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Brownlow Medal | 3 Trent Cotchin (RICH) | 2 Dustin Martin (RICH) | 1 Marc Murphy (CARL) |
The first MCG of the 2014 has ended in a thrilling win for Richmond over Carlton, although it’s unlikely too many Tigers’ fans found great enjoyment in the second half of the match, as heartbreaking lightning almost struck for a third consecutive occasion in the meetings between these two teams.
As it had done in all three clashes against Carlton in 2013, Richmond established a five-goal lead over the Blues in the first half. But the Tigers were well aware that in two of those three clashes last year, including the Elimination Final, such a lead was not enough. The Tigers fell in by five points in round 1, 2013, surrendered a big lead to lose by five points in round 21, and then suffered a similar fate, this time losing by 20 points, in their first final since 2001.
Richmond started clearly the better of the two sides, and goals to Shane Edwards, Brandon Ellis, Dustin Martin and Trent Cotchin saw the Tigers establish a four-goal advantage before 10 minutes of the match had elapsed. Tom Bell kicked the Blues’ first at the 11-minute mark but further goals to Ty Vickery and captain Brett Deledio saw Richmond take a firm grip on the game in time-on of the first quarter. A late goal to Kade Simpson enable Carlton to cut the margin to 23-points at the first break but the Tigers were the clearly superior side at that stage.
As it had done in the first, Richmond began the second term with a burst, as goals to Ellis and Ben Griffiths set up a 35-point buffer, but Carlton settled and gradually worked its way back into the game, closing the gap to 31 points when the half-time siren sounded. That margin could have been 25 points, but a late mark to Blue Robert Warnock saw him spray a close up, straightforward shot out on the full.
Under normal circumstances, the expectation of all at the MCG would have been that the second half would see Richmond continue its dominance and record a convincing win. But most at the ground would have been at the same venue for these teams’ last three clashes, meaning that Carlton fans had some cause for hope, and Tiger supporters had reason to withhold confidence of a comfortable victory.
And so it proved once again. The Blues kicked off the second half with an early goal to Andrejs Everitt to send jitters through the Richmond camp but the Tigers managed to stave off Carlton for the remainder of the third term, to take what should have been a comfortable lead into the last change of ends.
Though the scoreboard had barely reflected it, Carlton had been an improved side in the third quarter and the Blues were ready to pounce on any nervousness displayed by the Richmond players. And nervousness there was, indeed. Carlton swarmed and dominated the first 20 minutes of the final quarter. For many Richmond players, the term “deer in headlights” was apposite. The Blues could have closed the gap entirely in the first few minutes of that final term, but wayward kicking saw their first four scoring shots register behinds only. Finally, after seven minutes Troy Menzel goaled to reduce the margin to just 15 points,
The Blues continued to attack. Behinds to Chris Yarran and Jeff Garlett were followed by a snapshot from Bryce Gibbs that saw the margin cut to just seven points half way through the term. Menzel followed up with another major soon after and a behind to Jarrod Waite just before the quarter ticked into time-on saw Carlton draw level.
At the stage Richmond had barely entered its forward half during the entire lst term and had not impacted in any way on the scoreboard. A Carlton win seemed almost a forgone conclusion at that moment and Tiger fans visibly despaired.
However, to the Richmond players’ credit, they dug deep during the final 10 minutes of the match. Though the period was error-ridden, the Tigers willed the ball forward and then will themselves to hold it in their forward half for most of that time. A brace of behinds saw them reclaim the lead, albeit by just two points, before a Riewoldt free kick was converted to take the margin out to eight points. Carlton made another brief foray forward but was rewarded with just two behinds. Finally, with 30 minutes on the clock, Dustin Martin managed to turn Blue Zac Tuohy inside and kick the match-winning goal and the Tigers scraped home by 12 points.
As unconvincing as the second-half was, the win was an important one for Richmond, which sits in ninth place on the ladder with a 1-1 record. Carlton, having lost to Port Adelaide in round one, sits in 13th spot, with a tough encounter against Essendon to come next Saturday night. The Tigers will have a chance to register a second win when they take on the 17th-placed Western Bulldogs next Saturday.
