AFL Grand Final: dynasty or fairytale?
ADAM KAMIEN
FOR the Geelong Cats, Saturday’s AFL Grand Final will either confirm the side as a dynastic powerhouse, a la Brisbane in the early 2000s, or as an unfulfilled potential.
For the St Kilda Saints, this Saturday simply represents the opportunity to smash a 43-year hoodoo and secure just the second flag in the club’s long and mostly inglorious history.
Whichever side prevails, all signs point to a cracker match.
St Kilda has always been well supported by Jewish footy fans, but in a cruel twist of fate for the club’s long-suffering followers, the Saints’ only flag fell on Yom Kippur in 1966.
That did not stop Jewish boy Ian Synman playing, and Shabbat dinner debates have raged ever since as to whether he did the right thing.
Geelong, the 2007 premiership team, has dominated the competition over the past three years and will play in a third successive grand final on the weekend.
The Saints won a record 19 consecutive games this season, dropping just two for the year. As is so often not the case, the two best sides in the competition will clash on the biggest stage for the biggest prize.
Footy-lovers around the country held their breath during round 14 this year, to catch a glimpse of what most believed would be the grand final preview. And the Saints and the Cats did not disappoint.
In one of the games of the season, St Kilda emerged as a contender for the throne, edging the Cats out by a kick in a heart-stopper.
Both sides have fit lists to choose from, as well as momentum and form coming into the big game. Geelong flaunted its bona fides with a 72-point drubbing of Collingwood, while the Saints prevailed in an instant classic, also against indisputable challengers in the Western Bulldogs.
The Cats and the Saints have been the best two teams in the competition all season and are deserved grand finalists — it’s the dynasty versus the fairytale.
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