Richmond unprecedented request to end match early, Jay Clark’s view from the sidelinesJay Clark
Herald Sun
March 11, 2016 11:26amDAMIEN Hardwick threw up his arms and looked at his depleted bench.
“We’ve got no one left,” he said to the nearby AFL official.
With 10 minutes left in Thursday night’s match between Port Adelaide and Richmond, things were starting to get heated on the boundary line and Hardwick, in particular, was furious.
After a savage run of injuries in its final NAB Challenge game, Richmond had only one fit man left on the bench.
And the players that were still able to run around out on Etihad Stadium were exhausted and cramping.
Poor old Connor Menadue couldn’t even walk anymore when his game time hit about 87 per cent in the final few minutes.
Richmond’s bench steward had already asked the AFL official whether the game could be shortened, only moments earlier.
But when Hardwick came down to the boundary line, he took things into his own hands.
Again, the Richmond senior coach asked the AFL official whether the match could be called off, immediately.
The injury toll included Shane Edwards (collarbone), Shaun Grigg (thumb), Shaun Hampson (ankle), Reece Conca (hamstring), Jacob Townsend (head) and Brett Deledio only played the first half in his comeback from a calf problem. He was in his tracksuit pants.
Dustin Martin had a hobble up and was playing out of the goalsquare and captain Trent Cotchin had received a knock to his left quad and had had it strapped.
Hardwick kept looking at the wounded men on the bench, then at the AFL official, and shaking his head.
With the Tigers’ Round 1 clash against Carlton at the front of his mind, Hardwick then started telling his most important players, such as Cotchin and Martin, to come off the ground.
They did so, reluctantly.
The AFL staffer had been on the phone, trying to calm the situation with the Tigers’ chiefs, and had now started counting Richmond players.
There was about 14 or 15 on the field at this stage.
Enter Port Adelaide fitness chief Darren Burgess.
The Power wanted to know what the heck was going on from the other bench and were assessing whether they should start doing the same as the Tigers, as the game plunged to farcical depths.
Port’s runner, Chad Cornes, was openly laughing.
Not Hardwick, though. He was filthy.
AFL operations manager Mark Evans had joined the circus at this stage and had told the Tigers they needed to put a full team on the field, presumably for betting and broadcast ramifications.
At this point, Richmond football manager Dan Richardson had begun talking to Evans, taking over from Hardwick, who looked like he was about to fully erupt.
Upon AFL direction, the Tigers’ stars wandered back on the field. Cotchin had been trying to get back on the whole time anyway.
Richmond assistant coach Mark Williams had been tugging on Martin’s jumper, trying to hold him back from going on, but finally let go. Instead, he tapped Martin on the shoulder and said something in his ear as Martin re-entered the game. Perhaps something like “don’t do anything silly”.
Of course, no one gave two hoots about the score.
What happened on the boundary line had become much more interesting.
Finally, the siren sounded. Port had won by 48 points at Etihad Stadium.
But Richmond’s preparations for the regular season had suffered a heavy blow.
The ones smiling about it was Carlton.
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