My teammate James Kelly played an unheralded role in 2009 in the back pocket, covering for injuries in our line-up and keeping a battalion of dangerous St Kilda small forwards in check.
The 2017 grand final was just the fifth match of Jack Graham’s career. In the second half, Richmond coach Damien Hardwick asked the teenager to play a run-with role on Adelaide ball-winner Rory Sloane. It worked. Graham finished the game with three goals and a premiership medal – the ultimate reward for his team-first and always-team approach.
In just his fifth AFL game, Jack Graham became a Richmond hero alongside Dustin Martin when the Tigers won the 2017 premiership.Credit: Wayne Ludbey
There’s no secret to how you win big games. In fact, the recipe for doing it probably sounds boring to many people.
The side that does the fundamentals of the game best, time and time again, will prevail. Don’t fumble. Stick your tackles. Hit targets with handballs. Kick the ball to advantage. Close out uncontested marks. Shut your opponents out.
Boring, right? But it’s how you win – if your team does the basics well and the players commit to their role, putting their egos aside for the sake of the team, the rewards can be immense. A 10-possession game might not get you picked in many fantasy teams. But if you do your job well, it might get you a premiership medal.
Tom Lonergan had just five disposals in the 2011 grand final. But he put the brakes on a rampant Travis Cloke, and got the reward he richly deserved.
Tom Lonergan and Geelong fans celebrate winning the 2011 AFL grand final over Collingwood.Credit: Jason South
Dusty was the undoubted star of Richmond’s premierships of 2017, 2019 and 2020, but it was the hard running and forward pressure applied by the Tigers’ less-heralded small forwards that allowed him to shine.
Tom Barrass didn’t get Norm Smith Medal votes in 2018, but he was a mountain in the West Coast back line. Without him, the Eagles’ five-point win would not have been possible, and the heroics of Luke Shuey and Dom Sheed would’ve been in vain.
Finals are won on consistency and execution, even though it will always be individual brilliance that gets highlighted and celebrated the most.
I’m not saying that you don’t need your star players to play well, but the importance of attention to detail gets amplified in finals.
That’s why the players I’ll have a particularly close eye on in this finals series are not be the big-names you’re likely to see on the red carpets and leaderboards of the AFL award season.
I’m talking about Geelong’s Tom Atkins and Brisbane’s Josh Dunkley. When they are their usual brutal best, crunching the opponent’s best midfielders it allows their superstar teammates to flourish.
Collingwood defenders Darcy Moore and Billy Frampton will need pressure on the ball from the likes of Ned Long and Jack Crisp to get their intercept game going just as much as the Pies will need midfielders winning 30 possessions.
Conversely, Nick Murray’s role cannot be overstated for Adelaide. Since Jordon Butts went out of the team in mid-July, his diligent defensive efforts have allowed Mark Keane and Josh Worrell to continue doing what they do best – intercept and cut off opposition attacking motions.
Loading
For the Giants, it’s vital forwards and midfielders, including Xavier O’Halloran, Darcy Jones and Harvey Thomas, cut out and work hard to offer release marking options. That role is just as important as linking up to getting involved in their exciting forays forward, which have become known as the “orange tsunami”.
With attention turning to his midfield depth, Hawthorn coach Sam Mitchell will be relying on versatile Irishman Conor Nash to use his physicality against the Giants stars in that part of the ground.
At Fremantle, dashing defender Jordan Clark has just earned All-Australian selection, but he only gets to roam like he does because of the support of quiet achiever Heath Chapman. For Gold Coast, Ethan Read has taken the mantle this year as the second big bopper in the forward line. His competitive instincts mean opposition defenders have to man him up closely and can’t fold back into the space that Ben King has used to become one of the league’s leading goalkickers.
This finals series is legitimately an open race. All eight teams are capable of going all the way, and they all have genuine superstars. It’s going to be fun to watch them strut their stuff. But it might just be an unsung hero who has the biggest influence of all.
Keep up to date with the best AFL coverage in the country. Sign up for the Real Footy newsletter.
