VFL PREVIEW: Preliminary FinalsRICHMOND vs PORT MELBOURNE – Saturday 2.10pm @ Adcon Stadium
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2019 ENCOUNTERRd 2 @ Swinburne Centre: Richmond 13.14 (92) d Port Melbourne 7.7 (49)
After no goals were kicked in a slogging first quarter, the Tigers drew away with four majors to one in the second term and then blew the margin out in the final stanza. Mabior Chol and Callum Moore (two goals apiece) were among 10 Richmond goalkickers, while Patrick Naish and Fraser Turner led the Tigers with 25 disposals each. Borough midfielder Shannen Lange was the game’s most prolific player with 27 touches.
FORMLINESRichmond (17-2 overall record) is riding a seven-match winning streak following a stunning two-point comeback triumph over Essendon in a qualifying final two weeks ago. Its most recent conqueror – Footscray in Round 14 – is now eliminated from the finals.
Port Melbourne (12-7-1) lost four straight games between Round 12 and 16 but has won five of its last six, including somewhat unexpected victories in sudden-death finals against Geelong by 40 points and then Footscray by 15 points last week.
LAST MATCHThe Tigers staged one of the VFL’s most remarkable recent comebacks to pip the Bombers, overturning a 40-point three-quarter-time deficit thanks to a late Toby Nankervis goal. The AFL-listed ruck also led Richmond with 22 touches, 33 hitouts and 10 clearances, while Marlion Pickett (22 disposals and two goals), Callum Coleman-Jones (16 and seven marks) and Dan Butler (four goals) were all important in the win.
The Borough conceded 23 more inside-50s and five more scoring shots to the Bulldogs but prevailed with efficiency in front of goal and tough defence. Eli Templeton (team-high 25 disposals and 10 clearances), co-captain Tom O’Sullivan (20 and eight clearances) and Jarryd Blair (13 and nine tackles) led the midfield effort, as Dion Johnstone (11 rebound-50s) and Dylan Van Unen (seven) drove from the back half.
KEY QUESTION
Who remembers the 2017 decider?Which VFL fan could forget? Port Melbourne won the premiership by four points at the Tigers’ expense when ex-Richmond AFL-lister Ben Lennon missed a long set shot after the final siren that would have secured the flag. The Borough have suffered 65- and 43-point losses to the Tigers in the time since, but Port Melbourne senior coach Gary Ayres might prefer to invoke the memory of 2017 in the lead-up to this match instead.
There has been an exodus of talent and experience at the Borough since then, but 10 players from that Grand Final side are still at the club – including now-regulars Harvey Hooper and Lachlan Waddell – who’ll bring valuable experience of a big occasion to the group. For Richmond, VFL skipper Steven Morris, Hugh Beasley and Connor Menadue are among the 10 Tigers who appeared in 2017 and are still at Punt Road today.
KEY STATThe stoppage battle promises to be crucial in this result. Richmond’s advantage in clearances in its Round 2 victory was decisive, with Luke English (six clearances), Riley Collier-Dawkins (five) and Jacob Ballard (five) leading the Tigers to a 37-23 win on that measure. No Port Melbourne player recorded more than three clearances that day, but the Borough has more recently been torching opponents at stoppages in the finals.
Their midfield outplayed Geelong – the VFL’s top team for average clearances – with a 53-48 clearance advantage two weeks ago and then beat Footscray 63-42 last week, when eight Port Melbourne players won more than three clearances. Meanwhile, Richmond lost that count 45-52 to Essendon in their final and would be wary of the Borough’s depth, with the likes of Mitch Wooffindin, Mack Rivett and Matt Arnot just as capable in tight as the team’s bigger names.
SELECTION NEWSRichmond’s match-winner from two weeks ago Toby Nankervis goes out of the qualifying-final line-up after being called up to the club’s AFL team. Young AFL-listed tall Noah Balta comes into the VFL side, with VFL-listers Hugh Beasley, Jacob Ballard, Tom Silvestro and Bailey Henderson added to an extended bench.
Port Melbourne may not need to make a change to its semi-final team, with only Ben Jolley, Dylan Conway, Callum Searle and Guy Dickson being named on its extended bench.
https://vfl.com.au/vfl-preview-preliminary-finals-2019/
