Wimmera's footy fans at fever-pitch for 2020 AFL grand final

But for die-hard fans of both Richmond and Geelong, a victory on Saturday will mean just as much as any other year.

In a stroke of sublime luck, former Wimmera resident Josh Clissold will be one of the 30,000 at the Gabba on Saturday night.

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Clissold, a mad Cats fan, moved north to teach in the remote community of Gapuwiyak in Arnhem Land this year.

He said it had been an incredible experience and one that fortuitously means he can make the long-trek across to Brisbane on Saturday.

Clissold said he had been struggling to sleep all week due to the excitement.

"I'm very lucky to be up here - it's costing me an absolute fortune to get there, but I wouldn't miss it for the world," he said.

The former Edenhope-Apsley footballer said it might be a different experience from the previous grand finals he had attended in 2007, 2008, 2009 and 2011.

"It's definitely going to be different to grannies of the past, but I still think with 30,000 there on grand final day, it's going to be pretty bloody good," he said.

Clissold said he was "keeping the lid on it, but very optimistic" about the contest on Saturday.

Back in the Wimmera, fellow die-hard Cats fan and Horsham basketball icon Tony Sleep spent the week reminiscing.

During long car trips for work, Sleep has been listening to the radio commentary from the Cats' 2007, 2009 and 2011 grand final triumphs, hoping for a similar outcome on Saturday.

The matchup between the Cats and the Tigers, however, has given Sleep another reason to reminisce.

Sleep said his late-brother Jeremy, who died five years ago with bowel cancer, was a mad Tigers fan.

"He decided when he was nine, after Richmond won the premiership, to be a supporter," Sleep said. "Unfortunately he never saw them win another one.

"I know he would be loving it at the moment with how the Tigers are going. And what I find myself thinking about this week is, if he was still around, the amount of banter that would be going on would be outrageous."

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Sleep said it gave him a win-win scenario on Saturday night.

"I would love nothing more than the Cats to win. But it's been a bit bittersweet for me the last few years thinking of him, and secretly barracking for the Tigers as they kept winning," he said.

For Tigers fans preparing for their third grand final in four years, the excitement of the big week is familiar territory.

No more so for former Richmond player and Ararat local Scott Turner, who was at the MCG in 2017 when his side ended a 37-year premiership drought.

"It was really a dream come true," he said.

"I'd been to finals before as a player and supporter, but to watch your own team play in one, with that atmosphere and get over the line as well, it was a dream come true.

"Obviously, winning it last year was a great effort as well and against a couple mates too, with Leon (Cameron) and Wayne Campbell at the Giants."

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Turner played 144 games and kicked 33 goals during a decade-long career with the Tigers in the 1990s, prompting a change of heart and allegiances.

"As a young bloke, I used to barrack for Geelong," he admitted.

"But I'm certainly a Tiges man now. I had a saying during the 90s and after I retired, when the Tiges weren't going that well, that I'd always barrack for Richmond during the year and Geelong in the finals.

"It hasn't been that way for the past few years, that's for sure."

Horsham teacher Cameron Pickering was boundary-side to see his beloved Tigers hoist the premiership cup last season, with only an unfortunate bit of planning stopping him from being there in 2017.

"I committed in April (2017) to go on a school trip to Japan, not even thinking about grand final day and the fact Richmond would be playing," he said.

"I contemplated coming back. I looked into tickets, but they fell through.

The Tigers' 89-point drubbing of the Giants in last season's grand final may have disappointed many neutral fans, but not Richmond-mad Pickering.

"It was amazing. There was just so much elation to actually be there and see it," he said. "We were in the nosebleeds for a start. A mate of mine, who was in the MCC area, kept trying to get me to go down there. So, I went down to the boundary line, and it was just amazing.

"I went in there, and my buddy said 'just settle down, and look around'. They were all just neutral fans, and they were probably annoyed because it was so boring.

"After that, my family went home, and I went to Swan St with mates, and ticked every box. It was crazy to experience that. A nice crazy, but there were a few Giants effigies burnt up though."

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While Pickering is trying to stay level-headed about the prospect of a third flag in four seasons, it's hard not to get excited having lived through such a lean period in the past.

"I got stuck into my Dad for a while about 'why did you make me barrack for this side, or why didn't you tell me to barrack for someone else'," he said.

"I understand now that we're like the Hawthorns, Geelongs or Brisbanes of the modern era. Everyone hates us now. It's us versus the world, and we've grown to love that."

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