A triple Tiger treat: The 2020 AFL season in review
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The 2020 AFL season will long be remembered by footy fans and even those for whom football is no more than a passing interest. In part, this will be for traditional reasons — in particular the confirmation of Richmond as one of the great modern teams, and the elevation of Dustin Martin's already elite status to an even higher level.
But it will be for non-football reasons — and the way the AFL responded to them — that the 2020 season will long be remembered, perhaps when even Richmond's achievements of the era have faded from the memory.
Those reasons are, of course, the pandemic caused by COVID—19 and its devastating and far-reaching effects. The impact of the coronavirus pandemic was so widespread and severe across Australia and the world that, looking back, it's remarkable the AFL season was even reignited after its false start in March. The AFL and its 18 clubs are to be highly commended for the way they have met and overcome the unprecedented challenges faced. AFL CEO Gill McLachlan flagged the need to be "agile" very early in the season, and he and his team were very much up to the task, despite a belief in some areas that the league would be unable to clear the many pandemic hurdles it faced, and complete a full (albeit modified) season.
The fixture for the 2020 season that was drawn up in October last year was abandoned after a single round, and the season itself was suspended for almost three months before resuming in June with a flexible fixture released in blocks of no more than several weeks. It made for an interesting and challenging season for clubs, players, coaches, staff and fans alike, with club personnel having to learn to live in 'hubs', isolated for lengthy periods, away at times from close family and friends.
Ultimately every team was able to play each other once, creating perhaps the most equitable fixture the league has produced in decades, and the season came to a climax with a Grand Final played at the Gabba in Brisbane in front of just under 30,000 spectators. Had anyone prognosticated 12 months ago that the 2020 AFL season would finish in that manner, they would likely have had their mental capacities severely questioned!
March
Though the spectre of COVID had appeared in Australia by the beginning of the year, the severity of its impact seemed — for a period of time at least — likely to be relatively minor. As such the AFL pre-season proceeded more or less as planned, with spectators permitted at all venues.
However, by the time the season proper began, circumstances had changed dramatically. After lengthy discussions and negotiations, the AFL decided to go ahead with the season as planned, with one monumental concession — there would be no crowds. Some club leaders had counselled against such a decision, suggesting the season be put on hold immediately, but Round 1 ultimately went ahead as originally fixtured. Before it had ended, though, the AFL announced that the season would be suspended as soon as the round was completed.
And so Round 1 went ahead, commencing with the traditional 'blockbuster' match between Richmond and Carlton on Thursday March 24. It was an odd, indeed eerie, experience for all involved, as the Tigers and Blues battled it out at an empty MCG, a sporting colosseum devoid of spectators. The reigning premiers jumped out of the blocks as the Blues appeared to struggle with the weird atmosphere. By half time, Carlton was eight goals behind, but they staged a remarkable recovery to draw within 17 points early in the final term, before Richmond settled to win by an even four goals.
The following night, Collingwood unexpectedly thrashed the Western Bulldogs, the Dogs having been seen by many as a premiership threat in 2020. They looked anything but finalists, let alone potential premiers, on the night, while the Magpies' performance suggested they would be around the mark at the 'pointy end' of the season.
At the Adelaide Oval, Sydney held off the Crows by three points to sour Matthew Nicks's coaching debut. Nicks would not taste victory as Adelaide coach until September. There were two other thrillers, with Essendon holding out Fremantle by six points at Docklands, and North Melbourne pipping the Saints by two points. These three results meant that the three new coaches — Nicks at Adelaide, Justin Longmuir at Fremantle and Brett Ratten at St Kilda — were all losers in Round 1, but by a combined margin of just 11 points.
In the other matches, Port Adelaide easily accounted for Gold Coast, as did GWS for Geelong and Hawthorn — somewhat surprisingly — for Brisbane.
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With eight of the nine Round 1 matches completed, Gil McLachlan (left) publicly announced that the season would be put on hold indefinitely after the final match — West Coast v Melbourne at Perth Stadium. The Eagles duly defeated the Demons, and the season ground to a halt, with no one knowing if or when it would resume.
