Tigers rise to Dons' challengeEmma Quayle
May 22, 2011RICHMOND 2.3 6.5 13.8 16.9 (105)
ESSENDON 2.2 6.6 9.10 13.11 (89)
GOALS
Richmond: Riewoldt 4, King 3, Vickery 3, Nahas 2, Helbig, Newman, Foley, Cotchin.
Essendon: Monfries 3, Zaharakis 3, Jetta 3, Davey, Howlett, Hille, Crameri.
BEST
Richmond: Cotchin, Deledio, Newman, Vickery, Conca, Rance, Grimes, Martin.
Essendon: Lonergan, Heppell, Jetta, Zaharakis, McVeigh, Lovett-Murray, Hardingham.
UMPIRES Ryan, Jeffery, Stewart.
CROWD 83,563 at MCG.
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BEFORE James Hird became coach of Essendon, the perception outside the club was that he would barely have a midfield to work with.
It's an idea Jobe Watson, Heath Hocking, Sam Lonergan, Ben Howlett, Brent Stanton and Jake Melksham, among others, have worked hard to prove wrong in the first eight weeks of the season, yet it was where last night's match against Richmond appeared to bubble down to.
The Bombers have kicked a lot of good scores this year, and the Tigers' defence has been prised open for at least a part of each week. But with Watson out injured, Hocking out suspended and the best of Richmond's young talent playing though the middle, would the Bombers be able to get the ball forward enough times to win?
This game loomed as a test of how far Essendon's improved on-ball brigade has come, and it also asked a question of Richmond's golden kids: could they put away a group of players missing two on-ball keys and who they have more natural talent than, and not expose their defenders to the sort of inside-50 avalanche they probably couldn't survive? This was how things looked, at least. As is often the way, the game played out in quite a different way.
Essendon didn't ask one or two players to step in for Hocking and Watson: it asked half the team. Lonergan gritted his teeth and won a heap of clearances, and Mark McVeigh did his bit, too. Howlett, Dyson Heppell, Nathan Lovett-Murray, Angus Monfries, David Myers, Stanton and Stewart Crameri spent parts of the game on the ball, and the Bombers were good enough in there to give themselves a chance.
After Richmond dominated most of the first-quarter clearances, they won the second term 15-3, and were just as good in the third term. Heppell, McVeigh and Lonergan could barely have done any more to actually win the ball, but once the 'winning' part was done was where their problems started to set in.
After a tight first quarter - the highlight was early draft picks Reece Conca and Heppell trying to look more poised, smart and cool than each other across their respective half-back lines - Essendon started to win more clearances but fail to take make the most of them. While Patrick Ryder and David Hille had looked threatening early, and Crameri had kicked a first-quarter goal, Essendon didn't kick the ball forward with the boldness or persistence that it has for most of the year.
The Dons weren't taking marks, they weren't taking their best options and although David Zaharakis found the ball, they weren't getting it into the hands of their best deliverers. At the other other end the Tigers didn't want to let any chance pass, and got goals out of the sort of moments the Bombers were letting pass.
Jack Riewoldt wasn't grabbing marks - at least until one big grab in the goal square - but he was keeping his feet as others fell around him, and creating goals that way. Jake King wasn't as involved as he has been in recent weeks but when he did get into things, he was scoring.
At the other end, Essendon's confusion was compounded by the fact Conca, Alex Rance, Dylan Grimes and Luke McGuane, to begin with, were looking a much more assured combination than they have. They were making their spoils, getting into space, and although Essendon upped the pressure in a major way from time to time - Leroy Jetta insisted he kick three third-term goals, such was his desperation to keep chasing - they kept taking deep breaths and getting through the tough times.
This, ultimately, spared the Tigers the sort of early deficit they've had to grind down in recent weeks, and gave their midfield time to simply wear their opponents down.
Down by one point at half-time, Richmond finished the third term 22 points clear, as the likes of Cotchin, Deledio, Martin and Chris Newman became more influential, Newman getting into space that Essendon had worked hard to deny him throughout the opening half.
Essendon started to tire at the same time - the Dons beginning to look like a team in need of the bye they'll get this week, and this in turn created ''easier'' goals - to Newman in so much space he seemed to look around in disbelief, to Riewoldt out the back of a marking contest, to Nahas, who threw a quick bouncing snap forward and to the brilliant Cotchin, who sucked Alwyn Davey into giving away a 50-metre penalty after marking at half-forward and scored from the goal line. Essendon didn't give in. Lonergan worked hard from start to finish, Jetta did the same and Zaharakis did his best to keep the scoreboard ticking over. Goals to him, Davey and two to Monfries got the Bombers back to within two goals twice in the first half of the final term, but this ended up being another challenge that the Tigers were able to rise too.
They saw off a few more forward thrusts and, through Nahas and an on-the-run Tyrone Vickery, scored two goals of their own to keep the Bombers at bay each time they seemed to build up a little bit of momentum.
Richmond has looked a better, more capable side since the start of the season, yet last night they got what they hadn't yet produced: a solid, consistent, start-to-finish performance.
QUALITY DRAFT
Only Josh Caddy separated Reece Conca and Dyson Heppell on draft night last November. Richmond had its heart set on West Australian Conca for much of the year, picking him at No. 6, and Essendon grabbed Heppell. Both have made strong early impressions this year, and both were influential last night. Playing across half back, both showed off what they were drafted for: poise, ability to read the play, and nice foot skills. Expect them to be compared more than once, as their careers unfold.
DIS-ADVANTAGE
Expect the advantage rule to be discussed at length again this week, with two second quarter free kicks to Essendon interpreted in completely different ways - The first saw Mark McVeigh called back, the second had Ben Howlett streaming forward and kicking a goal from 50 metres.
http://www.theage.com.au/afl/afl-news/tigers-rise-to-dons-challenge-20110521-1eyc7.html#ixzz1N0qJ7CHh
