Media articles & stats: Tough Tigers fall short against the Power

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Tough Tigers fall short against Yartapuulti

The Power were challenged but proved too good for the Tigers.

By Sarah Black
afl.com.au
28 May 2023

RICHMOND               1.3     3.10     6.12     9.13 (67)
YARTAPUULTI          5.4      5.9      7.14     10.17 (77)

GOALS
Richmond: Taranto 4, Martin 2, Ryan, Clarke, Bolton
Yartapuulti: Wines, Mead, McEntee, Lord, Horne-Francis, Finlayson, Drew, Byrne-Jones, Butters, Burton

BEST
Richmond: Taranto, Prestia, Bolton, Short, Balta, Nankervis
Yartapuulti: Butters, Houston, Aliir, Rozee, Horne-Francis, Finlayson

INJURIES
Richmond: Nil
Yartapuulti: Nil

SUBSTITUTES
Richmond: Judson Clarke (replaced Samson Ryan at three-quarter time)
Yartapuulti: Francis Evans (replaced Jackson Mead at three-quarter time)

Crowd: 30,357 at the MCG

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DAMIEN Hardwick spent his first game as former Richmond coach tucked up on the couch, beer in hand, coaching jacket on and his dog next to him.

He watched on as both Richmond and Yartapuulti struggled to find the middle of the sticks, the Power leading from the 13th minute of the first quarter to take out a 10-point win.

The Tigers didn't drop their heads, but were a step behind for most of the match, struggling to take advantage of their periods of dominance in the 10.17 (77) to 9.13 (67) result at the MCG.

The ephemeral nature of sport was never more evident than on Sunday. Last weekend, Hardwick had presided over what only he knew was his last game in charge, a heart-breaking loss in Dreamtime at the 'G.

Just eight days later, the Richmond army trudged up the hill from the station in the rain, walking past the Punt Road headquarters and ready to watch their side under interim coach Andrew McQualter, as the Sir Doug Nicholls' two-round celebrations concluded against Yartapuulti.

The people in charge may transition in and out, but the clubs and the game continue to roll on.

Dylan Grimes and Noah Balta saw off the opening salvo from Yartapuulti, but the repeat inside 50s and clearance capitalisation proved too much to handle, the Power easing away to a 25-point lead at quarter-time.

Zak Butters almost picked up where he left off after a best-afield performance against Narrm last week, showing unnerving confidence in taking on and burning off multiple opponents, but his early disposals were a little askew with a wet footy.

Butters steadied as the match progressed to finish as Yartapuulti's best once again, with 32 disposals and four clearances.

The Power were simply able to move the ball far too easily in dangerous patches throughout the game, finding plenty of room down the middle of the field and linking up with well-placed kicks.

Richmond had its chances in the second term but kicked seven behinds – including a run of four in a row – and it took the hardest shot of the lot, a tight Tim Taranto snap, to cut the margin to 11 points.

After a wet morning, the game had been relatively dry (grass aside), until the rain came down at half-time and into the third quarter.

Miles Bergman was thrown forward for the second half in the place of Ryan Burton, giving the Tigers a different look to deal with, and Willem Drew's soccer opening broke a run of seven straight behinds for Yartapuulti, stretching from the first to the third terms.

For all the talk about Taranto's disposal this year, he kicked two of the best goals of an error-strewn game, as well as the opening major of the last quarter to close within two points. The recruit finished with 33 touches and four goals.

Aliir Aliir well and truly had the better of a sore and out-of-form Jack Riewoldt, Toby Nankervis worked his way into the match beautifully, relishing the slower, wet conditions in the third term, while the class of Connor Rozee and Dan Houston were key to the Power's eighth straight win.

Eight straight for the Power
Yartapuulti has now won a whopping eight games in a row, dating back to its Showdown loss to Adelaide. The Power have won both at home and on the road, and have shown no fear in the face of tight games. They've finished the round in second place and host Hawthorn next week.

