You're not the only one, although when I saw on the day of the game the wet and windy weather and how Richmond have played so well in the wet in the second half of the year against the bigger sides that aren't suited to it (such as West Coast, Adelaide and Sydney) I gave them a chance and that chance became much bigger when Franklin was left out as he the difference when the two sides met earlier in the year and he has been in such good form this season.
I'd still be sending a 'Thank You' card to the Blues though as that is a game Carlton should never have lost given the amount of play and chances in front of goal they had. If Carlton had played even remotely competently in front of goal they would have won and Richmond's 3-10 start to the season would have been 2-10 and they wouldn't have made the finals no matter how spectacular their finish.
Anyway they got there in the end, despite my criticism in the first half of the season. If they are going to respond like that (winning so many games on the trot) every time I criticise them, then I should criticise them more often!
Given wet conditions on Sunday (if it rains - haven't seen the forecast yet) Richmond start favourites again as Port's big advantage over Richmond is their superior pace and ability to run out games, but the rain can take that away from them and allow Richmond to play the game on their own terms, something they've been doing really well in such conditions of late.
