Round 16 – Gold Coast v Richmond: Ninth again?
Richmond v Gold Coast
Thursday 1st July 2021
Richmond is in real danger of finishing ninth again. They cling onto the eighth rung on the ladder with a precarious grip. Any slip-up from here could be terminal for our finals prospects and a tilt at another flag. We can’t always rely on Toby’s boys drawing with North and losing to the Hawks as they have done recently.
The match against the Gold Coast is a ‘should win’ although hardened Tiger supporters will remember code-hopper Karmichael Hunt’s match-winning goal after the siren in Round 16, 2012. It gifted the fledgling Suns their first win for that season and was a low point for pre-2017 Tigers.
The Covid situation adds another dimension to this contest with the game transferred from Metricon to Marvel. Fortunately, the Tigers showed last year that they adapt well to lockdowns. In fact, we are the reigning pandemic Premiers.
So, I am quietly confident the Tiges can again respond to the “external noise” and play four quarters of football. So confident that in the footy almanack tipping competition (I’m 5 off the leader and losing touch much like the Tiges) I boldly selected a 75-point margin in favour of Richmond. (I thought 100 was a stretch!).
The game was a scrappy affair with mistakes on both sides. It would be tempting to change the channel as the game lacked something. At one point a commentator observed that the masked up Gold Coast Suns coach Stewart Dew had ‘frustation in his eyes’.
I had not seen the previous week’s two-goal performance against St Kilda but soon saw what the fans meant by “Tigers of old”. Bachar Houli, usually Gary Ayres-like in defence sprayed a kick out on the full causing even Bachar himself to look confused. Then Dusty seemed to be out-marked by his ex-Premiership teammate, Brandon Ellis.
The Suns looked slick and resembled a pretty well-coached unit. Every time the Tigers threatened the Gold Coast rallied and even though Lynch was dominating (5 goals) they found a way to a 10-point victory. I now know that Touk Miller is a gun, big Ben King (4 goals) has potential up forward and Jeremy Sharp might look like a surfie but can also play a bit.
The Tiges were missing two key defenders; Balta and Broad but looked tired nevertheless. There were only glimpses of their daring best, usually involving cameos from Shai Bolton. We may not see him in a Richmond guernsey much longer though.
So, apologies Stewart Dew I seriously underestimated your Suns. Dimma, on the other hand, has a few problems. Ninth again… it’s where we might belong.
GOLD COAST 2.7 5.10 8.14 10.17 (77)
RICHMOND 2.1 5.4 8.5 10.7 (67)
GOALS
Gold Coast: King 4, Ainsworth, Corbett, Rankine, Sexton, Sharp, Swallow
Richmond: Lynch 5, Bolton, Graham, Martin, Naish, Riewoldt
BEST
Gold Coast: Miller, Ballard, Lukosius, King, Swallow, Ainsworth, Ellis
Richmond: Lynch, Houli, Bolton, Baker, Chol
INJURIES
Gold Coast: Corbett (concussion)
Richmond: Coleman-Jones (calf)
SUBSTITUTES
Gold Coast: Macpherson (replaced Corbett)
Richmond: Dow (replaced Coleman-Jones)
Crowd: TBC at Marvel Stadium
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