The following day, March 23, McLachlan announced the AFL would:
- Immediately reduce the salaries of the AFL Executive team by a minimum 20 per cent indefinitely.
- See the majority of full-time staff (approximately 80 per cent) initially stood down from their current duties from next Monday March 30, until May 31. Those team members will be able to access their available annual leave and long service leave entitlements. The AFL will also provide staff stood down with nine additional special leave days at full pay to provide further assistance to them and their families during this time.
- Temporarily move to a core operations structure with remaining AFL staff, who will have reduced hours of 3 or 4 days per week.
- Release casual staff from duties.
- Move to not fill any listed vacancies.
McLachlan also flagged a resumption of the season on May 31. Ultimately, that would occur almost two weeks later, on June 11.
April and May
There was little McLachlan, the AFL or the clubs themselves could do during the month of April in a footballing sense, as the ravages of COVID tore through the country. But by the middle of May, the picture appeared to be a little clearer. On May 15, the league announced that the season would resume on Thursday June 11.
The statement released flagged a month-long return-to-play plan:
"The AFL has today announced that clubs will return to training on Monday, May 18 and the 2020 Toyota AFL Premiership season will resume on Thursday, June 11. Players and football department officials will return to clubs on Monday, with clubs completing a 3.5 week training block before matches officially restart.
The Return to Play model will see all teams based out of their home state with the exception of the Western Australian teams West Coast Eagles and Fremantle, and South Australian teams Adelaide Crows and Port Adelaide."
McLachlan also announced that the fixture for the remainder of the season would be released in blocks of four to six weeks to allow for flexibility where required, given the fluid nature of the rules and laws of states and territories around COVID-19.
June
Having waited nearly three months to watch a game of professional footy, fans were given an odd reintroduction to the game on Thursday June 11, when Richmond took on Collingwood at an empty MCG. The Magpies kicked four goals to none in the opening term, but only one more for the remainder of the match, yet still managed not to lose. The match ended in a draw, both sides finishing on 5.6.36, and the congested, low-scoring aspect of the match left some wondering if they really were glad to see footy back.
The remainder of the round's matches saw the Bulldogs put up another poor showing — this time against a resurgent St Kilda — to slump to the bottom of the ladder, while Essendon won its second consecutive match by six points — this time against Sydney, to join Richmond and North Melbourne (who had a surprise win over GWS) as the only three undefeated sides.
In the other games Geelong and Gold Coast thrashed Hawthorn and West Coast respectively (the latter result a huge upset), while Port Adelaide did the same to Adelaide in the year's only Showdown. Melbourne beat Carlton by the narrowest of margins after the Blues gave them a five goal start, and Brisbane defeated Fremantle by two goals.
Just when things looked like settling down into some semblance of routine on the weekend of Round 3, Essendon's Conor McKenna tested positive for COVID, forcing the match between the Dons and Melbourne to be postponed. The rest of the round went ahead as scheduled, with Carlton upsetting Geelong at Kardinia Park, Hawthorn recording a surprisingly easy victory over Richmond, and the Bulldogs rising off the bottom of the ladder with an impressive win over GWS.
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The Dogs' were replaced at the foot of the ladder by Adelaide, who were soundly thrashed by Gold Coast, and with Port Adelaide recording their third win of the season, over Fremantle, the ladder for the first time in history saw Port Adelaide at the top and their crosstown arch rivals Adelaide at the bottom. That would remain the case for the rest of the home and away season. The other Round 3 matches saw Colllingwood defeat St Kilda, Brisbane beat West Coast and Sydney overcome North Melbourne.
Round 4 took the season to the end of June, and Gold Coast surprisingly to second place on the ladder. With Rising Star favourite Matt Rowell dominating, the Suns defeated Fremantle to set up a 3-1 win-loss record. For the third week in a row, Carlton played a match decided by two points or fewer, this time a one-point win over Essendon at the MCG. The same ground hosted another thriller the next day, with Geelong holding off a fast-finishing Melbourne by three points.
