Richmond VFL wins big in battle of the TigersIvan Soldo tracks a ground ball inside 50, picks it up at his boot laces, embraces the tackle, somehow gets his boot to ball and finds Callum Moore, who then makes the impossible, possible.
Moore, under immense pressure, falling across the boundary line, flung his right boot at the footy, his check-side attempt sliding through—cuing rapturous celebrations.
He was that deep in the Brunton Avenue pocket, that if he had a myki, then he would have had to touch on.
It was Moore’s third goal of the first half, he went onto kick five in a best-on-ground performance.
Richmond VFL burst out of the blocks, but was pegged back by a hard-working Werribee, eventually breaking the dam wall with a six-goal final term to register an 18.16 (124) to 5.8 (38) win.
Coming back from AFL duties, Moore played with an air of superiority and impacted on nearly every contest he attended, be it in the air or on the ground.
Tiger fans would have loved the streak of aggression he played with, epitomised by a crunching tackle he laid in the third term, which saw him slot his fourth major.
In another early morning game, the Tigers sprang into action in the first term, causing turnover-after-turnover and importantly finished off their work in front of goal.
In the blink of an eye, Richmond opened up a five-goal lead and had Werribee gasping for air.
Werribee however lifted its rating in the second term, attacking the corridor at will, giving the hosts something to think about on the counter-attack.
The class of Corey Ellis came to the fore early in the second term, with an effortless goal from on the paint of 50, before Werribee kicked into gear.
The Tigers from the west kicked back-to-back goals and held the majority of the momentum before the brilliance of Ivan Soldo and Moore inside-50 separated the sides.
Soldo assisted in Moore’s goal-of-the-year nomination before showcasing his dominance in the air.
He rose and clunked a pure contested mark, before going back and slotting the goal, which reasserted the Tigers’ ownership of the momentum.
Clutch goals to Moore and Soldo pushed the lead out to a comfortable 36 points at halftime.
The third term was an arm-wrestle with Werribee upping the ante with its pressure but couldn’t convert its opportunities going forward.
The Tigers however were able to hit the scoreboard through the likes of the tenacious Jake Aarts, the sturdy and classy Blake Grewar and that man Moore.
Like good sides do, Richmond has an uncanny way of sensing the moment and lifting the tempo when required, which it did exponentially in the final term.
Werribee’s gallantry in the second and third term came to no avail as the hosting Tigers flexed its muscle with a six-goal-to-nil final term.
The onslaught started when Callum Moore judged the flight of the ball to perfection, then coolly snapped his fifth major.
The highlight of the term came when Ryan Garthwaite found himself in uncharted waters, free inside forward-50, and marked just inside the arc.
The man that kicked 100 goals in his under-16 year at Lavington Football Club seized a very rare opportunity to slot a major.
In characteristic fashion, Garthwaite guided the ball down on to his boot and watched it sail over the goal umpire’s hat.
He celebrated accordingly and was mobbed by his teammates, with each getting a chance to ruffle the hair of the much-loved figure at Tigerland.
Richmond cruised to a big win and has now sewn-up a top-two spot.
RICHMOND 5.5 8.10 12.12 18.16 (124)
WERRIBEE 1.1 3.4 5.7 5.8 (38)
Goals
Richmond: Moore (5), Ballard (2), Grewar (2), Aarts (2), Ellis (1), Silvestro (1), Balta (1), Soldo (1), Garthwaite (1), Tanner (1), Stengle (1)
Werribee: Hooper (2), Gribble (1), Buykx (1), Porter (1)
http://www.richmondfc.com.au/news/2018-07-28/richmond-vfl-wins-big-in-battle-of-the-tigers
