Dockers fall short — again
Rohan Connolly | August 24, 2008
FREMANTLE lost another close game yesterday, this time by seven points, to Richmond. That makes it eight losses in 2008 by nine points or fewer, 10 by three goals or less — the most in league history.
That's a fair bit of misfortune for one football year, and the Dockers will certainly have some handy "buts" when they review their likely bottom-three position after the end of next weekend — but, hopefully, not so many that they let themselves off the hook too much.
Because as committed and honourable as yesterday's narrow loss was, Freo losing its skipper and best player Matthew Pavlich before game time, and already without the likes of Dean Solomon, Chris Tarrant, Paul Hasleby, the Dockers don't help themselves much. And like so many other games this year, a silly mistake here and a bit of ill-discipline there made all the difference yesterday.
Like Jeff Farmer pushing a light but unnecessary knee into the chin of Tiger Shane Edwards just as teammate Garrick Ibbotson had taken an inspiring mark deep in defence. Freo was in front and about to clear the ball. The "gimme" goal from point-blank range after the reversal and another soon after to Shane Tuck put the Dockers 13 points down again, a narrow edge Richmond would spend the rest of the game maintaining.
Or Mark Johnson not putting enough on a silly little chip inboard early in the final term, the ball getting turned over and Matthew Richardson bouncing one through to give Richmond the lead again for the final time of the afternoon.
Or, with Freo still a faint hope with a few minutes left on the clock, Brett Peake needing just to push a handball in front of Farmer for the veteran Docker to run into an open goal and narrow the gap. Instead, Peake's handball went too high, made Farmer wait a crucial half-second, and the chance was gone.
Not that Richmond was exactly clanger-free itself in a game riddled with errors and poor decision-making. The Tigers just made fewer of them. And they had to. Because any thoughts that last week's terrific form against Hawthorn was simply going to spill over into this week without having to work too hard were dispelled pretty quickly.
Fremantle might have been dealt a fatal blow before this game had even started when champion forward Pavlich was pulled out of the line-up, replaced by the considerably less intimidating figure of Ryan Murphy. But the Dockers can pull out a decent performance when you least expect it, and within six or so minutes yesterday, by which time they had slammed on three goals to nothing, you knew Mark Harvey's team had come out switched on.
Des Headland had the first within 40 seconds, taking a mark and receiving a 50-metre penalty after Richmond's Jordan McMahon hung on for too long. It would be the start for McMahon of what would rapidly become a horror afternoon. Marcus Drum kicked the second, dropping back to receive a lovely kick from the impressive looking Adam Campbell.
Then Campbell, a big but mobile key forward whose delivery was as sharp as his hands were strong, kicked the third himself. It was three goals to zip, and incredibly, Richmond youngster Trent Cotchin was the only Tiger to have actually kicked the ball, their eight other possessions all handballs.
Richmond was finally kick-started by the brilliance of Brett Deledio, whose beautiful centred ball to Mitch Morton brought up his side's first, then booting the second himself from 50 metres out on the run. When Nathan Foley dobbed one similarly from closer range after a Cotchin handball, it was back to just a couple of points the difference.
But Fremantle wasn't going anywhere. Rhys Palmer restored the equilibrium. Then, at the start of the second quarter when it looked like the Tigers were going to come over the top after a free-running Troy Simmonds and Shane Tuck had two more goals on the board within five minutes, the Dockers responded with the next three.
Mark Johnson met a nice pass from Campbell and converted, Scott Thornton benefited from another 50-metre penalty, this one conceded by Chris Newman, and David Mundy slotted a third when McMahon, having the proverbial nightmare, failed to spoil from behind.
The pattern was repeated in the third term, Richmond booting the first three goals, Fremantle hitting back with the next trio, led by the brilliant defensive efforts of Roger Hayden, outstanding particularly in the third quarter.
But it was the Tigers who'd remain just that little bit steadier, Tuck consistent all day, Simmonds strong not only in the ruck contests but around the ground, Daniel Jackson impressive and Deledio's ball use a cut above that of everyone else on the ground.
Freo couldn't boast the same. And that, again, was a difference worth far more than the mere seven points by which the Dockers went down.
BESTRichmond: Tuck, Deledio, Simmonds, Jackson, Newman, White.
THE UPSHOT Richmond needs an awful lot of other results to fall its way this weekend and next, but a seven-point win over Fremantle yesterday was another step towards the Tigers playing their first finals campaign since 2001. The club's 10th win this year gives fans at least some hope the season could continue beyond next Sunday's game against cellar-dweller Melbourne.
TALKING POINTFremantle forward Jeff Farmer was involved in some harmless push and shove off the ball with Tiger Shane Edwards, until the Dockers' livewire pushed his knee into Edwards and a free kick was awarded downfield. Richmond forward Mitch Morton's goal put the Tigers in front, Farmer was hauled off the ground and his contract renewal for next season took another serious twist.
HOT AND COLDShane Tuck was the dominant Tiger on the ground, collecting 31 touches, including 12 contested possessions, and kicking two crucial goals. It was a display that led coach Terry Wallace to suggest Tuck was "coming home with a wet sail" in the second half of the season. Sticking with the boating theme, teammate Jordan McMahon's sails weren't simply down, the mast could be knackered and require a major overhaul.
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