Third place on the ladder at the end of the home-and-away rounds has proved to be the successful launching pad for Richmond’s past three premierships.

In 1980, the Tigers dropped from top spot on the ladder to third (with 16 wins, five losses and a draw) after losing the final match of the home-and-away season to South Melbourne at the Lake Oval.

But they bounced back strongly to convincingly defeat second-placed Carlton (17 wins, five losses) in the qualifying final and then ladder leader Geelong (17 wins, five losses) in the second semi-final, before crushing Collingwood, fifth (14 wins, seven losses and a draw), in the Grand Final.

In 2017, Richmond, third on the ladder after the last home-and-away round (15 wins, seven losses) scored a resounding qualifying final victory over second-placed Geelong (15 wins, six losses and a draw), comfortably accounted for Greater Western Sydney, fourth (14 wins, six losses, two draws), in the preliminary final, and then thumped ladder leader Adelaide (15 wins, six losses and a draw) in the Grand Final to win its first premiership premiership for 37 years.

This year, the third-placed Tigers (16 wins, six losses) travelled to Queensland to take on the Brisbane Lions, who had finished second (16 wins, six losses) in the qualifying final at the Gabba. They overpowered the Lions to advance to the preliminary final, where they beat the top-of-the-table Geelong (16  wins, six losses), setting up a Grand Final encounter with sixth-placed Greater Western Sydney (13 wins, nine losses).

And, for the third consecutive time, they captured the premiership from third place on the ladder, demolishing GWS in the 2019 Grand Final.