Richmond great Matthew Richardson highlights six key points arising from the Tigers’ 27-point win against Fremantle at the MCG last Sunday.
- Trent Cotchin paved the way with an inspirational display.
After an outstanding 2012 season, where he finished equal runner-up in the Brownlow Medal, won a second successive Jack Dyer Medal, and received a number of other prestigious football honors, it’s fair to say Trent Cotchin hadn’t quite reached the same lofty heights this year, although he’d still been a very valuable Tiger contributor. But against the Dockers at the ‘G on Sunday, Cotchin was right back to his best. The Richmond skipper set the tone for the Tigers’ crucial win with a superb performance in the midfield. He worked his socks off, racking up a game-high 34 touches, including six clearances and an equal-team high five rebound-50s. And, that goal he kicked with a set shot from the 50-metre line after the three-quarter siren, which extended Richmond’s lead to 21 points, was worth its weight in gold. It’s no wonder he scored a perfect 10 from respective coaches Damien Hardwick and Ross Lyon in the AFL Coaches Association’s Player of the Year voting for this Round 17 encounter.
- Alex Rance is one of the best intercept defenders going around.
Rance’s ability to win the ball back off opposition teams in Richmond’s defence is truly elite, as clearly evidenced in the victory over Fremantle. The key Tiger backman recorded a super-impressive, game-high, 13 intercept possessions among the 30 disposals that he picked up, with a game-high 16 marks. Only Trent Cotchin had more disposals in the match, which shows just how influential Rance was throughout, consistently turning defence into attack. And, as per usual, he attacked each contest as though his life depended on it.
- Richmond’s defence has become a real strength.
Much maligned in the past, the fact is that after 16 games this season, the Tigers are ranked No. 3 in the competition for points against. Only Fremantle and Sydney have conceded fewer points overall than Richmond. That’s a huge tick for Tiger defenders Rance, Troy Chaplin, Chris Newman, Steven Morris, Bachar Houli and, of late, Ricky Petterd. They’re working really well together as a team within the team, to ensure opposition forwards are kept in check as much as possible. Although the Tigers managed only 12 goals against Fremantle on Sunday, they were still able to score a comfortable win, on the back of their tight defence, which restricted the Dockers to just eight goals. The Tiger midfielders are also contributing to this vastly-improved defensive output, with their increased focus on running both ways during games.
- Dustin Martin is maintaining an impressive level of consistency.
For five matches in-a-row now (and 13 times all-up this season), Martin has picked up 20-plus disposals, with 30 touches or more coming in the past two games. He’s also been No. 1 in the competition over the past six rounds for score involvements. The 22-year-old again was one of Richmond’s best last Sunday, collecting 30 disposals, including a team-high, six inside-50 entries. He could have really broken the game open had he been just a bit steadier shooting for goal (he finished with 1.4), but, nevertheless, his impact was significant. The one area where Martin has really improved this year is his capacity to run games out. He’s starting to build a pretty decent “tank”, as he further demonstrated by picking up 10 disposals in the last quarter against the Dockers.
- Talented Tiger teenagers Brandon Ellis and Nick Vlastuin are continuing to have an influence.
You frequently see young players fade away a bit as the long season wears on, but that’s certainly not the case with Ellis and Vlastuin. Ellis had 24 disposals last Sunday, with 11 of them coming in the first quarter, and he took eight marks, while Vlastuin had 17 disposals, with seven marks, and was typically composed with everything he did out on the field. Both Tiger cubs have cemented places in the line-up through their strong performances, and it’s exciting to think that they’re only going to get better with more experience.
- That was a top win by the Tigers.
To basically beat the Dockers at their own game, in a tough, tight, low-scoring contest, says a lot about the growing maturity within Richmond’s playing group. There was a finals-type pressure throughout this match, with plenty of mistakes made by both sides. The Tigers, however, were able to capitalise sufficiently on their opportunities to get the job done, and that’s a huge positive. Don’t worry that Fremantle had a few of its best players out. The likes of Pavlich and Sandilands have missed most of the season anyway, but the Dockers, under Ross Lyon’s astute coaching, have been good enough to overcome most opposition. Richmond again highlighted its strength at the clearances, scoring 5.6 from stoppages to Fremantle’s 0.3 – a key factor in the final result. With big games coming up over the next two rounds against 2012 Grand Finalists Sydney and Hawthorn, this was a vitally important match for the Tigers, and I’m delighted they came through with flying colors.
