Round 14 – Richmond v Brisbane: Saturday arvo footy

Saturday afternoon brought a dilemma: crank the heater up, grab the doona and stay at home to watch the footy on TV from the safety of the couch, or brave the cold and head to the MCG. I’d already survived a brisk early morning walk along the Merri Creek with the dogs, and in a moment of insanity the latter option won. So, armed with my coat, scarf, hat, gloves and crochet knee rug, I set off on the latest possible train that would get me to the MCG in time for the first bounce.

 

The MCG was bathed in sunshine, and from underneath my layers of woollen clothing, it wasn’t too much of a stretch to imagine that we were back in autumn when there was still hope for the season ahead. The first half of the match delivered on this illusion and, after a wobbly start, the Tigers were moving the ball well and scoring freely. But it was Dustin Martin who made the trip to the MCG worthwhile. Dusty was sensational, sidestepping and fending off opponents to deliver the ball deep into attack. The Lions’ chief tagger Mitch Robinson was forced to leave the ground with concussion early in the second quarter, but he hadn’t been able to stop Dusty’s rampage towards another best-on-ground performance.

 

Jack (he who needs no surname), Trent Cochin and Brandon Ellis were in fine form all over the ground, and the younger players Connor Menadue and Nick Vlastuin showed that there is hope for the future. Even the much-maligned Tyrone Vickery bobbed up with a goal from an impossible angle to the surprise of himself and everyone at the ground.

 

The Tigers’ 22 point lead at quarter time extended to 38 points at half time, and half-way through the third quarter the Tigers had a 57-point lead and looked set to, at long last, post a big score. But as the Tigers so often do when they are poised to blow out a game, they relaxed and lost momentum. With five-and-a-half minutes to go in the third quarter, Jack – as if motivated by circus music playing in his head – put on a slapstick comedy routine on the edge of the goal square instead of simply receiving a handball and kicking a goal.

 

In a nice touch, Brisbane took to the field in jumpers with the Fitzroy Football Club logo on the front, but this did little to inspire the players. I don’t know much about the Lions because they don’t feature in the Melbourne footy media other than speculation about Justin Leppitsch’s coaching future. Eric Hipwood’s three goals in his second game were most definitely a highlight and a good reward for the Lions’ policy of giving experience to their younger players.

 

Unable to muster the killer instinct needed to finish the match strongly, Richmond was limited to only three more goals in the final quarter to Brisbane’s five and ended up winning by 42 points. The win was Richmond’s fifth from the last six games, a vast improvement on the dismal start to the season, but probably not enough to keep finals hopes alive. The Tigers will need to be switched on for all four quarters to have any hope of beating Port Adelaide in next weekend’s road trip.

 

Richmond                     5.4         9.8     14.11     17.15      (117)

Brisbane                        2.0         4.0         6.3       11.9        (75)

 

Goals

Richmond: Riewoldt 4, Edwards 2, Menadue 2, Lloyd 2, Vlastuin 2, Deledio, Cotchin, Vickery, Miles, Ellis

Brisbane: Hipwood 3, Taylor 2, Green, Walker, Schache, Jansen, Martin, Hanley

 

Best

Richmond: Martin, Riewoldt, Ellis, Menadue, Vlastuin

Brisbane: Hipwood, Rockliff, Mayes, Bastinac

 

Crowd: 28,883

Our votes: Martin (Richmond) 3, Riewoldt (Richmond) 2, Ellis (Richmond) 1

About Gill

As a youngster, Gill thought that frequent Richmond premierships were assured, but in the many years since 1980 she realised her folly and distracted herself by crunching numbers at a university. The magnificence of the Tigers’ 2017 season has restored her faith in Richmond and all of humanity.

Comments

  1. Poor Brisbane. They’ve played a fair bit like the Fitzroy sides on the mid-1990’s at times this season. Heck, they’re even harking back to the ‘Bad News Bears’ of the early 1990’s! Can’t see Leppitsch lasting much longer for them – I reckon recruiting someone who didn’t play for the Lions might be a good idea following the ventures of Voss and Leppa.

  2. I reckon they will get the AFL to chuck the chequebook at Roos. out of contract. loves the sun. talks about the Lions as “his club”.

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