Most Richmond supporters have spent the past week bemoaning their team's inability to stand up at the business end of the season.
But 200 kilometres north of Punt Road Oval, another team who wear yellow and black is in the midst of an even longer run of finals failures.
The Rochester Tigers, who play in the Goulburn Valley league, have lost their past seven finals, a streak that began with a defeat at the hands of Mansfield in the 2009 preliminary final.
Their run of outs continued last weekend when they took on second-placed Benalla in the qualifying final.
The Tigers, who had finished a game clear on top of the ladder, fell behind in the second quarter and never recovered, eventually losing by 31 points.
"People are telling me there's a curse," club president Max Hann said, with a chuckle, during the week.
"I don't know whether it's a curse or not, but I suppose we are a bit like Richmond." Rochester now faces a battle to keep their season alive when they take on Seymour in the first semi-final on Sunday.
"We've actually had a very good season so far, so there's still plenty of confidence around the place," said Hann, who has been either club president or treasurer for the past eight years.
Rochester have a long history of near-misses in the finals. The Tigers made seven grand finals during the long reign of coach Dave Williams, which lasted from 1992 until 2006, but won just two of them.
The club scored a famous triumph under the coaching of Daniel Smith in 2008 when they upset Seymour by three points in the decider, in the process denying the Lions a fourth straight flag.
But Rochester has played in nine finals since then and has lost eight of them. Its most recent finals victory was against Tatura in the 2009 first semi-final.
Yet the Tigers keep climbing off the canvas and throwing themselves back into finals calculations. In fact, they have finished outside the top six just once in the past eight seasons.
Rochester began this season in a blaze of glory. With first-year coach James Flaherty leading the way from the back line, the Tigers won their first 12 home and away games.
Their winning run ended when they suffered a two-point loss to Seymour in round 13. A week later they went down to Benalla by a point. However, Flaherty's team rallied from there, scoring four impressive victories in the lead-up to the finals.
Last weekend, Rochester took on Benalla, a team that knows a thing or two about falling short in the finals. The Saints, who haven't won a senior premiership since 1973, were undefeated prior to taking on the Shepparton Swans in the 2014 grand final. But they stumbled on the big day and lost by three points.
Yet it was Benalla rather than Rochester that was able to handle the finals intensity this time around.
"Our group probably didn't stand up on the day," Flaherty said. "We turned the ball over quite a bit on the day and that allowed Benalla to get a few easy goals and get a run-on."
The vagaries of the top six finals system used by the GVFL means that Rochester has paid a heavy price for their loss last Saturday.
The Tigers now face a cut-throat final, yet Kyabram, who finished third and defeated sixth-placed Euroa last Sunday, is suddenly one win away from a spot in the grand final.
"Finishing in the top two is no advantage," Hann said. "If you finish third, you get to play sixth for a spot in the second semi. Really, first and second should have the week off and play in the second semi. But we can't do anything about that at the moment."
Indeed, Rochester now must concentrate on overcoming their finals hoodoo and an impressive Seymour side coming off a win over the reigning premier, the Shepparton Swans.
The Tigers have been buoyed by the fact the game will take place on their home ground, but the coach is taking nothing for granted.
"Our boys are upbeat, even though we were disappointing last weekend," Flaherty said. "But Seymour's last six weeks have been pretty good. They've got quality players right across the board, so we need to pay them some respect."
As for the people like Hann who will be watching Sunday's game from the boundary, Rochester's recent finals record means they have endured a nervous week.
"We're a bit tense," Hann said. "But I don't think you can worry about what's been in the past. We've got a different coach and a bit of a different side, so we just need to worry about this game."
ROCHESTER FNC
"Rochy'' has won four Goulburn Valley league premierships (1914, 1992, 1999 and 2008).
The Tigers were members of the Bendigo league between 1915 and 1971. They won four flags in that competition (1958-59 and 1962-63).
By Adam McNicol