A 37-year premiership drought was brought to an almighty end as Richmond defied the odds to overcome Adelaide.

Nervous Tigers fans filled the stands of the MCG hoping, praying, their team might follow in the footsteps of the Western Bulldogs 12 months earlier and write the final chapter of a fairytale year.

But few could have seen the end result coming, Richmond not only winning but doing so in style, by 48 points.

No Richmond player had taken to the field in an AFL Grand Final before and it showed early in the match, with some clear nerves leading to turnovers going forward and disorganisation in the back half.

After key Crows Rory Sloane and Eddie Betts slotted the first two goals, those nerves only increased.

When Richmond did get the ball going forward, it failed to make the most of its opportunities as Jack Riewoldt missed the side’s first three shots on goal.

The Tigers soon steadied, but it was the Crows that looked far more dangerous every time they went into attack.

At the two-minute-mark of the second term, Adelaide was holding sway in the arm-wrestle with a 13-point advantage.

THE REVIVAL

Then the game changed.

A Riewoldt goal sparked the revival at one end, but it was Richmond’s biggest strength all season — its defence — that was the real catalyst for change after what could have been considered a sloppy opening quarter.

David Astbury was keeping Taylor Walker quiet, Dylan Grimes shut Eddie Betts out of the game completely after quarter-time and Alex Rance was at his goal-saving best.

The ever-courageous Nick Vlastuin and dashing defender Bachar Houli started providing rebound from the back half and, suddenly, the Crows forward line no longer looked so dangerous.

Adelaide’s other problem was the midfield battle, which Richmond got on top in during the second term.

Dion Prestia was in everything, Brownlow medallist Dustin Martin was a class above as usual and Shane Edwards’ clearance work was pivotal after a quiet opening term.

Then there was the role Jack Graham played.

Sent to do a job on Sloane — who was racking up the touches in the middle and already had two goals to his name — fifth-gamer Graham made his coaches’ proud as impact of the Crows’ ball-winner was quickly and dramatically reduced.

The Tigers had also ramped up their forward-half pressure and set up the wall across the middle of the ground that Adelaide struggled to penetrate.

INSURMOUNTABLE LEAD

And so it began — a run of seven unanswered goals which put Damien Hardwick’s side in the box seat for premiership and eased the nerves of both the players and the club’s sizeable army of supporters.

If shutting down Sloane was not enough, Graham kicked his second goal of the game less than three minutes into the third quarter, showing compose beyond his age and experience.

When Kane Lambert put one through the big sticks at the nine-minute-mark of the quarter, the Tigers held a commanding 28-point lead.

Given Richmond’s history and the Crows’ scoring power, the fat lady was not quite singing but she was warming up side of stage and ready for a big entrance.

Walker bobbed up for his first goal at the 14-minute-mark, cutting the margin to 20 points.

THE UNLIKELY HERO

But it was Graham — a most unlikely Grand Final hero — who responded with his third major to regain the momentum for Richmond.

When Riewoldt kicked the first goal of the final term, it was officially party time.

Tears of joy began flowing in the stands as the realisation set in that 2017 was the year of the Tiger.

Surely Josh Caddy — who joined Richmond from Geelong last summer — and Toby Nankervis — who crossed from Sydney — would not have thought they were a better chance of winning a premiership at Punt Rd this year than their former clubs.

None of the “experts” tipped such a dramatic rise from 13th on the ladder to premiers, either.

Unlike Adelaide, the Tigers had few weak links but also few standouts.

Everyone played their roles, other notable ones being Jacob Townsend’s defensive forward job on Crow Jake Lever and Toby Nankervis’ second-half response in the ruck against Sam Jacobs after being soundly beaten early.

Martin (29 disposals, two goals) won the Norm Smith Medal ahead of Houli (25 disposals, one goal), only one of the five judges not awarding Dusty maximum votes.

The Crows were left to pick up the scraps of what had been a year of such promise but a day of such profound loss.

As Richmond proved, you don’t have to be the best team of the year, you just have to be the best on Grand Final day.

“We lost to Geelong Round (21) and then we just went whack, whack, whack, whack, whack, whack,” Hardwick said after the game.

“We learned a lot of lessons from the games that we lost and we played our best footy when it mattered most.”

THE TIGER ARMY

Mark Robinson

WE all know Tigers fans and love ’em.

They’re crazily fervent, mostly loyal, always hardy and forever passionate and that’s just them as people. As fans, they’re unique.

They’re brash with their thoughts and boast when they win, and when they lose they could whinge for Australia.

Every week of every season, going all the way back to 1980, the club’s most recent premiership, they turned up to games with hope and cheer and jeer.

And, boy, oh boy, they could eat their own.

They’d abuse their players and want coaches sacked and, by the next weekend, try to make a case for winning that year’s premiership.

They’re delightful optimists and fiercely pessimistic and the heightened levels of both mindsets are exactly why they are Richmond fans.

It is all part of the journey.

Damien Hardwick and Trent Cotchin laid the foundations for what this team stood for and what this team is about.

The Tigers are not perfect, but they are genuine. They are blue collar with plenty of ticker. They went 15-7 in the home-and-away season and won their two finals by eight goals and five goals. They built a forward line around Jack Riewoldt and loaded him with a bunch of kids who love to tackle and, of course, it flourished behind the epic season put together by Dustin Martin.

Lance Franklin included, there is no more a fascinating and inspiring footballer than Dusty.

READ THE FULL TIGER ARMY STORY

THE RICHMOND ROLLERCOASTER

Matthew Lloyd

In the time I have been involved in AFL Football both inside and outside the playing arena, Richmond has always been an emotionally charged club. There were highs, there were lows but there was not much in-between.

I have always called it the Richmond rollercoaster as the Tigers would get too carried away with the wins and then too emotional and irrational with the losses.

Richmond was the best TEAM in the AFL by the length of the Flemington straight come the business end of the season. The 51, 36 and 48 point margins in the club’s three finals certainly proves that.

Gary Ablett Snr was the last key forward to win a Norm Smith Medal way back in 1989. Key forwards have rarely had a major influence on Grand Final day.

The last two premiers have been benefited by having an unconventional forward line which just creates a contest and then creates havoc at ground level and when the opposition has the ball.

Richmond played to their strengths and exposed every other side’s weakness in the process.

It has been 37 years in the making and a long time coming but this Richmond premiership side, led by Damien Hardwick, will be remembered for their unrelenting desire to succeed and a bloke called Dustin Martin.

READ THE FULL COLUMN

• Chapter 1: Richmond’s dream comes true
• Chapter 2: Rounds 1-6
• Chapter 3: Rounds 7-12
• Chapter 4: Rounds 13-18
• Chapter 5: Rounds 19-23
• Chapter 6: Finals
• Chapter 7: How Tigers built a winning team
• Chapter 8: The coach: how Dimma guided Richmond
• Chapter 9: Cotchin: The truth about Dusty
• Chapter 10: Jack lifts the lid on success