AFL 2022: Leigh Matthews whacks Richmond’s prospects in finals
Leigh Matthews has delivered a brutal assessment of Richmond’s prospects in this year’s final series should they make them, while Noah Balta’s error has been slammed again.
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Noah Balta’s squandered chance to break the deadlock in Friday’s Richmond-Fremantle draw was “inexcusable”, according to former GWS coach Leon Cameron.
It comes as AFL Legend Leigh Matthews said the Tigers had little chance of making an impression in the finals without Dustin Martin — even if they do make it to September.
Martin suffered a hamstring setback this week which could end his season, but Richmond remains hopeful the triple Norm Smith Medal winner can make it back at the business end.
The Tigers were lamenting basic errors at clutch moments for the third straight week which cost them victory.
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Balta marked about 40m with score level with two minutes left on the clock, but he hadn’t even started his run-up when the umpire called play on 34 seconds later. His hurried kick was smothered by Michael Frederick.
Then fourth-game Tiger Noah Cumberland made the mistake of playing on after marking just as the siren sounded, before being consoled by his teammates.
Cameron said on SEN Balta should have been more game aware of the countdown clock: “It’s unforgivable to go over the thirty second shot clock.”
Matthews said on 3AW he had lost faith in the Tigers’ ability to get the job done without Martin and key forward Tom Lynch, saying they were looking susceptible under pressure.
“This is a habit, this is a pattern and Richmond are (now) shaky in close finishes,” he said.
“If Dusty is not fit and well for the duration of this campaign, I can’t see Richmond going far.
“It makes an enormous difference if your match winner is fit and well.
“Dusty has done that in their premiership years. Last year he was out for the second half of the season and Richmond fell away. This year he hasn’t played a lot and has been injured and Richmond is struggling in eighth or ninth position.”
Matthews said Balta’s error was symbolic of the mistakes the Tigers had been making in recent games following on from Jason Castagna’s lack of awareness against Gold Coast and Jake Aarts’ decision to play on last week in the loss to North Melbourne.
“That was a total mistake by Noah Balta, this just goes hand in hand with what has been going on with Richmond over the last five or six weeks,” Matthews said on 3AW.
The Tigers face a critical month with games against Brisbane (MCG), Port Adelaide (Adelaide Oval), Hawthorn (MCG) and Essendon (MCG) with their finals hopes on edge.
It’s time Richmond faced ugly retirement truth
Every amazing dynasty has the moment.
That moment when the reality that life isn’t like what it once was anymore, that the superhero powers which had been evident for a number of years are gone and Father Time has caught up.
Richmond supporters have been praying to keep these moments away for one last roll of the dice this year. And at times there has been clear evidence that the Tigers can still beat anyone on their day.
But losing to the bottom-placed team who had only won one game for the season tells a very different story. With five matches remaining, the Tigers can still make the finals but will that just paste over some major issues which the decision-makers at Punt Rd must address over the summer.
1. Defence
It‘s leaking like a sieve. The stats compared to Richmond’s premiership years are alarming. They are letting teams just waltz through and score at ease. Categories such as points against and opposition scores per inside-50s, where they were ranked in the top three for most of the premierships years are now 12th and 13th respectively. And they are ranked 14th for opposition points from defensive half, a stat they were third in during 2020.
Surely it’s not all because David Astbury and Bachar Houli aren’t there. The reality is it’s a team thing, the pressure certainly isn’t there further up the ground with the ball rebounding out of the Tigers forward half easily.
2. Offence
If you’re a follower of the Champion Data stat about expected scores then the Tigers should have comfortably taken care of the Gold Coast and North Melbourne. Not having Tom Lynch is obviously a big loss and while we joked about Shai Bolton’s misses the other week, the reality is Damien Hardwick’s team is kicking themselves out of games (do we even have to mention Jason Castagna’s efforts against the Suns).
The forward pressure has also disappeared and it is in such a sorry state that three players who should be good at that – Castagna, Maurice Rioli and Jake Aarts (sub) – were left out against the Roos. That move backfired as evidenced by Jaidyn Stephenson strolling out of defence with ease on Saturday.
3. Discipline
Is it the arrogance of being the best in the business over the last five years? There are two sides to the free-kick story with any team and the Tigers certainly haven’t had the rub of the green from the umpires, but even Hardwick’s admits his team doesn’t help their cause. The 50m penalty epidemic is now costing them games and they are clearly the worst in the comp at it, averaging at least one doozy a week.
4. Old guys
Richmond have eight players over 30 years of age. While your birth certificate shouldn’t dictate the future, the reality is the Tigers need to find a way to stagger the retirements of some of their premiership heroes. On the available evidence this year Shane Edwards and Kane Lambert (because his body is packing up) are probably at the front of the departure queue with former skipper Trent Cotchin and Jack Riewoldt possibly doing enough to go around again.
5. The Dusty dilemma
What if Dustin Martin does say at the end of the year he wants to get away from Melbourne and feels that Sydney would be better for his mental state. Do the Tigers dig in and pay him another $1.3 million plus cheque to run around next year or do they thank him for his amazing service and cash in their chips. Either get a bevy of good high end draft picks in the deal or use the big salary cap relief to get in a couple of ready-made midfield types from elsewhere.
6. Draft busts
When you‘re winning flags understandably the recruiting staff get lots of pats on the back for putting together an extraordinary team. However, when holes start appearing questions are asked. 2018 first-round pick Riley Collier-Dawkins clearly hasn’t developed as planned (he has played just two games this year), Jack Ross hasn’t set the world alight while Thomson Dow is taking a while to find his feet. Last year’s crop is the best for years – Josh Gibcus the standout – but they will need time to fill up the void a few so-so picks may have created.
7. Buy a midfielder
GWS gun Tim Taranto is exactly what Richmond needs and the word on the street has him wanting to move to Melbourne.
Two other Giants, Jacob Hopper and Tanner Bruhn, have also been mentioned as possible movers.
The Tigers need class and taller hardened bodies in the midfield because right now it doesn‘t have the depth to go with the best sides like Geelong and Melbourne.
8. Hunger
It is always the first thing to go and while players tell themselves they‘re still invested in the hunt, the little things start to drop off.
The decline in the pressure around the ground is an indicator but probably the most damning for the Tigers is the last-quarter fade-outs.
When the heat has been piled on there are too many Tigers putting it in the too hard basket.
Richmond have led at three-quarter time in 14 of 17 matches this year and only have a record of 9-8 to show for it.
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Originally published as AFL 2022: Leigh Matthews whacks Richmond’s prospects in finals
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