Richmond makes wasteful Collingwood pay to win by 19 points after second-half comeback

THE heat was on Damien Hardwick early but by the end it was on Nathan Buckley after Richmond turned around a poor first half to grind out a 19-point victory over Collingwood.

Dustin Martin tries to break away from Collingwood’s Jack Crisp. Picture: George Salpigtidis

COACHING AFL teams might as well come with a health warning along with the hefty contract so often not worth the paper it is printed on.

If you ever needed a reminder, just imagine living out the wild mood swings so publicly experienced by Nathan Buckley and his counterpart Damien Hardwick in Thursday night’s mistake-ridden Collingwood-Richmond clash.

It was enough to make any neutral observer giddy with the ever-changing pendulum of emotions.

A high one moment followed by high blood pressure the next. Hardwick felt it one minute; Buckley the next.

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It was one of those sort of games, and one suspects on the comedy of errors and poor execution, it is going to be one of those seasons for both clubs and both coaches.

In a game billed as a litmus test for which of the coaches was going to be under the most pressure leading into week three of crucial seasons for both, and a test of the respective lists that Adam Treloar insisted in November 2015 favoured the Magpies, the Tigers turned around a poor first half to grind out a 19-point victory.

Trent Cotchin celebrates Richmond’s win on the siren. Picture: Wayne Ludbey

So on that measure, it is a fair bet to suggest Hardwick will sleep a little sounder than Buckley. But as each of them sifts through the vision of the match, let’s hope they both have a nice glass of red to soothe some of the more frustrating moments.

Having said that, the Tigers are 2-0 to start the season for only the third time since 1995. The last time they did it was in 2013, the year when a Hardwick team first played finals.

And on the flip side, the Magpies are 0-2 for the first time since Buckley was skipper of the club way back in 2005, and with a tough month to come, he needs things to change — by his own admission — if he is to keep his job.

It was Hardwick who appeared to feel the heat early, as the Magpies seemed to have the best of the play in the first half. If Collingwood had been more polished, it might have been a different story.

For almost 25 minutes of the second term the Magpies shot themselves in the foot. They had 14 of the first 18 of the inside 50s of the second quarter, and for a time dominated general play, but the reward was five miserable behinds and two out of bounds shots.

Sitting forlornly in the box, Buckley turned away for a period before late goals to Darcy Moore and Chris Mayne sent the Magpies in the main break leading by 10 points.

Ben Griffiths flies for a huge mark. Picture: Getty Images

And so did Jeremy Howe. Picture: Wayne Ludbey

Trent Cotchin celebrates a goal in the second quarter. Picture: George Salpigtidis

And when Jesse White pushed the margin out to 16 points early in the third term, it looked as if Collingwood was going to push clear.

But it wasn’t to be. Few footballers have used the ball as exquisitely as Nathan Buckley did in his prime at Collingwood, but sadly that he hasn’t yet been able to translate that to his players.

The field kicking and shooting for goal was so poor.

The crunch point for Buckley came when Mayne laid a big tackle on Alex Rance in the third term, winning the free kick, before spraying the ball inexplicably when shooting for goal.

The coach banged his hand in the coaches’ box seemingly so frustrated that he was oblivious to the pain it caused.

Chris Mayne misses a shot at goal in the third quarter. Picture: Getty Images

As Richmond finished off Collingwood with five goals in the last term, thanks to Trent Cotchin’s dominance and two last-term goals from Dustin Martin, another former Magpie great-turned-coach Tony Shaw clearly felt for Buckley.

Shaw summed it up perfectly when he tweeted: “Don’t blame Bucks. Half of these players’ skill faults are nearly uncoachable.”

Win,lose or draw with 11 mins to go last quarter don't blame Bucks. Half these players skill faults are nearly uncoachable.

— Tony Shaw (@TonyShaw22) 30 March 2017

Unfortunately with games against Sydney, St Kilda, a resurgent Essendon and Geelong to come in the next month, it ain’t looking pretty for the club — or the coach.

RICHMOND 2.4 5.5 9.8 14.15 (99)

COLLINGWOOD 2.4 5.10 7.13 11.14 (80)

GOALS

Richmond: Lennon 2, Riewoldt 2, Cotchin 2, Martin 2, Rioli, Ellis, Edwards, Caddy, Butler, Grigg

Collingwood: Hoskin-Elliott 3, White 2, Treloar 2, Moore, Broomhead, Mayne, Grundy

BEST

Richmond: Cotchin, Martin, Houli, Rance, Edwards, Nankervis, Lennon

Collingwood: Grundy, Pendlebury, Treloar, Hoskin-Elliott, Goldsack, Adams

INJURIES

Richmond: Griffiths (head)

Collingwood: TBC

Reports: Nil

Umpires: DeBoy, Schmitt, Kamolins

Official crowd: 58,236 at the MCG