AFL 2021: Hugo Ralphsmith in line for Richmond debut after Shane Edwards injury blow
Richmond says it can find a silver lining in Shane Edwards’ long-term injury with a new cult hero looming for a Round 9 debut.
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Richmond will look into the past for confidence a fourth premiership in five years is still in its future, although the Tigers will have to stabilise their rocky season without Shane Edwards.
Their most polished player is staring at about 6-8 weeks on the sidelines with what the club described as a “significant medial ligament sprain” to Edwards’ left ankle.
Edwards, 32, was on crutches as he was sent for ankle scans on Saturday.
The Tigers did not put a time frame on the injury, but said it was a “medium term” setback.
It has been a revolving door of three-time premiership superstars at Punt Rd this year.
The Tigers regained Nick Vlastuin and Dustin Martin against Geelong on Friday night, but lost Trent Cotchin (hamstring) and Dylan Grimes (concussion) and have now had Edwards go down.
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They are still without Kane Lambert and Dion Prestia (both calf).
The club’s VFL team had a bye this round, but half-forward Hugo Ralphsmith is a good chance to make his AFL debut against Greater Western Sydney at Marvel Stadium next week.
The 4-4 start is Richmond’s worst since its miserable 2016 season and suddenly it will be a challenge to secure the double chance this year.
But in 2019 the Tigers were given no chance when they played Port Adelaide at Adelaide Oval without Cotchin, Martin, Jack Riewoldt or Bachar Houli, only to prevail by seven points.
Stand-in captain Riewoldt said that victory, which included Shai Bolton (10th game), Liam Baker (fourth) and Noah Balta (third), was a source of inspiration for the current battle.
“There’s evidence in the past for us, and that’s what we believe in,” Riewoldt said.
“We have had injuries like this before, and have had little plagues of injuries like this to senior guys.
“It’s actually provided us with opportunity.”
Shane Edwards on crutches heading in for scans on ankle injury. Details on @7NewsMelbourne@7AFLpic.twitter.com/xR26bDRl0T
— Andrew McCormack (@_AMcCormack7) May 8, 2021
The Tigers are sixth on the ladder and 1-4 against the top five, with Brisbane Lions at the Gabba looming in Round 10.
Their MCG fortress has also been penetrated, losing three of their past four games at the ground – by 45 points (Sydney), 34 (Melbourne) and 63 (Geelong).
Richmond’s backline looked vulnerable against the Cats, which banged through plenty of goals after marks were dropped.
Riewoldt said those skill errors would be easy to fix.
“A couple of guys dropped marks that nine times out of 10 they would take,” Riewoldt told Fox Footy.
“We probably lost the ball through the middle of the ground and put our backs under more pressure.
“That’s a pretty easy fix for us to make sure we’re more tidy with the ball in the air and on the ground.
“I don’t think we fluctuate as much as the media think we do. We try not to ride that wave of momentum, whether it’s positive or negative.
“We’re not going to deviate from what we believe is the right path and the right way.
“We know what we do and we believe in what we do as well.”
TIGERS’ WOES COMPOUNDED BY KEY INJURY BLOW
Richmond’s dirty night at the MCG has been compounded by star midfielder Shane Edwards being in doubt to face Greater Western Sydney next week at Marvel Stadium.
The triple premiership player left the field during the final quarter of the Tigers’ 63-point loss to the Cats, with the assistance of medical staff, after injuring his ankle and struggling to put weight on the affected foot.
While the Tigers will hope to regain Dylan Grimes (concussion), Edwards could be added to an unavailability list that already includes captain Trent Cotchin (hamstring), Kane Lambert (calf) and Dion Prestia (calf).
Hardwick was full of admiration for Geelong, labelling them the best side the Tigers have faced so far this year, which is high praise considering they’ve already played Melbourne, Western Bulldogs, Port Adelaide and Sydney in 2021.
“Geelong are a very, very good side. We can see the way they go about their game, they’ve added talent from last year, you add (Shaun) Higgins, you add Isaac Smith, you add Jeremy Cameron, they’re three really good players, so they’ve got better again – we’ve got to catch them,” Hardwick said post-game.
But having consistently made slow starts to the year during their current premiership run, Hardwick was confident his team would be able to turn things around like they had done before.
“We’re in the hunt, so I think this year is going to be pretty open to be fair, it’s similar (to previous years) but we’ve got to play better,” he said.
“We’ve got to hang tough, but that’s what we do … we’ve got work to do to catch the very best sides in the comp at the moment because that ain’t us.”
Hardwick was surprised by how many errors his backline committed, especially in the third quarter, which directly led to Geelong goals, but refused to use the absence of Grimes as an excuse. Cameron (six), Gary Rohan (five) and Tom Hawkins (four) combined for 15 goals for Geelong.
