Richmond gives new dimension to Richmondyness in staggering loss to St KildaAl Paton,
Herald Sun
10 July 2017AT LEAST Richmond is original.
Apparently bored with crushing the hope of its army of fans by losing games from seemingly unlosable positions, the Tigers last night added a new dimension to the concept of “Richmondyness”.
The word, coined by comedian Wil Anderson, gained traction early this year after Richmond coughed up apparently matchwinning leads to Fremantle and GWS in the dying seconds.
There was no danger of that last night as the Tigers capitulated in stunning fashion to an inspired St Kilda at Etihad Stadium.
After a week in which the Tigers were talked up as a premiership hope after defeating Port Adelaide to jump into the top four, the stats were mind-boggling.
Despite a terrible start that included giving up two goals to 50m penalties and with captain Trent Cotchin on report, the Tigers trailed by 10 points at the 23-minute mark of the first quarter and could have been closer as Dion Prestia, Brandon Ellis and Shane Edwards sprayed shots on goal.
Then came the avalanche.
From that point until halftime it was one-way traffic of a kind rarely seen in modern football.
In little over 30 minutes of game time:
— St Kilda had 83 more disposals, 23 more contested possessions, 25 inside-50s to seven and scored 11.5 to 0.1.
— the Saints had 13 of the top 14 SuperCoach players on the field, with full-back David Astbury the only Richmond representative (at No. 10).
— Ruckman Billy Longer was the top-ranked player with 63 SuperCoach points, ahead of Koby Stevens and Leigh Montagna (58), Jack Steven (54) and Jack Newnes and Seb Ross (49).
— Seven Tigers had single-figure SuperCoach points in that time including stars Alex Rance (4), Jack Riewoldt (5) and high-priced recruit Dion Prestia (4).
— Brownlow fancy Dustin Martin had 21 SuperCoach points and Trent Cotchin 22.
“In the first half St Kilda were unbelievable, really,” Prestia said on Channel 7's AFL Game Day.
“Contested ball and clearance work, pretty much the basics of the game, we didn’t show up in those areas.”
On a remarkable night:
— Heading into the match the Saints had a set-shot accuracy of 50 per cent, the worst in the AFL. Last night they kicked 13.5 from set shots.
— Before last night Longer had the lowest kick-to-handball ratio ever recorded by Champion Data, with just nine kicks from 10 matches this year. Last night his two kicks included a goal from the boundary line — his third goal in 54 matches.
— In the first 15 rounds Richmond conceded an average of 77 points a game. The Saints went past that mark at the 20-minute mark of the second quarter.
— The defeat stripped seven points off Richmond’s percentage, which could be crucial in the run home.
If Tiger fans are looking for some consolation, these out-of-the-box results have happened before, and not only to the Tigers.
Three years ago Sydney smashed Geelong by 110 points by Round 11. The next week the Cats rebounded to defeat Carlton and finished third (only to be knocked out of the finals in straight sets).
Back in 2011 Collingwood lost to Geelong by 96 points in the last home-and-away round but won a qualifying final the next week and made it to the Grand Final (and another Geelong defeat).
Last year Hawthorn lost to GWS by 75 points in Round 6 but still made the finals.
And earlier this year, North Melbourne outscored Adelaide 10.4 to 0.0 in the first quarter in Hobart. The Crows are travelling OK, although they did lose to Melbourne the next week.
Richmond has the perfect chance to rebound next week against Brisbane. Richmond has won its past 10 against the Lions and surely couldn’t lose this. Or do the Tigers have another chapter of Richmondyness to reveal?
AdamTrolloar @AdamTrolloar
Is it time to redefine #Richmondy ?
Aussie Fools @aussiefools
I bet tigers fans are missing the good old days when they were just losing by a kick #afl #aflsaintstigers #richmondy
Al Paton ✔ @al_superfooty
Started thinking we were a good team #Richmondy
Tom Bell @SnappyTom86
I think that whenever I tip @Richmond_FC. Then they show me why I shouldn't have. Ya know, like tonight. #AFLSaintsTigers #Richmondy
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