Re: The 2013 PREmier Finals Tiger Award - THE AWARDS!
Welcome to the 2013 PREmier Fighting Tiger Awards Thread.
2013 will be remembered as the season that the Tigers returned to September action after a 12 year hiatus. The improvements that we have witnessed since the appointment of Dimma, where we were compared to Fitzroy and saw incremental improvements, season by season, to finish 2013 with a record of 15 wins and 7 losses. This on-field improvement has been surpassed by the improvements off the field at the club. Over 60,000 members, debt free, a stable board, the re-development of Punt Road Oval, the establishment of the Richmond VFL team and better communication and engagement with members are some of the highlights. The work of Gary March and Benny Gale should be applauded.
The season began with a relatively unheralded string of 3 wins, apparently overshadowed in the media by the form of other sides, notably Port Adelaide. However, as a Tiger supporter the victory against Carlton in round 1, to break another hoodoo was notable, even though we almost managed to clinch defeat from the jaws of victory.
Although those 3 victories weren’t really discussed at length in the media, our run of 3 losses that followed apparently heralded the downfall of the Tigers for another season. As I pointed out to my non-Tiger mates, we did lose Collingwood, Freo and Geelong. Not really a trio of easy beats. The Freo loss was especially galling, as we managed to hit the front late, only to let a Ballantyne goal allow the Dockers to snatch a one point victory at the death.
It is interesting to note that from this point in the season the Tigers went 12-4 which included our first victory against the Suns in horrid conditions up in Cairns, an awesome win against West Coast in a game that no one gave us a chance of winning, victories over both eventual Grand Finalists, beating Freo in Melbourne and making short work of our bunnies in Hawthorn.
Of course the lowlights of the season included a flat performance against Essendon in front of a massive Dreamtime crowd, getting taught a footy lesson by the Kangaroos and the Swans and allowing Carlton to chase us down after we jumped them in the first quarter. Unfortunately, that pattern would be seared in the Tiger supporter’s consciousness after our brief finals appearance.
A 5th placed finish was a great result for the Tigers and we faced off against the 9th placed Blues in an elimination final on an absolutely picturesque day at the ‘G. Almost 95,000 fans packed the stadium. The sound was like nothing I had witnessed before. The feel of the game was like nothing I had witnessed before. It would have been the highlight of my footy spectating career, if only the result were different. The pattern of the match was all too familiar to Tigers in 2013. Establishing an early, healthy lead only to be chased down in the Malthouse footy version of the rope-a-dope. The loss of Conca in the first quarter to a serious hamstring injury certainly hurt our cause. The form of Judd in the 3rd quarter to wrest the momentum back in the Blues’ favour also didn’t help. In the end the result was painful, but having had time to mourn and heal, I accept the success of 2013 for what it was. Another important step towards the ultimate prize. A journey that many of us have been on for a while, but it feels real and sustainable this time.
With the season wrap done, let’s get down to business. The 2013 PREmier Fighting Tiger Award saw 1243 ballots cast over the 22 regular season matches. This is down by 60 ballots on the 1303 ballots cast in 2012. Again we saw a significant drop in the number of ballots cast in the second half of the season (51.1) when compared to the first half (61.8), although voting was better than we saw in 2012 when we saw a drastic drop off in ballots as the Tigers’ finals chances evaportated in that season. The most popular round in 2013 was our round 1 victory against Carlton, where 83 ballots were cast (4 less than the 2012 record). The season low came in our flogging at the hands of North Melbourne in round 15 where a record low 31 ballots were cast.
As always I like to acknowledge those who voted in all 22 rounds of the season:
:clap
WesternTiger (5 years running)
jb03 (5 years running)
evo (4 years running)
MB78 (3 years running)
LeeToRainesToRoach (3 years running)
YinnarTiger (3 years running)
Tigermad2005 (3 years running)
Tigers of Old
happytige
TuesdayswithTerry
Newman
MalenyTiger
Gunsmoke
&
of course….yours truly….Panthera tigris FC
:clap
Many thanks for your support.
Before we begin the countdown I will clarify some of the information that is provided for each Richmond player:
Total Games For Richmond The career matches for Richmond
Total Votes The total number of votes accrued throughout the 2013 season (2012 also shown).
Rounds Played The number of games played in the 2013 season (2012 also shown).
Historic Position The players position in previous PRE Player of the Year polls (NOL = Not on List; DNP = Did Not Place)
Average Votes/Round Total votes accrued / total games played
Highest Ranking (Round(s)) The highest ranking achieved and the round(s) that ranking was held.
Best Round (Votes) The round in which the player obtained the highest number of votes, which opponent the Tigers played in that round and the number of votes obtained.
Normalised Score (Rank) A score that normalises the votes to take out the ‘number of voters’ factor. This scoring system prevents players obtaining votes in ‘popular’ weeks from gaining an advantage. This is not official and just for your information. Theoretical maximum score is 100 – a player that got 3 votes on every ballot would score 100.
Richmond ‘Brownlow’ Votes (Ranking) This is also unofficial and for your information. It consists of a 3-2-1 voting system each week. This ranking tends to benefit players who are consistently in the top 3 players of the week.
Most Votes From The PRE member(s) who supplied the player with the most votes and how many.
Can I ask that everyone refrain from replying to this post until the awards ceremony is complete
Now with the formalities out of the way, let the 2013 PREmier Fighting Tiger Awards Thread begin!