RICHMOND-GWS AFL GRAND FINAL PREVIEW PANEL

Saturday, Sept 28

AFL Grand Final

Richmond v GWS at the MCG, 3.20pm

Head to head: Tigers 8 Giants 4

Last clash: Tigers 13.16 (94) bt Giants 9.13 (67) R17, MCG

Last final: Tigers 15.13 (103) bt Giants 9.13 (67) 2017 PF, MCG

This is a landmark grand final and not only because it’s the first premiership decider for one of the expansion clubs. It’s also the first time since 1980 that neither of the top two teams going into the finals have reached the last day in September (Richmond were third and the Giants finished fifth). This is a good omen for the Tigers, given they mauled Collingwood in the 1980 grand final. But the Giants have a look of the 2016 Western Bulldogs about them and this looms as an absorbing duel, especially given GWS will regain prime Norm Smith Medal candidate Toby Greene from suspension. Richmond will start favourites and would have loved GWS and Collingwood bashing into each other in their preliminary final. Then again, Collingwood would have felt the same about the epic GWS-Brisbane semi-final. These Giants are tough and the Ferraris are now showing they can win big.

Key: Dusty v de Boer, take two. Giants tagger Matt de Boer drove Richmond star Dustin Martin to distraction when GWS won in round three and Martin ended up serving a suspension. The GWS stopper is the player of the finals so far, having shut down All-Australian trio Marcus Bontempell, Lachie Neale and Scott Pendlebury in successive weeks. How Martin copes with de Boer this time will go a long way to deciding who wins the flag.