Wayward Lions lag behind on-target Tigers
Life itself has been turned upside down in 2020 but one thing stays the same – Richmond continue to beat Brisbane.
Life itself has been turned upside down in 2020 but one thing stays the same – Richmond continue to beat Brisbane.
The Tigers winning streak over the Lions now stands at 15, and unless the two sides meet in finals it will now stand at 12 years since Richmond tasted defeat to Brisbane as the reigning premiers sent another ominous warning to the rest of the competition.
But the Lions only have themselves to blame for the winless streak continuing, after Brisbane were again wasteful in front of goal in a big clash against the Tigers kicking just the one goal in the second half.
They finished with 17 behinds, while in another sign everything is coming right for the Tigers their star forward duo of Jack Riewoldt and Tom Lynch had their best game for Richmond this year, finishing with four and three goals while Dustin Martin was again outstanding.
In the bout of two of the competition’s heavyweight teams the Lions threw plenty of punches at the Tigers – but couldn’t land any meaningful blows.
In the second quarter Brisbane had 14 inside 50s, but like the qualifying final last year the Lions were wayward. Sam Skinner missed from the top of the goal-square after playing on, and Lincoln McCarthy hit the post when he should have scored.
After absorbing all the Brisbane blows, the Tigers then went up the other end and landed three big punches in four minutes – finishing with five goals from nine forward 50 entries in the second quarter.
Lions star Harris Andrew is arguably the best key defender in the competition but against old foe Lynch he had a night he would want to forget.
After Brisbane kicked the first two goals, Andrews gifted the Tigers two of their own in quick succession – out of position for the first and then spoiling it straight to a Richmond player for the second.
Maybe it was the presence of youngster Jack Payne that spooked Andrews in the backline but Lynch feasted on this rare off-day.
Rivals from many a Q Clash, Lynch and Andrews were at each other all game and the Tigers spearhead landed the vital blows.
Tigers coach Damien Hardwick conceded before the match that his side was almost powerless to stop Lachie Neale from winning the ball, instead backing his side’s previous plan of going with a team approach to contain him rather than a hard tag.
Unsurprisingly Neale finished with the most touches at Metricon Stadium, 26, to further boost his Brownlow Medal chances but he was let down by a disappointing Lions outfit in attack.
On the other hand Martin seemed to impact the game with nearly every touch, having 10 score involvements and three goal assists from his 24 touches.
The playing surface at Metricon Stadium is starting to show significant wear and tear as the ground continues to take a heavy workload during the AFL’s condensed season.
The venue is hosting an unprecedented number of games this season, with most of the competition based in Queensland.
On Tuesday night it hosted its fifth game in seven days and is also set to host games on Thursday and Friday this week.
The broadcast side wing is of particular concern, becoming increasingly patchy.
However, Fox Footy boundary rider Ben Dixon told News Corp earlier this week that he felt the ground was holding up incredibly well after inspecting it closely on Sunday.
“I think it’s holding up extremely well. Whoever the groundskeeper is, I think they’re doing an amazing job.
Herald Sun
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