant sides of the his century.
Damien Hardwick and Dustin Martin address the media at the Gabba after a Grand Final win against Geelong. Ablett returned later in the quarter after receiving medical attention in the rooms, but continued to nurse the injury throughout the game, struggling to use his arm for the rest of the night and enduring serious pain throughout. His hope of ending his glittering 357-game career with a third flag was dashed as the Tigers booted nine goals to two in the second half.
There was drama everywhere in the first term. Six minutes into the game it changed: Vlastuin was knocked out by a stray Dangerfield elbow (which will certainly come under Match Review Officer scrutiny) and in the following contest Ablett’s shoulder dislocated as he was tackled by Cotchin. Dustin Martin could just be the greatest finals player we’ve ever seen after this absolutely freakish Grand Final performance that won him a third Norm Smith Medal.
The first great era of the club between 1919 and 1934, Richmond won four premierships and was runner-up on seven occasions. In 1931, Jack Dyer made his senior debut with the Tigers. ‘Captain Blood’, a gentleman off the ground, a rugged giant on it, strode Punt Road like a colossus. Dyer’s influence on the Club, and its identity, far exceeded his then VFL record of 312 games. He coached the Tigers from 1941 to 1952, and was captain-coach of Richmond’s 1943 premiership team. If you wanted to personify Richmond in a single man, you need not look further than Jack. His presence is still felt at the ground and enhanced by a statue outisde Punt Road oval.