AFL 2022 West Coast v Richmond: Latest news, stats and analysis
An achiles injury to Dion Prestia is the only negative to come out of Richmond’s domination in the west on Friday night. But the club is optimistic it isn’t serious.
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Richmond is cautiously optimistic about star midfielder Dion Prestia’s achilles soreness, but it won’t know the full extent of the injury until at least Monday.
Prestia was subbed out of the Tigers’ 109-point drubbing of West Coast on Friday night with fans fearful one of the club’s most important prime movers had again suffered a setback.
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He stayed over in Perth while the bulk of the team flew back on the ‘red eye’, but Tigers senior club advisor Neil Balme said on Saturday the medical staff was hopeful scans would clear him of any significant damage.
“We won’t know anymore until Monday once it settles more,” Balme said. “(We are) optimistic, but won’t know until then for sure.”
Prestia has endured a wretched run with injury across the past three seasons, having played only 23 games since the start of 2020.
He suffered a hamstring tear in the Round 1 clash with Carlton this year which cost him some time on the sidelines. But he had shown his importance to the team in recent weeks.
The Tigers won’t take any chances with the triple premiership player ahead of Saturday’s clash with Collingwood at the MCG.
Richmond is almost certain to welcome back Dustin Martin for the Magpies’ game.
Martin has impressed fitness staff since his return to the club last weekend before upping the ante with 11km of work on Friday. He continued to do boxing, gym work and running in his time away from the club as he worked through some personal issues.
The Tigers will also welcome back Trent Cotchin and potentially Robbie Tarrant after the pair were managed this week.
‘Richmond-like’: Why building Tigers remain a threat
Damien Hardwick labelled his side’s performance in Perth on Friday night as ‘Richmond-like’.
The three-time premiership coach said the Tigers are getting closer to having their best side on the park, with important pieces to puzzle shining in their 109-point win over West Coast at Optus Stadium.
Plus, Dustin Martin, Trent Cotchin, Marlion Pickett and Robbie Tarrant are all in the frame to play against Collingwood next week.
Martin trained on Friday morning and is expected to put his hand up to play the Pies next Saturday at the MCG.
“I hope (he plays), from a coaching point of view and for the fans as well,” Hardwick said.
“He trained well today.
“We have to get some more skill sessions into him. We have to do due diligence to make sure he is ready to go when he’s needed.
“If it’s a game of cricket or a game of basketball, Dustin wants to play; he doesn’t care. He’ll probably put his hand up and we’ll work our way through it.
“We had some important pieces come into the side (tonight).
“It was the first game this year Dylan (Grimes) and Nick Vlastuin have played together.
“We saw some growth by Noah Balta and (Liam) Baker going back and (Jayden) Short was good going through the middle of the ground.”
The move of Short to the midfield was the idea of assistant coach Andrew McQualter. He spent important time in the centre square and was the game’s highest possession winner, with 31 touches.
He also had five clearances and took the ball inside the Tigers attacking 50m area nine times.
Shae Bolton had his best game of the year too, with 30 touches, seven clearances, seven inside 50s and kicking 3.2.
For Richmond, 14 players with 15 touches or more and nine players kicked goals, with Tom Lynch (seven goals) and Jack Riewoldt (four) filling their boots.
The only concern for Hardwick out of Friday night’s game was the lower-leg injury to Dion Prestia, who was subbed out at three-quarter-time.
As good as the Tigers performance was though, and it was good, Hardwick is also mindful of where West Coast is currently at.
“There are some great bits of play and our fans were probably in awe, as we were, at stages tonight, at some of the things we did and our surge mentality was pretty strong,” Hardwick said.
“It looked like a Richmond-type performance. There are things we did really well.
“You have to understand where our opponent is. They have had a horrible, horrible run.
“We can only play the opposition we are granted.
““It’s getting better. We’ll get another test next week.
“Can we sustain it against an opposition like Collingwood? “We’ll wait and see.”
Simpson: Playing kids isn’t the answer for Eagles
While Adam Simpson admits to West Coast currently being in a period of transition, he said he still relies on the leadership that some of his aging stars provide.