A win by GWS over Collingwood by two points and Hawthorn over North by four points meant that Round 4 consisted of games decided by 1, 2, 3 and 4 points. The remaining matches were not as close, the Dogs defeating Sydney by 28, St Kilda inflicting another defeat on Richmond (26 points), Port Adelaide thrashing West Coast (48 points) and Brisbane brushing aside Adelaide (37 points).
With all sides other than Essendon and Melbourne having played four matches, the ladder at June's end had Port on top, followed by Gold Coast, Brisbane and Hawthorn making up the top four, with Collingwood, Geelong, St Kilda and Essendon completing the top eight.
July (Rounds 5 to 9, July 2 to August 2)
Just as the season seemed to be settling into a rhythm, the worsening COVID situation in Victoria forced the AFL to again embrace the agile approach they had flagged at the beginning of the year. The five games played in Victoria in Round 5 — two at Docklands, two at the MCG and one at Kardinia Park — were the last in the state for the entire year.
At the completion of the round all Victorian-based sides were relocated to hubs in New South Wales or Queensland. The initial plan was for the clubs to return to Melbourne after a month, but the COVID situation in Victoria meant that they remained in the country's north for the remainder of their seasons.
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On the field, the five-week block was a successful one for West Coast, who emerged from a slump to win their final two games while based in Queensland, and then revelled in being back home in Perth by winning their next three games as well. The Eagles were the only side to win five from five in the July block, but three sides — Brisbane, St Kilda and Richmond — won four of their five matches to move into the ladder's upper echelon.
Port Adelaide won three matches in the period to remain at the head of the ladder, their superior percentage keeping them ahead of second-placed Brisbane. Geelong, GWS and the Western Bulldogs also won three to occupy the last three places in the top eight, as did Essendon, although the Bombers slipped to ninth as a result of their two losses being heavy defeats at the hands of the Bulldogs and Brisbane.
Fremantle was another side to win three of five, but Carlton, Collingwood and Melbourne could only conjure two victories over the five weeks. The biggest losers of July were North Melbourne, Sydney and Hawthorn, each of whom could find only one win, and Adelaide, who were still winless nine games into the year, and into Matthew Nicks's coaching career.
The first game of the final round in the block of five — Round 9, kicked off an unprecedented 20 consecutive days on which at least one AFL match would be played. The AFL's decision to have this "Festival of Football" was designed to ensure fans enduring lockdown (particularly in Victoria) would have football to look forward to each evening and, more specifically, to fit as many games as practicable in a short period to allow for more flexibility later in the season and in case any further COVID-related postponements were to occur.
August (Rounds 10 to 14)
The month of August took in five rounds, the first of those beginning on a Monday unusually, August 3, with Port Adelaide holding off a determined Western Bulldogs to maintain top place. Richmond and Geelong showed ominous signs to the other premiership contenders by easily defeating Brisbane and North Melbourne respectively, while Melbourne kicked off what would be a good month for the Demons with a 51-point hiding of the Crows in Adelaide.
Two of the Round 10 matches were decided by exactly four points, St Kilda defeating Gold Coast and GWS beating Essendon by that margin. The round's only other close match was a nine-point win over Sydney by Collingwood. Four sides — Carlton, Fremantle, Hawthorn and West Coast had a bye. The other sides to have a bye during August were GWS, Sydney, Adelaide and Brisbane.
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Geelong was the outstanding team of the month, the Cats winning all five of their matches to rise to second on the ladder, just a game behind Port Adelaide. At the other end of the scale three sides — North Melbourne, Hawthorn and Adelaide — went through August without scoring a win between them. The Hawks and Crows at least had the excuse of having a bye each during that period, but the Kangaroos played all five rounds in August and lost five times.
Other teams for whom August was a good month included Port Adelaide, Brisbane, Collingwood and Melbourne, who each won four of their five matches, as well as Brisbane and West Coast, who both won three of four. GWS, Carlton and Fremantle split their four games, with two wins and two losses each, while St Kilda and the Western Bulldogs slipped, each playing five games in August but winning only two.
