It was a relieved, not smug, Richmond boss Brendon Gale soaking up the moment on the Gabba surface 10 years after being laughed at for his bold Tigers ambition.
In March 2010 the CEO had sensationally declared his struggling AFL outfit would win three flags by 2020, his aspiration deemed outrageous and earning snickers once it reached public ears.
The former Tigers ruckman and forward stuck to his guns though and on Saturday night – after a third premiership in the last four years – had the perfect chance to say “I told you so”.
Instead, after the most trying of campaigns, he was just happy to be there.
“Relief, it’s more relief,” he said. “It’s a celebration to get into a grand final but once you get there you’re trying to touch the sun and in doing so you risk everything.
“Having won the premiership last year, I had great confidence (despite trailing at halftime) and it was an incredible turnaround.
Back in 2010 the Tigers were crippled by debt, boasted fewer than 40,000 members and had not won a flag in 30 years.
They now have more than 100,000 members in the books and, with three-time Norm Smith medal-winner Dustin Martin emerging as the game’s greatest big-stage player, are the envy of the competition.
“I’ve had cause to reflect because it (footage of an interview where Gale defends his ambitions) keeps doing the rounds,” Gale said.
“We had to reset as a club … my predecessors had done a wonderful job to stabilise when the club was in all sorts of trouble and it gave us the confidence to shoot for the stars.
“We had a very ambitious vision, but the strength is that it’s a club vision and we’ve all bought in … I mean we’ve got 4,000 members in Queensland now.”
Richmond’s road to the title was bumpy, with players Sydney Stack and Callum Coleman-Jones caught breaking the AFL’s COVID-19 protocols on the Surfers Paradise party strip and handed 10-game bans.
That followed a $45,000 club fine after captain Trent Cotchin’s wife, Brooke, also broke protocols, advertising her visit to a day spa on social media.
“Don’t get me wrong, they made mistakes and it was humbling but the group is very strong culturally and the players themselves were very keen to take ownership of it,” Gale said.
So where to from here for a club that has ticked every box?
“Football is an infinite game and we want to be a strong and bold premiership club,” he said.
“It’s so competitive, so you have to keep growing or you die.”