With games against the competition’s top sides coming up, putting a team of kids on the ground without some of the team’s aging veterans, isn’t what he plans to do.
However, he said that he needs to find an opportunity to rest 34-year-olds Josh Kennedy and Shannon Hurn.
Hurn, 34, is one of only three Eagles to have played all seven games this season – Jackson Nelson and Patrick Naish the others.
Kennedy, also 34, kicked four goals in the West Coast’s 109-point flogging at the hands of Richmond on Friday night. He now has 14 goals from six games and is the only Eagle to have kicked more than eight goals.
Simpson said their leadership is important.
“We have obviously deviated a fair bit from three years ago,” Simpson said.
“No one wants to be in the situation that we’re in right now, but we are. The quicker we can accept what’s happening and be aware of it and action it, to improve the better we’ll get.
“This hasn’t been just tonight; it’s been here for most of the year.
“Regardless of what’s happened we are in a period of transition, no doubt.
“(But) we still need leadership; we still need JK at the moment; we still need Shannon Hurn.
“There’s going to be plenty of opportunity to get some games into some of our younger players and see where they’re at; see what we can do to assess our list in the next 15 weeks.
West Coast’s 109-point loss to the Tigers followed an 84-point loss to Port Adelaide in Round 6. In Round 5, the lost to Sydney by 63.
And things could get worse before they get any better.
The next fortnight sees them having to travel to the Gabba to play the Brisbane Lions, before hosting Melbourne at Optus Stadium, the venue where the Demons broke their premiership drought in 2021.
Still on the sidelines watching are Nic Naitanui, Oscar Allen, Tom Cole, Dom Sheed and Elliot Yeo.
But while they struggle to get those players back, they didn’t get away from the loss to Richmond unscathed.
Tom Barrass pulled out of Friday’s game with a hamstring injury, while Willie Rioli was subbed out of the game at half-time with a hamstring injury also.
The Eagles second youngest player on Friday night, Xavier O’Neill (21, just a few weeks older than Harry Edwards) also copped a knock the knee late the game.
Eagles humiliated in Tiger demolition
West Coast has dropped back to the bottom of the AFL ladder after their third consecutive loss and sixth and worst defeat of the season.
The undermanned Eagles were blown off their home ground of Optus Stadium by Richmond, who may have taken the chance to play itself back into form.
Key forwards Jack Riewoldt and Tom Lynch took the chance to fill their boots, with 11 goals between them. Three other Tigers booted three each.
The 109-point loss at the hands of Tigers, saw the Eagles percentage drop almost six per cent, sending them below North Melbourne and into 18th position.
The official attendance was just 39,430 on the day the WA Government relaxed Covid-19 restrictions, with mandatory mask wearing rules and venue crowd limits removed.
But more than 10,000 of those fans weren’t around when the final siren sounded.
The 25.15 (165) to 8.8 (56) loss was by far the Eagles biggest ever against Richmond, beating the 77 points they fell short of the Tigers in Round 15 of the 2008 season.
It was their first triple-figure loss since losing to Geelong by 135 points in Round 13 of 2008.
West Coast’s once-feared home ground advantage is now a faint memory. And while the Eagles have every excuse for not performing this season, their poor run of form in the West started last season.
Their loss to Richmond on Friday night was their sixth in a row on their home turf of Optus Stadium.
They have lost seven of their past eight games there and eight of their past 10.
The Tigers handed them their biggest loss at Optus Stadium, beating the 63-point hiding the Sydney Swans gave them there in Round 5 of this season.
TIGERS IN EIGHT? WHO WOULD HAVE THOUGHT
There’s nothing like a 109-point win to take some pressure off.
Richmond has been under the spotlight after losing four of its first six games of the season.
But they avoided a third consecutive loss in style on Friday night with a thumping 25.15 (165) to 8.8 (56) victory over West Coast at Optus Stadium.
Maybe they aren’t quote done with just yet.
Despite its poor start to 2022, Round 7 will continue on Saturday amazingly with Richmond sitting inside the top eight.
