2010 Grand Final

St. Kilda and Collingwood met twice during the 2010 home-and-away season. The Saints won a round 3 matchup way back in April, and the Magpies took the round 16 rematch three months later.

Collingwood won the minor premiership and were the #1 seed as a result of having the best win-loss record during the season, while St. Kilda finished third on the ladder. They would meet in what would normally be the last game of the season, and then they'd do it again.

The 2010 Grand Final between the two sides was a riveting affair, the Pies clinging to a one-point lead with under 2:00 to play and the Saints knocking on the door, bringing every ounce of desperation they had.

Saint Lenny Hayes kicked from just outside the forward 50-meter line, hoping to find a friendly face near the sticks. Not having the distance, the ball caromed away from teammate Stephen Milne and through for a behind, tying the game at 68. Had the ball bounced into Milne's hands (he'd gotten away from his defender), he had an open kick at goal from point-blank range that would've given the underdog Saints a five-point margin late in the match.

Instead that's where the scoring ended. Hayes won the 2010 Norm Smith Medal as the best on ground.

This match became the third of its kind in AFL history. In the other two, Melbourne beat Essendon in 1948 and North Melbourne defeated Collingwood in the rematch of the 1977 Grand Final.

The exhaustion...

and the stunned disbelief of both sides following a drawn Grand Final.

It's fascinating to watch the closing moments as the siren presided over drawn teams. The feeling is surreal at the MCG-- all the energy just completely left the building, replaced with a feeling of bewilderment at having to process a tie.

The sting must have been a little sharper for St. Kilda because they squandered a fourth quarter lead and lost the 2009 Grand Final to the Geelong Cats.

Instead the Saints and Pies went through more preparation and somehow tried to get their minds and bodies ready to play another match on the biggest stage of them all.

What's amazing about this is the overtime rules were in effect for all other finals matches, and were actually implemented in 1994 (North Melbourne over Hawthorn) and in the 2007 playoffs when Collingwood defeated West Coast.

Those games were settled with two five-minute extra periods, with sudden death in case scores are still level.

I compare this to America and the feeling that would be out there if the Super Bowl was still tied and everyone went home. It wouldn't happen of course because of how the rules are set up, but what if the Packers and Patriots were told to come back next week? Disbelief and outrage, correct?

So earlier this year the AFL amended their bylaws so that the Grand Final would also go to the two five-minute extra periods. I feel like this should have been done sooner, but part of the reasoning is that they seemed to like the possibility of having a tie. It makes sense, since they get to have another 100,000 fans buy tickets. Another stated reason is travel, as a non-Victorian side may have a disadvantage of added plane rides.

As for the 2010 Grand Final replay, Collingwood held St. Kilda to one first-half goal and won by 56 points. It marked their 15th (and most recent) Premiership. Scott Pendlebury for the Magpies won the Norm Smith Medal.

Centimetre Perfect

TV commentator Dennis Cometti retired from calling AFL games at the close of the 2016 season. 

He's been a staple of Australian sports TV as well as Australian Rules Football telecasts for a long, long time. He was on the air for 17 Grand Finals, and had the mic as the siren sounded on the Western Bulldogs' first league title in 62 years at the end of the 2016 season. He broadcast his first game in 1971 and began his A-list TV career in 1986. 

His partnership with Bruce McAvaney is also the stuff of legend. They go back and forth seamlessly during a telecast. One knows when to jump in when the other stops, many times during the run of play. The Sydney/Western Bulldogs Grand Final was their 12th together.

Cometti also covered Olympic swimming in 1992, 1996, and 2000. He's delivered some signature moments at special times to generations of Australian sports fans, many of whom are the athletes themselves. 

There is a generation of AFL fans who don't know what the game is like without him. His past experience as a player and a coach added a lot of insight, and he started his on-air career in the early 70s when players didn't become on-air personalities like they do now.

As a new watcher of the game I sure found his high baritone voice helpful as he explained things more deeply. I know I always paid attention to what he said-- as much for how he said as for what he said. Centimetre perfect is one of his many signature one-liners. 

He's not completely stepping away from the game, just the travel. The man is 67 years old and says that part of things takes some of the fun out of it. I totally understand that, as it happens stateside a lot, especially in baseball when there is six months of travel involved. More veteran announcers will skip a road trip here and there to save some wear and tear on their bodies. 

Cometti says he'll sit in on some WAFL (Western Australia) broadcasts as a way of staying involved, perhaps injecting some commentary here and there. Perth is his hometown, so it makes a lot of sense since the league is based there. I guess once something is as much a part of you as footy is to Dennis, quitting cold turkey just doesn't make sense. I can't imagine he'll be too involved-- my thought is that he won't want to be the center of attention and to give others the same chance he got. 

Besides, the WAFL is where it all began for him, so this is a way of bringing it full circle.

The man sure has the respect of his peers and of his public.

Cheers, Dennis. And thanks.