Mick McGuane analyses Essendon and Richmond ahead of Round 2
If Richmond wants to return to finals football this year it is time for a change of mindset at Tigerland and Mick McGuane has called out two serious areas of concern.
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Richmond’s inconsistency around contested possessions and clearances is becoming a concern.
Throughout their premiership years, the Tigers were not too fussed about losing contested ball or clearances.
They backed themselves to make up for any losses by severely punishing their opposition on turnover with a rock-solid defensive structure and a much-admired pressure game.
But the game is ever-evolving and it is time for a change of mindset at Tigerland.
If Richmond wants to return to finals football this year, it must put a higher emphasis on not only winning clearances but also better defending them.
Unlike some, I’m certainly not writing off the Tigers after one game.
To those who are: cool your jets.
However, the way Richmond was mauled by Carlton at clearances last week put them on the watch list.
They lost overall clearances 40-22 and went down in the contested possession count 135-114.
Carlton was able to score 45 points from its clearances – 35 of those coming in the second half – while Richmond managed only 14 points from stoppages for the night.
Scoring on turnovers was again the main game for the Tigers, kicking 9.6 (60) from the Blues’ mistakes.
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This lack of balance between the two main score sources is something that needs to be addressed.
Damien Hardwick would have grimaced at how easily the Blues’ midfielders were able to waltz out of centre bounce in the all-important final quarter.
The Tigers’ pressure at the source was severely lacking and allowed the Carlton midfield brigade of Patrick Cripps, George Hewett, Adam Cerra and Matt Kennedy to use the ball effectively going forward.
As we know, Carlton kicked the final seven goals of the game as a result.
Richmond tried a range of different onball combinations in the last quarter, but nothing seemed to work.
Across the night, Trent Cotchin, Jack Graham and Dustin Martin attended the most centre bounces.
However, at the nine centre bounces in the final quarter they used at different times undersized players in Jake Aarts (177cm), Shai Bolton (173cm) and Liam Baker (173cm) — all to no effect.
The Tigers at times looked too small and simply uncompetitive against their counterparts and it cost them dearly in the end.
With clearance beast Dion Prestia again sidelined with a soft tissue injury, it’s time we got another look at the 191cm Riley Collier-Dawkins.
The 22-year-old was taken at pick 20 in the 2018 national draft and played nine games last year.
The Tigers need an inside-bull to compliment Martin, Cotchin and Graham — so why not invest time into a youngster to bolster their onball brigade?
There is also some basic stoppage craft that needs addressing at Punt Rd.
Some of the Tigers midfielders, including Baker, would sit and camp at centre bounce.
Baker was in there for six centre bounces in the last quarter and didn’t touch the ball or influence any of those stoppages.
As a rule, showing your back and being stationery to an opponent at centre bounce is a poor competitive starting point.
You can easily get dictated to and manoeuvred around.
At times, the Tigers midfielders worked their way to the hit zone far too early, only to have to stop and prop and lose critical momentum.
Their timing and anticipation needs some fine tuning.
Martin at his absolute best was a master as he would be on the move and ready to read the ball of the ruckman’s hands.
My message: Get the concrete out of your boots and get moving through the target area with conviction and momentum.
The task for Richmond does not get any easier as it prepares to come up against Greater Western Sydney this week.
The Giants boast an in-form Tom Green, clearance-machine Jacob Hopper, a fitter Stephen Coniglio and a classy Josh Kelly.
Historically, GWS has been a strong clearance team that is also able to score off its clearance wins.
If the Tigers don’t learn from their poor final quarter stoppage output against Carlton and apply greater pressure against their opposition’s first possession gains at centre bounce stoppages, they could very well finish the weekend 0-2.
In the 2020 finals series, Richmond showed it can be an exceptional clearance team when it wants to be.
Just ask Brett Ratten, Ken Hinkley or Chris Scott.
The question is, how hungry are the Tigers to get back to that this year?
MCGUANE: HEPPELL FAST BECOMING A HUGE DONS CONCERN
It is fair to ask who is Essendon’s Harris Andrews?
There is no doubt the Bombers are undersized in defence, with their key backline pillars being James Stewart (199cm), Jordan Ridley (195cm) and Jayden Laverde (193cm).