Twelve-point turnaround
With the Tigers threatening in the third quarter, Bergman appeared to have given the Power some breathing space with a well-timed snap. The goal umpire immediately adjudged it a major, despite the howls from Richmond players of "touched". No review was called, but the automatic check by the ARC saw the players dragged back from their centre bounce set-up for a kick-in. The ball bounced down the other end, eventually resulting in a Samson Ryan goal, the margin then at five points.

Thanks, Dimma
At the 17th-minute mark of the first term, the Richmond army stood as one with a round of applause as a thank you to their former coach, although it fell slightly flat when the Power's Ollie Lord took a set-shot in the middle of it. There was a reshuffle in the coaches' box, Andrew McQualter taking the senior reins, Kane Lambert – who retired just last year – promoted from the icy confines of the bench as development coach to midfield, and VFL coach Steve Morris doing double duty as runner.

https://www.afl.com.au/afl/matches/4882#match-report

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Yartapuulti claim eighth win in a row

Marnie Vinall
The Age
May 28, 2023 — 5.20pm

Yartapuulti have claimed their eighth victory in a row with a 10-point win over Richmond at the MCG on Sunday and taken a firm grip on a top-four spot heading into the midway point of the season.

The Power established a 25-point lead at quarter-time, which they held on to despite the Tigers fighting hard to salute their outgoing three-time premiership coach Damien Hardwick.

In interim coach Andrew McQualter’s first game at the helm, the Tigers endured their seventh loss of the season but put in a gutsy display in drizzly conditions.

Richmond took the momentum into the final term – despite trailing by eight points – but back-to-back goals from Yartapuulti’s Ollie Lord and Jeremy Finlayson put the game beyond their reach. Jason Horne-Francis then capped it off with a sealer.

It was a scrappy, low-scoring affair for the first three quarters as both sides created opportunities in their respective attacking halves but squandered them with inaccurate kicking – both in front of goals and to teammates.

This was most reflective in the second term, with the Power goalless and the Tigers booting seven behinds to just two goals.

Richmond looked the better side for the middle terms, but couldn’t convert their ball dominance around the ground. This was while Yartapuulti shared the load with 10 overall individual goalscorers.

The Tigers needed to be cleaner with their kicking inside 50, with Yartapuulti key defender Aliir Aliir there to punch away or intercept entries, while Lachie Jones did a good job containing Brownlow medallist Dustin Martin.

Down the other end, Dylan Grimes was a constant thorn in the Port forwards’ side.

The Power’s Zak Butters backed up his 41-disposal, two-goal game against Narrm last week with another impressive performance. This time finishing with 32 touches, 14 contested, and one goal. His midfield partners in Ollie Wines and Connor Rozee also had good games despite as a group being less clinical than in recent weeks.

For Richmond, Tim Taranto continues to prove his value with four goals and a high-game disposal count of 33. He was joined by playmaker Dion Prestia and ruck Toby Nankervis in winning the ball.

Richmond next face GWS, who upset the reigning premiers Geelong on Saturday, while Yartapuulti will take on Hawthorn in Adelaide.

YARTAPUULTI 5.4 5.9 7.14 10.17 (77)
RICHMOND 1.3 3.10 6.12 9.13 (67)

GOALS
Yartapuulti: Finlayson, Butters, Lord, McEntee, Burton, Byrne-Jones, Wines, Drew, Horne-Francis, Mead.
Richmond: Taranto 4, Martin 2, Bolton, Ryan, Clarke.

BEST
Yartapuulti: Butters, Wines, Farrell, Horne-Francis, Lycett, Aliir.
Richmond: Taranto, Prestia, Nankervis, Grimes, Bolton.

UMPIRES Fisher, Stephens, McGinness, Rebeschini.
CROWD 30,357 at MCG.

https://www.theage.com.au/sport/afl/standing-ovation-tigers-faithful-pay-tribute-to-hardwick-20230528-p5dbva.html

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AFL Richmond v Port Adelaide 2023: All the latest news, analysis and fallout

Richmond channelled an emotional week into a huge challenge to Port Adelaide, but they couldn’t find a way past defensive superstar Aliir Aliir.

