Cousins to fore as Tigers roar
Tim Clarke, Perth | May 31, 2009
BEN Cousins' homecoming to Perth had almost as much drama as his exit, as Richmond off-loaded some of the pressure it had been feeling onto Fremantle with a thrilling three-point win at Subiaco Oval.
The former Eagles skipper was, of course, the centre of attention in his first game at Subiaco Oval since September 1, 2007, and he did not disappoint, with a one-finger salute to the cameras before the game had even started and plenty of points made thereafter.
But after a week of build-up that was about anything but the football, given Terry Wallace's tenuous hold on his job and Cousins' return to the city he once ruled, the contest overtook the external headlines to provide one of the games of the season.
A fourth quarter of astonishing oscillation saw Fremantle reduce a deficit of 33 points to one twice — with Byron Schammer and Matt de Boer both missing gilt-edged chances to give the Dockers the lead.
In contrast, the imperious Brett Deledio kicked a wonderful goal to seemingly give the Tigers a second win of the season — until Michael Johnson kicked one off his back to give the Dockers the lead.
With seconds to go and Wallace's 500-game football life flashing in front of him, history repeated itself with Mitch Morton marking deep inside 50 metres and playing on.
Unlike Port Adelaide two weeks ago, however, where Morton's actions sparked a chain of events that almost cost Wallace his job, the former West Coast forward found the target and gave Cousins his first win in football since the last time he played in Perth.
Along with Deledio and Richard Tambling, Cousins' effort in the third term saw the Tigers kick eight straight goals to lift their season from the floor.
But the Dockers will point to the attrition which played a massive part in the result, with Des Headland and Stephen Hill ruled out of action after half-time, Johnson inconvenienced with an ankle injury and Luke McPharlin hobbling off as the Tigers ran riot.
With so much external baggage coming into the game, the actual mechanics of who would have the upper hand had been largely overlooked.
And so it was fitting that the man who overlooks every other player in the competition, Aaron Sandilands, would dominate the early portion of play, even if Cousins took many of the eyes and slotted a goal with his first kick.
The presence of the enormous Dockers ruckman prompted Wallace to employ his Docker predecessor Troy Simmonds as possibly the largest ever tagger in AFL/VFL history — with little effect.
As well as dominating the centre circle, Sandilands' towering presence earned him two goals, with Pavlich and the spritely Headland matching that output to edge the Dockers ahead.
But as they had in the early stages against the Bombers in the Dreamtime clash last weekend, the Tigers were willing and at times able, with Deledio and Tambling finally having some impact on the Tigers' season.
Sandilands' dominance became increasingly important after Johnson hobbled off with an ankle injury, and with Headland feeling his notoriously brittle hamstrings, the Tigers had their chance to pounce in the heart of the second term.
But when Wallace needed the men who were breaking the lines to also kick straight, they fluffed their chances badly.
Morton increased his chance of another spray from his beleaguered coach with two errant shots in terms one and two, before Adam Pattison and then most damningly Matt White missed clear opportunities
It was arguable what made White's night worse soon after, with a hamstring injury made more painful by the goals from Johnson and then Scott Thornton after the half-time siren edging Wallace closer to the exit door.
But if the Tigers coach was to go down, apparently he wanted to go down fighting. And so his charges responded.
As the undermanned Dockers were running to a standstill, the Tigers were finally just running, with Deledio and Cousins leading the charge.
Goals to Deledio, two to Brown and a major of beautiful interplay to Robin Nahas re-instilled belief which had been stripped away from Wallace's men with every successive loss.
And while the boos for Cousins grew in intensity as the game progressed, so did the contest, with McPharlin's bravery rendering him temporarily immobile — a state Richmond's players ran themselves to late in the third term.
The re-introduction of Sandilands back into the ruck was instrumental in the Dockers' own revival, with the ball suddenly finding Fremantle hand and foot, and all the Tigers' self-doubt returned.
Chris Tarrant's switch from defence to attack worked with two goals, and with Harvey imploring his youngsters to take the game on, they did just that — with Johnson's late goal on his back finally giving the Dockers back the lead with six minutes remaining.
But Morton's confidence, for one, was not dented, and it was he who finally settled a game which mirrored Wallace's and Richmond's turbulent last fortnight.
RICHMOND 4.3 5.9 13.9 17.13 (115)
FREMANTLE 6.2 8.5 11.6 17.10 (112)
GOALS Richmond: Riewoldt 2, Deledio 2, Morton 2, N Brown 2, Newman, Cousins, Foley, Tuck, Cotchin, McGuane, Tambling, Simmonds, Nahas. Fremantle: Headland 2, Sandilands 2, Pavlich 2, Tarrant 2, Thornton 2, Johnson 2, Suban, Mundy, Duffield, Hasleby, Peake.
BEST Richmond: Deledio, Tambling, Jackson, Tuck, Cousins. Fremantle: Sandilands, Johnson, Pavlich, Ibbotson, Broughton.
INJURIES Richmond: White (hamstring), Deledio (finger).
Fremantle: Hill (hip), Headland (hamstring), McPharlin (leg).
UMPIRES Stevic, Dalgleish, Wenn
CROWD 35,391 at Subiaco Oval, Perth
MAIN MEN
There was always only ever going to be one — Ben Cousins. A finger to the cameras, a goal with his first kick, a box-on with Matt de Boer, a running verbal stoush with the Dockers fans — all in the first quarter. As the game wore on, so Cousins wore down his young opponents
TURNING POINT
Trailing at half-time, the headline writers were sharpening their quills in readiness of Terry Wallace's imminent demise. But with Stephen Hill and Des Headland gone for the night with injuries, Brett Deledio went to work in the third term in spectacular fashion to spark five goals in 10 minutes.
THE UPSHOT
Terry Wallace will be given some breathing space with a win that was, then wasn't, then was — until they meet an inform Western Bulldogs on Friday night at least. For Mark Harvey, who had texted Wallace his support through the week, may need some of his own with a trip to Port Adelaide.
http://www.realfooty.com.au/news/rfmatchreport/cousins-to-fore-as-tigers-roar/2009/05/31/1243456792998.html?page=fullpage#contentSwap1