Among that trio, there is not a defensive monster like an Andrews, a Sam Collins, a Jeremy McGovern, a Steven May or even a Darcy Moore.
And the numbers don’t lie.
Essendon has struggled to contain the big key forwards in recent times.
Since Round 1 last year, the Bombers have conceded 92 goals to opposition key forwards, ranking them 16th in the competition.
Geelong’s Tom Hawkins has kicked a combined 10 goals in his past two games against Essendon during that time, including four majors in Round 1 last weekend.
Essendon does have what it thinks is a next-generation Andrews waiting in the wings, in the form of 202cm Zach Reid.
Like fellow key defender Michael Hurley, Reid simply hasn’t been able to get on the park due to a range of injury issues.
Aaron Francis, who usually plays as a defender, will play this week but is likely to be used as a forward if pre-season training stands for anything.
Laverde and Stewart generally at least neutralise contests and I’ve got great respect for Ridley, who could finish his career with three or four All-Australian jackets in his wardrobe.
Ridley was so bad against the Cats that he was eventually swung forward, but that is not going to happen two weeks in a row for a proud competitor.
The biggest issue for the Bombers was not Ridley’s performance or an undersized defence, it was more about what they dished up through the midfield in Round 1.
The Melbourne premiership defence of May, Jake Lever and Harrison Petty could not have stopped Hawkins and the Cats considering how insipid and uncompetitive the Bombers midfielders were last week.
It’s a small sample size of one game, but maybe I was wrong about the Essendon midfield.
No doubt they bat deep, but at the coalface against Geelong there was a severe lack of hardness, intensity and energy.
The Bombers lost contested possessions by 42 and finished -24 in clearances, despite rolling up half-forward Jye Caldwell to become a fifth midfielder and outnumber at stoppages in general play.
Those numbers are alarming and I hope midfield coach Blake Caracalla was strong and direct in his review this week.
The Essendon midfielders must be reminded that talent alone doesn’t get you what you want.
In assessing Essendon, maybe I didn’t take into account that when things don’t go well, this group does not seem to have the maturity or leadership to change circumstances within a game.
To that point, where is the captain Dyson Heppell at?
I know it’s just one game, but he is just going.
If he continues the form we saw last weekend and through their pre-season matches, a hard decision might be made.
I admire Heppell and what he stands for, but he has to be judged on what his team’s expectations are — strong in the contest, clean ball handling (no fumbles), ball use and definitely not going to ground.
We saw Greater Western Sydney drop their skipper, Stephen Coniglio, last year.
Essendon might be forced to do the same thing if last week’s form continues.
You need your leaders out on the ground to set the tone and change the course of the game in-quarter.
By the time coach Ben Rutten got down on the ground to give his address at the first break last Saturday, the Bombers were down by 34 points and the game was done and dusted.
Structurally, there are some tweaks that Rutten should be looking at going forward.
In general play, ruckman Sam Draper must slide back to support his undersized defence more often than he did against Geelong.
Draper’s athleticism and bravery should enable him to play this role, but he must read the play quicker than he currently does. Ball watching doesn’t cut it.
Another discussion Rutten must have is the role of his side’s defensive midfielder – normally Zach Merrett or Andrew McGrath.
I don’t like them playing as quarterbacks when the team is getting smashed at contested ball and clearances.
Get them more involved in and around stoppages rather than sitting off the contest hoping the ball comes to them so they can kickstart their offence.
Essendon’s best player in Merrett had 39 disposals last week, but Essendon lost by 66 points. That’s far too much ‘junk’ footy.
The Bombers come up against another big forward line in the form of Brisbane this weekend, which will have Darcy Fort or Oscar McInerney as a resting ruckman in attack alongside Joe Daniher and Daniel McStay.
For Laverde, Stewart and Ridley to succeed on Saturday, they need the midfielders to be in a fierce and combative mindset when the opposition has the ball.
Their collective theme should be: ‘No time, no space’.
The Lions are a strong contest, clearance and territory team and without pressure up the ground, assertive defensive positioning is impossible to uphold.
After last week’s embarrassing showing, the microscope is well and truly on the Bombers midfield.
Their intensity and effort at the contest will be judged, as well as their work rate without the ball.
To look after an undersized defence, this facet of the game must change from last week.
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