It is said that for any football team, two wins stand out as more important than any other — its maiden home and away victory, and its first grand final triumph.

The first win at VFL/AFL level for Richmond happened more than a century before the first for the Giants, but both were rare glimpses of success in otherwise forgettable years in front of crowds of roughly 8,000 people.

While no Tigers from the first win in 1908 ended up playing in the breakthrough flag in 1920, four Giants have a chance of doing the double today — Toby Greene, Adam Kennedy, Phil Davis and Jeremy Cameron all have a chance of contributing to both victories.

And the last of those players might hold the key to the grand final.

For most of the last decade, the answer to the question "who is the best forward in the AFL?" has been automatic — Lance Franklin. But as the Swans superstar starts to zoom past 30, it's likely that another Sydney-based player, namely Giants focal point Cameron, has passed Buddy on the top of the hill.

Cameron is as complete a forward as the AFL has, able to beat almost any defender on the lead, able to lose markers when doubling back to the square, able to grab both the contested pack mark and gather cleanly beneath the knees without slowing up. He's even able to take the long shot handoffs that have become Franklin's signature over the years.

In the vision above, Cameron beats David Astbury, Nathan Broad, Bachar Houli and Dylan Grimes, amongst others.

Beyond the wide variety of skills that Cameron demonstrates, the use of space is also notable, as he often is leading away from goal, and to very narrow angles that many forwards eschew. This has a twofold benefit for the Giants — it makes defending Cameron a vastly different proposition to most other key position forwards in the league, and it creates space for his teammates to capitalise in.

Jeremy Cameron's shots on goal, 2019

Jeremy Cameron often leads from further than 25 metres out. ( Stats Insider )

Cameron often does his best work leading away from the "hotspot", with only 13.5 per cent of his shots coming from inside 25 metres (Richmond's Tom Lynch, for example, had 28.7 per cent within this range) according to Stats Insider data.

With Cameron leading further out, this opens up space for the second and third GWS key position forwards — Jeremy Finlayson and Harry Himmelberg — to work into space against lesser defenders behind him. Himmelberg in particular feasts closer to goals, with 37 per cent of his shots coming within 25 metres.

Jeremy Cameron and Harry Himmelberg set shots on goal, 2019

Where Cameron goes deep, Himmelberg comes short. ( Stats Insider )

Cameron's set shots over the last two years show only one slight weak spot — on the right boundary, less than 45m out. That's not something that Richmond can reliably plan for. Cameron performs strongly against finals and non-finals teams alike, and has racked up 10 goals from 19 scoring shots against the Tigers this year.

Total GWS shots, 2019

The Giants' only shooting weakness is inside 45 metres on the right boundary. ( Stats Insider )

Richmond often rotates defenders onto players based on proximity to goals and size, with Astbury often working against the closest forward to goal. In their previous encounters this year, the Giants have played with this by trying to create mismatches, for example on this lead by Greene.

The Tigers also often deploy a spare defender in the hole in front of leading forwards — something that is less effective with the way Cameron works towards the ball. Damian Hardwick and his fellow coaching staff will face a delicate balance trying to limit the damage of Cameron and shifting too far from their successful defensive identity.

Despite the absence of perennial All Australian defender Alex Rance this year, Richmond has been very good at denying its opponents chances to score, conceding the fewest scoring shots per game of any team during the home and away season. On the flip side, heat maps provided by Stats Insider indicate that Rance's absence has seen the Tigers allow more shots in areas closer to goal than last year.

Tigers shots conceded, 2018

Last year Alex Rance kept Richmond's opponents at a distance. ( Stats Insider )

Tigers shots conceded, 2019

Without Rance, the Tigers have allowed more shots close to goal. ( Stats Insider )

Richmond has allowed the highest raw accuracy this year, up a tick on last year. The Tigers don't normally allow shots on goal, but when they do, they will likely hurt.

They aren't quite the same world-beating backline that they were before, but they will still eat up any loose ball and tentative leads that come their way.

Giants' underrated back half a well-oiled machine

At the other end of the ground, a similar battle between an elite forward and a top notch backline is set to play out.

The Giants have a backline which is almost as strong as the formidable Tiger trap, but certainly less heralded. Led by co-captain Phil Davis, GWS is an expert in the intercept game, effortless switching between defensive assignments and floating off to cut off loose balls.

Giants shots conceded, 2019

The Giants have a back line just as effective as Richmond. ( Stats Insider )

No one typifies that ability to time a move and kill a contest better than Nick Haynes, who is one of the smoothest movers in the league.

The forward-line story for Richmond has been a tale of two halves in 2019. A scratchy, impotent, mostly Jack Riewoldt-less pre-bye period followed by the Lynch-Riewoldt pairing blossoming during the Tigers' post-bye winning streak.

Since round 15, they upped their scoring by three more goals per game. That's been due to having the third-most-efficient forward line (points per inside-50) entry post-bye, compared to the more average seventh in 2018.

