MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA - JULY 23: Jason Castagna of the Tigers (centre) celebrates with teammates during the 2017 AFL round 18 match between the Richmond Tigers and the GWS Giants at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on July 23, 2017 in Melbourne, Australia. (Photo by Michael Willson/AFL Media/Getty Images)
Twitter originated in 2006.
And with it's inception started one of the most popular trends and conversation starters in social media history.
Hashtags.
And never has one been more relevant than it is today.
#TigerTime.
Search it on Twitter (or any other social media platform for that matter) and you'll see an array of (predominantly) Richmond fans kicking the metaphorical lid off on more than one occasion over the last 10 years. Looking back on it now, it's laughable, but this year is different.
In today's highly-obsessive statistical landscape that is AFL football, the Tigers, as a top four side over 22 rounds of football, are understandably in the upper echelon of rankings in some key categories but are mediocre at best in many more:
#14th in disposals per game.
#15th in marks per game.
#12th in tackles per game.
#14th in clearances per game.
#1st in clangers per game.
Five key areas of the game which Damien Hardwick's side rank in the lower third of the league in, but none of that matters.
What does matter is their personnel and how Hardwick and his staff have utilised it this season.
While Ty Vickery's performances never lived up to his potential, his exit from Punt Road left a potential gaping hole in the Richmond forward line, leaving them seriously undersized with Jack Riewoldt as the only mainstay inside Richmond's forward 50.
The emergence of Toby Nankervis helped ease the burden on Riewoldt, somewhat, however a change of attack was required and it was a number of much-talked about small forwards that helped deliver it.
While Riewoldt kicked 50 goals in the home and away season, it was Richmond's mosquito fleet of Jason Castagna, Dan Butler and Daniel Rioli that led the way with their countless pressure acts turning to points on the scoreboard.
Richmond won the tackle count on 14 occasions in 2017 - only second to St Kilda (15) - and more impressively, had six players inside the top 30 for tackles inside 50. Shaun Grigg and captain Trent Cotchin joined the aforementioned quartet of forwards in that category.
As a result, Butler (26 goals), Castagna (22), Rioli (21), Dustin Martin (21), Josh Caddy (17) and Cotchin (16) were able to create a shared workload as Richmond turn defence into offense in an instant, something that will go along way to help them strangle Geelong next Friday night.
Furthermore, Jacob Townsend's addition to the side over the last fortnight has given Hardwick an excellent selection headache over the next 10 or so days.
Any hauls of six and five goals in consecutive weeks are impressive, but even more so due to the fact that he was given a defensive-type shutdown role on his two opponents - Michael Johnson and Jake Carlisle.
Both players are exceptional at reading the play and thwart a number of opposing attacks when the long ball comes inside 50, making Townsend's effort even more noticeable.
Making a player like Andrew Mackle or Lachie Henderson accountable next week could be the difference between a preliminary final or another September loss for the Tigers.
Richmond traded a fourth-round pick for Townsend to GWS - a pick which the Giants didn't even use - while Dion Prestia's acquisition in last year's trade period has proved to be an excellent compliment to the Tigers midfield with the former Sun clicking into gear at the pointy end of the season, averaging over 26 disposals, six tackles, six clearances and seven score involvements in his last month of football.
His work in the contest has not gone unnoticed either, averaging 12 contested possessions in the same timeframe, easily a season-best over a four-game period.
While his form had been criticized over the course of the season, his recent upward spike has only helped the midfield mainstays such as Martin, Cotchin and Grigg.
While Martin's future has been a hot topic on the lips of almost everyone this season, his form on the field has only gotten stronger as the season progressed, so much so that he has fended his way to becoming the shortest priced favourite in Brownlow medal history ($1.12).
Astonishingly, Martin has broken out of 68 tackles in 2017 - almost three times as many as the next best player, Port Adelaide's Sam Powell-Pepper with 24.
Cotchin's exceptional season saw him to be arguably the biggest snub of the All-Australian squad for 2017 as he has led from the front at every hurdle for the Tigers this season.
His leadership on all fronts has allowed the likes of Grigg, Kane Lambert, Shane Edwards and co. not only to become valuable members of the Tigers best 22, but key cogs to one of the games' elite midfields.
While Geelong defender Tom Lonergan may have said Cats skipper Joel Selwood is unlikely to take part in the qualifying final, any midfield with Patrick Dangerfield in it is an imposing one.
Cam Guthrie, Scott Selwood, Mitch Duncan and Sam Menegola have also proved over the course of the last month that they're a force to be reckoned with as well, ensuring the Tigers don't let their top four status get the best of them.
Last, and certainly not least, Richmond's defence. It's anchor.
It's a structure built to stand up in the pressures of September football and it certainly isn't about to fail them now.
Say what you want about Alex Rance but he is the best key defender in the competition.
He is right at this very minute and has been for quite some time. In saying that, he wouldn't be able to do what he does without the severely underrated work of David Astbury and Dylan Grimes.
“What he (Astbury) does is he allows Alex (Rance) to really excel at what he does," Riewoldt said earlier in the season.
Astbury is ranked eighth for total marks in the competition throughout 2017 (fourth among key position players) and 10th in total intercepts while all three use the ball at an elite rate.
In fact, Richmond's back six (Vlastuin, Rance, Astbury, Grimes, Houli, Ellis) all use the ball at 80% efficiency or higher. While it can be a misleading statistic at times, what it shows is that the Tigers are clear and precise with their decision making coming out of the back half.
Their ability to break the lines has been highlighted through the constant running of Houli and Ellis, the latter ranking 12th in the competition for running bounces.
Running around the MCG is something Richmond do better than anyone and so they should.
It's what will give Chris Scott and his team a big headache heading into next Friday's clash and while the push to host the game at Kardinia Park wasn't as strong as it could've been, they inevitably knew it was always going to be played in the AFL's heartland.
Richmond have given up over 80 points just four times in 2017 with just one of those coming at the MCG (against Carlton in round one).
While their defensive structures are sound, the extra 25m of width (in comparison to Simonds Stadium) is what the Tigers will use meticulously to their advantage to break down Geelong's defensive schemes in a game that will see Richmond win their first final since before Twitter ever existed.
We all know of Richmond's recent finals history under Hardwick and Cotchin but take this from a fan of a club who's side is also featuring in September action.
The tiger is set to roar.