Tigers are back but put a line through DeesSam Landsberger,
Herald Sun
25 April 2019You can put a line through Melbourne.
A summer bursting with hope has faded before the weather even turned cold, and that would’ve left Demons fans exiting the MCG with an all-too-familiar chill.
Passionate members of the club’s cheer squad might only be reaching for the pencil, but at 1-5 even they must concede it is hard to see how the game’s longest premiership drought can be broken in 2019.
After their 43-point to Richmond, the Demons sit 17th on the ladder with a percentage of just 69.2.
They would need to win 12 of the remaining 16 games to even reach September.
While Sydney converted a 0-6 start into a home final in 2017, coach John Longmire conceded his team spent far too many petrol tickets getting to September to make a serious premiership play.
That’s not to say Melbourne didn’t begin with a red-hot crack. Coach Simon Goodwin spun the magnets and his team’s first quarter was impressive.
Struggling goalkicker Tom McDonald returned to full-back on Tom Lynch, Michael Hibberd stalked Dustin Martin like a jilted ex-lover, Jake Melksham provided five sharp entries and Clayton Oliver started at full-forward.
Melbourne’s new-look midfield was on top. The only problem was, that dominance was absorbed by Richmond’s trademark pressure.
And with McDonald in the defensive goalsquare the Demons’ scoring power dried up.
In fact, they managed just two goals after quarter-time and logged their lowest score in 62 games.
Tigers coach Damien Hardwick lamented after Round 2 that his team put in an “un-Richmond-like” performance.
Well, by halftime it was evident the Tigers of old were back.
Nick Vlastuin had nine intercept possessions (four marks) and the Tigers had created 24 forward-half turnovers.
The league average for an entire match is about 25.
At times it appeared Alex Rance had made a miraculous return and died his hair red, such was Vlastuin’s aerial prowess.
The Demons simply couldn’t penetrate their half-forward line with so many of their kicks dropped to the boot in hope rather than with conviction.
Melbourne’s second quarter was its fourth goalless term for the season and they also lost their fifth third quarter for the season.
The Dees have been outscored by 82 points in third quarters this year while James Harmes laid just two tackles after previously averaging seven against Richmond.
Chief executive Gary Pert pointed out pre-game the club had 14 post-season operations and once again they ran out of puff as a 36-35 score line quickly morphed into 71-35 amid a five-goal burst by the Tigers.
JACK ATTACK STRAIGHT BACKThey call Jack Riewoldt ‘Jumping Jack’. Perhaps they should call him “Reading Riewoldt”.
Is there a player in the AFL that reads the ball in the air as well as the three-time Coleman medallist?
Jack knows when to drift to the front or back and leaps with the timing of Big Ben. Riewoldt’s kicking in the first half was amiss, but back-to-back goals in the third quarter proved telling.
SAM NOT YET THE MANSam Weideman has reportedly asked Melbourne for $650,000 a year from next season.
But after six rounds the club’s list management might be wondering if he is worth half of that.
Weideman hasn’t kicked a goal since Round 4 and took just three marks, struggling to even provide much of a contest.
Weideman at one end was in his 26th game while at the other end stood Riewoldt — a three-time All-Australian — and Tom Lynch — a former captain. Weideman’s three-goal and 24-disposal elimination final feels like it was a long time ago.
RICHMOND 3.1 5.4 7.9 12.13 (85)
MELBOURNE 4.1 4.2 5.5 6.6 (42)
GOALS
Richmond: Riewoldt 2, Ellis 2, Castagna 2, Baker 2, Lynch, Ellis, Martin, McIntosh
Melbourne: Smith, Lockhart, Gawn, Hunt, Neal-Bullen, Fritsch
BEST
Richmond: Vlastuin, Houli, Lambert, Riewoldt, Ellis, Prestia, Baker, Ross
Melbourne: Gawn, McDonald, Hibberd, Stretch, Oliver, Melksham
INJURIES
Richmond: Astbury (ankle), Riewoldt (knee)
Melbourne: Neal-Bullen (hamstring), Viney (shoulder)
Reports: Nil
Umpires: Rosebury, Williamson, Fleer
Official crowd: 72,704 at the MCG
SAM LANDSBERGER’S VOTES3. Nick Vlastuin (Rich)
2. Bachar Houli (Rich)
1. Kane Lambert (Rich)
https://www.heraldsun.com.au/sport/afl/more-news/richmond-tears-melbourne-apart-to-finalquarter-burst/news-story/ecb8497ff741a791336bf7b96442a614