Games that shaped Richmond's seasonAuthor: Bradley Dawson
Sportsfan.com.au / AFL.com.au
November 04, 2015 - 4:28 PMWith the disappointment of another first-week elimination from the finals resting heavily in Richmond fans' hearts, it's worth remembering this was still the team's best year since they last won a final, way back in 2001.
In some good signs for the future, Ty Vickery finally stood up and played a few good games in a row, Dustin Martin took his game to another level, Jack Riewoldt relished a new role up the ground and Nick Vlastuin showed he is turning into a fine half-back. Ben Lennon was another bonus in the second half of the year and could be that dangerously skilled small forward the Tigers just don't seem to be able to find enough of.
Away wins over Sydney and Fremantle, as well as the well-executed defeat of Hawthorn and a reasonable loss against West Coast, showed that Richmond's best was really good enough to beat anyone's, unlike in the last two years when this was just talk. But losses against hack teams like Melbourne early plus intermittent shockers and little chokes at important times in the year demonstrated an all-too-familiar mental fragility among the playing group, perfectly summed up by the poor performance a number of senior players put in against North Melbourne in that elimination-final loss when everything was at stake.
Round 4: Melbourne 12.11 (83) d Richmond 6.15 (51)The Tigers had started with two wins and a loss, and really needed to win this game and win it well against the lowly Demons to give their season some momentum. With key playmaker Brett Deledio out they dominated early but kicked a wasteful 5.9 from 32 inside 50s to trail Melbourne (6.5 from 19) by two points at half-time before the rain came and Richmond's fight disappeared. The Tigers kicked only one goal in a dismal second-half effort as the Demons went much harder at the ball and won most of the one-on-one contests. Emerging Melbourne forward Jesse Hogan had the better of Alex Rance while Martin, Trent Cotchin and Riewoldt failed to fire in a loss that had fans already booking their September holidays in the belief that their team had gone backwards by a fair way.
Round 10: Richmond 15.7 (97) d Fremantle 10.10 (70)Having got their season back on track with three wins in a row against the Magpies, Power and Bombers, the Tigers went over to Perth confident of putting up a good show against the then-undefeated Dockers, but not even they would have expected this result. In a blistering opening term, everything Richmond touched turned to gold as they slammed on eight goals to three to seize the game from the stunned Dockers. By the main break the contest was over. Martin had 34 possessions in his best game for the club, the Tigers' trio of talls Riewoldt, Vickery and Griffiths showed they could work well as a unit, and the Richmond midfield and backline had it all over Fremantle. For the first time in the season, Tigers fans could start thinking about cancelling those holidays.
Round 17: Fremantle 12.10 (82) d Richmond 10.18 (78)The Tigers came into their return match against the Dockers at 10-5 and eyeing off a top-four spot. With a win over the Swans in Sydney under the belt plus solid form over the previous couple of months, Richmond found themselves as favourites to win a big game – something they rarely handle well. For most of the night, the Tigers looked to be coping but their inaccuracy kept Fremantle in the game. Sure enough, right at the death when all that was required was a bit of coolness under pressure, Bachar Houli kicked the ball in down the middle instead of finding the boundary and a Freo intercept saw a mark inside 50 to David Mundy. The subsequent goal broke Richmond hearts in a game which the boys in yellow and black should have won to push for a double chance. Strange as it may sound, the loss of ruckman Shaun Hampson after half-time cost the Tigers as he was working in tandem with Ivan Maric, who slipped forward to kick a couple of goals.
Round 18: Richmond 10.11 (71) d Hawthorn 7.11 (53)Against the Hawks, who were on fire after obliterating the Dockers and Sydney in the weeks leading up to this match, the pressure of expectation was lifted from the Tigers. They responded with a masterful display of keepings-off against the reigning premiers to end Hawthorn's eight-game winning run. Richmond restricted the Hawks to seven goals for the match, including holding them goalless in the first and third quarters as they kept their nerve with precise ball use and passing. Deledio kicked four goals in the low-scoring match, Anthony Miles racked up 30 disposals and seven clearances, Maric dominated in the ruck, Rance continued his All Australian form in defence and Houli bounced back from his costly mistake to play well. Now everyone was starting to believe the Tigers were the real deal.
Round 19: Adelaide 11.22 (88) d Richmond 8.4 (52)Unfortunately, and perhaps predictably, the Tigers seemed to get ahead of themselves, with a couple of players talking up their finals chances during the week after the win over the Hawks. And the rollercoaster continued for the club's fans as the Crows controlled this game from start to finish. Adelaide won by 36 points, hammering the Tigers in the contested ball, clearances and tackles, and with 33 scoring shots to a meagre 12, this felt more like an 80-plus point shellacking. Patrick Dangerfield and Scott Thompson were best for the Crows as Richmond's smaller-bodied midfield was badly exposed. Perhaps coincidentally, Deledio had failed to come up for the game through illness.
Elimination final: North Melbourne 15.15 (105) d Richmond 14.4 (88)The Tigers' form was good without being remarkable heading into this final, but all the talk was about what effect Brad Scott's ploy of resting half his team (in round 23 when these two teams played each other for a Richmond win) would have. The jury is still out on that, as the Kangaroos looked rusty at the start of the game. From about halfway through the second quarter they took control, with only the Tigers' accurate kicking keeping them in the game. Big-stage nerves looked to have got the better of the Richmond coaching staff as they made the strange decision to recall Griffiths and dump the in-form goal-kicker Lennon. It backfired badly, with Griffiths subbed up off in the third after only four touches, but he wasn't solely to blame for the loss. Too many senior players failed to fire, with captain Trent Cotchin shut completely out of the game, while the apparent key to the club's fortunes, Deledio, was also subdued. Conversely, senior North players Jarrad Waite, Brent Harvey, Nick Dal Santo and many others all showed they knew how to win a final, something this batch of Tigers still can't seem to understand how to do.
Have Richmond got the mental strength and the list to take the next step in 2016?
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