Media articles & stats: Tigers go down to Freo in tight encounter

[one-eyed]

Tigers go down to Fremantle in tight encounter

By Nathan Schmook
AFL Media
1 August 2021 8:30pm

FREMANTLE  2.6   2.10   5.12    7.13 (55)
RICHMOND   1.1   1.8     3.14    6.15 (51)

GOALS
Fremantle: Taberner 3, Schultz 2, Colyer, Serong
Richmond: Parker 2, Riewoldt, Lambert, Lynch, Mansell

BEST
Fremantle: Brayshaw, Mundy, Cerra, Ryan, Serong, Taberner, Young
Richmond: Cotchin, Prestia, Stack, Short, Rioli, Lambert

INJURIES
Fremantle: Banfield (concussion)
Richmond: Nil

SUBSTITUTES
Fremantle: Connor Blakely (replaced Banfield)
Richmond: Josh Caddy (unused)

Crowd: 24,979 at Optus Stadium

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Richmond has been defeated by Fremantle on Sunday afternoon, falling to the Dockers by four points in swirly conditions at Optus Stadium.

The Tigers had momentum in the final quarter but couldn't make the most of their opportunities, slumping to their sixth loss in seven weeks while the Dockers' finals hopes are still alive after the 7.13(55) to 6.15(51) win.

The Dockers dominated possession early but couldn't capitalise, and were rattled early in the second quarter when young forward Bailey Banfield was stretchered off after a collision with Richmond’s David Astbury.

Inaccuracy plagued the first half, with Freo recording 2.10 and Richmond 1.8 to halftime.

The Dockers must have put their kicking boots on at halftime, as they kicked two early goals to start their second half in style.

The Tigers looked primed to stage a comeback late in the third quarter when mid-season recruit Matthew Parker booted a goal to bring Richmond within four points of the Dockers, but 100-gamer Matt Taberner booted one on the three-quarter-time siren to keep Fremantle 10 points clear at the final change.

The Tigers seized the lead early in the final term, kicking three goals in the opening minutes before Lachie Schultz and Caleb Serong wrestled momentum back when it mattered to get the Dockers over the line.

Andrew Brayshaw was hugely important for the Dockers, racking up 39 touches, 12 tackles and eight clearances.

For the Tigers, captain Trent Cotchin amassed 32 touches and Dion Prestia had 31.

https://www.richmondfc.com.au/news/991826/tigers-go-down-to-fremantle-in-tight-encounter

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Match report: Dockers land blow to Tigers in thrilling four-point win

Damien Ractliffe
The Age
2 August 2021

Despite the 7.13 (55) to 6.15 (51) scoreline in favour of the home side, the enthralling clash was full of highlights and underlined why this year’s grand final must be played in front of a crowd, be it at the MCG or elsewhere.

The nailbiter included both a mark- and a goal-of-the-year contender, two lead changes in the final quarter and a contested brand of footy worthy of an elimination final.

Despite the match being played at the start of August, not the end, an elimination final is effectively what it was. The eight-point game left Fremantle well and truly in the finals hunt while the Tigers were made to rue their chances.

If the Dockers were wasteful in the first term, spraying an ugly 2.6 to 1.1 in the opening stanza, the accuracy certainly didn’t improve in a goalless second quarter, with both sides combining for 11 behinds.

But milestone Docker Matt Taberner, in his 100th match, made goal kicking look a breeze when he started the third term with a goal-of-the-year submission, ending any yips his side might have had.

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Getting on the end of a chain started by David Mundy and Andy Brayshaw from the opening bounce, Taberner shook off his opponent David Astbury and then snapped a left-foot bender from the wrong pocket to break an extended drought for both sides.

And Lachie Schultz extended Freo’s lead from 12 to 18 from the goal line after Tigers skipper Trent Cotchin landed a tummy tap on a Docker to gift Schultz a 50-metre penalty.

Tom Lynch, who was virtually unseen in the first half, finally goalled for the Tigers to notch their first major in 50 minutes of play, but then continued his side’s yips, missing a very gettable set shot from 15 metres out later in the quarter.

Former Saint Matt Parker added Richmond’s third goal to cut the margin back to four points less than a minute before three-quarter-time, but the Dockers responded after the siren via Taberner’s third goal to maintain their 10-point lead at the final change.

Parker, Kane Lambert and Jack Riewoldt then piled on the first three goals of the final term to open up a nine-point lead at the 10-minute mark, but the Dockers weren’t done with.

Schultz leaped high over a pack and sat on the shoulders of his 193cm teammate Josh Treacy to take a mark-of-the-year contender just 20 metres out from goal, before composing himself to slot his second to cut the deficit back to three points.

The local crowd then erupted with a bit over eight minutes left on the clock when Caleb Serong put his side back into the lead and back into the top eight on the live ladder. It was enough to hold on, with man-of-the-match Brayshaw winning a massive clearance in his defensive-50 with nine seconds on the clock to keep his side’s season alive.

Brayshaw finished with 39 disposals, 12 tackles and eight clearance in a starring role, complemented by Adam Cerra (33 touches), Mundy (28) and full-back Luke Ryan (27).

BEST
Fremantle: A Brayshaw, D Mundy, L Ryan, A Cerra, M Taberner.
Richmond: T Cotchin, S Stack, D Prestia, J Short.

VOTES
A. Brayshaw (Fremantle) 9
D. Mundy (Fremantle) 8
L. Ryan (Fremantle) 8
A. Cerra (Fremantle) 7
T. Cotchin (Richmond) 7

https://www.theage.com.au/sport/afl/dockers-land-blow-to-tigers-in-thrilling-four-point-win-20210801-p58eu6.html