'Richo' inspires Tigers to crash Dons' party
Jake Niall at the MCG | August 27, 2007 | The Age
TERRY Wallace had pledged that Richmond would not be the Washington Generals, that it would not roll over out of deference to Kevin Sheedy and James Hird and play the role that the occasion had assigned it.
Wallace delivered on his promise last night. For if the occasion was all about the Bombers, the match belonged to Richmond. Hird and Sheedy were upstaged by a — how strange this sounds — more skilful Tiger combination.
And if Hird and Sheedy were the central figures of the occasion, another famed football figure — no less beloved in his own unique way — was the main character in the drama that played out before 88,000. That player was the son of an old Tiger teammate of Sheedy's — Matthew Richardson.
"Richo" kicked only 1.4 — the kind of return that has made him a scapegoat for his club's perennial failings. But last night, it was not about the goals he missed, nor the comic blunders and brain freezes — though there were a few of them. Richardson was the most influential player afield because he simply kept winning the ball — marking it no less than 15 times, disposing on 25 occasions and providing a constant bailout for the Tigers across half-forward.
Weight of possession overpowered Essendon. The Tigers — propelled by Richo, Joel Bowden, Kane Johnson, Kayne Pettifer and Brett Deledio — had too much of the ball to lose.
Fittingly, as the match swung Richmond's way in the second quarter, it was the son of another teammate from Sheedy's Richmond days, Bowden, who was the instigator. From behind the ball in his "quarter-back" role, Bowden played with the composure that Essendon lacked and seemed to re-direct the flow of the game, his younger teammates drawing confidence from his self-assurance.
Essendon drew an audience befitting a gala performance, but, as a team that had won half its matches in 2007, it is, by definition, a middle-of-the-road combination and, on recent performances, it was little more than an even-money chance last night.
Indeed, on the evidence of what transpired, far from inspiring the Bombers, the significance of the occasion seemed to have created an anxiety that brought out their fretful worst, as the clangers — especially by foot — mounted.
The bookies, with an eye on the ladder and mindful of the Sheedy-Hird factor, had made the Dons warm favourites, apparently discounting the fact that, eight days earlier, the Dons were nearly beaten by Carlton — a team with a strong disincentive for winning another game in 2007.
Hird did his part and, as ever, Essendon did not fail because its champion failed. In the first half, he was a significant figure in the match — not the dominating, ubiquitous Hird of yesteryear perhaps, but he found space and consequently, the ball. Whatever he did was graceful and, unlike his teammates, he was never frazzled or hurried into error.
At half-time, he was — for the umpteenth time — Essendon's leading possession winner. That he could not produce the fantasy finish — conjuring Essendon a victory, as he had so many times — was due more to the failings of his supporting cast than his own endeavours.
Essendon played with passion, but without much finesse. The player who most typified Essendon was Courtenay Dempsey, who was electrifying when he took off in bursts of speed, but was wont to rush and fluff his kicks. Even Matthew Lloyd, who posed a significant aerial threat in attack, was profligate, booting 4.4; significantly, he missed twice when Tigers players chased and he hurried his shots.
If Essendon was poor, injuries did not help, since, by the final break, the Bombers had only one on the bench, after serious injuries to Jay Nash — who was in hospital by the last term — and Scott Camporeale. Then Dempsey did a hamstring late in the third term.
Great occasions aren't often great matches. This was not a great match, unless you're a Tiger fan, fond of Sheedy and hoping to store a nice memory from a hitherto dismal year.
BEST
Richmond: Richardson, Johnson, Deledio, Moore, McGuane, Newman.
Essendon: Lovett, Dempsey, Lovett-Murray, Hird, Stanton, McPhee.
http://realfooty.com.au/news/rfmatchreport/tigers-crash-dons-party/2007/08/26/1188066945215.html?page=fullpage#contentSwap1
