Australian Football

Match Report

Richmond ended a seven-year drought in defeating an inexperienced Western Bulldogs outfit by 70 points at the MCG on Sunday. The Tigers had not beaten the Bulldogs since round 3, 2005 but, apart from a nervous period early in the third quarter, never looked like letting this match slip. Trent Cotchin was outstanding for Richmond, and his 35-possession, three-goal virtuoso performance had many declaring him as a Brownlow Medallist of the near, rather than distant, future. With Brett Deledio and Dustin Martin also on song, the supply-line to the Richmond forward line was a virtual torrent for most of the match. Jack Riewoldt (5 goals) and Shane Edwards (4 goals) reaped the biggest rewards from the midfield dominance, although young Bulldog Jordan Roughead, who has only recently been switched to defence, battled valiantly to restrict spearhead Riewoldt.

With Griffen a late withdrawal because of a back-spasm experienced during the pre-game warm-up, the Bulldogs were forced to bring in Fletcher Roberts for his first game with only a few minutes notice. Fellow rookie Lin Jong also made his debut, and the Western Bulldogs line-up consisted of a remarkable nine players with less than 15 games experience. Neverthless, the young Pups battled manfully in the first half and when Brian Lake, who spent much of the day up forward kicked his second goal early in the third term, the Bulldogs were with two goals of Richmond. A minute later Giansiracusa kicked his third and Bulldogs' fans began to sense an unlikely win. But normal service resumed soon after and Richmond kicked 11 of the last 12 goals of the match. Riewoldt's five-goal haul took him to within three goals of the league's leading goal-kicker Matthew Pavlich, and a second Coleman Medal remains a distinct possibility for "Jumping Jack".

It was a strong performance from the Tigers, and although they have virtually no chance of making it to the eight, they gave their fans perhaps the best indication in years that an era of sustained finals appearances isn't far off. The Bulldogs on the other hand, would appear to be several years away from such optimism, and although there is plenty of upside to the inclusion of players such as Jong, Fletcher, Smith, Talia and Johannisen, the lack of quality players in the 50 - 100 game range means another season or two of pain is the most likely short-term prognosis.

GOALS
Richmond: Riewoldt 5; Edwards 4; Cotchin, McGuane 3; Grigg, King 2; Martin, Nahas, Newman
Western Bulldogs: Giansiracusa 3,; Skinner, Lake 2; Addison, Dickson, Hooper, Smith, Wallis

BEST - AFL.COM.AU
Richmond: Cotchin, Edwards, King, Martin, Deledio, Riewoldt, McGuane
Western Bulldogs: Boyd, Picken, Dickson, Wallis, Lake, Murphy

BEST - THE AGE
Richmond: Cotchin, Deledio, Martin, Edwards, Riewoldt, McGuane
Western Bulldogs: Boyd, Wallis, Picken, Murphy, Dickson, Giansiracusa

COACHES' COMMENTS
Damien Hardwick (Rich): I'm probably at a stage now where I don't think sides should do that [get a run-on] to us. We've got to be better than that.

Brendan McCartney (WB): There were some good signs. Over the next three weeks we'll find out how quickly [the young players] learn.

Umpires: Farmer, Hay, Ryan