I actually reckon the best team of 2023 (or at least from the bye onwards) is now not in the grand final.
The giants were clearly better than the pies for most of that game last night - and if they had been a little fresher, they would have beaten the pies. The fact the pies just held on by the slimest of margins despite the home ground, home crowd, the umps and the 2 week break compared to a 6 day break on the back of two away finals says it all.
Their pace, skill, structure and the way they hunted in packs was far superior to a lot of what the pies dished up. What killed them was it took them too long to settle into the game and a few costly misses in that period.
Their 2 finals wins were dominant, whereas I reckon the pies were lucky (if you can be lucky in finals) to win either of their 2 finals.
Pity - the best team often doesn’t win it in the end.