Richmond Tigers and Geelong square off in the Australian Rules grand final on Saturday morning (09:30 UK time) and Geelong are in for a tough time trying to stop their opponents securing another AFL crown.
Dominant Tigers After Another Premiership
The Tigers have won two of the last three grand finals and Damien Hardwick’s side look like they will take some stopping in Queensland.
Richmond finished third in the regular ladder but have progressed to the final in an impressive manner, bouncing back from a first play-off defeat against Brisbane Lions to beat St Kilda and then Port Adelaide en route.
Geelong have had a similar path to this weekend’s showpiece, finishing the regular ladder in fourth, before then going down to Port, who had finished top of the standings after 18 rounds, in their first AFL finals series game.
The Cats then disposed of Collingwood in dominant fashion, superbly winning 100-32, before another fine display got them past Brisbane in the preliminary final round.
The match moneyline odds are mightily tight but do reflect the fact that, on balance, Richmond are still regarded as the best Aussie Rules side around and another Premiership beckons if they are at the top of their game at The Gabba.
Another thing to consider is that the last time these two met last month, Richmond ran out fairly comfortable winners 57-31.
Richmond are 10/13 to win, while Geelong are 20/21.
Scott Under No Illusions
In the build-up to the grand final, Geelong coach Chris Scott let his guard down when admitting trying to stop Richmond when they are on the rampage is very difficult, while he conceded his side must be practically faultless to come out on top.
Pre-match kidology or not, Scott is well aware his side are facing a huge fight on Saturday.
He said: “Working out what to do is pretty easy. Being able to execute it against the best in a pressurised situation is much harder.
“We’re pretty aware of what they do. But I think the great teams in history have been pretty transparent. It’s pretty easy to see what they do well, it’s just very, very hard to stop it.”
Scott has named an unchanged side from the one that beat the Lions and at least a familiar line-up should take confidence from their run to the final, even if they are unlikely to be strong enough to stop Richmond, who are also set to be unchanged, on the day.
Richmond certainly look worthy favourites for the showpiece clash and siding with the Lions in the -2.5 handicap market at 25/29 or to win by 1-39 points at 11/10 should be considered.
*All odds correct at time of writing.