Richmond great Matthew Richardson highlights six key points from the Tigers’ Round 3 loss to the Western Bulldogs at Etihad Stadium last Saturday.
- Trent Cotchin set a shining example throughout.
The Tigers’ captain never stopped trying to lift his team throughout the match. He got off to a flying start with a strong mark and goal early in the first quarter, and could easily have had another couple of goals on the board by quarter-time. With 28 disposals, including 19 contested possessions, 11 clearances and five inside-50s for the game, Cotchin clearly was Richmond’s best player, and I wouldn’t mind betting he received the three Brownlow Medal votes on the day from the umpires. He may just have polled Brownlow votes in all three games so far this season, too.
- Jack Riewoldt was very nearly the match-winner for the Tigers.
After a particularly quiet first half (although, admittedly, he was starved of opportunities in the second quarter), Riewoldt stood up superbly in the second half, kicking four inspirational goals. It was vintage Jack . . . his energy levels were up, he displayed great enthusiasm, led well, marked strongly, and capped it off with accurate shooting for goal, including his fourth, which gave Richmond the lead for the first time since the opening minutes of the match. I can’t believe the amount of scrutiny Riewoldt comes under for his performances. It’s about time people realised that AFL football is no longer designed for key forwards to dominate. The days of key forwards consistently kicking big bags of goals are over. There’s only key forward in the competition early this season, who’s starring, and that’s Jack’s cousin Nick Riewoldt.
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- Daniel Jackson produced a pretty good first-up effort for the season.
The fact Jackson was able to pick up 23 disposals in his comeback match, after being sidelined for quite a while in the pre-season with a hamstring injury, is testimony to his ball-getting ability and overall value to the team. Only skipper Trent Cotchin had more touches for the Tigers on Saturday than the reigning Jack Dyer Medallist. It was also pleasing to see Jackson hit the scoreboard again, as he was able to do consistently throughout his breakout 2013 season, with a goal against the Dogs. Expect him to make good progress in the coming weeks, as his match-conditioning improves.
- Nathan Gordon was impressive in his debut with the Tigers.
Gordon provided the team with some good run after coming on as the ‘sub’ early in the game when Nick Vlastuin was concussed. The 24-year-old, ex-Swan finished with a creditable 15 disposals and certainly didn’t look out of place on the big stage. On that performance, you’d have to think he’ll keep his place in the side for Friday night’s blockbuster clash with Collingwood at the MCG.
- Inconsistency clearly is a major issue for Richmond right now.
There’s no doubt in my mind that the Tigers’ best is good enough to beat any team in the competition. They’ve shown that over the past couple of years, with convincing victories over premiership sides Hawthorn and Sydney. Unfortunately, however, the gap between good Richmond and bad Richmond is just way too wide at the moment. Allowing the Bulldogs to race away to a six-goal lead by half-time was simply unacceptable. Sure, the Tigers showed admirable fight after that, and played well to eventually hit the front for a brief time late in the game, but they should never have put themselves in such a difficult position.
- Friday night against Collingwood provides the Tigers with a great opportunity.
How Richmond responds to that bitterly disappointing loss to the Bulldogs is all that matters now. The Tigers have been high on the football critics’ agenda since last Saturday, and they will remain so throughout the week, in the build-up to Friday night’s clash. But, rather than see that as a negative, the Richmond players should turn it into a positive. What better way to silence the knockers than beat a team we haven’t won a game against for seven years! They should be embracing the challenge . . .