Essendon and Gold Coast played out the year's second draw in Round 11, and each could only muster one win in their other four August matches. Sydney played four matches for the month but could manage only one win, a surprise one against GWS in Round 12.
With four rounds remaining, Port Adelaide, Geelong, Brisbane and Richmond made up the top four, with West Coast, Collingwood St Kilda and Melbourne rounding out the top eight. The Demons had seven wins, but were in the eight by virtue only of a superior percentage to GWS and the Bulldogs. Half a game behind those three sides was Essendon, with six wins and a draw.
September (Rounds 15 to 18)
Traditionally a month dominated by finals action, September this year was instead reserved for the final four home and away rounds of the 2020 season. Ten of the 18 teams had byes during this four-week block, the other eight playing all four matches, completing a 17-match season for each side.
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The top four sides from August remained in the top four, although Geelong slipped from second to fourth on the ladder, winning only two of their three final games, one of those to Richmond, allowing the Tigers to move up to third. Brisbane won all four of their matches in the last month to finish second by percentage behind Port Adelaide, who rounded out their home and away games with three wins of their own.
There was one change to the composition of the bottom half of the top eight. Melbourne, who only managed to win two of their final four games, lost their place in the eight tp the Western Bulldogs, the Dogs finishing off their run home with a thrilling win over West Coast and comfortable victories over Hawthorn and Fremantle.
The Dogs finished seventh with 10 wins, half a game clear of Collingwood, who limped into the finals, winning only one of three matches in September. Apart from their narrow loss to the Dogs, the Eagles were victors in their other September games, claiming fifth place. In sixth place was St Kilda, the Saints winning two of their final three matches to make the finals for the first time since 2011.
Perhaps the biggest surprise of the season was GWS missing out on a place in the top eight, having been Grand Finalists in 2019. The Giants won just one game in September, finishing off an indifferent season in indifferent style. Carlton, Fremantle, Essendon and the Suns filled out 11th to 14th on the ladder, while the bottom four at the end of the month was the same — in order — as it had been at the start, with Hawthorn, Sydney and North Melbourne finishing 15th, 16th and 17th respectively, while the Crows took home their first ever wooden spoon, despite winning three of their final four games.
October — the Finals
WEEK ONE: QUALIFYING AND ELIMINATION FINALS
Despite a shortened season and ongoing concerns about its potential disadvantageous impact on top four sides, the AFL continued with the practice of having a bye week between the final home and away round and the finals, first introduced in 2016.
Once the wait was over, the finals kicked off on October 1, a Thursday, with a night match between top side Port Adelaide and fourth-placed Geelong at Adelaide Oval. This was a tight and relatively low-scoring affair but Port nosed ahead by half time and held the Cats at bay for the second half to win their way through to a Preliminary Final by 16 points.
Twenty-four hours later Brisbane did much the same against Richmond, defeating the more-fancied Tigers by 15 points to also earn a week off. It was the Lions' first win in a final since 2009.
At the Gabba on Saturday sixth-placed St Kilda and the seventh-placed Western Bulldogs played out a thriller. The Saints broke away in the third term to lead by four goals at the final change of ends, but the Bulldogs staged a withering burst late in the match to eventually fall just three points short. The Saints held on to advance to a Semi-Final, the Dogs falling at the first finals hurdle for a second consecutive year.
The final match of the first week of finals was even more of a thriller. Collingwood jumped out of the blocks with a big first quarter against West Coast at Perth Stadium. They had done just that against the Eagles at the same venue back in Round 8 but were ultimately thrashed. This time, when the Eagles fought back, the Magpies did not yield. In a pulsating final term West Coast grabbed the lead before the momentum shifted back to the Pies. The Eagles came again late but when the final siren sounded, Collingwood was ahead by a solitary point. The Pies had lived to fight another day, with West Coast surprisingly eliminated.