The Tigers took the opportunity to belt up on a sore and wounded Eagles to improve their percentage and leapfrog Collingwood into the top part of the ladder.
Tom Lynch started slowly, with two squandered shots on goal, but finished the game with seven goals from eight contested marks.
He should have kicked 10.
Jack Riewoldt chimed in with four.
With Dusty Martin preparing for a return next week, plus several other experienced Tigers likely to return to the side, the Round 8 clash between Richmond and the Magpies is looming as crucial to both sides.
Coach Damien Hardwick has lamented his team’s ability to score from turnover this season.
They had no such trouble on Saturday night, with more than 20 goals scored from that avenue.
NO LOOKING BACK THIS TIME
Despite playing off a five-day break from the loss to the Demons, Richmond jumped out of the blocks and looked fresher than West Coast from the opening bounce.
The 12.7 (79) the Tigers had the board at half-time was the second-best opening half of this season so far, behind the 12.9 (81) Geelong piled on against Essendon in Round 4.
They had winners all over the ground and the pressure resulted in the Eagles making mistakes and turning the ball over.
While the Tigers don’t rely on dominating possession, they had 20 more touches than West Coast after the first two quarters.
Jayden Short enjoyed time in the midfield with 18 first-half possessions on his way to 31. Shae Bolton was brilliant with 30 touches and three goals.
The result was Richmond dominated the inside 50s count.
Kamdyn McIntosh took the chance to push forward and kicked two goals in the opening term and three for the game.
Josh Kennedy was the only Eagles forward to show resilience, with four goals.
Richmond had reached 10 goals in an opening half once before this season, against St Kilda in Round 3. They lost that game. But they led the Saints by just 13 points at that stage.
Richmond led West Coast by 63 points at half-time on Friday night, the biggest lead of any side at the main break this season.
ONE IN, MORE OUT
The Eagles were celebrating the return of Jeremy McGovern during the week, after he missed two games due to the AFL’s health and safety protocols.
He was to be welcomed addition to a defence under pressure, especially with Lynch and Riewoldt lining up against them.
But his addition was balanced by the loss of Tom Barrass before the game because of a hamstring injury.
Lynch made the most of the change, playing in his 200th AFL game. He kicked 2.3 of Richmond’s 7.3 first-term score, his second ticking over his 400th career major.
The Tigers have been averaging just nine marks a game inside their attacking 50m area this season, with 11 being the most they have managed in any one game.
They had eight by quarter time, eventually finishing the game with 23.
As if the Eagles haven’t copped enough this season, they then lost Willie Rioli to a hamstring injury of his own at halftime.
He was replaced by medical-sub Andrew Gaff,, who was being held back so he could play in the WAFL on Saturday.
The Eagles played their 42nd player for the season in debuting 24-year-old Greg Clark, their 62nd pick in the 2021 Draft.
SCOREBOARD
EAGLES 1.2 2.4 4.7 8.8 (56)
TIGERS 7.3 12.7 18.11 25.15 (165)
ELBOROUGH’S BEST
Eagles: Duggan, Witherden, Shuey, Kennedy, Hurn, Redden.
Tigers: Bolton, Lynch, Short, Vlaustin, Castagna, D Rioli.
GOALS
Eagles: Kennedy 4; Darling, Ryan, Kelly, Strnadica.
Tigers: Lynch 7; Riewoldt 4; Bolton 3, McIntosh 3, M Rioli 3; Castagna 2; Nankervis, Prestia, Soldo.
INJURIES
Eagles: O’Neil (knee), Ryan (leg), Rioli (leg), Barrass (hamstring) replaced in selected side by Dixon.
Tigers: Prestia (ankle).
UMPIRES
Power, Whetton, Mollison.
VENUE
39,430 at Optus Stadium
PLAYER OF THE YEAR
BRAD ELBOROUGH’S VOTES
3 Bolton (TIGERS)
2 Lynch (TIGERS)
1 Short (TIGERS)
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Originally published as AFL 2022 West Coast v Richmond: Latest news, stats and analysis
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