September specialists: The 10 players who performed in big finals

One great finals game is all it can take see your name etched amongst the greatest to pull on the boots. Max Gawn’s performance last Friday against Geelong is one of these performances. Honestly, I was shocked he didn’t crack the double ton on Supercoach. 19 disposals, five goals, six tackles 33 hit-outs and five clearances is a stat line any ruckman would give their left leg for. 'Big Maxy’s prelim' performance left me pondering some of the greatest acts seen over the last 50 years. Excluding Grand Finals and brilliant quarters such as Nick Davis ‘Come to Savis’ and Anthony Koutoufidies' efforts in '99, I have narrowed down a top 10 of individual games that will go down in the annals of Australian rules history. Leigh Matthews - 1976 Preliminary Final 33 disposals, 31 kicks, seven marks, two handballs and 7.6 Seeking revenge for the devastation of the 1975 Grand Final, Hawthorn, led by their goal-kicking rover Leigh Matthews, put to bed any doubts of their quality with a scintillating performance. 'Lethal’s game was sheer brilliance, with the mustachioed maestro kicking seven of the Hawks 14 goals, as well as picking up 14 more disposals than anyone from North Melbourne -including his opponent that day, the legendary Barry Cable. [caption id="attachment_25007" align="alignnone" width="1024"] MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA - 1980s: Leigh Matthews of the Hawthorn Hawks looks on during a VFL match. (Photo by Getty Images)[/caption] Kevin Bartlett - 1980 Semi-Final 17 disposals, 16 kicks, one handball and 8.0 Many of my Richmond mates are quick to tell me 'Dusty' is the greatest finals player of all-time. Now, that point has merit, only if you disregard the feats of the great Kevin Bartlett. 'KB' was a great during the regular season, and an immortal come finals, kicking 62 goals in 27 of them. No game was more dominant than his 1980 Semi Final effort - his 338th game. Bartlett lifted the Tigers in the second-quarter, kicking three magical goals to have four out of Richmond's seven. The follicly challenged rover-come-forward finished with eight straight and marched onto the 1980 Grand Final topping it off with another seven in the decider. Not bad for a 33-year-old. Gary Ablett Sr. - 1989 Preliminary Final 23 disposals, 22 kicks, 10 marks, one handball and 8.5 Fresh off a seven goal, seven behind effort against Melbourne in the Semi-Final, Gary Ablett Sr put together possibly the greatest month of football ever seen. Although Geelong were at their dominant best heading into the 1989 finals, they were humbled by a hungrier Essendon side and walloped to the tune of 76-points in the seres' opening week. Not one to be put off, Ablett Sr turned on the jets and kicked 24 goals in the remaining three finals. A 170-point turn around on the back of Ablett's prowess saw the Cats easily dismantle the Bombers. 'God' set the tone early, with 12 kicks and four goals before setting up three more as Geelong had 14 majors on the board at half-time. Brutal. [caption id="attachment_12177" align="alignnone" width="1024"] MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA - 1996: Gary Ablett of the Cats in action during the round 12 AFL match between the Geelong Cats and the Fremantle Dockers held in Melbourne, Australia. (Photo by Sean Garnsworthy/Getty Images)[/caption] Wayne Carey - 1994 Qualifying Final 32 disposals, 22 kicks, 10 marks, 10 handballs and 4.4 It's practically impossible to choose which is the greatest finals display by the 'King', Wayne Carey. However, I landed on the the 1994 Qualifying Final, as he was at his scintillating best. The contest was fought between two clubs at different stages, Hawthorn, the older campaigner against a younger Kangaroos side hungry for success. Wasteful in the second quarter, kicking 4.9, North were ruing their chances when down by five points at three-quarter time. A tight last quarter saw this remarkable game fall into extra-time with Carey kicking a late goal from 50m to level the scores. The extra period saw two quarters worth five minutes each, North kicking 3.5 to 0.0 and Carey collecting nine disposals and slotting the sealer. Garry Lyon - 1994 Semi-Final 18 disposals, 16 kicks, 11 marks, two handballs and 10.4 Eight days after Carey's brilliance, the two sides who will fight for the 2021 Grand Final next week played against each other in front of 65,000 at the MCG. Just like Max Gawn nearly 27-years later, Melbourne Captain Gary Lyon put on a clinic kicking, however the former skipper's output was twice as nice in front of goal. Lyon tore through four opponents on his way to 10 goals at three-quarter before the Demons romped home to a 79-point win. Andrew McLeod - 1998 Preliminary Final 19 disposals, 13 kicks, four marks, six handballs, three clearances and 7.0 There were shades of the Dogs' 2016 and 2021 campaigns in this one, as the Adelaide Crows were squeezed out of the top four by Melbourne and Sydney dropping late games to North Melbourne. Up until 1998, no side had won a Premiership from outside the top four and Adelaide started off disastrously, losing their first final to Melbourne by 48-points