Tigers tamed by Demons
10:25:56 PM Fri 27 May, 2005
Jason Phelan
Exclusive to richmondfc.com.au
Richmond's winning streak came to a thudding halt against Melbourne at Telstra Dome on Friday night, and the Tigers have suffered a further devastating blow with the mercurial Nathan Brown likely to miss the remainder of the season after suffering a severely broken leg late in the match.
Melbourne outclassed Richmond 20.11 (131) to 11.8 (74). The Tigers managed to keep pace with the goal power of the Demons in the first half, but could only muster three majors in the second as Melbourne skipped away.
Travis Johnstone and Adem Yze shared the honours as best-afield with Johnstone gathering 22 possessions and kicking three goals while Yze finished with five majors.
Tiger skipper Kane Johnson led from the front with 28 disposals and Mark Coughlan impressed with 24 touches and eight marks.
The high-quality encounter was marred however by Brown's sickening injury.
The star forward was injured early in the last quarter when Matthew Whelan dived across his right shin attempting to smother.
Brown showed amazing restraint to remain calm while he was stretchered off the field and taken straight to hospital by ambulance.
The Dees unleashed a fearsome burst to start the game that saw them 32 points up before the Tigers had registered a score.
Aaron Davey started the run when he gathered the ball inside the centre square, sped inside 50 and speared the ball through the middle with a minute on the clock.
Ben Holland followed suit barely a minute later after he outbodied Darren Gaspar to mark on the goal line and goals to Yze and Travis Johnstone had the Tigers reeling.
When Holland bagged his second 10 minutes in it looked like the game was over, but Brown finally broke Richmond's drought two minutes later when he converted from 50 after Whelan got into his back.
Brown's goal sparked an amazing reversal with Melbourne suddenly forced to defend as the Tigers went on the offensive.
A run of five Richmond goals was interrupted by a Colin Sylvia major, but when Troy Simmonds threaded the eye of the needle from deep in the left pocket the Tigers trailed by only five points.
A late Brad Green goal made the margin 11 points at the first break, but the Tigers were right back in the contest.
And while the first term was highly entertaining, run-and-gun football for most onlookers, it must've displeased both coaches because the game tightened up noticeably in the second.
Eight minutes passed before Cameron Bruce took a strong contested mark and goalled from 40, but Andrew Krakouer soon answered for Richmond.
The Demons put on another scoring burst midway through the quarter - adding three straight in quick time - but Richmond was equal to the task with goals to Greg Tivendale and Mark Chaffey.
Yze was instrumental as Melbourne established a 27-point half-time lead - snapping his third and then feeding Bruce for his second.
The Tigers did most of the attacking after the restart but failed to make the most of their chances.
Sylvia hurt Richmond with his second major after Melbourne's first real venture forward for the term and Yze compounded that pain with his fourth minutes later.
Brown and Krakouer both added their second in the shadows of three-quarter time, but at the last change the Dees were up by 31.
The Tigers needed the first goal of the last if they were to have any hope but the injury to Brown five minutes in appeared to take the wind out of their sails.
Green put the result beyond doubt with his second goal after 13 minutes and Yze capped his night out with a skilful toe poke for his fifth.
Brett Deledio provided a rare highlight for Richmond fans with a superb mark and goal late in the game, but Johnstone and Green put the exclamation point on the Dees' win with the last two majors of the match.
Richmond coach Terry Wallace said he told his players after the loss not to start feeling sorry for themselves in light of the result and of Nathan Brown's nasty injury.
"We've had a loss and we've lost one of our players, and it's up to everyone in the club just to lift a couple of per cent each to try and do something about it," Wallace said.
"We're 10 games into it, and we've got 12 to go.
"You just march on, and you do what you need to do. That's just the nature of the competition, we're not the only ones who have got key players out of their side. There are plenty of other sides in the competition who have had similar sorts of things happen to them."
MELBOURNE: 7.2, 13.2, 15.8, 20.11 (131)
RICHMOND: 5.3, 8.5, 10.7, 11.8 (74)
GOALS – Melbourne: Yze 5, Holland 3, Jonhstone 3, Green 3, Bruce 2, Sylvia 2, Robertson, Davey
Richmond: Brown 2, Krakouer 2, Simmonds, Chaffey, Campbell, Bowden, Richardson, Tivendale, Deledio
BEST – Melbourne: Yze, Johnstone, Brown, Sylvia, Green, McLean, Bizzell, Moloney
Richmond: Johnson, Coughlan, Brown, Tuck, Bowden, Tivendale
INJURIES – Melbourne: Nil
Richmond: Brown (broken leg)
CHANGES – Melbourne: Neitz (hamstring), replaced in selected side by Godfrey
Richmond: Nil
REPORTS - Holland (Melbourne) for striking Gaspar (Richmond)
UMPIRES - Vozzo, McInerney, Schmitt
CROWD - 44,263 at Telstra Dome
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