Media articles & stats: Youngster's heroics see Tigers deny Eagles

[one-eyed]

Yellow and Brown: Youngster's heroics see Tigers deny Eagles

Richmond has held on against West Coast to win by two points at the MCG

By Phoebe McWilliams at the MCG
afl.com.au
11 May 2025

RICHMOND         3.4   7.7    10.9    11.15 (81)
WEST COAST       2.3   7.6    9.11    11.13 (79)

GOALS
Richmond: Lynch 2, Campbell 2, Mansell 2, Taranto, Sims, Brown, Nankervis, Raphsmith
West Coast: Cripps 3, Owies 2, Williams 2, Hunt, Waterman, Brockman, H. Reid

BEST
Richmond: Taranto, Lynch, Hopper, Nankervis, McIntosh, Banks
West Coast: Baker, Hunt, Ryan, H. Reid, Graham

INJURIES
Richmond: Nil
West Coast: Nil

LATE CHANGES
Richmond: Jayden Short (knee) replaced in selected side by James Trezise.
West Coast: Oscar Allen (knee) replaced in selected side by Harry Edwards

SUBSTITUTES
Richmond: James Trezise (replaced Thomson Dow in the fourth quarter)
West Coast: Tom Gross (replaced Archer Reid in the fourth quarter)

Crowd: 29,539 at the MCG

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A GOAL-SAVING tackle by Richmond defender Tom Brown has secured his side’s two-point win in a tight contest against West Coast on Sunday afternoon.

With fewer than 30 seconds remaining and the Tigers up by two points, Eagles youngster Tom Gross ran inside 50 looking to launch a shot on goal, but Brown executed the perfect tackle to stop Gross in his tracks and ensure the Tigers won their third match of the season.

It was a see-sawing affair all game with the lead changing 15 times throughout. Neither side was able to break free, but two behinds in the last ten minutes to Tom Lynch and Kane McAuliffe put the home side in front to win 11.15 (81) to West Coast’s 11.13 (79) on Mother’s Day in front of a crowd of 29,539 at the MCG.

Both sides entered the game making late changes before the opening bounce. For West Coast, captain Oscar Allen was withdrawn with knee soreness, as was the Tigers’ defender Jayden Short. Allen was replaced by Harry Edwards, whilst Short’s absence created a spot for James Tresize who started as the Tigers’ sub.

The Tigers started strongly, kicking the first three goals of the game through experienced duo Lynch and Taranto as well as young forward Seth Campbell. In contrast, West Coast’s experienced players, former Blue Matt Owies, former Tiger Jack Graham and premiership player Jamie Cripps all missed gettable shots at the other end.

Richmond coach Adem Yze would have been pulling his hair out when the Eagles kicked their first two goals 90 seconds out from the quarter-time siren. After controlling the majority of the quarter, the Tigers let West Coast back in the contest when the Eagles kicked goals through Cripps and winger Jayden Hunt to keep their team within reach.

The Eagles came out in the second quarter in the same manner they finished the first, kicking two further goals to make it four unanswered majors for the away team and shifting the momentum the Eagles’ way.

Richmond fans would have been relieved when first-gamer Thomas Sims took a strong contested mark and converted for his first AFL goal to break the Eagles run. Sims, who is a carbon-copy of Tom Lynch, was called up for his first game after joining Richmond with pick No.28 in last year’s draft.

It was goal-for-goal with the lead changing several times before the main break with Richmond heading into halftime with a meagre one-point lead.

The pressure lifted in the second half, slowing scoring for both teams. Former No.1 draft pick Harley Reid copped a big hit when he was bumped after releasing a kick, but the youngster shook off the Eagles medical staff and remained on the ground.

Crafty veteran forward Cripps kicked his third to put the Eagles in front, but the Eagles missed their next three opportunities allowing the Tigers to stay in the game.

Two late goals to Richmond, one through Rhyan Mansell and one from skipper Toby Nankervis gave the Tigers back the lead at the three-quarter-time break. Nankervis, who looked to be playing sore after copping a knock earlier in the quarter, made no mistake, kicking a captain’s goal to put his side back in front to set the game up for a big final term.

The Tigers’ lead was short-lived as Harley Reid opened scoring for the final term with a superb goal on the run from outside 50. But as Reid often does, an outstanding patch of play is often followed by a brain fade, as it was when he then gave away a 50 metre free kick after knocking the ball out of Hugo Ralphsmith’s hands after he took a mark, gifting the Tigers a goal.

Scores were level with five minutes remaining, when Lynch took a huge pack mark at the top of the goal square, but the veteran went back and missed the simple shot, but though he kicked a point, it importantly put his side in front. McAuliffe added a second point, to put the Tigers two points up with less than three minutes remaining.

It looked as though the Eagles were going to break the hearts of the home crowd when Gross ran towards goal from 50, but the Brown tackle led to cheers from the grandstands when he saved the day and got his side over the line.

Tiger and Eagle late outs
There was plenty happening before the ball had even been bounced on Sunday afternoon with both sides making very late changes. For West Coast, captain Oscar Allen was withdrawn from the side at the final moment with knee soreness. Allen was replaced in the side by key defender Harry Edwards who spent the afternoon lining up on Tom Lynch. For the Tigers, Jayden Short was taken from the side also with knee soreness. Short was replaced in the side by James Trezise, who was named as the sub, pushing the original sub Kane McAuliffe onto the ground.