Richmond shots on goal, 2019

Richmond's efficiency in the 50 has improved since the bye. ( Stats Insider )

In their premiership year the Tigers relied on repeat entries, and won through midfield and defensive potency. This year, they've recently been able to launch deeper attacks and with more menace thanks to the forward line double act.

With Riewoldt injured early in the year, Lynch roamed upfield filling Riewoldt's traditional half-forward role, averaging 2.58 inside-50's a game. With Riewoldt back expertly filling that space, Lynch has changed his role, averaging just 0.8 inside-50s a game as he's played much closer to goal.

Lynch serving as the primary leading option, with Riewoldt starting away from goal, nets the Tigers more shots at goal from close range than they had in 2018.

Riewoldt and Martin, 2018

Jack Riewoldt and Dustin Martin primarily operated from the edge of the 50 in 2018. ( Stats Insider )

Riewoldt, Lynch and Martin 2019

The Tigers have more options closer to goal with the addition of Lynch in 2019. ( Stats Insider )

The wildcard is Dustin Martin, a player who doesn't need to play forward but against Brisbane sat near the goal square and created matchup chaos with six goals from 14 touches. His role can be mostly forward or a more mixed one, and may well be dictated by the potential Matt de Boer matchup.

Martin went goalless and had below-average inside-50s, clearances and disposals against GWS twice this year. Getting a potential gamebreaker like Martin involved in one of his key roles will of course be pretty important for the Tigers.

Keeping the footy out of the hands of the targets is one thing, stopping their crumbing forwards is another. Sydney Stack was able to snag one of the team goals of the year against the Giants in round 17, juking several defenders into oblivion on the way.

Richmond's forwards can provide intense forward pressure, so spoiling the ball isn't necessarily enough. The Giants' backline will have to be willing to move the ball quickly to stop the Tigers' small brigade from capitalising.

Chaos or control? The crucial battle in the middle

It's when it gets to the middle that the real battle will begin, featuring two of the most divergent teams in the league when it comes to methods of ball acquisition and movement.

In terms of winning the ball in the first place, even a diminished Richmond remains one of the kings of the turnover game, while the Giants may be the most prominent clearance experts of the league in 2019.

The Giants' potency around the ball should test Richmond's common approach of vacating the immediate area around stoppages, drifting and spreading, then setting up further from the ball to snare intercepts afterwards.

Giants games generally feature the most stoppages of any team in the league, a by-product of their willingness to play right to the edge of each boundary, and to stop balls from spilling out of ground contests. This approach paid dividends in the last two finals, where GWS essentially dug in and used stoppages to hold a small lead for minutes on end against Brisbane and Collingwood.

On the other hand, the Tigers try to keep the ball alive in ground situations whenever it isn't dangerous — generally anywhere outside of their defensive 50.

As a result, their games are the most flowing, and stoppage-free, of any team. Richmond is master of the knock on and the tap forward, and move more directly than nearly any other side — the Tigers are second behind Brisbane for metres gained per disposal, while GWS is 13th.

Contrastingly, GWS average 15 more marks per game, all of them of the uncontested variety. Returning former All Australian midfielder Lachie Whitfield is critical to the efforts of GWS going forward, with Whitfield opening up better shots closer to goal — an area that Richmond has struggled to defend at times this year.

GWS shots with Lachie Whitfield, 2019

The Giants get closer to goal with Lachie Whitfield in the team. ( Stats Insider )

GWS shots without Lachie Whitfield, 2019

Without Whitfield, the Giants find it harder to penetrate the 50. ( Stats Insider )

The returning Whitfield and Greene sit fourth and third for score involvements per game at GWS, and are often used to set up the Giants' forward entries. Whitfield is also third in the league for marks per game, a domain normally dominated by key position players and intercept defenders.

It's a sign of how much the Giants rely on the former number one draft pick to move the ball safely.

Putting it all together

When you put all the pieces of the puzzle together, and look at the recent history between the two teams, a relatively unpredictable grand final emerges. The last game of footy for the year presents as a real battle of the styles, of the direct against the deliberate.

GWS shots on goal against Richmond, 2019

The Giants can score well from the pockets as well as in front. ( Stats Insider )

Richmond shots on goal against GWS, 2019

The Tigers love to go direct through the corridor. ( Stats Insider )

If the game is played fast and through the corridor, with little chance for boundary throw-ins to slow up play, then it's likely a sign that Richmond are controlling the play. However, if the Giants' defence can move the ball deliberately out of defence, and maximise their advantage at the coalface, then Richmond's defence will have a big job to do to stay in it.

Given the likely changes from both last week and their previous meetings, it's hard to guess the form each side will have going in. With the two-game series being split between the sides — with relatively large margins in both games — it's a little harder to pick a winner than most believe.

Regardless of the result, the stage is set for one of the most interesting games of footy, on one of the biggest stages in world sport, in front of 100,000 spectators.

A world away from the Giants' first win at the humble Manuka Oval, or the Tigers in 1908 at Punt Road.