Richmond has swept to victory in the AFL grand final, extinguishing GWS hopes of glory with a dominant 89-point win at the MCG for the club’s 12th flag.
GWS was hoping to complete a fairy tale finals turnaround to win the flag from sixth but after the Giants kicked the first goal of the day, they then conceded the next 11.
Out-tackled, out-performed, out-scored — it was a dirty day for the Giants, as a terrific Tigers outfit made it two flags in three years with a 17.12 (114) to 3.7 (25) victory.
Jack Riewoldt led the way for Richmond with five goals, while GWS had no multiple goalkickers.
THE TIGERS HAVE WON THE PREMIERSHIP!
FT: @Richmond_FC 17.12 (114) defeat @GWSGIANTS 3.7 (25).#AFLGF
3005:04 PM – Sep 28, 2019Twitter Ads info and privacy166 people are talking about this
The biggest gamble of grand final day came 90 minutes before the bounce, when the teams came out with GWS skipper Phil Davis still listed.
Davis was seriously limited when he injured his calf and shoulder in the preliminary final win over Collingwood.
The shoulder got better, but Davis appeared to be limping when he did a light fitness test shortly before 1pm.
The Giants’ skipper looked proppy all day, and while he got 15 disposals, he struggled to make an impact in defence and contain the Tigers’ rampant forward line.
GWS had beaten the Western Bulldogs and Brisbane before prevailing in a preliminary final over Collingwood.
But there were concerns over whether they would have the legs to run out four quarters against a Richmond side that had been shifting through the gears with wins over Brisbane and Geelong.
There were plenty of storylines going into the game, with huge attention on debutant Marlion Pickett, who became the first debutant in a VFL/AFL grand final since Collingwood’s Keith Batchelor in 1952.
It took more than 20 minutes for the first goal of the game, as Jacob Hopper kicked an inside out ball high for Jeremy Cameron to outmark Dylan Grimes, outside 50 on the left.
He went back and kicked it truly to give the Giants a five-point lead.
The Giants seemed to weather the storm, and after the goal they looked to take a lead into quarter-time.
But the Tigers were still putting immense pressure on GWS.
With just over a minute left in the first term, Richmond forced a turnover on the wing, Jack Riewoldt pounced and drilled a ball to Martin, who took a mark inside 50, drawing a huge roar from the Tiger Army.
He ran round and kicked the goal to put Richmond ahead. Then in the dying seconds the ball came forward again and Daniel Rioli booted another on the siren, and suddenly the Tigers led by seven points at quarter-time.
More to come.
AFL grand final: Richmond Tigers v GWS Giants at the MCG, live blog – 9News Nigeria
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- Richmond 17.11 (114) def
- GWS 3.7 (25)
- IT’S TIGER TIME AGAIN! RICHMOND WINS THE GRAND FINAL BY 89 POINTS!
- Congratulations Richmond, the runaway premiers of 2019!AAP It was an absolute drubbing in the end, a performance of almost unprecedented power, pace and precision. It was Richmond at its absolute best, and in truth it would not have mattered who the Tigers were playing today. They were on another level, and when the whips have cracked this season, their best has been too good for the rest of the AFL. It wasn’t a grand final for the purists, but it was fun to watch purely for the flatly ridiculous footy the Tigers were playing. These will be serious celebrations on Punt Road, and this is a serious football team. Among the best of a generation.
- 2 minutes ago (Updated: 2 minutes ago)Fair trophy cabinet this bloke is building. AAP Dean Bilton 2 minutes ago(Updated: 2 minutes ago)
- 9 minutes ago (Updated: 9 minutes ago)AFL✔@AFLPREMIERS #AFLGF185:54 PM – Sep 28, 2019Twitter Ads info and privacySee AFL’s other TweetsDean Bilton 9 minutes ago(Updated: 9 minutes ago)
- 10 minutes ago (Updated: 10 minutes ago)”It was sweet, was’t it?” That’s Dustin Martin speaking to Channel Seven about Marlion Pickett’s third-quarter goal. You know what was sweeter? THIS.Ethan@ethan_meldrumMarlion Pickett taking an extraordinary amount of piss out there. #AFLGF1033:58 PM – Sep 28, 2019Twitter Ads info and privacy31 people are talking about thisDean Bilton 10 minutes ago(Updated: 10 minutes ago)
- 15 minutes ago (Updated: 15 minutes ago)Richmond FC ✔@Richmond_FCFamily 855:47 PM – Sep 28, 2019Twitter Ads info and privacySee Richmond FC ‘s other TweetsDean Bilton 15 minutes ago(Updated: 15 minutes ago)
- 18 minutes ago (Updated: 18 minutes ago)AAPDean Bilton 18 minutes ago(Updated: 18 minutes ago)
- 20 minutes ago (Updated: 20 minutes ago)Here you go – Marlion Pickett got four Norm Smith votes on debut. You wouldn’t read about it.AFL House✔@AFL_House2019 Norm Smith Medal Voting
15 – Dustin Martin, Richmond – 33333
6 – Bachar Houli, Richmond – 222
4 – Marlion Pickett, Richmond – 211
3 – Jack Riewoldt, Richmond – 111
2 – Dion Prestia, Richmond – 2265:43 PM – Sep 28, 2019Twitter Ads info and privacySee AFL House’s other TweetsDean Bilton 20 minutes ago(Updated: 20 minutes ago) - 21 minutes ago (Updated: 21 minutes ago)In a league of his own.AFL✔@AFLTwo premierships
Two Norm Smith Medals
One Brownlow
The only player to have ever achieved that. #AFLGF3415:26 PM – Sep 28, 2019Twitter Ads info and privacy96 people are talking about thisDean Bilton 21 minutes ago(Updated: 21 minutes ago) - 24 minutes ago (Updated: 24 minutes ago)Richmond FC ✔@Richmond_FCBROTHERS #AFLGF #gotiges2415:27 PM – Sep 28, 2019Twitter Ads info and privacy37 people are talking about thisDean Bilton 24 minutes ago(Updated: 24 minutes ago)
- 27 minutes ago (Updated: 27 minutes ago)AFL✔@AFLYELLOW AND BLACK!#AFLGF1565:19 PM – Sep 28, 2019Twitter Ads info and privacy49 people are talking about thisDean Bilton 27 minutes ago(Updated: 27 minutes ago)
- 33 minutes ago (Updated: 25 minutes ago)COTCH AND DIMMA LIFT THE CUP! THE TIGERS ARE PREMIERS AGAIN! Channel Seven Dean Bilton 33 minutes ago(Updated: 25 minutes ago)
- 35 minutes ago (Updated: 35 minutes ago)Now Damien Hardwick. To the Giants, you’ve been incredibly brave to get through the adversity you have. It wasn’t your day today, but you’ll be back. To Brendan Gale and Peggy, you are superstars. To our wonderful playing group, you are simply stunning as a playing group. And to the Tiger Army, we’ll see you at Swan Street. And then Cotchin RETURNS to the mic because he forgot to thank the fans. First blooper of the day.
Source: ABC News Live, 9NEWS, NEWS AUSTRALIA