AFL Round 10 Brisbane v Richmond: All the latest news and analysis from Friday night’s clash
After suffering another loss, Richmond fans were fired up about the free kick count against Brisbane. But what did their coach think?
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Richmond coach Damien Hardwick has put the Tigers on notice saying they cannot expect the flag-winning magic to automatically kick-in in the back half of 2021.
But the cavalry is coming for the premiers.
The depleted Tigers fell to a 5-5 record after suffering a 28-point loss to Brisbane at the Gabba on Friday night to leave themselves on the cusp of dropping out of the top eight while the Lions roared to their sixth-straight win.
The reigning premiers have made a habit of building irresistible momentum at the business end of the season during this golden era, but Hardwick said history counts for nothing now.
“We spoke to the group about it then. We can’t just rely on it to happen,’’ Hardwick said post-match.
“It’s happened a couple of times before, but the fact of the matter is each year is different.
“We’ve got to play better. We’ve got to get our troops back on the park and we’ve got to start a run and that run hopefully starts next week. That’s what we’re building for.
“We’ve got to start playing a better brand of footy, we have to get our guys to connect because players have been in and out consistently throughout the year.
“It’s going to take some time for us to be playing our best footy, so we’ve got to get started, absolutely.’’
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The Tigers will host Adelaide at the MCG next Sunday and Hardwick said first-choice midfielders Trent Cotchin (hamstring), Dion Prestia (calf), Shai Bolton (wrist) and Shane Edwards (ankle) are in the frame to make welcome returns.
“I think the vast majority of those guys will play which will be nice. They train tomorrow (Saturday) so we’ll get a better idea from that,’’ he said.
“Would probably expect a minimum of two and hopefully a maximum of four of those guys back.
“Cotchin and Prestia will be the guys that are definites at this stage but they’ve got to get through training. Bolton I think will be highly probable as well and Shane will be wait and see after tomorrow.’’
He said his midfield stars were sorely missed against the Lions who kicked away from the visitors with the last four goals of the third quarter and iced the match with four more majors in the last term in front of a sell-out crowd.
“You go down by close to 30 in clearance, you are always going to be on the back foot, so I thought we absorbed some punches at various stages,’’ Hardwick said.
“We hung tough there’s no doubt. We expect to play better though. There were some players and some system that we would like to get better in that situation, so we were disappointed.
“In fairness, we were playing a pretty good side tonight that are probably the form side of the competition. They play a really good attacking brand of footy, and we just couldn’t curtail it.”
Hardwick was diplomatic about the 20-6 free kick count in favour of Brisbane at halftime.
“I loved it … It was challenging. The game’s very hard to umpire. It’s tough. I’m not going to lie,’’ he said.
With eight of their last 12 games being played at the MCG and their midfield stars returning, Hardwick said he was only looking to the clash with the Crows to get Richmond’s season on track.
“I don’t look too far ahead. I just look at what we’ve got to do to get back on the park next week and get a win against Adelaide,’’ he said.
“It’d be good to have some quality leaders back that can help us on-field, but some of those guys that will go out of the side have held up the fort pretty well in trying circumstances.”
MATCH REPORT: LIONS IN BEAST MODE AS TIGERS LOSE THE FIGHT
To be the best, you’ve got to beat the best and Brisbane underlined their undeniable premiership claims with a 28-point victory over reigning premier Richmond at the Gabba on Friday night.
With midfielders Hugh McCluggage, Dayne Zorko and Jarryd Lyons, along with forwards Eric Hipwood and Zac Bailey, leading the charge for the home side, the Lions registered their sixth-straight win in front of a heaving sellout crowd.
The depleted Tigers fought the good fight as long as they could but Brisbane’s midfield superiority eventually condemned Richmond to a fifth loss in 10 outings in 2021 as their flag defence suffered another blow.
After losing 15-straight matches to the Tigers over an 11-year span, Brisbane have now won their last two encounters with Richmond, and the Lions reinforced their place in the top four after recovering from a slow start.
But coach Chris Fagan has refused to give the team a “pat on the back”.
Fagan said it was impossible to tell whether the playing group had advanced from last year’s effort – which saw them make it to the preliminary final – but admitted it was one of the best periods they had experienced in terms of attack and defence.
“It’s hard to tell (whether we’ve advanced) because seasons ebb and flow,” Fagan said.
“Right now, we’re in a pretty nice little purple patch but the minute you start giving yourself a pat on the back, you run the risk of that stopping.
“Probably from a six week patch, this is maybe the best we’ve played in terms of attack v defence and contested ball numbers.
“We’re keeping teams to lowish scores and scoring well so it’s exciting that we are able to do that.”
Hipwood and Bailey both kicked their fourth goals of the match in the last term to put the four points on ice. Goals to Lyons and Zorko then got the party started.
Tempers boiled over late when Marlion Pickett hit Brandon Starcevich high, sparking a minor melee with the Tigers utility placed on report.
The contest turned into an arm-wrestle at the start of third quarter when Tom Lynch levelled the scores with a goal but Brisbane then cracked open the game with the next four majors.
Bailey, Irishman Jimmy Madden, Joe Daniher and Rhys Mathieson all hit the scoreboard as the Lions kicked away from the Tigers.
Brisbane led by seven points at halftime after a pulsating opening two quarters with McCluggage at the heart of the Lions’ surge with 18 disposals, 11 contested possessions, three clearances and eight inside 50’s to his name.
The Tigers started with a ferocious intensity that put Brisbane on the back foot as their defensive pressure and slick ball movement handed them the first three goals of the match and a 19-0 buffer with Jack Riewoldt booting two of the majors.
