GRAND finals have consequences beyond the result. They can be harbingers of change, shifting the destinies of clubs and players, influencing tactics and even the competition's rules.

The 1970 grand final, in which Ron Barassi instructed Carlton to play on and handball after half-time, is the most celebrated example of a season denouement that held major repercussions.

Not only did 1970 popularise handball and play-on football, it was the instant in which Carlton supplanted Collingwood as the competition superpower, the progressive, entrepreneurial Blues surpassing the conservative club of old Australia, while simultaneously giving birth to the "supercoach" Barassi and the "Colliwobbles".

The 1984 grand final was another in which a coach changed perceptions of how the game could and should be played. Trailing Hawthorn by 23 points at three-quarter-time, Kevin Sheedy threw his team around, shifting defenders such as Billy Duckworth and Paul Weston forward, helping spark Essendon's extraordinary nine-goal final quarter; on this day, the notion that players must be versatile was given unprecedented credibility.

The grand final often reinforces trends that are already underway. Sheedy was not the first coach to swing players around, but the success of his moves meant flexibility became trendy.

The 2008 grand final contained numerous themes that could be portents of change. Some involve players, others broader issues such as the rushed behind. Clubs are already talking about four upshots:

1. NO MORE KID GLOVES FOR TOM HAWKINS

Geelong lost the grand final, despite domination of the inside-50 entries and clearances. Cam Mooney found the ball, but not the goals; Tom Lonergan did neither.

A key-forward deficiency that had been concealed by weight of possession throughout the season was exposed — as it had been, to a degree, in the preliminary final against the Bulldogs.

Geelong, when harassed and deprived of time and space to construct goals, doesn't have the absolute top-shelf key forwards.

So where was Tom Hawkins, the club's leviathan 20-year-old key forward and the player we assumed would be a superior replacement for Nathan Ablett?

He was fit to play, having played the last two home-and-away games in the VFL. Hawkins, however, had fallen behind Lonergan, a player of undoubted courage and persistence, but without the same capacity to hurt the opposition on the scoreboard.

Geelong surely planned for Hawkins to be further advanced, and in its grand final side.

While his season was interrupted by a foot "hot spot" that affected his training load, the Tomahawk's progress was a tad disappointing, given the immense promise he'd shown in his first year. Geelong will need him in the goal square next year.

2. RUSHED BEHINDS

At club level, the disquiet about the proliferation of rushed behinds has increased twofold since the Hawks contributed 11 in the rushed column for Geelong. Since the victorious coach is among those keen on a rule change and the grand final spectacle — otherwise magnificent — was marred by the practice, it would be surprising if the AFL did not act.

The climate is right for a new rule, the question is what measure would be most appropriate.

3. MULTIPLE GAME STYLES

As some within the industry have noted, the Hawks appeared to have two or three different games styles — they attacked with quick ball movement when they needed to score, but they also deliberately slowed the tempo when they held the lead in the second half.

At one point, earlier in the match, when Geelong was smashing them out of the middle, the Hawks managed to hang on, like a boxer clinging to his opponent in clinches, until the momentum shifted.

Geelong, if it has different game styles, has barely needed to resort to them in 2008; perhaps it was a victim of its own dominating season. The Cats did not have any apparent change of pace or gear (besides the fact that they slowed up, unintentionally).

The idea that teams require multiple game styles, rather than one basic plan, is not novel — coaching is pushing the competition in that direction anyway. "This is where we're going to," said one senior coach yesterday.

4. THE LONG HAUL AND THE PREMIERSHIP PLAN

No club has planned so meticulously to win a premiership as Hawthorn, which followed a long-term philosophy of building a team via the draft and was willing — and luckily, able — to offload mid-20s players such as Nathan Thompson and Jonathan Hay, who didn't fit the premiership model . "They had a plan, they stuck to it, and they were rewarded with a premiership," said a senior football department official.

"They were brave with their trading."

The Hawks arrived at their destination two years before schedule, which will influence rivals' attitudes to trading/drafting. Paradoxically, it happened faster for a team that took its time.