Following Richmond's utterly astounding victory against Carlton in Round 1, we decided to take a look at some of the biggest upsets in recent AFL history.
The Tigers overcame a 41-point deficit whilst also fielding a host of youngsters including three debutants who all made a significant impact in the historic victory.
According to the bookmakers, Richmond were 10-1 to defeat the Blues, making it a dream for those who were brave enough to back the 2024 wooden spooners.
Using available data from aussportsbetting.com, which curates historical gambling odds, we ranked each encounter by the degree to which they upset the bookmakers.
Be sure to expect the unexpected.
Following their fifth loss of more than 100 points against Fremantle the previous week, little gave West Coast a chance against a Bulldogs team vying for finals.
However, sitting bottom of the ladder and travelling away from home, veteran goalscorer Jamie Cripps produced a performance of his life - booting five goals, including two goals in an extraordinary final term when the Eagles turned around a nine-point deficit.
Their seven point win was particularly unexpected because of the “Harley Reid” factor leading into that year's draft. The win would lift the Eagles out of last-place, until North Melbourne defeated Gold Coast in the final round of the season to return the number one pick back to the West Australians.
Leading into Round 22 and Carlton was flying. They had won four of their previous five games and were pushing hard for a place in the top eight. Particularly after smashing Essendon in the previous round by 96 points, it was hard to see any team, let alone a 17th-place Gold Coast, stopping them.
However, the Suns, under the leadership of a brilliant Gary Ablett Jr, surprised the entire competition. Leading at every change, the Suns won by 12 points, thanks to the performances of future Tiger teammates Tom Lynch and Josh Caddy, who kicked 4 and 3 goals respectively.
The match would be a nail in the coffin for the Blues, who crashed out of finals contention before sacking their long-time coach Brett Ratten.
Another stunning Gold Coast upset lands at number three. Leading into their Round 18 clash, the Swans were on fire and looking to secure another top-four spot. Lance “Buddy” Franklin was in particularly good form for the Swans, notching his 900th career goal just a week prior.
Conversely, the Suns entered Round 18 without their star forward, Tom Lynch, and with Sydney's undefeated record against the Gold Coast since their inception in 2011, it was hard to see things changing.
Although Sydney jumped out to an early lead in the first quarter, through the second and third quarters the Suns were simply brilliant. They kicked eight unanswered goals, with a particularly inspiring performance by future captain Touk Miller, who gathered 25 disposals and one major.
Their embarrassing loss effectively ruined any chance of the Swan's making the top four, eventually crashing out in the first week of finals.
Through 2014, Fremantle were a powerhouse. Under former St Kilda coach Ross Lyon, the Dockers had won their previous eight straight games, with an average winning margin of an astounding 45 points. Conversely, St Kilda were on a horrific run of form, losing eleven straight games by an average margin of 63 points.
Just prior to the game, veteran midfielder Lenny Hayes announced his retirement, with the Saints somehow putting through a performance befitting one of their club champions. It was as if the two teams had swapped jumpers, with the Saints leaping out to a dominant first half lead of 40 points.
Remarkably, the Saints didn't stop there, leading by as much as 70 points in the third term thanks to majors from Nick Riewoldt and Rhys Stanley. The Saints performance remains one of the more unexpected dominations we've ever seen in the AFL.
Back in Round 10, Melbourne were in the midst of their worst start to a season since 1919. Sitting on the bottom of the ladder on a nine-match losing streak, few gave them any shot of defeating an Essendon team sitting second on the ladder.
Their Round 10 encounter was a low-scoring, back and forth tussle, with the Bombers holding a slight lead by three quarter time. However, in the final term Melbourne came alive, with defender-turned-forward Colin Garland scoring a vital major from the goal square to put the Demon's ahead by a goal.
Essendon would never recover from this shock defeat to Melbourne, losing nine of their remaining 12 games to miss the top eight.
Ever since their inception to the AFL in 2012, the Giants seemed to pale in comparison to the Swans. Leading into their opening round encounter in 2014, Sydney had never lost a derby to their cross-town rivals.
This opening round encounter was extra special because of the much-anticipated debut of prized recruit, Lance Franklin, who had rejected a Giant's offer to join the Swans instead.
Pre-game, little gave the Giants any hope of a victory, particularly after Franklin booted a trademark 50-metre goal inside 10 minutes.
However, the young Giants squad weathered the storm of anticipation to snatch a fabulous upset victory. Their burgeoning young talent shone through on the night with a then 20-year-old Jeremy Cameron kicking four goals, along with the sturdy performances of Callan Ward and Stephen Coniglio in the midfield.
In a similar vein to Richmonds victory over Carlton in Round 1, the Giants win was a showcase to their bourgeoning young talent.