The Lions slowly but surely worked their way back into the contest after going the first 15 minutes without scoring with Keidean Coleman, Charlie Cameron and Bailey all kicking truly to reduce Richmond’s advantage to just eight points at quarter-time.
The Lions dominated the second term but only cashed-in to a certain extent with four goals to Richmond’s two. Hipwood kicked three of the goals for Brisbane who entered halftime with a clear advantage in inside 50s (37-19), clearances (22-11), contested possessions (84-57) and free kicks won (20-6).
A brilliant handball from Lincoln McCarthy to Bailey late in the second quarter gave the Lions the lead for the first time on the night.
THE HUMAN BLANKET
Lions enforcer Mitch Robinson may have provided the blueprint to contain Dusty Martin’s trademark “don’t argue” fend with a unique tackling technique. Robinson leapt in the air with raised arms and smothered Martin with a “Human Blanket” wrestling move that wrapped up Martin in the second term and won a free kick. Brisbane kicked a goal through Eric Hipwood soon after to turn Robinson’s pressure into points. The Lions pinned Dusty two more times for holding the ball too.
LIONS MAINTAIN THE RAGE
There’s no substitute for class and experience and the undermanned Richmond midfield struggled to keep pace with Brisbane’s on-ball division. The Tigers were outstanding early but they were unable to maintain the rage as the likes of McCluggage and Lyons took control. Jayden Short, Liam Baker and Bachar Houli battled manfully but needed more help.
“(Lyons, Zorko, McCluggage) have been excellent over the past four weeks,” Fagan said post-match.
“We’ve got some pretty good guys missing form our midfield too like the Brownlow Medallist (Lachie Neale) and Cam Rayner and Jarrod Berry.
“It was a good test of both teams’ depth tonight in some ways.
“They have quite a few out, we have quite a few out.
“We have five or six guys out who we’d consider in our senior side.
“It was a good test of depth.”
Rhys Mathieson has so much to love about him. Don’t mind him getting in the face of his opponents. But the last step is to stop throwing his head back to milk free kicks. It’s harder to play the tough-guy routine after that https://t.co/G4wumjHXmY
— Jon Ralph (@RalphyHeraldSun) May 21, 2021
MADDEN IS IN THE GAME
Irishman James Madden was playing just his second game of senior football but showed he was - to be sure, to be sure - up to the level with a dynamic effort off halfback. Madden was brought in to replace the injured Darcy Gardiner. He got plenty of the ball when the Lions were under the pump in the first quarter and produced a burst of speed in the third quarter then kicked truly for his first career goal.
CROWDED HOUSE
The Tigers are a hot ticket in Brisvegas. For the third match in a row against Brisbane in Brisbane, it was a sellout or near full house at the Gabba. Friday night’s match was officially a sellout and follows bumper crowds when the two teams met in the 2019 and 2020 finals series. The number of Richmond jumpers swarming around the ground and in the pubs before the match created a finals-like buzz that seemed a world away from COVID-19 concerns.
SCOREBOARD
LIONS 3.5 7.9. 11.10. 15.12 (102)
TIGERS 5.1. 7.2 8.5 11.8 (74)
GOALS
Lions: Bailey 4, Hipwood 4, Coleman, Cameron, Madden, Daniher, Mathieson, Lyons, Zorko.
Tigers: Riewoldt 3, Lynch 3, Aarts 2, Ross 2, Naish
GREG DAVIS’ BEST:
Lions: McCluggage, Lyons, Zorko, Hipwood, Bailey, Robinson
Tigers: Balta, Short, Balta, Houli, Baker, Aarts, Pickett
PLAYER OF THE YEAR
GREG DAVIS’ VOTES:
3: Hugh McCluggage
2: Jarryd Lyons
1: Dayne Zorko
Tigers gun in line for surprise return
- Jon Ralph
Richmond’s emerging star Shai Bolton is expected to make a return from a broken wrist ahead of schedule against Adelaide next Sunday.
The Tigers are hopeful a bevy of their premiership stars will return for that clash, with Trent Cotchin, Dion Prestia and Shane Edwards also a chance to take on the Crows.
Bolton broke his wrist in the scuffle that the AFL is still investigating as he and teammate Daniel Rioli were both defending Rioli’s girlfriend at a CBD nightclub.
The Herald Sun understands the uncontracted Tigers star met with the AFL’s integrity department on Thursday to explain his role in that episode.
The league continues to work through that investigation but the Tigers are emphatic Rioli and Bolton did nothing wrong after stepping in to protect an intimidated female.
Richmond coach Damien Hardwick had feared Bolton would be out for as long as four weeks, but he is on track for an early return.
His manager Ralph Carr told the Herald Sun on Friday that, while it was a Richmond decision, Bolton was confident of playing.
He had even pushed to play this week as he did some training with a protective brace while also completing a running session.
Richmond senior club advisor Neil Balme said the Tigers hoped many of their stars would be back before the bye, as the Tigers take on Adelaide then Essendon.
Bolton would still play in a protective guard after setting the competition alight in recent weeks with his dynamic play.
Prestia has completed a mini pre-season after hamstring and calf issues, while Edwards (ankle) and Cotchin (hamstring) continue their rehab.
The league was set to attempt to access the CCTV footage from the Club YoYo as it ensured there was no further need to take action.
The pair have not yet been cleared despite the incident occurring 13 days ago.
Rioli and Bolton were drawn into the incident when Rioli’s partner was touched by a patron, with Rioli objecting to the attention.
The patron then punched Rioli, who received two stitches under his eye, while Bolton was hurt in the ensuing scuffle.
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