GOALS
Richmond: Vickery 4; Ellis, Martin 2; S. Edwards, Cotchin, Deledio, Griffiths, Riewoldt, King
Carlton: Yarran 3; Everitt, Menzel 2; Bell, Simpson, Waite, Garlett, Gibbs
BEST - AFL.COM.AU
Richmond: Ellis, Martin, Chaplin, Thomas, Astbury, Hampson
Carlton: Yarran, Simpson, Jamison, Curnow, Waite, Thomas
BEST - THE AGE
Richmond: Cotchin, Vickery, Thomas, Edwards, Ellis, Martin, Deledio
Carlton: Yarran, Murphy, Bell, Waite, Buckley
COACHES' COMMENTS
Damien Hardwick (Rich): It was good. The guys were out on their feet at the end. Chris Newman was huge in that last stanza and Cotchin stood up as well. It was just great to win that game. We probably tended to go a little bit too long down the line [in the second half]; it's just not out style. We just couldn't seem to find a free target at stages. In the last quarter we just couldn't get our hands on the ball. At the end of the day we just put our guns back in there and they managed to steady the ship.
Mick Malthouse (Carl): We were very stoic in our approach to a four-goal deficit at quarter-time and showed a little bit in the second quarter. We worked hard to have a chance at it [in the second half] but we botched up with a few shots on goal. It wasn't all doom and gloom. It was a very good fightback. Getting our hands on the football [after quarter time] helped, That in itself gave us an opportunity.
INJURIES
Richmond: Nil
Carlton: Matthew Kreuzer (foot) replaced in selected side by Dylan Buckley, Matthew Watson (ankle) replaced in selected side by Sam Rowe.
SUBSTITUTES
Richmond: Jake King replaced by Nathan Foley in the third quarter.
Carlton: Brock McLean replaced by Kane Lucas in the third quarter.
REPORTS: Dustin Martin (Richmond) reported in the second quarter for striking Simon White (Carlton)
UMPIRES: Stevic, Stewart, Leppard
TELEVISION BROADCAST: Seven Network
COMMENTATORS: Brian Taylor, Luke Darcy, Matthew Richardson, Cameron Ling
Video sourced from YouTube, courtesy of Carlton Football Club.
Richmond | Match Stats | Career | ||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
# | Player | K | M | H | D | G | B | HO | T | FF | FA | Age | Games | G |
12 | Astbury, David | 17 | 10 | 1 | 18 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 23y 29d | 31 | 7 |
25 | Chaplin, Troy | 9 | 5 | 5 | 14 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 28y 32d | 164 | 11 |
30 | Conca, Reece | 12 | 4 | 7 | 19 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 21y 227d | 54 | 17 |
9 | Cotchin, Trent | 15 | 4 | 10 | 25 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 23y 354d | 110 | 63 |
3 | Deledio, Brett | 10 | 3 | 10 | 20 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 26y 343d | 197 | 128 |
10 | Edwards, Shane | 13 | 3 | 8 | 21 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 25y 153d | 131 | 81 |
5 | Ellis, Brandon | 14 | 6 | 4 | 18 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 20y 236d | 44 | 18 |
41 | Foley, Nathan | 4 | 2 | 7 | 11 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 28y 200d | 138 | 40 |
24 | Griffiths, Ben | 8 | 7 | 3 | 11 | 1 | 1 | 7 | 5 | 1 | 5 | 22y 191d | 21 | 6 |
6 | Grigg, Shaun | 9 | 4 | 13 | 22 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 25y 342d | 111 | 49 |
2 | Grimes, Dylan | 2 | 3 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 22y 254d | 27 | 0 |
16 | Hampson, Shaun | 4 | 2 | 10 | 14 | 0 | 0 | 26 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 26y 6d | 65 | 32 |
14 | Houli, Bachar | 15 | 5 | 4 | 19 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 25y 319d | 93 | 23 |
28 | King, Jake | 3 | 1 | 5 | 8 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 30y 1d | 106 | 78 |
