Richmond VFL ended its early season roadshow with a bruising 74-point win over Frankston at Skybus Stadium on Sunday afternoon.
The Tigers were pushed all the way by a Dolphins side not wanting of effort, eventually prevailing 19.10 (124) to 7.8 (50).
“Be hungry to defend.”
That was the message drummed into the Richmond VFL side by coach Craig McRae before it embarked on its encounter with Frankston.
The Tigers’ defensive supremacy reached fever-pitch in its win over Williamstown, and McRae wanted to ensure that his side carried that unwavering mindset into this week.
The Dolphins at Skybus Stadium are always a tricky opposition, as they display hunger and intent plus the locals aren’t short of advice and feedback for any travelling side
This was on display from the opening bounce.
Frankston took it right up to a Tigers side that was sluggish out of the blocks, with the hosts booting the opening major of the game, much to the locals’ raucous approval.
The Dolphins looked sharper around the contest and surged the ball forward with pace and verve.
Richmond needed a kick-start, and Jacob Townsend provided it.
As the Tigers willed the ball inside their forward 50, Townsend bullied his way through congestion, won the ball, fed it out to Patrick Naish, who smoothly slotted the goal.
Naish would go on to slot two more goals in the second quarter and one in the fourth, taking his tally to four for the game, ensuring his magnet stays in the frame for AFL selection.
The dashing wingman is a picture of consistency, accumulating the ball at will (29 disposals) and using it with punch and panache.
The Dolphins hit back, before Richmond slammed on four goals in a hurry to stretch its lead to 16 points, which was eventually cut to 10 points late in the opening term.
Richmond had a battle on its hands and needed to kick it up a notch to quell any likelihood of Frankston recording its first win on the year.
The Tigers brought the heat in the second term, as Callum Coleman-Jones wowed the crowd with a towering pack mark, which even drew applause from Tigers and Dolphins alike.
Coleman-Jones soared high above the swelling pack, clutching the Sherrin in his vice-like grip, then, with heightened adrenaline, he went back and slotted the set-shot.
The budding ruckman then had a hand in the next for the Tigers as he crashed the pack deep inside 50, which led to Charlie Thompson charging into an open goal for his first.
Coleman-Jones would assist once more, as he teamed with Mav Weller at a forward 50 stoppage, with Weller timing his run to perfection, accepting the ball at speed and scooting into the open goal.
Naish then showed why the ground swell of support from the Tiger faithful for his AFL debut is growing.
With one major already to his name, Naish showcased his goal nous and cat-like reflexes as he gathered the ball in congestion and put through a right-foot checkside quicker than a hiccup.
His second for the quarter came after Jacob Ballard trapped a searing ball at his boot laces and then fed the handball to the wingman, with the no.45 then dribbled through the goal.
The margin at half-time was 40 points, after Richmond held their hosts goalless, and kicked six of its own in the second quarter.
Frankston had already been on the receiving end of some heavy losses this season and set about rectifying that in the third term.
The Dolphins scrapped, scrounged and fought, matching the Tigers in the contest and started attacking ferociously through the corridor.
Naish had a direct hand in Richmond’s first goal of the third term after spearing a ball on to the chest of Jacob Townsend, who then eased through his set-shot.
Mabior Chol kicked the Tigers’ other major for the term after getting behind the Dolphins’ defenders and streaming on to the loose ball which he then proceeded to roost out of the ground.
Both sides shared two goals apiece in the third term, with the margin sitting at 48 points at three quarter time.
An upset wasn’t necessarily on the cards, but the Tigers knew they would have to fight this one out until the final siren.
The highlight of the last term came from debutant Tiger, and local lad, Lachlan Street.
Street juggled a mark on the lead, calmed his nerves and then nailed his set-shot from beyond the arc for his debut VFL goal - he was then swamped by Tiger teammates.
Naish would add his fourth major in the final term after combining with fellow wingman, Fraser Turner, before nailing his goal on the run from 50.
Richmond kicked six goals to two for the quarter and finally broke the spirit of Frankston in the final minutes of the game.
The Tigers sit atop the VFL ladder after six rounds and will host fourth-placed Box Hill at the Swinburne Centre from 11.40am next Sunday. The match will be a curtain raiser to the senior side’s clash against Hawthorn, and broadcast live on Channel 7.
FRANKSTON 3.2 3.3 5.5 7.8 (50)
RICHMOND 5.0 11.3 13.5 19.10 (124)
Goal-kickers:
Frankston: Bailey, D’Arcy, Newman, Rich, Tatupu, Wilson, Zijai
Richmond: Naish (4), Chol, (3), Aarts (2), Coleman-Jones (2), Thompson (2), Grewar, Mannagh, Morris, Street, Townsend, Weller
