Bombers cruise by Tigers CHLOE SALTAU
May 23, 2010 DREAMTIME at the 'G had the potential to turn into a nightmare for Richmond. Yes, the Tigers had arguably their best side for the year on the park. Yes, they had almost knocked off recent premier Hawthorn a week earlier. Yes, this was Essendon's off-week if you followed the pattern of a season characterised by flashes of excitement as well as bouts of inconsistency.
In the end, Jack Riewoldt's six goals - three of them in a last-quarter rush to equal his career-best haul - and Essendon's wasteful moments at the other end, saved the Tigers from having to rename their blockbuster ''Nightmare at the 'G'', but still this contest reflected the teams' ladder positions.
The Bombers won by 35 points because they possessed the dominant big man on the ground, David Hille, and the most dangerous small forwards. The most eye-catching of these was the lively Leroy Jetta playing only his second senior match for the season but easily the best of the 30 in his career. It didn't hurt the Bombers that of the two veterans on the MCG, Dustin Fletcher turned in a typically ageless performance at full-back while Ben Cousins, admittedly in need of a gallop on account of his interrupted season, looked every one of his 32 years.
Hille's best-on-ground performance followed his four-goal effort in the upset of St Kilda a week earlier, and this time he will not finish the weekend with a date with the match review panel. After Hille escaped suspension for a crunching bump delivered against the Saints, coach Matthew Knights gave him a licence to enforce, but last night he simply gave Richmond's Tyrone Vickery a lesson in ruckwork.
His influence was not, however, restricted to the stoppages; the in-form Bomber grasped more marks than anyone else on the ground (14) and three times hurt Richmond on the scoreboard. He was one of Essendon's seven individual goalkickers in the first quarter, when he ran onto a ball smacked to ground by Alwyn Davey and snapped around his body.
Hille had 26 disposals in all and a more than able partner in Paddy Ryder, who reprised his athletic performance against the Saints. When an attempted hanger didn't stick in the last quarter, Ryder kept running forward, moved into a good position to receive a teammate's handball and finished with his second goal.
While Hille and Ryder were commanding in the middle and around the ground, and Jobe Watson got plenty of the ball without having a huge influence, Essendon was able to string two wins together for the first time this season largely because of the early influence of the dangerous double act, Jetta and Alwyn Davey. They capitalised on the team's swift ball movement, ran the Richmond defenders off their feet and tackled hard to force turnovers in the Tigers' defensive arc. Jetta, in particular, proved a match-breaker. Though he only kicked one goal, a floated kick around his body that came from some creative work further up the ground from Davey and Ben Howlett, he gathered 21 touches and kept bobbing up with dangerous touches throughout.
Jason Winderlich, who gave the Bombers plenty of run through the midfield, could have put Richmond out of the contest with two relatively simple shots at goal in the second term but missed both of them, and wasted another couple of chances after half-time.
The Tigers were not terrible - for the first three quarters they had almost as much contested possession as the Bombers and tackled almost as often. Trent Cotchin was classy, Shane Tuck was important, and Shane Edwards, Richmond's only indigenous player in the absence of the injured Richard Tambling, did an admirable job of keeping the hard-running Brent Stanton quiet. The defenders had their hands full with Essendon's speedy small forwards, but among the key position players Luke McGuane beat an out-of-sorts Scott Gumbleton and Riewoldt continued his strong record with contested marks and goalkicking, areas in which he is near the top of the AFL ranks. He gave Essendon defender Tayte Pears, in his first game back from a broken arm, the slip to boot three goals in the last quarter and keep the margin within a respectable range.
PLAYER WATCHEssendon: Ben Howlett, elevated off the rookie list before the season, looked every bit the mature footballer as he weaved through the middle to deliver to Paddy Ryder and set up Essendon's third goal, then grabbed one of his own with a banana kick dobbed calmly from the pocket. He has spent some time out of the senior side this season, but looks like a long-term investment.
Richmond: Confident Tiger Jack Riewoldt has played a lone hand up forward this season and he was again the only man to have a real impact in front of the big sticks for Richmond with six goals. His best effort was a fine contested mark against Tayte Pears in the second term, who was muscled out of the way to allow Riewoldt to kick his second goal. At that point, Essendon switched Dustin Fletcher onto him.
WHERE THE GAME WAS WONEssendon was much better at keeping possession of the ball and moving it quickly into its forward 50, where Leroy Jetta and Alwyn Davey formed a dangerous double act with 39 touches between them. They were too much of a handful for the Richmond defence, and the Bombers at times had loose men everywhere.
WHERE THE GAME WAS LOSTThe Tigers were relatively competitive when it came to contested possession and tackling, reflecting an admirable effort from an inexperienced team, but they lacked run and polish all over the ground.
BEST Essendon: Hille, Jetta, Fletcher, Ryder, Howlett, Davey.
Richmond: Riewoldt, Cotchin, Rance, McGuane, Edwards, Deledio.
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