Report Card: Round 17Foxsports
14 September 2020RICHMONDThe Tigers are kings at peaking at the right time of the year – and all signs point to Damien Hardwick‘s men again timing their run to give a third flag in four years a red-hot shake. It wasn’t the fact they beat a contender like Geelong by 26 points, it was how they did it, eliminating their biggest asset – they crowded Tom Hawkins’ forward line island and made it impossible for him to have a free run at the ball all night – and denying them any forward-half momentum to suffocate them. The Tigers are now in Position A to claim a top-four spot.
In the votesDylan Grimes was a major reason why the Cats were held to just one goal in the first three quarters of the game. In his season-best game, according to the AFL Player Ratings, Grimes finished with 16 disposals, 12 intercept possessions and five intercept marks. He had great defensive support from Nick Vlastuin and Liam Baker, while Noah Balta did a lot of the heavy lifting on Hawkins. At the other end, Jack Riewoldt roared into form and stood up in the injured Tom Lynch‘s absence, booting four goals from 10 disposals and six marks, while Dustin Martin was his side’s leading ball-winner with 19 disposals.
Room for improvementAs convincing as the win was, it could‘ve been a lot more comprehensive on the scoreboard, with the Tigers booting 7.15. During their third term surge where they had 15 inside 50s to Geelong’s six, the Tigers managed 2.8. It allowed the Cats to have a sniff of a comeback win in the final term. Still, the Tigers steadied late.
GradeA+
https://www.foxsports.com.au/afl/afl-report-card-round-17-2020-afl-analysis-every-club-graded-best-and-worst-players-best-on-ground-votes/news-story/812fb3a43ff2e54621cb6ea737dbf534
