Richmond v Collingwood: Why the Tigers will be a premiership contender again in 2022
Richmond might miss the finals — and even finish ninth — this year. But anyone thinking the Tigers reign is over is in for a rude awakening.
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On the Chinese Zodiac, 2022 is the Year of the Tiger.
Could it be an omen for Richmond, after a 2021 season that hasn’t gone to plan?
While Tigers coach Damien Hardwick suggested on Sunday night that his side would keep fighting out this year while there remained a “pulse”, the three-time premiership coach appeared resigned to the fact that his team’s season was over.
A fourth-straight loss to Collingwood which leaves the Tigers 7-9 was seemingly the final nail in the coffin of a disappointing season that has been crippled by injuries to key players.
But that doesn’t mean Richmond’s window of opportunity is closed by any stretch.
The next six weeks will now be vital in setting the foundations for 2022 as “generation next” get an opportunity to show what they’ve got.
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Richmond was missing no less than eight 2020 premiership players through injury for the clash with Collingwood, as well as 2019 premiership ruckman Ivan Soldo.
And none of those stars are considered likely to return for Friday night’s clash with Brisbane at the MCG.
“Would we love to have those players available? Yeah,” Hardwick said.
“But the fact of the matter is we get to have a look at some other players and find out where they’re at, which is exciting for us.”
The team Richmond rolled out against the Magpies was its youngest and least experienced side this year – by some margin.
The average age of the side was just 25 years and eight months, and the average games played only 97.4.
Nine players had less than 50 games experience under their belt.
Collingwood was not much more seasoned, but, at this point, it’s all about signs for the future for the Tigers and there were some good ones to take away.
In his first game in almost 11 months after some off-field issues, Sydney Stack slotted back into the Richmond defence seamlessly.
In his debut season, Rhyan Mansell has now played eight games and continues to develop as a dependable defender.
A first-round draft pick in 2018, Riley Collier-Dawkins was forced to wait until Round 7 this year to make his debut but has taken his opportunity through the midfield and had 14 disposals, a team-high five tackles and four clearances on Sunday.
FEATURE: THE UNSTOPPABLE FORCES STRANGLING RICHMOND
Thomson Dow, Patrick Naish and Mabior Chol also continue to get some valuable game time under their belts that they perhaps would not have if not for the injury woes.
Then there are positional changes, including triple-premiership forward Daniel Rioli, who showed some good signs in his first senior game as a newly-minted rebounding defender.
And one-time backman, and former rookie pick, Liam Baker is thriving spending more time on the ball and forward this season.
The fact of the matter is Richmond’s core group of multiple-premiership stars will still be at Punt Rd next season.
Dustin Martin, Trent Cotchin, Tom Lynch, Jack Riewoldt, Dylan Grimes, Shane Edwards, Dion Prestia, Toby Nankervis, Kane Lambert and Nick Vlastuin are all signed up for 2022.
Richmond also holds two first-round and two second-round draft picks this year, and the talk in recruiting circles linking gun out-of-contract Fremantle midfielder Adam Cerra to Punt Rd won’t go away.
You can put a line through Richmond this year, but you’d be brave to put a full stop on the era of success just yet.
With a little more luck from the injury gods next year, Richmond is capable of reloading.
Grundy earning his money
There has been a lot of focus on Collingwood ruckman Brodie Grundy this season after he inked a seven-year mega deal last year.
But the big man earnt his money on Sunday as he played an instrumental role in the Magpies clinching victory.
Yes, Grundy rucked against an inexperienced, and injured, Mabior Chol and the 184cm Marlion Pickett.
However, you can only beat what is put in front of you and Grundy took the Tigers’ pair to the cleaners.
The Collingwood star recorded 40 hit-outs for the match along with 22 disposals and five marks.
Eight of those disposals came in a final quarter that also saw Grundy log two clearances, three marks and a goal to help his side overcome a 20-point three-quarter-time deficit.
“Along with the other leaders, he led well in the last quarter when it mattered,” Collingwood coach Robert Harvey said of Grundy.
“He really put his nose to the grindstone and got it done and that’s what he does when he’s at his best. He’s an All-Australian ruckman for a reason and it’s based on his workrate and his ability to compete and that’s what he does so well.”
Fellow Magpies leaders Taylor Adams (10 disposals, one goal), Scott Pendlebury (nine disposals) and Jordan De Goey (eight disposals, one goal) also had monster final terms.
Harvey could not have asked for much more from his leaders.
Lacking forward connection
It has long been a problem for Collingwood, but it was instead Richmond’s lack of connection between the midfield and forward line that came into sharp focus on Sunday.
The Tigers forwards lacked supply in their Round 16 loss to Gold Coast, but against the Magpies the number of inside-50 entries was not the problem.
