Deep Dive: Whoever coaches Richmond in 2024 needs to fix one vital element of the club’s game plan

For all Richmond’s improvement under Andrew McQualter, there is still a considerable flaw in the Tigers’ game. And fixing it should be at the very top of the 2024 coach’s to-do list.

Richmond were 'selfish' in loss to Dees

It might be the most important strategy question in Richmond’s coach search.

For a good chunk of Richmond’s loss to Melbourne on Sunday the Tigers looked threatening in attack and Noah Balta’s scrambled last-term goal put their noses in front.

But in the wake of the 32-point defeat, interim coach Andrew McQualter admitted that for all the improvements at Punt Rd over the past two months, there was still a considerable flaw in the Tigers’ game.

They can’t stop the opposition from going inside-50m.

On Sunday, Richmond lost the inside 50m count to Melbourne by 28 when they conceded 73 entries to 45.

The Tigers also lost the inside 50m battle against Hawthorn 55-51 and were belted by Brisbane Lions in this area 68-38.

And even in the wins over St Kilda (61-58) and GWS Giants (70-47) Richmond were down and in the loss to Port Adelaide the Tigers copped a hammering in the territory game 67-45.

The Tigers look good when they are surging forward with that kamikaze handball, but the reality is there are periods when the footy is living in the opposition’s forward half.

Noah Balta put the Tigers in front during the last quarter. Picture: Getty Images

And this Friday night against Western Bulldogs, it will be one of the top items on the whiteboard as the Tigers try and stop Marcus Bontempelli, Tom Liberatore and Adam Treloar from once again dominating the game and the possession flow from inside the centre square.

Ruckman Toby Nankervis returns from suspension after smashing into Jake Lloyd against Sydney Swans to help provide a strong hand in the ruck.

But for all the talk earlier in the year about Richmond’s decisions to bring in Tim Taranto and Jacob Hopper for some top draft picks, the reality is they would be in a deeper hole without them considering the ex-Giants duo are the club’s two top clearance winners per game.

Even in the premiership glory days, Richmond was never a super clearance team. They did their damage on the rebound - intercept marking and flinging forward to speedy goal kickers - and even this season that DNA remains.

Richmond is the top rebound team in the league.

But McQualter knows if the Tigers are going to make September, and then do any damage at all, they need to plug the inside-50m holes.

Against Melbourne, it might have felt like Groundhog Day as Max Gawn dominated the second half and Harry Petty enjoyed a day out kicking six goals to rip victory off the Tigers at the MCG.

Andrew McQualter knows the Tigers still have issues with their game. Picture: Getty Images

“Clearly they got dominant in the clearance part of the game, and from there we just struggled to get the ball out of our D50, it just became a bit too overwhelming,” McQualter said.

“The reality is they had 75 entries, and that’s way too many to concede.

“We have had an issue with that for a fair while now. We are working on that really hard to try and reduce the amount of entries, and there’s lot of things that go into it.

“But it is always going to be difficult to win games of football against the best teams, when you are conceding that many.”

What is the root cause?

“It is a mixture (of things),” he said.

“Certainly centre bounce has a big play in that and centre back stoppages have a big play in that.

“The territory game and the transition game as well, so we are working on it really hard.”

The question will surely be asked of all of Richmond’s coaching candidates, how would they fix this problem with the cattle the club has?

Dylan Grimes, 32, is coming to an end as the defensive linchpin, Nick Vlastuin is 29, and Noah Balta was thrown forward in the last quarter.

Dion Prestia, 30, didn’t have a huge impact in this one, Tom Lynch, 30, has missed the bulk of the season and Dustin Martin, 32, was clearly the club’s best player throughout a scintillating first half.

Josh Gibcus will come back into the mix as a super-promising key back, but there will be lots of planning underway on replenishing the list.

One of the toughest questions regarding Richmond surrounds the under 22’s. Who will the club happily hitch its caravan to from its own first-to-fourth year bracket?

Tim Taranto has been one of the Tigers’ best clearance players since arriving at the club. Picture: Michael Klein

Richmond’s forward half pressure game was on early on Sunday with the Tigers scoring 32 points from forward half turnovers before the main change.

The average for an entire game is 27 points.

But Gawn ran riot in the second half after some pointed words from Simon Goodwin at half time.

Inside Melbourne rooms there were two loud cheers post game.

One was for six-goal star Petty. The other one was for Gawn, the inspirational captain, who finished with 11 clearances for the game. He won the Demons’ players’ award.

It begs the question, does McQualter play Ivan Soldo and Nankervis together in the ruck for the first time this season on Friday night against Tim English’s Bulldogs?

“They have played in a premiership together, so we know they can play together,” McQualter said.

“I thought Soldo’s first half (against Melbourne) was outstanding.

“But he obviously got a bit tired as the game went on.”

To book a finals berth, the Tigers probably need to win three of the last four games.

There is the Bulldogs, St Kilda, North Melbourne and Port Adelaide.

Not an easy stretch, and it could all come down to the last game of the round, in what could be Trent Cotchin and Jack Riewoldt’s last outing. Two premiership heroes.

