Geelong, Richmond are neighbours vying for AFL premiership
Richmond defender Dylan Grimes and Geelong spearhead Tom Hawkins are among rivals living just metres from each other this week ahead of Saturday’s AFL grand final.
Normally Richmond defender Dylan Grimes would be plotting the downfall of Geelong spearhead Tom Hawkins from afar.
Instead the pair are neighbours this week as the strangest season on record culminates with Saturday’s AFL grand final.
While the reigning premiers and their challengers are the only two clubs remaining in Queensland in an official capacity, there are still three AFL hubs in use this week.
Cats players without families are staying at the home of the Southport Sharks. The single Tigers players are at the KDV sporting complex in Carrara.
But those with families have been staying at the Royal Pines Resort.
As Richmond’s dual-premiership defender Grimes said on Monday, it was just another example of the randomness of this season.
“I’m living a couple of doors over from Tom Hawkins. It is a bit odd the way that everything has panned out,” he said on SEN.
“To think that the two teams that were living with each other six weeks ago have gone all the way and are now playing against each other in a grand final is bizarre.”
By virtue of a having more mature list, there are more Geelong families living at Royal Pines than there are Tigers.
For former Richmond premiership player Shaun Grigg and his family, it must be a surreal experience given he is in his first season at Geelong in a development and coaching role.
Geelong ruckman Rhys Stanley is also among the Cats players who have families staying at the resort.
But he was not as certain the rival parties would be discussing the potential grand final match-ups this week over bacon and eggs at the breakfast buffet.
“You bump into them here on occasion, but they only have a few that have families there,” he told The Australian.
“You cross paths in the hallway and it is quite friendly. For now, anyway.”
Geelong midfielder Mitch Duncan is another who has been staying at Royal Pines since his family arrived about six weeks ago.
For him, the chance to introduce a barrier between his family life at the golf course resort, which is about a 15-minute drive from Southport, and training has been a bonus.
“It definitely does make it feel a lot more homely when you have your partners and families around, especially the ones who have kids,” he said.
“It has been really refreshing for me, personally, to break up footy and family. You leave to go to work and then you come home.”
Only six weeks ago Gary Ablett and Shane Edwards were training alongside each other in the AFL quarantine hub at the Mercure Resort, not too far away from Royal Pines.
The Geelong superstar and classy Tiger were among five players, including Saint Dan Hannebery, who arrived in Queensland in early September.
They spent a fortnight training on a small grassy area about 45 metres in length and 40 metres wide. Yet the grounding proved invaluable.
Edwards performed immediately for the Tigers on exiting the hub and Ablett was brilliant for Geelong in Saturday night’s 40-point preliminary final win over Brisbane.
“It was really good fun just to get to know those guys,” Ablett said.
“In my 19 years in the game, I had never done anything like that, so for those couple of weeks, it was good to just pick their brains and watch the way they went about things.
“(Edwards) really impressed me with the way he went about his training, so it is going to be a bit of fun.
“I am sure there will be a bit of banter on the weekend and I am looking forward to it.”
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