4 | Martin, Dustin | 18 | 5 | 3 | 21 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 22y 274d | 88 | 93 |
38 | Morris, Steven | 2 | 1 | 5 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 25y 86d | 45 | 6 |
1 | Newman, Chris | 13 | 5 | 4 | 17 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 31y 313d | 235 | 40 |
13 | Petterd, Ricky | 16 | 6 | 8 | 24 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 25y 246d | 68 | 60 |
8 | Riewoldt, Jack | 6 | 3 | 4 | 10 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 25y 147d | 136 | 322 |
19 | Thomas, Matt | 11 | 5 | 10 | 21 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 11 | 0 | 2 | 27y 28d | 89 | 30 |
29 | Vickery, Ty | 6 | 4 | 1 | 7 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 23y 300d | 77 | 84 |
31 | Vlastuin, Nick | 13 | 6 | 6 | 19 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 19y 342d | 20 | 10 |
Rushed | 4 | |||||||||||||
Totals | 220 | 94 | 130 | 350 | 14 | 14 | 35 | 55 | 13 | 20 | 25y 51d | 2050 | 1198 |
Carlton | Match Stats | Career | ||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
# | Player | K | M | H | D | G | B | HO | T | FF | FA | Age | Games | G |
28 | Bell, Tom | 13 | 7 | 9 | 22 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 22y 287d | 18 | 9 |
7 | Buckley, Dylan | 10 | 2 | 8 | 18 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 3 | 1 | 21y 11d | 2 | 1 |
35 | Curnow, Ed | 13 | 7 | 12 | 25 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 0 | 1 | 24y 140d | 53 | 11 |
46 | Ellard, David | 4 | 2 | 4 | 8 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 25y 14d | 42 | 24 |
33 | Everitt, Andrejs | 11 | 3 | 2 | 13 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 25y 14d | 81 | 35 |
38 | Garlett, Jeff | 13 | 5 | 0 | 13 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 24y 236d | 100 | 173 |
4 | Gibbs, Bryce | 5 | 0 | 7 | 12 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 25y 12d | 157 | 83 |
23 | Henderson, Lachie | 10 | 8 | 4 | 14 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 24y 103d | 86 | 60 |
40 | Jamison, Michael | 4 | 0 | 2 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 27y 289d | 113 | 1 |
9 | Lucas, Kane | 5 | 1 | 1 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 22y 274d | 36 | 14 |
14 | McLean, Brock | 2 | 0 | 6 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 28y 16d | 143 | 67 |
2 | Menzel, Troy | 10 | 3 | 1 | 11 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 19y 186d | 9 | 10 |
3 | Murphy, Marc | 19 | 4 | 9 | 28 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 26y 251d | 167 | 133 |
12 | Robinson, Mitch | 13 | 7 | 11 | 24 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 24y 293d | 90 | 52 |
17 | Rowe, Sam | 4 | 3 | 4 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 26y 128d | 11 | 9 |
6 | Simpson, Kade | 20 | 6 | 3 | 23 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 29y 326d | 202 | 118 |
39 | Thomas, Dale | 12 | 3 | 11 | 23 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 26y 279d | 159 | 122 |
42 | Tuohy, Zach | 7 | 4 | 3 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 24y 107d | 56 | 21 |
30 | Waite, Jarrad | 11 | 7 | 2 | 13 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 31y 51d | 170 | 226 |
11 | Warnock, Robert | 6 | 0 | 8 | 14 | 0 | 0 | 30 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 27y 67d | 72 | 13 |
43 | White, Simon | 5 | 4 | 4 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 25y 283d | 27 | 2 |
13 | Yarran, Chris | 16 | 5 | 5 | 21 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 23y 98d | 86 | 70 |
Rushed | 3 | |||||||||||||
Totals | 213 | 81 | 116 | 329 | 12 | 14 | 37 | 69 | 20 | 13 | 25y 108d | 1880 | 1254 |