Premierships in the modern AFL don’t come around too often - as my brother Tim would know.
He was slightly too young to remember Richmond’s 1980 premiership and slightly too old to have held onto his MCC membership when the next one arrived in 2017. Too many Tiger lapses led to his membership lapsing.
He lives in Brisbane now, and has brought up another generation of Tiger supporters (despite taunts that this was a form of child abuse!).
On Grand Final day we were reunited at the MCG high in Level 4. All was delicately poised and the only certainty was that at the end of the day one of the AFL’s two best theme songs would be broadcast from the loudspeakers.
Before the game there was a Guinness World Record attempt at the loudest recorded sound. We yelled on cue and an official measured the volume. Perhaps we broke the record - but nothing has the spine-tingling quality of the roar straight after the national anthem, or an eruption of “BALL!”
The first quarter offered everything apart from goals. The MCG is vast but the space around the ball was repeatedly closed down by relentless pressure and fierce tackling. Daniel Rioli finished the quarter with a triumphant goal and an apparently controversial salute (not visible from our vantage point!)
For short periods over the last three years Richmond have offered up breathtaking football. Players tap, knock or thump the ball forward, run helter skelter, surge forward in waves and create shots at goal (or more recently a Lynch mark).
They sustained this impossible mode for four quarters today. I sympathise with the neutral supporters lamenting the consequent lack of contest in the game. I sat quietly at the 2015 Grand Final next to my Hawthorn-supporting cousins who whooped and laughed for 120 minutes. But I hope that there was something in the artistry of the performance that impressed all.
Tim went to meet and old friend just before half time, but he struggled to get near the entrance of the David Neitz Terrace. Either the Tiger supporters were celebrating early or the neutrals had decided that there was more of a contest to be had trying to reach the bar. Meanwhile, I witnessed an historic moment for the AFL’s expansion project as Gold Coast won their first ever Grand Final Sprint with Ben King powering to the tape.
In the absence of an overall narrative, supporters turned our attention to individual stories in the game. Was Marlion Pickett the first person on debut in a Grand Final to make a 360 degree turn? Would Bachar Houli win the Norm Smith Medal he so deserved last time or would Dusty win it again? Would Jeremy Finlayson get a possession? If Jason Castagna kicked six behinds, would that go down on the stat sheet as a goal?
The final siren merged into renditions of Tigerland, and cries of “YELLOW AND BLACK”. Richmond players embraced with many other people who had a special connection to them.
Dusty won another Norm Smith Medal and gave another 10-word speech (the same one as two years ago?). Every Richmond player was individually lauded. The Premiership Cup was raised and the crowd roared. And all the while the Giants’ players stood motionless.
The moment didn’t seem right without a beer in hand, so we retreated to the Midfielders Bar. The TV stations on the screens there actually showed what was happening just below us on the ground. We could see players laughing, children being carried - and Rance, Astbury and Grimes having a casual conversation on the grass together.
We took Damien Hardwick at his word when he said, in his acceptance speech, that he would see us on Swan St.
But even Dusty would have struggled to find space to move in the crowd of revellers down there. There was a heavy police presence, but they were tolerant of the exuberance and the occasional grog stash behind the “no alcohol” signs. The mood was joyous.
It was time to say goodbye to Tim. Who knows, maybe premierships do happen often?
Such precious shared moments with family often don’t.
Dave Campbell is privileged to have been old enough to watch the 1980, 2017 and 2019 Richmond Premierships. He is a Physics and Environmental Science teacher in Geelong, where there are a surprising number of Tiger supporters. He is a keen cyclist except when driving his daughters to extra-curricular commitments.
RICHMOND 2.3 7.5 12.9 17.12 (114)
GWS GIANTS 1.2 1.6 2.7 3.7 (25)
GOALS
Richmond: Riewoldt 5, Martin 4, Lynch 2, Rioli, Soldo, Pickett, Lambert, Bolton, Cotchin
GWS GIANTS: Cameron, Hopper, Himmelberg
BEST
Richmond: Martin, Riewoldt, Prestia, Pickett, Edwards, Vlastuin, Houli
GWS GIANTS: Taranto, Shaw, Haynes, Hopper, Williams
Crowd: 100,014