Tigers surge, then stop as Dons run riot
Martin Blake | May 24, 2009
BEST:
Essendon: Winderlich, Lovett, Ryder, Watson, Zaharakis, Lloyd, Davey.
Richmond: Foley, Tuck, Brown, Jackson, Collins, Newman, Moore.
INJURIES: Richmond: Thursfield (virus, replaced in selected side by Connors).
SOMETIMES the game gets too complicated. Just ask the Richmond players, who spent the week dodging television cameras like a bunch of crooked used-car salesmen, trying to plug leaks in the system and generally wondering whether footy was all it was cracked up to be when their name came out of the draft pile all those years ago.
The Tigers started off competing like a group of players rapt to chase a footy and have a kick again. A team and a club supposed to be in the middle stages of disintegration was actually galvanised by the shenanigans of a horrid week, and you could feel the lift in the 73,625 crowd.
Mitch Morton, who had some sort of a week himself, kicked the first goal from half-forward, just in front of the Richmond members, turned to the (usually) faithful and pumped a fist. It was portent of what would come in the first half.
Brett Deledio would weave inside, then outside, run away from Jobe Watson (admittedly not a feat worthy of a gold medal) and launch a brilliant goal from deep on the 50-metre line at half-forward. More fist pumps. Kayne Pettifer's goal from long range on the quarter-time siren moved him to a little leap, followed by another, inevitable double fist pump.
At both of the first two changes, the unfancied Tigers led by 16 points. But still they would get smashed, notwithstanding the fact they won the contested ball and the stoppages for most of the night, and that Nathan Brown would turn back the clock and Shane Tuck and Daniel Jackson and Nathan Foley would hit in like madmen in the clinches throughout.
Essendon kicked 12.7 to 3.5 in the second half to obliterate Richmond. So at the end of a night when no one could question their endeavour, the Tigers were 1-8 on the season and still under that dreaded media microscope. Terry Wallace's team could not sustain its intensity save for a few individuals, and from 14 points up at the 20-minute mark of the third quarter, they would be humbled by 40 points, conceding 10 goals from that point.
It was a game meant to celebrate indigenous brilliance, and so it turned out in passages. Twice, Nathan Lovett-Murray launched himself on to opponent's shoulders to mark, and Patrick Ryder did not need the step-ladder; he leapt clean over the top of Tuck and Jobe Watson in the third quarter to put his own stamp on the match. Andrew Lovett was another who would not let the opportunity slip, continuing to show his maturity as a player, and Alwyn Davey was a damaging forward with three goals.
But for all the aesthetic beauty of the seven Aboriginal players on show, it was blood and guts and hard-running that won it for Essendon. Here was a game decided in the midfield, where for half the match Tuck and Foley and Jackson would hold sway over their direct opponents, Watson, Heath Hocking and Brent Stanton. At half-time Richmond led the contested-ball count 60-49 and the clearances 22-13, a hammering where it counted most.
Then Watson and Stanton showed their competitiveness, the former especially working into the game, dishing out handballs to slicker teammates, generating forward movement with his hands. Lovett had been a presence but not a dominating player to the midpoint; he would surge into his own in the second half. Watson (24 disposals, two goals) came close to drawing level with ragtag Tuck, who had a fine 100th game, and Stanton made up some ground despite being beaten by Jackson, one of the most nagging taggers around these days.
By game's end there were but a few numbers the difference in contested ball (112-105), reflecting not only a strong comeback by one team, but by a few individuals within that team.
Essendon had its problems, to be sure. Jay Neagle could not make an impact, and was soundly beaten by Kel Moore. Down the back Adam McPhee was thoroughly outplayed for most of the first half by Brown, who had two goals on the board. Coach Matthew Knights tried Tayte Pears on Brown, but ultimately settled on McPhee again. Like his team, Brown faded, ending up behind the ball as a loose man for a period. Like Essendon, McPhee stuck at his job on a night that was not necessarily his.
Leg speed was significant for Essendon, with Lovett and Jason Winderlich at the forefront. Twice in the final quarter the emerging Winderlich sprinted forward from the centre bounce to collect the football and kick running goals; with 28 disposals he was a deserved winner of the medal for best afield. For so long Essendon has waited for this player to emerge.
Also important was goal accuracy, or lack of it. Essendon kicked 19.8 in general play, a reflection of skilful kicking and good nerves. Richmond kicked a couple of blinders but was disappointing overall, with 12.12. Put like that, it is a simple game. At least when you're out on the park.
MAIN MENANDREW LOVETT: Constantly seemed at least a yard quicker than anyone else on the ground. He also distinguished himself by somehow finding huge gaps on the ground, allowing him to run and carry. Along with Jason Winderlich, sparked the Bombers' recovery in the third quarter, and then kicked the sealer in the last quarter.
JASON WINDERLICH: Notionally opposed to Shane Tuck, the two players shunned close checking and instead went head to head and Winderlich proved the more influential. Picked up nine possessions to inspire the Bombers' charge in the third quarter, and topped it off with another five in the last. Won the Yiooken award for best on ground.
NATHAN LOVETT-MURRAY: Took a great high mark in the first half but easily topped it in the third quarter when he soared high above a pack on the Bombers' half-back line easily the mark of the night. He blemished the effort with a late hit on Tiger Kayne Pettifer which could be costly.
TURNING POINT:The Bombers, having worked hard for the first 20 minutes of the third quarter but only pegging back the margin to 13 points, kicked four goals in the last 10 minutes to snatch the lead for the first time of the night. Their dominance was reflected in keeping Richmond to only five possessions in an eight-minute period during their goal streak, which extended into the last quarter.
THE UPSHOT:Essendon faces the stiff challenge of taking on Geelong next week, the first of four consecutive home games Adelaide, Melbourne and then Carlton. Richmond must travel to Subiaco to take on Fremantle, where they won early last year. The Tigers then return for a clash against the Western Bulldogs.
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