Richmond finished with only four fewer entries than Collingwood – 51 to 55.
In the last quarter, the Magpies only had one more inside-50 – 14 to 13 – but kicked seven goals to the Tigers’ one for the term.
Overall, Richmond scored from only 31.4 per cent of its inside-50s for the day and managed just 4.3 from 28 entries in the second-half.
Too often, the ball was simply bombed in by the Tigers and, too often, it came straight back out – even though Collingwood was missing star intercept defenders Darcy Moore and Jeremy Howe.
Richmond managed only 10 marks inside-50 for the match and ranks 12th in the competition this season for generating shots on goal from its inside-50s.
It is clearly an area that the Tigers need to work on.
“We had the same amount of inside-50s at them (Collingwood) but I thought they had better ball use inside forward 50 and capitalised on their opportunities a little bit more,” Hardwick said.
“We’ve got some work to do in that part of the game. Our connection inside-50 hasn’t been a strong suit all year. But it’s normally something that we’re a lot better at than we’re displaying at the moment.”
Harvey’s heroes ‘put nose to the grindstone’ for Pies
Caretaker Collingwood coach Robert Harvey praised the leadership shown by his star players in the final quarter on Sunday as the Magpies overturned a five-goal margin to steamroll Richmond by 16 points at the MCG.
When Collingwood needed them most, the old firm of Brodie Grundy, Jordan De Goey, Scott Pendlebury, Jack Crisp and Jamie Elliott answered the call and stood tall to ensure the upset result for the bottom-four side.
“I thought there were some really brave efforts from our leaders in the last quarter to get us over the line and that was really good to see,” Harvey said post-match.
“It was consistent. I thought the leadership was good.
“There’s a lot of young guys in our team that you’re trying to impart good habits on for a long period of time, so to see the leadership of the guys to stand up under pressure is a really good message to send those young guys like Trent Bianco and Trey Ruscoe.
“When it mattered he really put his nose to the grindstone and got it done,” he said of Grundy.
“That’s what he does at his best – he’s an All-Australian ruck for a reason and it’s based on his work rate and his ability to compete and that’s what he does so well.”
Given how well the Magpies have been finishing games in recent weeks, especially last round against St Kilda, Harvey wouldn’t have been surprised if his players drew confidence from that as they ran over the top of the Tigers at the end.
“Clearly the way they ran the game out felt like mentally they were ready for it,” Harvey said.
“They looked fresh, so that’s a good sign.”
The former champion Saint is hopeful that a performance like that against the best team of the last five years will give his team confidence for the rest of the season.
Harvey agreed that Collingwood had control of the ball for most of the day, but just couldn’t capitalise up forward and he was rapt with his team’s ability to straighten up in the final term as they piled on seven goals to Richmond’s one.
The Magpies look like they will be without luckless Will Kelly for at least a few weeks, though, after the injury-prone youngster had to be subbed out due to a quad complaint.
THE BRUTAL FINALS EQUATION CONFRONTING THE TIGERS
Richmond is resigned to playing “generation next” in the final six weeks of the season after its 2021 campaign was left in tatters on the back of a fourth-straight loss to a gallant Collingwood on Sunday.
The reigning premiers coughed up a 29-point lead midway through the second quarter and conceded seven goals in the final term as the Magpies surged to a 16-point victory at the MCG.
It marked the first time Richmond has lost four-straight games since Rounds 6-9 in 2017 and leaves the Tigers one game outside of the top-eight in 12th spot on the ladder with six rounds to go.
With just seven wins to its name this season, Richmond would need to win at least five of its final six games just to qualify for finals as hopes of featuring in September fade fast.
“Whilst there’s a pulse, there’s always a chance so we’ll just continue to build on our brand and invest in some generation next kids and see how they go. We’ll change a few things up,” Richmond coach Damien Hardwick said.
“I thought we had some opportunities today that we could have scored and made the game a little bit closer, a little bit more exciting. But we’ve got some quality players out. That’s the nature of the game at the moment. Would we love to have those players available? Yeah. But the fact of the matter is we get to have a look at some other players and find out where they’re at, which is exciting for us.”
Richmond was missing eight 2020 premiership players through injury against the Magpies and is unlikely to regain any of them for Friday night’s clash with Brisbane.
Ruckman Toby Nankervis was named to return from a knee injury in Richmond’s initial side last Thursday before being pulled out and Hardwick said the Tigers were unlikely to take a risk and rush him back against the Lions.
Midfielder Shane Edwards (ankle) and defender Nick Vlastuin (knee) are also considered longshots to prove their fitness this week.
The Tigers, who held a 1-6 record against top-eight sides entering the round, face top-four outfits Brisbane and Geelong over the next two weeks and desperately need to pinch at least one win.
