Australian Football

Match Report

Coming into this game, played in the early afternoon at the M.C.G, Greater Western Sydney (GWS) has had a rocky month, with only one win and two draws in their past five games, and little exposure to the ‘G’. Richmond has also had mixed fortunes but bounced back well against Brisbane last week after the debacle of the St. Kilda match. GWS went into the game as slight favourites.

The game started well for the Giants with a goal to Lachie Whitfield at the two-minute mark. Although their second major didn’t come until Toby Greene popped one through almost fifteen minutes later, the Giants dominated the early play to such an extent that Tiger supporters were already fearing the worst. The third goal by skipper Callan Ward, all from Tiger turnovers, confirmed the trend. GWS were well in front on every metric, especially inside 50’s and centre clearances. Disturbing for Richmond was that they didn’t have one effective shot on goal. The Giants went to the first change with a twenty-point break, and with the skies threatening to open, it looked like a very handy lead.

A notable feature of the game thus far, and a trend that would continue, was the propensity for the umpires to blow their whistle. A higher than average number of frees were awarded, especially early on, with a lot of ‘tiggy touchwood’ calls. One occasion that umpire intervention was entirely warranted was when Toby Greene clipped Alex Rance on the chin and had a free kick to the Giants reversed. It was another undisciplined act by Greene, who faces a certain suspension by the Match Review Panel.

The second quarter was a very different story. Richmond came out firing from the start, and prime movers Dustin Martin and Trent Cochin started to take control in the centre. An early goal by Daniel Rioli set the tone, and much like the Giants in the first quarter, the Tigers dominated all over the ground, although the second goal didn’t come until the thirteen-minute mark—through a strong one-on-one mark from Martin. Two more goals in quick succession, by Kane Lambert roving the pack, and Jack Riewoldt, to that point well held by Phil Davis, consolidated the comeback and put the Tigers up by seven points at half time.

With GWS winning one quarter and Richmond the other, the third stanza was going to be crucial. Once the rain started, quickly turning to a downpour, every goal was critical, and it was the Tigers that took advantage. An early goal to Riewoldt, after a brilliant Martin run, confirmed that the Tigers still had the momentum, although several wasted opportunities, which saw successive shots at goal going out of bounds on the full, meant the margin was still tight. One of the culprits, Kamdyn McIntosh, was able to make amends only minutes later, putting his team twenty points in front and sitting pretty as the rain plummeted down.

At the seventeen-minute mark, Nick Haynes goaled for GWS, their first major since the first quarter, but this was followed soon after by a Josh Caddy goal, from ‘a Joe the goose’ from Dusty, and another from Toby Nankervis, after crashing through several tackles. These stretched the margin to twenty-seven points at the final break. Given the weather conditions, it looked like a commanding lead.

With the MCG becoming waterlogged and the Tigers determined to close up the game, the final quarter resembled a scrappy rugby game, with elements of soccer thrown in, as kicking off the ground became a popular method of passing. The Giants came out fighting and, in the end, won the quarter, reducing the margin to nineteen points at the final siren. Not that that mattered to the Tigers, who were simply happy to win the game by any margin and in any manner they could.

An early goal to Josh Kelly, who was quiet all day, gave the Giants a sniff, but the rugby scrum that ensued prevented them from gaining any momentum. Their second goal came twenty minutes later, after strong body work by Jonathon Patton, but again, Richmond gave the Giants very little room to move. The margin was closer than Tigers fans would have liked, given how the first encounter between the clubs earlier in the season had panned out, but all those concerns were put to rest when Jason Castgana burst out of a pack and kicked truly. A cross body banana on the run while ignoring free teammates may have deserved the coaches ire, but all concerned in the yellow and black were just happy to get the four points.

Richmond coach Damien Hardwick was thrilled with the result: "It was certainly not a game we'll go and get back out of the archives, but from an intensity and effort [point of view] I thought it was terrific…the first quarter we looked a little bit off the pace, they probably didn't capitalise as much as they should have, but I thought the second and third quarters we really controlled proceedings.

"I was really impressed with Trent and Dustin and Alex and Jack. Those guys responded really well in the second quarter, which got us going."

Giants coach Leon Cameron played down the weather conditions as a factor in his team’s loss: "You've got to adapt to all conditions. Our last quarter was probably the wettest for the game and we actually knuckled down in the last quarter, so it was a mindset thing in the second and the third," he said.

"The first and last (quarters) were fine, it didn't matter if it was raining or sunny or windy. We found a way then, but the second and third were really ordinary. "We've got to find our mojo because clearly it's only spasmodically coming out for patches of the game…but Richmond's ability to tackle us really well in the second and third quarters stifled our ball movement and we didn't adapt."

For Richmond, the quality rose to the surface, with Martin and Cotchin dominating. Strong performances also came from Vlastin, Rance, and Riewoldt. Best players for GWS were Ward, Davis, and the courageous Dylan Shiel, battered and bruised after several heavy knocks.

Next week, Richmond face the Gold Coast at Carrara, only the second time they’ve played at that ground in the Sun’s era, while GWS face Fremantle at home at the Sydney Showgrounds.

GOAL
Richmond: Riewoldt 2; Martin, McIntosh, Lambert, Castagna, Rioli, Caddy, Nankervis 
Greater Western Sydney: Haynes, Patton, Greene, Whitfield, Kelly, Ward

BEST - AFL.COM.AU
Richmond: Martin, Cotchin, Vlastuin, B.Ellis, Rance, Lambert
Greater Western Sydney: Ward, Davis, Shiel, Wilson, Williams

BEST - THE AGE
Richmond: TBC
Greater Western Sydney: TBC

INJURIES
Richmond: Nil
Greater Western Sydney: Shiel (right arm)

REPORTS: Toby Greene (GWS) reported for striking Alex Rance in the first quarter.

UMPIRES: Rosebury, Mitchell, Mollison

TELEVISION BROADCAST: Fox Footy

COMMENTATORS: Anthony Hudson, Gerard Healy, Jonathan Brown, David King