Selfless Richmond claim premiership favouritism with stirring defensive performance

The Tigers got the better of a clash against fellow flag contender West Coast with a superb defensive display.

3 min read

6:38PMAugust 28, 2020

Richmond’s Dustin Martin and Jack Riewoldt after Thursday night’s victory. Picture: Michael Klein

As Jack Riewoldt was assessing the Tigers most impressive win of their premiership defence, the Richmond spearhead was quick to share the praise around.

The three-time Coleman Medallist was particularly complimentary about the defensive performance in Richmond’s 27-point dismantling of West Coast on the Gold Coast.

Richmond lost class defender Dylan Grimes to a hamstring injury early. In effect, his absence squared loss of champion Eagle Josh Kennedy to a concussion in the opening quarter.

But with David Astbury still to return and, as Riewoldt noted, Alex Rance now two seasons gone but clearly not forgotten, it was a time for other Tigers to shine.

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Led superbly by Nick Vlastuin and the remarkably athletic Noah Balta, Richmond’s defence delivered in restricting the Eagles to 61 points on a clear winter’s night.

“The Boys”, Riewoldt declared, “held tough early on” and finished even stronger in a pivotal victory that saw Richmond replace the Eagles as premiership favourites.

But the selflessness and team-oriented nature of Richmond, along with the relentless pressure they applied, was very much in the tradition of the champion Tigers of recent years.

Tom Lynch only had three kicks. All were goals. And Riewoldt only had four. But the stars comprehensively dismantled a critical strength of the West Coast with their own defensive efforts in the air.

Jeremy McGovern marked everything in sight a week earlier against the Giants. Against Richmond he managed just two marks.

Shannon Hurn, Brad Sheppard and Tom Barrass were similar. The Eagles have averaged 79 marks per game in 2020, but were restricted to just 46 by Richmond.

They were not allowed to intercept Richmond’s forward forays and springboard counter-attacks.

Brownlow Medallist Dustin Martin executed one of the best checkside kids for goal a fan will see, such was the power of the kick and the bend in the banana.

But the defensive application of arguably the most creative footballer in the country was significant, with the champion laying an equal-game-high six tackles.

He was selfless and Shai Bolton, who is blossoming in the midfield, got better the longer the match went.

Nick Riewoldt, the cousin of Jack, said Richmond were clearly capable of “stripping their rivals of their game” when “dialling up” the pressure, as they did on Thursday night in a clash between two clear contenders.

Richmond started their surge towards the 2019 premiership when, after a heavy loss against Geelong in Round 12, they went unbeaten in the second half of the season.

A few days after a loss to Port Adelaide in Round 11, Damien Hardwick declared the time for contenders to stand up had arrived.

The Tigers have won three straight to seize a spot in the top four and carry a strong percentage with three games remaining.

Best-and-fairest Dion Prestia, the versatile Shane Edwards and Astbury and Grimes are among those who will return by the finals.

“They are looking ominous again,” Nick Riewoldt noted on Fox Footy.

Former Western Bulldogs and Richmond coach Terry Wallace was succinct on social media. “The most disciplined and structured team in the AFL won again tonight. The Tigers are the team to beat,” he said.

West Coast are unbeaten in Perth this year but have won only two of their six matches in Queensland, though coach Adam Simpson does not believe travelling was a factor in Thursday’s result.

“I don’t think us losing tonight had anything to do with us playing in Queensland. We got beaten by a better side,” he said.

West Coast now has a tougher task to seize a double-chance and also a top-two finish, which could guarantee them a home qualifying final depending on border restrictions.

The Eagles have slipped to fifth and face Essendon, the Bulldogs and St Kilda in the space of nine days from next Tuesday before a last-round clash against the Kangaroos.

But it would be a folly to discount their chances. The loss of Kennedy was critical. Elliot Yeo was also missing, so too the impressive Oscar Allen.

The first half was hotly contested and West Coast staged a third-term fightback when Richmond threatened to blow them away before fading late on their return to Queensland.

As Simpson noted, the Eagles kicked 4.4 to Richmond’s six straight in what proved a defining period of the match.

“I thought the endeavour and spirit was there,” he said. “Unfortunately, we were not good enough tonight but we got beaten by a pretty good side. We probably didn’t manage to stop their style of play as much as they stopped ours.”