Marlion Pickett two wins from playing in second AFL premiership in 20 games
His inspiring Grand Final debut was one of the stories of last season and Marlion Pickett is fast closing in on another milestone in his short career as a Tiger.
Richmond
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Marlion Pickett has been hailed as one of Richmond‘s secret tough guys as football’s 2019 fairytale closes in on a second AFL premiership in just 20 games.
Pickett crunched 104kg Saint Rohan Marshall with a goal-saving bump at such velocity that coach Damien Hardwick feared the umpire would blow his whistle.
But Pickett’s hit in the last quarter was fair game and showed the football world he is no flighty wingman.
“It was unbelievable. It just looked rough, didn’t it?” Hardwick said.
“It was an incredible hit, and it saved a goal, there’s no doubt about it.
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“That’s the thing about Marlion — he steps in, and he steps in hard. One thing we love about the way he plays is he’s very aggressive.”
Two days after Hardwick embraced Richmond’s tough guy reputation, saying “great teams play on the edge”, defender Dylan Grimes stepped slightly away from it.
Tom Lynch was fined for kneeing Dougal Howard and captain Trent Cotchin laid a brutal tackle on Zak Jones in the semi-final.
Grimes said on Sunday that two incidents like that would happen in every game and the ‘Unsociable Tigers’ talk was a “storm in a teacup”.
“I don’t think there’s much to make of it, we were just playing a Richmond brand,” Grimes said.
“I don’t think other teams will look into that at all, to be honest. We love the brand of footy that both Trent and Lynchy play.”
Grimes said the Tigers went to work on Port Adelaide after the Round 11 loss, where Port had 31 more inside 50s and won contested ball by 43.
“One thing they did really well was they countered every punch that we threw in terms of ball movement,” Grimes said.
“Defensively they had an answer for all of our questions. I remember that feeling really clearly.
“We learnt a lot from that game, because that was a game where we tried every trick in the book that we had at that stage and they were just too good.
“When that happens you’re forced to look internally … and we’ve learnt a lot from that.
“It’ll be interesting to see if those lessons pay off this week.”
FRIDAY REWIND: TIGERS STAMP AUTHORITY TO SEND SAINTS PACKING
— Mark Robinson
A sense of familiarity fell on the unfamiliar finals venue of Metricon Stadium on Friday night.
This was Richmond at its “murderest” and accomplished best.
This was supercharged Richmond in its pursuit of its third premiership in four years — three flags would make it a dynasty — and St Kilda simply didn’t have the necessary response.
The final score was 12.8 (80) to 6.13 (49).
The premiers now face Port Adelaide in the preliminary final at Adelaide Oval.
Port topped the ladder from Rounds 1 to 22, and you suspect, and expect, they won’t yield under Richmond’s manic pressure and furious system.
Richmond destroyed St Kilda out of the middle. The Tigers led centre-square clearances at halftime 9-3. At the final siren it was 15-5.
Port Adelaide would believe its centre-square outfit is the best in the competition.
Last time the two teams met — in Round 11 at Adelaide Oval — Port won by 21 points in one of the matches of the season.
That night there was no Trent Cotchin, no Shane Edwards, no Dion Prestia, no David Astbury, no Bachar Houli, no Toby Nankervis and no Jack Graham.
They all played on Friday night, and collectively make Richmond a structure powerhouse.
The victory was set up in the first half.
The Tigers led 9.1 to 3.6 at the long break on the back of some familiar football:
Like how they kicked the first goal from a Cotchin clearance and a Lynch mark inside 30 seconds;
Like how Liam Baker and Houli rebounded from half-back;
Like Edwards roving in the forward 50m and dribbling a goal;
Like the brilliant Shai Bolton trying to do too much with ball in hand, dancing and prancing around opponents. But it worked this time. He kicked his first goal from 50m.
His next goal was even better — a front-and-square gather and dazzling kick off the outside of the boot as three Saints converged on him.
Defender Nick Vlastuin continued his penchant for playing for a free kick, this time with an exaggerated response to a head knock on the boundary line, which wasn’t a head knock anyhow.
And a Richmond game doesn’t pass these days without Lynch being under the spotlight. This time he allowed his knee to drop on to the head of Dougal Howard, who was lying on the ground.
He won’t be suspended, not for a preliminary final, but it’s an act that adds to Lynch’s reputation for cheap shots.
He must love playing on the edge, but at the same time does he think the broadcasters cover with two cameras?
Welcome to 24 hours of Lynch coverage; not because he was a threat all evening — he kicked 2.5 — but because of the knee.
As much as Mr Brightside is Jack Riewoldt’s song, Lynch could adopt Walk on the Wild Side. Not for the narrative of the song, just the song’s name.
“I think he runs out on the ground each week thinking, ‘I need to be an enforcer’,’’ Demott Brereton said on Fox Footy.
The Saints didn’t match Richmond’s talent, but had their surges.
In the second, third and fourth quarters, they had threatening periods, but always the Tigers were able to respond with a goal.
The Saints missed set shots by Josh Battle, Rowan Marshall and Max King in the third quarter and squandered another chance in the goalsquare.
And, of course, after that piece of bad luck, the Tigers ran the field and Dion Prestia kicked the goal.
It was an almost night for the Saints.
They were within 14 points in the third quarter and 20 points in the final quarter, but both times the Tigers held.
Amid Richmond’s heat and winning midfield, the Saints battled away and, in the end, St Kilda coughed up its half-chances and Richmond made the most of its.
Richmond’s DNA was on display — high pressure, win the ball, and get it forward.
“Fast, quick and long,” was how Channel 7 commentator Wayne Carey described it.
Then they set up their territory game which, when the ball escaped their forward line, Houli and Baker rebounded, and ruckman Toby Nankervis was a presence behind the ball.
Houli is out of contract at the end of the season, but rest assured he will play on. He’s a big-game player and, with Bolton, was probably best afield.
Dustin Martin continued his incredible finals record, too. So did Edwards.
The Saints failed on Friday night, yet their season of rebirth was not a failure. Their growth is evident.
The game style is based on speed, which was thwarted by Richmond’s pressure, and they couldn’t make it work on the scoreboard.
They had 21 shots at goal for 6.13 and two shots missed altogether. From set shots, it was 2.6.
So, the Tigers march into Adelaide confident their attitude and game is where it should be. Better yet, Port Adelaide feels the same.
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Originally published as Marlion Pickett two wins from playing in second AFL premiership in 20 games