Sims like the young Tiger is ready to go
Tiger debutant Thomas Sims looks right at home at the top level. The 18-year-old actually looks so much at home that you could be forgiven to think there were two Tom Lynches on the field. Both blonde-haired forwards are 199cm and provided marking options inside forward 50. The two worked well together, often hitting each other inside fifty. Sims finished the day with a goal and two marks and six disposals, whilst Lynch’s experience outclassed the Eagles kicking two goals, whilst also having 17 disposals and taking six marks.

https://www.afl.com.au/news/1318983/tigers-hold-on-to-deny-eagles-in-see-sawing-shootout

[one-eyed]

The lead changes 15 times as Tiger cubs crunch Eagles for brave win

Marc McGowan
The Age
May 12, 2025

Tom Sims’ first involvement on debut was a horrible miskick that at least went in the right general direction and enabled Seth Campbell to trap the Sherrin and slot a point-blank goal.

The giant forward-ruck became the seventh Tiger this year to make his AFL debut on Sunday as Adem Yze’s Richmond continued to overachieve with a fighting and thoroughly entertaining two-point victory – their third from nine rounds – over still-winless West Coast.

It took a game-saving tackle in the last minute from Tom Brown on Eagles fourth-gamer Tom Gross, who took a bounce and surged inside 50m, only to be run down in the pivotal moment in a contest with 15 lead changes.

“I came forward in the centre and missed the spoil, so I really had no choice,” Brown told Fox Footy. “If I didn’t chase him down, I was getting smoked in the review.”

There were pre-season predictions that Richmond, who won only twice in 2024 before losing the likes of Dustin Martin, Daniel Rioli, Liam Baker, Shai Bolton, Dylan Grimes and Jack Graham, might fail to win a game.

Rioli, Baker – who copped some early boos on Sunday – and Bolton were traded for a strong return, resulting in the Tigers scoring a mighty draft haul that only the Suns and Giants have ever surpassed.

They ended up picking six players in the first round then grabbed Sims with the No.28 pick to start the second round. Four draft-mates – No.1 selection and budding star midfielder Sam Lalor, Luke Trainor, Harry Armstrong and Jonty Faull – are among Richmond’s debutants this season.

Armstrong, a key forward like Sims and Faull, was the only one who did not play on Sunday. Trainor is a tall defender who has made an instant impression with his aerial prowess and neat skills.

Sims, who turns 19 on Monday, showed enough against the Eagles to suggest his future is bright, too.

His biggest moment came in the second quarter when he snatched a strong pack mark before caressing a wonderful set shot through for his maiden goal, which was fittingly celebrated with gusto.

Only minutes later, the 199-centimetre teenager proved he was capable of much better than that original miskick, lacing out Tom Lynch in the pocket with a superb pass. There was another perfectly weighted pass in the fourth quarter to Jack Ross to avoid two West Coast defenders.

“It’s amazing, on Mother’s Day, too. My mum’s out here somewhere, probably crying, so to get the win is unreal. First game, first ‘dub’ – it’s unbelievable,” Sims said.

“I didn’t think I was going to get it [before I kicked my goal] because I led, and then ‘Lynchy’ [Tom Lynch] burnt me, so I thought I might as well go back … [and] go up [for the mark], and I clunked it. I’m like, ‘OK, calm yourself down, go through your routine’ – and I slotted it, which was good. I carried on a bit.”

There were other Tiger cubs who contributed even more to the result.

Sam Banks, a 22-year-old midfielder, amassed a career-high 28 disposals; small forward Seth Campbell, 20, kicked two goals; Trainor, 19, gathered 18 touches; and Lalor, 18, had 15 disposals, including a kick to Toby Nankervis on the tick of three-quarter-time that helped Richmond grab back the lead.

Trainor took off inside 50m in the first term and hit the post while taking aim at his first AFL goal before putting his head over the ball and barrelling a long kick forward to set up a Rhyan Mansell goal right before that Nankervis one.

Lalor went head-to-head occasionally with the previous year’s draft dux, Harley Reid, who brushed off his second-year blues to show some encouraging signs.

Reid kicked a spectacular goal on the run from beyond 50 metres to put the Eagles in front only 71 seconds into the fourth quarter, but not long after, he gave away a 50-metre penalty to gift Hugo Ralphsmith maximum points at the other end.

West Coast never led again.

Yze was all smiles afterwards, whereas the man he beat to the Tigers job, Andrew McQualter, who instead accepted the Eagles gig a year later, cut a forlorn figure in the opposite coaches’ box.

Lynch, who will mentor this group of next-generation key forwards at Punt Road, was a strong performer with 17 disposals, eight score involvements and 2.2, including the go-ahead behind in the dying minutes.

Ex-Giants Tim Taranto (27 disposals) and Jacob Hopper (24)were also important.

Whether Sims, Faull, Trainor and co. develop into the next Jack Riewoldt and Alex Rance remains to be seen, but these new-age Tigers are giving their fans hope sooner than they probably thought.

https://www.theage.com.au/sport/afl/the-lead-changes-15-times-as-tiger-cubs-crunch-eagles-for-a-brave-win-20250511-p5ly8z.html