Will Dusty and the Tigers be fired up early?Glenn Valencich
SportsFan
September 9, 2015With the finals almost upon us it is again Richmond's turn to end their 14-year run without advancing beyond the first week, but can they beat North Melbourne to do so?
There are plenty of battles they'll need to win across the ground, but two stand out as hugely important – the Tigers need to ensure Dustin Martin has an outstanding game delivering and finishing inside 50. But before that can happen, they need to be switched on early.
Since the beginning of their nine-game winning streak last season, Richmond have lost just once after outscoring the opposition in the first quarter – 16 wins from 17 matches. This season in particular their record in that department is eight from nine, which at 88.9 per cent is third-best in the AFL and far above the league-wide success rate of 64.5 per cent. They might be elite in that area but the yellow and black just don't start strong enough often enough, with their nine leads at the first break the equal fifth-worst showing in the competition.
In the loss to Melbourne in round four, when the Tigers were down by three points after the first term, Martin had 24 disposals (see the heat map below) for no scores of his own and just three score involvements as his team eventually went down by 32 points.
While his game was evenly split between the two halves, Martin was unable to win the ball deep enough to have any impact on the match itself. He got his hands on the footy the most during the second term, picking up eight disposals, but none were anywhere near the forward 50. Part of this was how the game played out as Richmond ended the night with just 306 disposals, their lowest mark for the season, and few were used well. Martin gained 502 metres with the ball, second-most among all Tigers, but some of those came from long kicks to the edge of the forward 50 and did nothing to help form a substantial attack on goal. Eventually he just began to try too hard whether he could get a kick away or not.
The frustration of being unable to run free or hit a target set in, with Martin later pushing Jack Watts in the back, giving up a 50-metre penalty that would result in a goal from right in front. The Demons hit the front with that major and didn't let up for the rest of the night.
Luckily for the mercurial No.4, these poor games are generally few and far between. He might've been well and truly beaten against Melbourne but there's no doubt he can be a match-winning player when the team is in sync. Case in point is the win over a previously unbeaten Fremantle side in Perth to open round 10. In the first quarter, after which Richmond held a 30-point lead, Martin had 12 disposals (see below) as he pushed forward for an even six touches in each half of the field.
Where he tried to force the issue against the Demons, such as the handball above, Martin was not only more assured but he also had the help that was lacking earlier in the season. Martin's two handballs in this sequence (that didn't immediately lead to a goal, despite the Trent Cotchin mark inside 50) were some distance apart. He wasn't only willing to work hard and run forward with the ball but he ran into space, drawing enough defenders that Brandon Ellis – who also kept going after his handball to Shaun Grigg – could get a clean kick away.
Unlike when he became frustrated and gave Watts a free shot at goal, Martin was as enthusiastic as the Tigers' lead was large. The ball remained in Richmond's forward half after the previous move ended when Cotchin's kick to Ben Griffiths, who was closer to goal, failed and resulted in a free kick. Some excellent pressure meant Ty Vickery won a free kick just outside 50, and Martin – who can be seen on the far left at the start of the footage below – loses his opponent to run inside and snap another goal for the Tigers.
Richmond are a much better side when they're playing with a team mindset, and what it does for Martin's game elevates him to perhaps one of the most impactful players in the competition. While they failed to beat West Coast in round 12, Martin certainly played just as well as he did two weeks earlier – if not better – as his 31 disposals led to three goals and a behind while eight others played a part in scoring chains. Five were meaningful touches forward of centre, but his teammates failed to finish the job – only three of those eight involvements ended in goals.
Still, the opportunities should be easier to come by at the MCG against the Kangaroos than they were against the Power at Adelaide Oval this time last year. Martin has all the tools and a few teammates to help finish the job – so long as they're switched on from the opening bounce.
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