Buddy destroys Tigers, secures minor premiership for SwansJames Buckley
The Age
28 August 2016SYDNEY 5.6 14.9 22.11 25.14 (164)
RICHMOND 0.5 1.6 2.8 7.9 (51)
GOALS:
Sydney – Franklin 7, McGlynn 5, Rohan 4, Hewett 2, Kennedy 2, Mitchell, Parker, Heeney, Jack, Richards.
Richmond – Cotchin 3, Hampson, Riewoldt, Lloyd, Edwards.
BEST:
Sydney – Franklin, Kennedy, Jack, McGlynn, Rohan, Mitchell, McVeigh, Rampe.
Richmond – Cotchin, Martin, Lloyd, Riewoldt, Vlastuin, Edwards, Grigg.
UMPIRES Kamolins, Harris, McInerney.
CROWD 36,570 at the SCG
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Lance Franklin exploded back to form on Saturday helping Sydney secure a second minor premiership in three years as Richmond's season of misery endured one last embarrassing 113-point flogging.
Franklin was unstoppable kicking seven while Ben McGylnn (5) and Gary Rohan (4) contributed heavily as the Swans collected their 17th win this season against an insipid Tigers outfit who looked for the most part as if they were only at the SCG to fulfil an inconvenient round 23 appointment.
They certainly didn't contribute in any way to making this a contest with even the competition's best defender Alex Rance a step or two off his usual lofty standards.
In fairness to the Richmond backman, no AFL defender past or present would have controlled Franklin as he returned to form with deadly force and impeccable timing.
He was superb, marking everything on the lead and finishing with deadly accuracy, often from outside the 50m arc.
Rohan was speedy and very efficient when required to finish, while McGlynn had the ball on a string and continually split the big sticks.
All three benefited from another polished midfield performance with Josh Kennedy and Kieren Jack leading the way and Tom Mitchell playing strongly on both sides of the ball.
The Swans now rest for a week before embarking on the serious month of this premiership quest.
Richmond meanwhile could only vamoose from the SCG, from season 2016 in fact, with a limp tail between its legs. The Tigers will play no further part this year, and face a tremendous uphill battle if they're to feature in September next year.
This was arguably the worst performance from any team in the AFL this year, certainly for the first three quarters, and it left former Sydney premiership player Tadhg Kennelly disgusted with what he was seeing from the Tigers.
"This is unprofessional, it's unacceptable at this level," Kennelly said while commentating on the game.
"You've got an obligation to supporters, members and yourselves.
"I've been in the country for 18 years. Richmond have been treading water for 18 years."
Richmond coach Damien Hardwick must now begin the painful process of deconstructing season 2016, assuming it'll still be up to Hardwick to do the deconstructing.
He's facing another week from hell given there's a competition-wide bye next weekend and therefore a lack of on-field activity to discuss over the coming seven days. Once again, the blowtorch will be squarely aimed at his yellow-sashed strugglers.
The Swans started powerfully with an early signal of intent, Rohan kicking the game's first goal after a minute having been allowed to bounces from the wing before running into the forward 50 unopposed.
It set the early tone and demonstrated almost immediately the huge gulf in class on show here. A finals team, playing with a finals intensity, against a battling club which had seemingly checked out for the season.
Sydney managed five unanswered majors in the opening term, sprinkling the goal-scoring duties around as they've started to do in more recent times.
But it wasn't all one-way traffic, and Richmond had their share of forward 50 entries but simply could not find a way to slip one past the keeper.
That being Aliir Aliir on occasion in his customary last-line role, Heath Grundy who was unyielding and Dane Rampe who wore Jack Riewoldt like a glove.
The Tigers managed just one goal in the second term as Sydney ramped up their attack and turned this into some sort of intra-club shootout between Franklin, McGlynn and Rohan.
At one stage Franklin looked a chance to overrun Josh Kennedy in the Coleman Medal race but his influence was eventually curbed.
Not before Rance was removed in favour of Grimes in the third quarter, before the pair eventually swapped back to their original assignments.
This was a training session for the Swans and the 36,570 crowd. A handful of those were hardy Richmond supporters, and not many of them lasted to the full-time siren.
In the second half the Swans hit the scoreboard with frightening ease and regularity further strengthening their standing as the number-one seed come September.
The Tigers managed to kick a few late, captain Trent Cotchin landing three including his 100th at AFL level. By this stage though, these contributions were merely superficial and did little to rebalance the scoreboard.
Hardwick will take no solace from the fact his side won the final quarter.
On a bleak afternoon for the Tigers there was one significant positive.
Sudanese-born Mabior Chol made his AFL debut and for long stretches throughout, was marked by Kenyan-born Swans defender Aliir. It was simply beautiful to observe in a truly exciting time to be an AFL supporter, and long may we continue to blood these African-born talents.
Aliir won this battle unsurprisingly, but there were promising signs from Chol and he can at least emerge as a diamond from the wreckage that was Richmond's season in 2016.
http://www.theage.com.au/afl/afl-match-report/lance-franklin-destroys-richmond-tigers-as-sydney-swans-top-afl-ladder-20160827-gr2npz.html
