AFL Round 12 Essendon v Richmond: Tigers kick away after Bomber scare
Shai Bolton is priority 1A for Richmond’s list management team but two young talls are rocketing up the list after impressing in an exciting win against Essendon.
AFL News
Don't miss out on the headlines from AFL News. Followed categories will be added to My News.
Richmond has replaced about $1.5 million worth of ruck-forward talent with Mabior Chol and Callum Coleman-Jones, and lost little value on the field.
The downgrade from multi-premiership stars Toby Nankervis (knee) and Tom Lynch (knee) could’ve left the Tiger dynasty on the brink of destruction, given crunch games against proven giant killers in Adelaide and Essendon were to come.
Instead, it has corroborated coach Damien Hardwick’s long-held belief that his list runs as deep as Trent Cotchin’s CV.
“CCJ” has booted 6.1 in two games while Chol’s first 20 minutes against Essendon, when he grabbed four intercept marks and controlled the game, must’ve felt like a dream.
The question now is how much of an estimated $1 million pay gap from Lynch and Nankervis are the 200cm out-of-contract boys going to bridge?
And will the Tigers be able to afford to keep them?
The second question will be answered by a mix of dollars and opportunity.
What will happen when Lynch and Nankervis, who is progressing ahead of schedule, return?
Coleman-Jones has played just three AFL games and yet he could be worth $500,000 to someone who would play him every week.
The Tigers might be thankful that Collingwood’s salary cap hangover means it won’t be able to break out a blank cheque, given its need for goalkicking power.
Re-signing matchwinner Shai Bolton must be priority 1A for Richmond’s list management team.
Bolton’s barnstorming finish on Saturday night — he slammed home two goals after Essendon hit the lead — was another reminder of his exploding importance to the Tigers.
But Coleman-Jones and Chol should be next in the contract queue, perhaps ahead of decorated teammates such as three-time premiership forwards Jason Castagna and Daniel Rioli and two-time winner Kamdyn McIntosh.
Watch the 2021 Toyota AFL Premiership Season. Every match of every round Live on Kayo. New to Kayo? Try 14-Days Free Now >
Chol, 24, and Coleman-Jones, 21, both had to wait multiple years to play a second AFL game after making their debuts.
For Chol it has been the slowest of burns.
The Sudanese rookie joined the Tigers in 2015 alongside Rioli (106 games) and Nathan Broad (82 games), who have both played in three AFL premierships.
Chol has chalked up just 23 AFL matches, which is yet to include a finals victory.
Those who attend Richmond training would understand the Tigers’ patience.
Boy, can Chol do some special things.
He takes hangers for fun and gallops around producing glimpses of his glittering potential.
If you watch closely there appears to be a bond between Chol and Dustin Martin, who often train together.
However, piecing it together hasn’t been easy.
Chol played as the No.1 ruckman against the Bombers and clearly ran out of puff.
He played 81 per cent game time, which is something Hardwick might have to reconfigure against West Coast’s Nic Naitanui and Oscar Allen next week.
Chol has been at Punt Rd a long time, but learning the rigours of AFL is still a relatively fresh challenge.
Last year he was one of Richmond’s hard luck stories, dropped after the qualifying final loss to the Brisbane Lions.
Coleman-Jones was one of Richmond’s grow up stories, whacked with a 10-game suspension for breaking AFL coronavirus protocols to visit the Gold Coast strippers.
It might appear that Coleman-Jones has launched his career from the 2021 hub after nearly breaking it in the 2020 hub.
But in reality the Tigers were always going to forgive the kid who captained South Australia as an 18-year-old because they knew what a fine young man he usually was.
“It’s good reward for a guy that’s had his ups and downs,” Hardwick said last week.
“We stick with our people and we back them in and he’s put in a power of work both on and off the field.
“It was great reward for CJ personally, but also great reward for our organisation.”
Chol and Coleman-Jones have complemented each other beautifully in both Richmond’s VFL and AFL teams.
They are finally set for the extended run of AFL games that they have long deserved.
But at the very same time there is a long list of rival clubs attempting to pull them apart.
RUTTEN RUES MISSED OPPORTUNITIES
— Brad Elborough
Essendon could be blowing its chances to play finals in 2021 after falling to a 5-7 record, but coach Ben Rutten said his team believes it is good enough to match it with the best.
“I thought we created enough opportunities, but we’re not good enough to be able to nail them against the best opposition,” he said.
“This week, we not only didn’t take the opportunities, but we gave it back to them and their effectiveness with the ball was at a level we haven’t seen this year.
“Anytime we made a mistake, or they forced a mistake, they were able to punish us on the scoreboard.
“That’s the level we need to get better traction from our attack. We created a lot of opportunities, we’re just not good enough to finish off.
Missing opportunities in attack has cost the Bombers already this season.
Before their run of three consecutive wins, ended by the Tigers, the Bombers lost to Greater Western Sydney by just two points having kicked a wasteful 3.5 in the second quarter.
They also lost to Carlton in Round 7 and Hawthorn in Round 1 having had more inside-50s than their opposition.
“There is enough belief there,” he said.
“They understand their best footy is good enough. We just weren’t able to do it for long enough which is an area we have to work at.”
The Bombers next game is currently scheduled against Hawthorn at the MCG in Round 14.
They will sweat on the fitness of Andrew McGrath, who injured his knee in the first quarter of the loss against Richmond. David Zaharakis also failed to finish the game against the Tigers due to hamstring tightness.
Richmond coach Damien Hardwick warned the competition that he thinks his side “can certainly get a hell of a lot better” after a withering burst of seven goals saw off Essendon’s challenge.
