Tigers slump to nine-goal defeat
5:25 PM Sun 22 July, 2007
By Jason Phelan
for richmondfc.com.au
MATTHEW Richardson kicked four goals in his milestone 250th game, but Richmond failed to provide him with an appropriate celebration, slumping to a 55-point defeat against Port Adelaide at the MCG.
The Power won every quarter, doubling Richmond’s tally after an unusually high-scoring opening term.
Port ran out winners 24.11 (155) to 15.10 (100).
The match got off to an amazing start with 16 goals piled on in the first quarter – nine to Port and seven to the Tigers – but the home side was unable to go with the Power after quarter time.
Richmond was kept goalless in the second term as Port put through another four and went on to extend the lead at every break.
Nathan Foley was again a prime mover for the Tigers through the middle with 31 possessions, while Joel Bowden battled with Chad Cornes for much of the day and finished with 32 touches.
Shane Edwards and Jack Riewoldt gave Tiger fans something to go away with, as both showed enough to suggest they have long careers ahead of them. Edwards was prominent early and finished with 18 disposals and two goals, while Riewoldt booted three goals from limited opportunities.
Richardson had a forgettable first half in his 250th game, managing just three touches and no shots on goal. He finally kicked a goal at the 15-minute mark of the third quarter, but by then Port Adelaide led by 48 points and the contest had been killed.
Three further goals to Richardson prevented the Power from turning the comfortable win into a thrashing, and the Tigers showed enough grit to kick three of the last four goals and lose the final quarter by a solitary point.
The Power jumped out to an early 16-point lead, but the Tigers did well to soak up the initial onslaught and work their way into the game. Edwards got the ball rolling with his first, Kayne Pettifer chimed in with back-to-back majors and Riewoldt slotted his first goal in AFL football.
But the Richmond defenders were having all kinds of trouble with the small forward duo of Motlop and Ebert. The pair booted three goals each in the first quarter to help their side establish an 11-point lead at the first break.
The contest tightened up considerably in the second term but when the first goal did come nearly eight minutes in, it was off the boot of Shaun Burgoyne. The Tigers were breaking down across half-forward, allowing the Power to rebound strongly and when Burgoyne kicked his second of the quarter, the visitors led by 35 points at the main break.
The situation looked grim when Ebert’s fifth was followed by another to Shaun Burgoyne, making the margin 48 points midway through the third quarter, but Richardson gathered a loose ball to boot his first and stem the flow.
Edwards slammed through his second just a minute later and Richo goaled after a contested mark in the goal square, but that was as close as Richmond got with Shaun Burgoyne and Motlop adding to their tallies to extend the margin to 54 points at the last change.
Richmond 7.4 7.7 10.9 15.10 (100)
PortAdelaide 9.3 13.6 19.9 24.11 (155)
GOALS
Richmond: Richardson 4, Riewoldt 3, Edwards 2, Pettifer 2, Brown, Hyde, Simmonds, Tuck
PortAdelaide: Ebert 6, Motlop 5, S Burgoyne 4, Tredrea 3, Boak, C Cornes, K Cornes, Lonie, Pearce, Rodan
BEST
Richmond: N Foley L McGuane K Pettifer G Polak S Edwards A Raines.
PortAdelaide: C Cornes, S Burgoyne, Ebert, Motlop, P Burgoyne, K Cornes
Umpires: L Farmer M Ellis K Nicholls
Official crowd: 22,395 at the MCG
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