Tigers close in on top-four finish after rolling Dees in the wetBen Collins
afl.com.au
August 3, 2019 9:55 PMMELBOURNE 3.1 6.2 7.4 9.6 (60)
RICHMOND 3.2 6.5 11.9 13.15 (93)
GOALS
Melbourne: Fritsch 3, Lewis 2, Dunkley 2, Wagner, Brayshaw
Richmond: Lynch 3, Graham 2, Castagna, Chol, Caddy, Lambert, Soldo, Rioli, Martin, Bolton
BEST
Melbourne: Gawn, Fritsch, Oliver, Jones
Richmond: Martin, Houli, Edwards, Prestia, Vlastuin, Lynch
INJURIES
Melbourne: Nil
Richmond: Nil
Reports: Nil
Umpires: Foot, Rosebury, McInerney
Official crowd: 37,254 at the MCG
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A WASTEFUL Richmond didn't quite gain the massive percentage-booster most expected, but the Tigers still cruised to their sixth successive win to solidify their spot in the top four.
On a slippery MCG on Saturday night, Damien Hardwick's men confronted spirited resistance from second-bottom Melbourne for two-and-a-half quarters before powering away to win 13.15 (93) to 9.6 (60).
The Demons were within three points early in the third term before the Tigers finally snapped out of their lethargy to kick the next four goals and put the game beyond Melbourne's reach by three-quarter time.
Richmond superstar Dustin Martin (34 possessions and a goal) was best-afield in another prolific display and had hard-running support from Shane Edwards (31) and Dion Prestia (31), while Bachar Houli (32) and Nick Vlastuin (24) proved difficult to pass in the back half.
Tigers forward Tom Lynch, in his 150th game, didn't get the chance to take on fellow former Gold Coast co-captain Steven May (who is injured) but he was again influential and finished with an three goals in another assured performance.
However, the margin would have been bigger had Shai Bolton (who blazed 0.4 in the first half before snaring a late goal) and Jack Riewoldt (0.3) been more efficient.
For Melbourne, Max Gawn (19 disposals, 26 hitouts) was typically dominant in the ruck while the flexible Bayley Fritsch was lively in attack with three majors and should have nailed a late set shot.
Midfielder Clayton Oliver was his usual prolific self with 32 disposals, while Michael Hibberd gathered 29.
A concern for Melbourne was a right ankle injury to defender Jake Lever, who twice left the field for treatment but returned to play out the game. It was initially feared that the former Crow had suffered another knee injury but the club confirmed he had rolled the ankle.
Early on it seemed the Tigers would burst clear when they fired the first three shots at goal inside six minutes, with Jason Castagna goaling to give them a seven-point lead.
Unexpectedly, Melbourne hit back with the next three goals in the space of just four minutes with co-captain Nathan Jones (22 touches) instrumental with his run off half-back, at one point delivering a superb, squaring left-foot pass to Fritsch and suddenly the Demons were 11 points clear.
Christian Petracca tries to break through Shane Edwards and Dustin Martin. Picture: AFL Photos
The Tigers hit back to regain the lead by quarter-time and would have been further in front had Martin not sent running shots out of bounds in uncharacteristic fashion.
The game took a familiar feel when Richmond added three of the next four goals to lead by 14 points midway through the second term, but Melbourne continued to show pluck, scoring two quick goals after uncontested marks that would have galled their coach.
To that stage the Tigers appeared flat and seemed to miss energetic youngster Sydney Stack, who sat out the game through injury. They were their own worst enemy at times, overusing the ball rather than moving it directly to their star forward duo Lynch and Riewoldt when they were one-out, while their defence hadn't been as cohesive as usual.
The rain came at half-time and when Demons veteran Jordan Lewis conjured a smart soccer goal – his second major in a defensive deep-forward role on Dylan Grimes – early in the third term to cut the three points, the rank outsider was becoming more than nuisance value.
That was the cue for the Tigers to lift their intensity and their stronger bodies and cleaner skills locked the ball in their forward half and they eventually piled on five goals to one for the term.
The Tigers' run was started by a brilliant goal from ruckman Ivan Soldo, who took advantage of a shallow throw-in to thrust his left foot at the ball.
Premiership forward Josh Caddy was relatively quiet in his long-awaited return with 13 touches, but will benefit from the run.
The Tigers remain undefeated since their bye, winning their past six games by an average of 42 points, while the Demons have won just two of their past 11 games to languish in 17th spot.
https://www.afl.com.au/match-centre/2019/20/melb-v-rich#/summary