Ronny Lerner
HeraldSun
May 28, 2023 - 4:49PM

Port Adelaide has continued its charge towards the top of the ladder after seeing off a spirited Richmond challenge to down the Tigers by 10 points at the MCG on Sunday.

The Power, who adopted the Indigenous name Yartapuulti, accounted for the Tigers 10.17 (77) to 9.13 (67), to register eight consecutive wins for the first time since 2014 – a year in which they made it to a preliminary final – and make a mockery of club legend Warren Tredrea describing coach Ken Hinkley’s tenure as “untenable”.

The result meant Richmond couldn’t make a successful start to their post-Damien Hardwick era, five days after the triple premiership coach announced his immediate resignation.

When Port Adelaide kicked five consecutive goals to open up a 26-point lead early in the second quarter, it looked like the Power were headed for a massive win.

But Richmond responded by getting their running/transition game going and on the back of a sharp spike in handballs, they cut the deficit to just two points early in the final quarter.

The Tigers ramped up their pressure markedly, too, as the Power suffered badly from the yips, scoring 3.14 from their next 17 shots after kicking their fifth goal in the opening term.

But a pair of majors from Ollie Lord and Jeremy Finlayson in the last quarter steadied the ship as Port’s lead extended to 17 points, thanks largely to their midfield’s clearance domination in the final term.

Despite the result, Richmond recruit Tim Taranto played the game of his career, racking up 33 disposals (12 contested), seven clearances and four goals to be the best player on the ground.

For the winners, Zak Butters continued his rich vein of form by accumulating 32 touches (14 contested) and a goal, while Kane Farrell, Connor Rozee and Jason Horne-Francis also ensured a strong performance from Port Adelaide’s midfield, as they comfortably won the clearances 37-29, inside-50s 67-45 and scoring shots 27-20.

Down back, Aliir Aliir was magnificent, rendering Richmond spearhead Jack Riewoldt ineffectual while repelling numerous Tigers forward forays.

ALIIR STANDS TALL

Early in the final term, with Richmond trailing by just two points, the Tigers threatened to grab the lead when Jack Ross kicked the ball forward. Aliir was there to save the day for Port, taking the mark sandwiched between Jack Graham and Riewoldt. From the ensuing transition, Lord converted the set shot to put the Power up by eight points, when they so easily could have found themselves four points down moments earlier.

McKENZIE TO THE RESCUE

And with 3:15 left in the game, Taranto looked like he kicked another goal to get his team back within 11 points. However, a lunging dive from Trent McKenzie on the goal line ensured the ball was touched and spared the Power from contending with a nervous finish.

WASTEFUL TIGERS

The Tigers started the second term stronger but for all their domination, wasted numerous shots at goal, kicking a horrible 2.7 to trail by 11 points at halftime when they probably should have been in front. The Power had their fair share of chances too, managing just five behinds for the quarter. The worst of Richmond’s misses was a straightforward set shot from Riewoldt from 25m out directly in front which he sprayed to the right.

TARANTO’S SUPERB SNAPS

Taranto’s finishing has come under question this year, but in a sea of wasted chances in front of goal his radar was spot on. After Richmond started the second term with just one goal from their first seven scoring shots, they desperately needed a goal to get reward for all their hard work, and Taranto was the man who delivered. Just before time on, the former Giant grabbed the ball and produced a brilliant snap from the pocket on a very sharp angle to get the Tigers within 11 points. And when Richmond needed another goal badly in the third term after slumping to 4.12, it was Taranto again who produced the goods, snapping magnificently from 40m out on the boundary to get his team back within 10 points.

HARDWICK TRIBUTE

At the 17-minute mark of the first quarter, the Richmond fans in attendance gave a round of applause to Hardwick to recognise his enormous contribution to the club. The No.17 was chosen in honour of the 2017 premiership which Hardwick oversaw, ending Richmond’s famous 37-year premiership drought.



https://www.codesports.com.au/afl/afl-richmond-v-port-adelaide-2023-all-the-latest-news-analysis-and-fallout/news-story/31c8cca005a226608cc6fed0d9c59d56