at the MCG. A Semi Final trip to Sydney was next, and the Crows beat the Swans by 27-points, before the reigning Norm Smith Medalist, Andrew McLeod, put on a clinic in the Preliminary Final at the MCG. Dragging his tagger Tony Liberatore forward, McLeod had 19 disposals and kicked seven goals. The following week, the Crows - who had been on the road for the last five weeks - knocked off the wasteful North in the Grand Final to be the first side in history to win the flag without a double-chance. [caption id="attachment_41637" align="alignnone" width="2048"] ADELAIDE, AUSTRALIA - AUGUST 27: Andrew McLeod of the Crows runs during the round 21 AFL match between the Port Adelaide Power and the Adelaide Crows at AAMI Stadium August 27, 2006 in Adelaide, Australia. (Photo by James Knowler/Getty Images)[/caption] Jeff Farmer - 2000 Preliminary Final 16 disposals, 13 kicks, four marks, three handballs, four tackles and 8.1 Despite playing in the millennium year's finals series with a broken rib, the 'Wizard', Jeffery Farmer, was on a rampage in 2000 after finishing the home-and-away season with 65 goals. Farmer, taught opponent and future Norm Smith Medalist Byron Pickett a lesson in mercurial goal-kicking, on his way to five majors at half-time. The deadeyed goalsneak then kicked his eighth and final goal in the last quarter - a period that also saw Craig Sholl kick four-goals in his last quarter of footy. Lance Franklin - 2007 Elimination Final 12 disposals, 11 kicks, seven marks, one handball and 7.2 This was the moment that catapulted Lance Franklin's career into superstardom. At just 20, Franklin, who had kicked his sixth goal in the 13th minute mark of the final term, watched on as the Hawks kicked 0.5 to Adelaide's 2.0 into the time on. Close to the 29th minute mark and still down by three points, Ricky Ladson marked a short kick from stalwart Shane Crawford and sized up his options. It was a heart in your mouth moment when Ladson drilled a laser pass to Franklin, who would have the shot to win the game from just outside 50. With what is now famously known as the 'Buddy Arc', Franklin, who kicked 2.11 two weeks previously on the same ground, calmly went back and slotted the memorable sealer. The young Hawks, who had not won a final since 2001, went on to famously win the 2008 Premiership with Franklin becoming the last player to kick 100 goals in a season. 'Buddy' would go on to play another 263-games and kick 873-goals after this famous kick. What a career! [caption id="attachment_20972" align="alignnone" width="2048"] MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA - AUGUST 16: Lance Franklin of the Hawks celebrates kicking a goal during the round 21 AFL match between the Hawthorn Hawks and the Collingwood Magpies at Melbourne Cricket Ground on August 16, 2013 in Melbourne, Australia. (Photo by Quinn Rooney/Getty Images)[/caption] Mason Cox - 2018 Preliminary Final 15 disposals, 13 kicks, 11 marks, two handballs, eight contested marks and 3.1 There's not a lot I need to say about Big Mason Cox's 2018 Preliminary Final, that hasn't already been said, everyone remembers where they were - especially Richmond fans. With eight contested marks and three titanic goals, if you told any Tigers fan, they would be beaten in 2018 by the big Texan, they would have said "yeah...and pigs can Fly", and boy did Big Maso' fly that night. [caption id="attachment_34714" align="alignnone" width="1024"] MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA - SEPTEMBER 21: Mason Cox of the Magpies marks during the AFL Preliminary Final match between the Richmond Tigers and the Collingwood Magpies on September 21, 2018 in Melbourne, Australia. (Photo by Quinn Rooney/Getty Images)[/caption] Dustin Martin - 2019 Qualifying Final 14 disposals, nine kicks, one mark, five handballs, three clearances, six goals and 10 clangers! Not many possess the ability to re-reach the heights that Dustin Martin had in 2017. However, a poor performance in the 2018 Preliminary Final, meant 'Dusty' was smelling blood in 2019. In front of the highest crowd ever at the GABBA, the tattooed Tiger put on a complete masterclass kicking six-goals - the most by a Richmond player since our man 'KB' kicked seven in the 1980 final. The Lions missed gettable goals in the second-quarter and were punished by 'Dusty' on his way to a three-goal third quarter. After this memorable six-goal bag, Martin would go on to kick 13 from his next five finals, winning another two Norm Smith's, cementing his position in the annals of Australian Rules Football History. [caption id="attachment_35318" align="alignnone" width="1024"] MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA - APRIL 29: Dustin Martin of the Tigers celebrates during the 2018 AFL round six match between the Collingwood Magpies and the Richmond Tigers at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on April 29, 2018 in Melbourne, Australia. (Photo by Michael Willson/AFL Media/Getty Images)[/caption]

September specialists: The 10 players who performed in big finals

Here are the men that got it done when it meant the most.

2. Mason Cox - 2018 Preliminary Final

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