Clearly veteran superstar Martin hasn’t given up, after a sensational six weeks for the Tigers.

McQualter said his first half on Sunday was “pretty special”.

“He has been great for a fairly big part of this year to be honest,” he said.

“He’s having a great year.”

Dustin Martin has put together a strong six weeks. Picture: Michael Klein

MATCH REPORT: DEES POWER AWAY FROM TIGERS

Ronny Lerner

Melbourne have all but sewn up a top-four spot after fighting back from 20 points down in the third quarter to overwhelm Richmond by 32 at the MCG on Sunday.

Richmond kicked three goals in a row to lead by six points early in the final quarter, but Melbourne struck back by booting the last six majors to run out 20.10 (130) to 15.8 (98) winners.

Much has been made of the Demons’ forward struggles this year, but they seemed to find the perfect formula against the Tigers, with Harrison Petty and Jacob van Rooyen kicking career-high bags of six and four goals respectively, while Jake Melskham chimed in with another four.

Petty provided a huge focal point in attack, taking 10 marks (four contested) to straighten up his team considerably.

And in the ruck, Max Gawn was enormous again with 28 disposals (22 contested), 11 clearances and 40 hitouts.

It once again makes it hard to see how Brodie Grundy works his way back into the Melbourne line-up.

Max Gawn was a huge factor at the MCG. Picture: Michael Klein.

Melbourne dominated the inside 50s after half-time 41-17, and convincingly won the stat 73-45, while they also doubled Richmond for marks inside 50 (20-10).

But the game was still alive in the final quarter due to the Demons’ inefficiency as they finished with 30 scoring shots at 41 per cent efficiency, to Richmond’s 23 at 51 per cent.

Jack Viney produced another spectacular game in the middle, gathering 32 disposals (10 contested), nine tackles, nine inside 50s and seven clearances, while Christian Petracca racked up 29 disposals (14 contested) eight clearances and a goal.

The win saw the Demons maintain their two-game buffer on fifth, and with North Melbourne and Hawthorn still to play in their run home, they’re well on track to securing the double chance. They’re also just a game behind the faltering Port Adelaide in second, which means their odds of securing a home final first up are also still strong.

As for the Tigers, they missed a chance to enter the top eight and to make the finals they will now probably have to win three of their last four games. With the Bulldogs, St Kilda, North Melbourne and Port Adelaide (away) in their run home, they’ll certainly be made to earn it.

Dustin Martin was a spark for the Tigers but they couldn’t get the chocolates. Picture: Michael Klein

TIGERS LACK DISCIPLINE

Richmond gave away a pair of goals after committing easily avoidable 50m penalties. In the first instance, when they led by 20 points late in the second term, Melbourne’s Alex Neal-Bullen was paid a free kick 65m out from goal, and Tigers midfielder Jacob Hopper momentarily handled the ball, but then dropped it when he realised it was a Melbourne ball. That indiscretion brought Neal-Bullen to the top of the goal square for the easy six-pointer.

And then halfway through the third period, with Richmond leading by 15 points, van Rooyen was lining up for goal from 40m out on the boundary line. But rather than taking an extremely difficult shot for goal, he too was brought to the goal square when Noah Balta bumped Max Gawn way off the ball.

Harrison Petty starred with six goals. Picture: Michael Klein.

DEES TURN THE TIDE

The Demons managed to draw level shortly after quarter-time, but for the remainder of the second stanza, the game was played largely in the Tigers’ forward half as they piled on four of the next five goals to lead by 20 points deep into time on. Richmond’s forward pressure was relentless, and they effectively put the brakes on Melbourne’s ability to transition from defence.

The Demons managed to peg back the last two goals of the first half, but Richmond came out breathing fire after the main break, kicking three of the third term’s first four majors, including a pair to Dustin Martin, to restore their 20-point buffer.

However, Melbourne’s pressure and forward efficiency rose dramatically and they scored the next five goals, featuring a pair each from van Rooyen and Melksham, to take a nine-point lead at the 28-minute mark, as they cut Richmond’s uncontested mark count considerably.

SCOREBOARD

TIGERS 5.4, 9.7, 13.8, 15.8 (98)

DEMONS 3.5, 8.5, 14.6, 20.10 (130)

LERNER’S BEST

Tigers: Martin, Bolton, Vlastuin, Taranto, Prestia.

Demons: Petty, Gawn, Viney, Petracca, van Rooyen, Melksham, Langdon.

GOALS

Tigers: Martin 3, Baker 2, McIntosh 2, Soldo, Riewoldt, Bolton, D.Rioli, Prestia, Taranto, Coulthard, Balta.

Demons: Petty 6, van Rooyen 4, Melksham 4, Pickett 2, Neal-Bullen, Petracca, Chandler, Hunter.

UMPIRES Johanson, Nicholls, Toner, Gianfagna

VENUE MCG

PLAYER OF THE YEAR: LERNER’S VOTES

3 Harrison Petty (Melb)

2 Max Gawn (Melb)

1 Jack Viney (Melb)