3 minute read
Fast facts about Saturday night's AFL grand final between Richmond and Geelong at the Gabba in Brisbane.
A GUIDE TO THE AFL GRAND FINAL BETWEEN RICHMOND AND GEELONG:-
WHEN: Saturday, 7.30pm AEDT
WHERE: The Gabba, Brisbane
THE FORM
* Richmond (H&A third, 12 wins, 4 losses, 1 draw). Beaten by 15 points by Brisbane in a qualifying final, trounced St Kilda by 31 points in a semi and pipped Port Adelaide by six points in a preliminary final.
* Geelong (H&A fourth, 12 wins, 5 losses). Lost to Port Adelaide by 16 points in a qualifying final, hammered Collingwood by 68 in a semi and thrashed Brisbane by 40 points in a preliminary final.
HEAD-TO-HEAD
* Overall: Richmond 90 wins Geelong 104 wins 3 draws
* In finals: Richmond 9 wins Geelong 2 wins
* Last time: Round 17, 2020: Richmond 7.15 (57) bt Geelong 4.7 (31) at Metricon Stadium
THE COACHES
* Damien Hardwick is eyeing a third premiership in four years after successes in 2017 and last year. Failed to win a final in his first seven seasons. Five wins and nine losses against Geelong, his lowest winning percentage of all opponents, but two of those victories were finals.
* Chris Scott returns to a grand final for the first time since 2011, when he won the flag in his first season with the Cats. Has missed the finals just once in his decade in charge. Coached eight wins and five losses to Richmond, with two of those defeats in finals.
THE KEY PLAYERS
* Dustin Martin (Richmond). Two grand finals, two premierships, two Norm Smith medals. No player has won the Norm Smith three times since it was first awarded in 1979 with Gary Ayres, Andrew McLeod and Luke Hodge other multiple winners.
* Patrick Dangerfield (Geelong). Rivals Martin for the label of best player in the competition but yet to play in a grand final at any level. A ferocious ball-hunter but also a dominant force when stationed in attack.
* Tom Lynch (Richmond). The polarising key forward hasn't played in a losing final since crossing from Gold Coast for the 2019 season, with a perfect five from five record. The main aerial threat for the Cats to counter.
* Tom Hawkins (Geelong). The Coleman medallist is the linchpin of Geelong's scoring: he's kicked a league-high 48 goals himself and has also 23 goal assists - no player in the competition has more.
THE STATS
* Richmond average the most inside 50s of any team - 46.9 a game compared with Geelong 43.3. The Cats rank second for clearances while the Tigers rank second-last.
THE TIP
* Richmond by 16 points