WEEK TWO: SEMI-FINALS
With Port Adelaide and Brisbane having earned a week off, and the Dogs and Eagles both eliminated, the other four finalists slogged it out in week two. Richmond and St Kilda met first up, at Carrara on Friday night, and the Tigers more or less had the game in the bag by half time, leading by 31 points, courtesy of some great accuracy in front of goal. The Saints rallied slightly in the third term but could not make any decisive inroads into Richmond's lead, and the Tigers steadied in the last term to win by 31 points.
The other Semi-Final, played at the Gabba the following night, was a complete 'fizzer'. Geelong established an early and Collingwood barely fired a shot in return. By the long break, the Cats lead by 54 points, 9.6 to just 1.0, and the match was as good as over. A bizarre third quarter resulted in the two sides kicking just three behinds between them, but 'normal transmission' was resumed in the final term, Geelong kicking six goals to four to record a decisive 68-point win.
WEEK THREE: PRELIMINARY FINALS
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Preliminary Final weekend saw the top four sides at the end of the home-and-away rounds cross paths again, this time with Port Adelaide hosting Richmond and Brisbane at home to Geelong at the Gabba. The first match was a titanic struggle, with the Power matching the reigning premiers blow for blow for the entire game. Port led by two points at the first change, scores were level at half time, and the Tigers nudged ahead to lead by two points at three-quarter time. In a see-sawing final term Port grabbed the lead early before two goals to Kane Lambert (right) put the Tigers 10 points clear. Port came again but they were four points adrift when the siren sounded, Richmond through to a third Grand Final in four years.
In the other Preliminary Final, Brisbane kept pace with Geelong for a half, but the Cats drew away after the long break to win comfortably, the final margin a commanding 40 points. The result set up a Richmond versus Geelong Grand Final, the first time the two sides had met in a premiership decider since the great Grand Final of 1967.
WEEK FOUR: THE GRAND FINAL
After a blowout in the 2019 Grand Final, in which Richmond crushed the GWS Giants, fans were hoping for a better spectacle in the 2020 decider the first in history — and perhaps the last — to be played at the Gabba in Brisbane. And for three quarters, perhaps a little longer, they were not disappointed.
After the Tigers kicked the opening two goals of the match, Geelong clicked into gear to take a one-point lead into the first break, and then jump out to a 21-point lead late in the second term. Richmond were hanging by a thread, but a goal to Dustin Martin gave the Tigers some hope going into half time, the margin back to 15 points. Richmond then took control of general play in the third quarter, closing the gap just three points before Martin fittingly put them ahead with his second goal.
The margin at the final end change was just two points, Richmond in front, and the scene appeared to be set for an epic climax, but a run of three goals to the Tigers, again capped off by Dustin Martin, took their lead out to 22 points halfway through the quarter.
A long goal from Sam Menegola cut the margin back to 16, but that was the final shot fired by the Cats. The Tigers added two further goals, the last of those a 'party trick' from the boundary line by Martin, to clinch a third flag in four years. The final margin was 31 points, perhaps a little unfair to Geelong, but no one doubted that Richmond were the deserved premiers.
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Having won the Norm Smith Medal in the Tigers' 2017 and 2019 premiership wins, Dustin Martin was the favourite to win a third and, had he been one of several players to have all played great games in the Grand Final, he may well have gotten the nod by the judges in any case, but such was his influence in this Grand Final, there was simply no one else in the hunt for the medal. Martin stood up at all the crucial moments in this Grand Final, and there can be no doubting of his place in the top of echelon of players in more than 120 seasons of V/AFL football, particularly in finals.
And so a season that was different in so many ways ended up the same as it had in 2019 and also 2017, with Richmond as the premiership side. Three premierships in four years is a magnificent achievement, and there's no reason to suggest 'Tiger Time' will end soon. It is worth noting, however, that no V/AFL side has won four premierships in five seasons since the great Melbourne side in 1960.
If the Tigers can emulate that feat in 2021, they will go down as one of the truly great sides in Australian football history.
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