Luke Hodge: Can the Giants tame the Tigers like Hawthorn killed the shark in 2008?
In 2008 at Hawthorn, our motto was ‘Kill the Shark’. For GWS this year it might just be ‘Tame the Tiger’. In his exclusive column Luke Hodge writes he can see the similarities between the two teams.
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For our group at Hawthorn in 2008, it was ‘Kill the Shark’.
The phrase was coined by coach Alastair Clarkson, who famously drew a shark on the whiteboard before the Grand Final against Geelong, a metaphor for explaining how to stifle the Cats’ constant movement.
For Greater Western Sydney on Saturday, it’s ‘Tame the Tiger’.
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The Giants’ challenges are slightly different, but the similarities to 2008 are stark.
Like our Hawthorn side that year, GWS enter this 2019 decider against Richmond as a major underdog.
The same as us in 2008, the Giants suffered a Round 17 loss to the team they are coming up against in the Grand Final.
Similar to Geelong in 2008, Richmond has been the best team throughout the season.
Just like us in 2008, the Giants have not been to the big dance before.
But we entered that Grand Final with a lot of confidence and GWS will do the same.
Any time you go into a Grand Final, you know it is a two-horse race.
You don’t care what anyone outside the four walls of the club says.
You don’t care that all the expert tipsters give you no chance.
Round 3 is a long time ago, but Giants’ coach Leon Cameron would be telling his team they have beaten Richmond this year — and this is ours.
Cameron would be saying that if they play as a team and make sure they are doing all the selfless one-percenters, the result will look after itself.
They’ll be sitting back giving themselves a big chance.
GWS went through worse two years ago — playing in the 2017 preliminary final against Richmond at the MCG in front of 94,000 Tigers fans.
This crowd is going to be more on their side because everyone loves an underdog.
For the Giants, it’s all about the first 10 minutes of the game.
Grand Finals are about the team that settles fastest.
There’s fumbles and skill errors early because everyone at the ground — players, umpires and supporters — is nervous.
So whoever can settle down first from that and kick their game into gear has a distinct advantage.
It’s also about bringing the physical, aggressive style that GWS has shown in its first three finals.
He won’t be out there on the field, but Callan Ward’s influence on the Giants is clear to see.
Since day 1 when he arrived from the Western Bulldogs, you can see he has drilled into teammates that they have to be a hard, physical team — because that’s the type of player he is. And the Giants are now exactly that.
LISTEN HERE, MARLION
IF I were in Trent Cotchin’s shoes as Richmond captain, the message to Grand Final debutant Marlion Pickett is pretty simple: “Just go out and play footy”.
The thing about Pickett is he is 27, not an 18-year-old.
He’s still going to be extremely nervous playing in front of 100,000 fans at the MCG — but there will probably be 30 other players on the field in the same boat.
I’d be saying, “Don’t overthink it, just go out there and enjoy it”.
The key is getting an early touch — and that’s on both him and his teammates helping get him into the game.
If you get to the 15-minute-mark of the first quarter and haven’t had a touch it’s a natural instinct to think, ‘Is one going to come my way or not?’.
That will start to build the nerves.
SMILE, TIGERS
When Richmond came up to Brisbane to face myself and the Lions in this year’s qualifying final, we thought we had them caged for most the first half.
How wrong we were.
We felt we were playing good enough football to be on top of them but you could see they had belief in each — no matter the situation.
There was vision of Jack Riewoldt singing as he went back to his position in the forward line after halftime.
That just shows the mindset of the group.
Damien Hardwick has been big on embracing the moment, enjoying it and always smiling.
Going in as favourites to win a second premiership in three years won’t phase them because of how relaxed they are.
They will just be embracing another opportunity to play in a Grand Final.
TOBY’S TEAM
We saw the vision of Toby Greene in the race during the final minutes of last week’s preliminary final win over Collingwood.
His emotions would have been fuelled by a mix of nervousness and guilt, after being suspended a week earlier for making unnecessary contact to Lachie Neale’s face.
I can’t see Greene touching the faces of opposition players again this week, but you can be sure he won’t be changing his game too much.
He’s still going to be a niggly pest — because that’s when he plays his best football.
And his best football is simply stunning.
He sets his team up and other players grow around him when he’s up and about.
A big game from Greene will go a long way to a Giants’ win.