The reigning premier’s record improved to 7-5 with the result and their consecutive wins gives them some breathing space between from the sides outside the eight.
Hardwick hopes it’s the performance that really kick-starts the Tigers’ season.
“We hope so. It’s just a matter of ticking over the wins. Our side is building. They’re starting to come together from a connection point of view,” he said.
“They haven’t played the majority of the season together, so it takes a bit of time to gel. That slowly happened tonight at various stages.
“But we’ve got to get better in some areas.
“We’ve got a little bit of a way to go with how well we want to play. We’re going OK, but we can certainly get a hell of a lot better.”
Kane Lambert is likely to return for next week’s game against West Coast, having not played since Round 6 because of a calf injury.
Dion Prestia hasn’t yet been ruled out of the game against the Eagles, despite being subbed out against the Bombers with hamstring tightness.
While ruckman Toby Nankervis, sidelined with a knee injury, won’t play in Perth next weekend, Hardwick said he was progressing a lot better than first thought. He could return a lot earlier than the 4-6 weeks he is currently listed as being out for.
BOLTON MAGIC BLOWS DONS AWAY
— Brad Elborough
Different venue, same results.
Richmond continued its recent dominance over Essendon on Saturday night, winning the Dreamtime in Perth game by 39 points.
They blew the Bombers away in the last 13 minutes of the game, kicking seven unanswered goals to produce the 19.9 (123) to 12.12 (84) victory.
It was a devastating reply after the Bombers challenged them midway through the final term hitting the front, by three points, for the first time in the game.
The win stretches Richmond’s streak of wins over Essendon to 11; dating back to Round 11 of 2014.
The rare chance for the WA crowd to see two big Victorian clubs clash in the Sir Doug Nicholls Round wasn’t missed either, with 55,656 fans attending.
It is the biggest footy crowd in Perth this season.
Many West Australians supported VFL clubs before 1987 and not all jumped ship when West Coast joined the competition.
The crowd was very pro-Bombers, hopeful they could stretch their winning streak to four consecutive games and move into the top eight for the first time this season.
SHAI BOLTON STOP IT 🤯#AFLDonsTigerspic.twitter.com/PGSYd6yMGE
— AFL (@AFL) June 5, 2021
Bombers waste their chance
The Bombers had their chances too, kicking the first four goals of the final term.
But a wasteful third term, when they kicked 3.6 to Richmond’s 4.1, is where they failed to take the advantage.
The Tigers keep in touch with the top four, winning consecutive games themselves for the first time since rounds one and two of this season, against Carlton and Hawthorn respectively.
It was an important win to start the second half of the season. They head back to Perth next week to play West Coast on Sunday afternoon, the AFL bringing their game forward by one week.
They will fly back to Sydney for the week though, preferring to enjoy the lesser restrictions imposed on them by the New South Wales government.
Tigers jump early
Richmond hit the scoreboard after just 12 seconds of the game starting, a behind from the boot of ruckman Mabior Chol.
Chol was the best player on the ground in the opening term, with eight touches, three of them intercepting Bombers runs forward.
When Dustin Martin kicked the Tigers second goal, nine minutes into the quarter, they led by 14 points and the Bombers hadn’t scored.
The contest nudged even further into the favour of the reigning premier when Essendon’s Andrew McGrath limped from the ground as Martin took his shot.
McGrath donned the tracksuit not long after nursing a knee injury and was replaced by Patrick Ambrose, playing his first AFL game since the 2019 Elimination Final loss to West Coast in 2019.
When Essendon finally got on the board, it was 11 minutes into the opening term. It was just the Bombers second inside 50 entry for the quarter.
Jack Riewoldt kicked his first goal late in the first term to give the Tigers a 19-point lead at the first break.
Parish rare form continues
Darcy Parish is in as good a form as anyone in the competition.
The Bombers midfielder averaged 37 touches in the Bombers three wins leading into Saturday night.
He led the way again for Essendon. He had 25 possessions by halftime, his eight contested also the most of anyone.
His 44 was the most of anyone ever wearing the Bombers black and red jumper, surpassing Barry Davies 43 earned in 1969.
He was right among it in the final term when the Bombers kicked the first four goals of the term to hit the lead.
Earlier, he and Merrett (31 touches) teamed up again to bring Essendon back from the brink.
They had trailed by 28 points during the second term, but as they did a week earlier against West Coast, they scored late be just 21 points down at halftime.
BOMBERS 1.2 5.4 8.10 12.12 84
TIGERS 4.3 8.7 12.8 19.9 123
ELBOROUGH’S BEST
Bombers: Parish, Merrett, Langford, Phillips, Cox, Heppell.
Tigers: Martin, Prestia, Castagna, Chol, Graham, Bolton.
GOALS
Bombers: Ham 3, Hooker 3; Waterman 2; Cox, Langford, Phillips, Stringer.
Tigers: Martin 3, Castagna 3, Bolton 3; Graham 2, Coleman-Jones 2, Riewoldt 2; Caddy, Balta, McIntosh, Rioli.
INJURIES Bombers: McGrath (knee) replaced by Ambrose. Tigers: Prestia (hamstring) replaced by Rioli.
UMPIRES Margetts, Dalgleish, Johanson.
VENUE Optus Stadium
PLAYER OF THE YEAR
BRAD ELBOROUGH’S VOTES
3 Parish (Bombers)
2 Martin (Tigers)
3 Prestia (Tigers)
Bruce! Footy fans all say the same thing
There was a beloved footy figure back on TV screens on Friday night and it left fans all making the same comments.
Brayshaw gutted after massive MMM shake-up
Radio station Triple M has undergone a major shake-up, with one of the moves devastating broadcaster James Brayshaw.