They are then likely to need to win all of their final four games against Fremantle, North Melbourne, GWS and Hawthorn to qualify for finals.
Hardwick said there were some positives in the first three quarters for the Tigers as they rediscovered their renowned pressure and fast ball movement, but added the final term rout was bitterly disappointing.
“I was really happy with our first three quarters. It looked Richmond-like,” Hardwick said.
“We were explosive, backed ourselves in a little bit. Players took control of the game. I think once their fab-five grabbed hold of it, it was really, really hard to stop. But there were some things in the game that we took out that we really, really liked today. There’s no doubt about that. But in fairness we don’t expect to give up seven goals in the last quarter for them to jump over the top of us. That was really, really disappointing.”
MATCH REPORT: SIGNS OF LIFE IN PIES COULD SPELL DANGER FOR FLAG HOPEFULS
– Ronny Lerner
Richmond should completely ignore the advice given by Crowded House in their classic song ‘Don’t Dream It’s Over’.
It’s Over. The three-peat dream is up in smoke and Richmond’s finals hopes are in free fall after they gave up a 29-point lead to crash to a third consecutive loss to a bottom-10 side – this time arch rival Collingwood.
After shock losses to St Kilda and Gold Coast, Richmond looked like they finally managed to lift the stubborn handbrake on the out-of-control runaway freight train that its 2021 season has become.
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But seven consecutive goals from the resurgent Magpies across the third and fourth quarters sent sparks flying all over Richmond’s train tracks, causing the Tigers’ season to crash head-on into the side of a mountain.
Collingwood actually controlled the ball for most of the game, finishing with far more disposals (431-338) and marks (118-61), but due to poor ball use and skill errors, struggled to finish off their good work in the first three quarters, managing only six goals from 41 inside 50s compared to the far more efficient Richmond’s 10 from 38.
But to the Magpies’ credit, they kept coming, even after seemingly shooting themselves in the foot with Jack Crisp, Jordan De Goey and Brody Mihocek (twice) all missing gettable shots in the third quarter.
Richmond ground to a complete halt in the final term and, as they did against St Kilda last week, Collingwood ran rampant – only this time, they ran right over the top of their opponent.
Collingwood were sitting in the bottom three and had only won four matches heading into the match, their worst start to a season since 1999, but like the Saints and Suns did before them, they belied their underdog status to topple the once-mighty Tigers.
CRISP BURNS TIGERS
Jack Crisp was brilliant all day and was one of the reasons why the Magpies were still in it late in the contest.
The dashing defender finished with a game-high 33 disposals as well as 10 intercepts, 10 marks and 601 metres gained. Jamie Elliott was also pivotal with 21 touches and three goals, while
Jordan De Goey continued his resurgence with 29 and one.
CAMERON CUTS OFF GRIMES
With just over 3:00 left in the game and Richmond down by nine points, Dylan Grimes won a free kick on the Tigers’ halfback flank and in a desperate attempt to get ball moving up field, he kicked across goal to Trent Cotchin in the centre square. But Collingwood big man Darcy Cameron was wise to plan and jumped over the Tigers captain to take a huge intercept mark and kill off the Tigers’ hopes.
700 UP FOR JACK
Jack Riewoldt became just the 24th player in VFL/AFL history to kick 700 career goals, drawing level with Fremantle great Matthew Pavlich in 23rd spot on the all-time list.
The triple premiership forward joined club greats Jack Titus (970), Matthew Richardson (800) and Kevin Bartlett (778) as the only four Tigers to achieve the illustrious milestone.
RICHMOND HIT THE SKIDS
Richmond have now lost four games in a row for the first time since 2017, and three in a row at the MCG for the first time since 2016. But unlike their premiership of 2017, the likelihood of them winning the flag this year is long gone.
SCOREBOARD
RICHMOND: 4.0 7.2 10.3 11.5 (71)
def by
COLLINGWOOD: 1.1 4.3 6.7 13.9 (87)
GOALS
Tigers: Lynch 3, Baker 2, Collier-Dawkins, Bolton, Martin, Riewoldt, Castagna, Pickett
Magpies: Elliott 3, Cameron 2, Thomas 2, Pendlebury, Mihocek, Adams, De Goey, Murphy
RONNY LERNER’S BEST
Tigers: Short, Bolton, Lynch, Graham, McIntosh
Magpies: Crisp, Elliott, De Goey, Grundy, Adams, Pendlebury, Maynard, Grundy.
RONNY LERNER’S VOTES
3 — J.Crisp (Coll)
2 — J.Elliott (Coll)
1 — J.De Goey (Coll)
INJURIES
Tigers: Nil
Magpies: Kelly (quad)
Umpires: Foot, Stevic, Howorth
Venue: MCG
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