Mick Malthouse analyses where Geelong, Richmond need to improve to bounce back in 2020 finals
Coaching legend Mick Malthouse has identified two areas of concern for Richmond as the reigning premier tries to avoid a straight-sets exit against St Kilda. Will the Tigers bounce back?
Mick Malthouse
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Joel Selwood was quoted last week as saying Geelong would play ugly, if necessary, to win the qualifying final against Port Adelaide. Things got ugly all right.
But it was Port’s beautiful kicking for goal which ultimately led to the win in the end.
It was tough and unrelenting, and the Cats put up a good fight, but in a game that was basically played on the ground, not so much in the air, the fact that Luke Dahlhaus, Gary Ablett, Gryan Miers, Tom Atkins and Gary Rohan couldn’t kick a goal between them — not even a point — was significant.
Finals football rarely is an open-field encounter, everything and everyone tightens up.
But when you have a midfield of elite names like Patrick Dangerfield, Joel Selwood, Cameron Guthrie, Mitch Duncan and Brandan Parfitt, it is difficult to work out why Geelong doesn’t dominate the stoppages more readily.
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There is nothing wrong with the Cats’ game structure or plan, it has served them well for so long (on average age they were the oldest team to ever play in a final). But has there been too heavy a reliance on Trojan Selwood and inspirational Dangerfield to flick a switch and win the game for them? Are they asking too much of Harry Taylor and Tom Stewart to hold the backline together? Is there an unhealthy dependence on Tom Hawkins to kick the goals?
Geelong wasn’t disgraced against Port, far from it. It had four more shots on goal and six more marks inside 50s, but the Cats just couldn’t get the job done.
The unfortunate thing for Geelong is that the past will always come back to haunt them.
That is totally unfair on this current team, but the Cats just don’t have a great record in finals. For nine premierships, the club has won only 53 of 122 finals played.
Perhaps that’s just the nature of the animal.
Chris Scott has full control of his own emotions and his team, so while he’ll be disappointed, he won’t panic. He has a tried and proven method with more wins than losses, so he will back his team against its next opponent.
Any changes to the team will depend on the time of day the next final is played because a dewy ball doesn’t give an advantage in the air. He will need ground coverage.
There wasn’t a substantial difference in clearances on Thursday night — 39-31 in Port’s favour — but Geelong’s biggest issue here is that it can’t make its mind up on a ruckman.
Rhys Stanley kicked two goals on Thursday night but he is not a dominant ruckman.
He is a secondary ruck who can push forward.
The best teams in the top eight have a genuine ruckman. Finals are brutal and clearances are essential.
It’s that contested football in and around the packs that gives your team a defensive advantage when needed, and an offensive tool to break down your opponents’ barriers.
The Cats can rebound under Scott.
The coach knows who of his players has played well in big games and who hasn’t, and Scott is not beyond making big calls if needed.
Perhaps they look at Jack Steven and Darcy Fort — a genuine ruckman who could provide stability in the middle. And Esava Ratugolea, a back-up ruck, who can also take some of the heat off Tom Hawkins when he plays forward.
Hawkins won his fair share of one-on-one contests against Port, but each time he took a mark he was forced wide to kick the goal. Those kicks aren’t beyond him, but when he played on and rushed a shot it smacked of a lack of confidence after kicking just four points in the first half.
While he kicked four goals against West Coast in Geelong’s semi-final win last year, Hawkins didn’t kick a goal in either of the Cats’ two finals losses. He will be judged on that. As this year’s Coleman medallist there are no issues with his technique, so he shouldn’t let Thursday night’s game play on his mind. There is another chance to redeem himself.
Geelong is a big-bodied team so finals should suit it, but it just doesn’t seem to get its mojo right often enough. It was certainly worried by Port’s pace and aggressive nature towards the ball.
Port Adelaide’s biggest loss of the home-and-away season was against the Cats. Perhaps that provided the inspiration for the restructure and rethink of the game style that hasn’t seen it lose a game since.
They won as a team on Thursday night, but I was so impressed with youngsters Zak Butters — with nothing magical about eight kicks, six handpasses and four tackles, but an assault on the ball and the man that was outstanding — Connor Rozee and Xavier Duursma.
Along with Todd Marshall, Darcy Byrne-Jones and Peter Ladhams, it must bring a smile to the face of Ken Hinkley and the recruiting staff as justification for investing heavily in the draft. It has set up Port for a genuine assault on the flag, this year and beyond.
History now says it will be difficult for the Cats to win, but certainly not impossible.
Someone has to win and someone has to lose in a final, it’s how you win and lose that counts. Geelong fought it out and lives another day, so how it responds to the loss is what matters now.
Which is the exact same case for Richmond.
The return of Tom Lynch will immediately make this team better, because the Tigers were made to work hard for any score against the Lions.
In fact, their inability to make the most of their forward 50 entries was, perhaps, the most telling sign of the night.
Jack Riewoldt kicked 2.2, while Daniel Rioli was the only small forward to kick multiple goals, also with two. Richmond needs more output from all of its forwards to take some of the heat off the big targets.
The new kids on the block wanted to make a statement and they did, matching the Tigers’ intensity, which is usually their winning edge.
The Lions’ spirit and collective team effort not only justified their position on the ladder, but also made Richmond look undisciplined, scrappy, inefficient with the ball, and lacking firepower in front of goal.
The Tigers dominated the second term but couldn’t break away. And when Brisbane took the lead, Richmond didn’t look like a side that could fight back.
The Lions also dominated centre clearances, which is a worry for the Tigers. If they don’t tag in the next final, they need to make sure the players in the middle at least even up the clearance rate, especially on a small ground like the Gabba where one kick out of the middle can put you into a scoring position. Brisbane took full advantage of that on Friday night.
Richmond won’t budge on its game plan because it has served it well and won it two premierships, but questions will be raised about whether it is too reliant on Dustin Martin, who was brilliant in the first half but quieter in the second.
And while they don’t usually win by a big margin, the Tigers may have some apprehension about whether they can kick a big enough score against their next opponent. They will need good ground coverage in the forward line, and although Lynch will automatically improve them, they still need to get the ball to him. In finals there is not a lot of space to move.
But Richmond, like Geelong, is well aware of what it takes to win finals so it will look
forward to its next challenge.
Port Adelaide and Brisbane have sent the message that they’re in it to win it, and right now everyone is paying attention.
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