A PREVIEW PANEL FOR THE AFL GRAND FINAL BETWEEN RICHMOND AND GWS
SATURDAY, September 28
AFL Grand Final
Richmond v GWS at the MCG 2.30pm AEST
Head to head: Tigers 8 Giants 4 Drawn 0
Finals head to head: Tigers 1 Giants 0 Drawn 0
Last clash: Round 17, 2019 – Tigers 13.16 (94) bt Giants 9.13 (67) at the MCG
First Tigers v Giants grand final
Can Richmond ride their late-season momentum to a second flag in three years or will GWS claim their first premiership in just their eighth season in the competition? The Tigers, who finished the home-and-away season third on the ladder, are favoured to score a 12th premiership after storming into the grand final with 11 wins on the trot. But the underdog Giants, who qualified for September action in sixth spot, have proved their doubters wrong in an impressive finals series where they’ve defeated the Western Bulldogs, Brisbane and Collingwood to earn their first-ever grand final berth. Damien Hardwick’s men have come a long way since their flag hopes were widely written off when star defender Alex Rance suffered a season-ending knee injury in round one and have looked irresistible at times in their run to the finals. Leon Cameron’s side have overcome their own adversity to make it to the premiership decider, with Callan Ward, Stephen Coniglio and Brett Deledio among the injured stars who won’t feature on grand final day. Coniglio’s selflessness to rule himself out with a knee injury will surely spur his teammates on. The Tigers swung a selection surprise when they handed mature-aged rookie Marlion Pickett an AFL debut to replace the injured Jack Graham. GWS regained Toby Greene from suspension and Lachie Whitfield from appendix surgery, the pair replacing Lachie Keeffe and Bobby Hill.
Key: Tom Lynch and Jack Riewoldt versus Jeremy Cameron, Jeremy Finlayson and Harry Himmelberg. Both forward lines are loaded with potent weapons and how their key position targets perform will go a long way to deciding the result. Riewoldt had a quiet preliminary final, going goalless against Geelong, but Lynch picked up the slack with five. Cameron booted 67 goals to claim his first Coleman Medal at the end of the regular season and has taken that form into the final. Despite the absence of Rance, the Tigers defence has excelled in not conceding more than nine goals in any of their three finals.
Tip: Tigers by 18 points.