“Sometimes it’s just a loss of confidence,” he said.
“When that happens you can look a bit rattled and that was the reality of the situation.”
The Richmond coach lamented his team’s inability to make tackles stick while also getting comprehensively beaten around the contest.
“I thought their (Geelong’s) ability to fight through tackles was outstanding,” Hardwick said.
“If you get belted around the contest, your pressure has to be good, our pressure wasn’t quite good enough.
“It was a tale of two halves – the first half I thought we looked really good … but they’re a really strong, experienced side, they’re a big side, if they get through that first line of defence, they step through.
“Their big key forwards are hard to play against when they’re getting such clean ball inside 50.”
Despite the result, Richmond’s Shai Bolton produced the highlight of the game as he climbed over Mark Blicavs’ shoulders in the first term to take a grab that will be hard to beat for mark of the year.
“It was pretty good, wasn’t it? Unfortunately you don’t get four points for mark of the year, disappointing as it is,” Hardwick said.
And as for Geelong springing a late change before the game by replacing Rhys Stanley with Esava Ratugolea: “I think Scotty (Geelong coach Chris Scott) is notorious, aren’t they at the Cats for a late change? Guaranteed certainty to us. If there’s one bet you’re putting on tonight it was going to be a late change.”
Why history is against Tigers
Geelong has scored its most significant victory of the year and one of its best in recent years to leave Richmond needing to overcome recent history if it’s to claim a hat-trick of premierships.
The Cats produced a stunning 63-point win in a remarkable turnaround at the MCG on Friday night to leave the two-time defending premiers with a 4-4 record a third of the way through the season.
Geelong had trailed by 19 points early in the second quarter and looked on track for a heavy defeat, suffocated by Richmond’s pressure.
But Chris Scott’s side flipped the heat after halftime to hand Richmond its biggest defeat since midway through 2019 when Geelong won by 67 points.
Records suggest the Tigers are now up against it to be holding the silverware at the end of the year.
Only three teams this century, including one in the past 16 years, have claimed the flag from a 4-4 start – Hawthorn in 2015, Sydney in 2005 and Brisbane in 2001.
Not even Richmond in its slow out-of-the-block starts in recent seasons has started this badly.
And three of its defeats this year have been at its MCG fortress.
It was only Geelong’s third victory over Richmond from the past nine meetings between the two sides.
A brilliant third term saw a wounded Geelong split Richmond like winter firewood, bringing Cats fans to their feet at three-quarter time.
They kicked eight goals to one in the third quarter, inspired by Jeremy Cameron’s three majors in a spectacular 21-minute burst on his way to a bag of six.
The enigmatic Gary Rohan, in his 150th game, also kicked two during the third stanza.
Invariably when Rohan fires, so do the Cats.
In the nine times Rohan has kicked three goals or more since joining Geelong at the start of 2019, the Cats have won.
He finished with an equal career-high five.
Scott said Rohan, who now has ten goals in three weeks, was benefiting from the inclusion of Cameron into the Cats side.
“I thought it was going to take a little bit longer to build that cohesion,” Scott said.
“We have obviously been conscious not to put a lid on them. We would like to see it and we have been working towards it.
“But it was Rohan’s 150th tonight and if you could somehow get a hold of his highlights over the course of his career and looked at them in isolation, you would think you we re-looking at the best player in the comp, he has that in him.
“And I think the other two (Cameron and Hawkins) being down there is certainly not going to hurt him.”
The dominance of Hawkins, Cameron and Rohan means Esava Ratugolea, who came into the side for ruck Rhys Stanley, could be set for more time in the middle of the ground.
Ratugolea was also assessed in the changerooms after a heavy collision.
The 22-year-old was a late inclusion but Scott said he liked what he saw of the emerging tall.
“There are a few (things) I don’t want to talk about publicly, but we were still a little bit unsure (about Ratugolea playing) even post our last session, so we wanted to keep our powder dry a little bit to see how Esava came through that,” he said.
“But anyone who has listened to my press conferences would know how bullish I am on Esava, so that should almost speak for itself.
“I thought he was good, but I though Nankervis was good in the centre bounces as well. That was one of our problems early, they were clearing the ball from there, and as everyone knows if they are beating you at the clearances you are going to be under a bit of pressure in your back half.”
Sam Simpson was subbed out of the game shortly after halftime with what appeared to be a right hamstring injury in his first game of the season.
Luke Dahlhaus was also sore and did not play any further part from midway during the third term.
Matches against St Kilda, Gold Coast and Collingwood before the mid-season bye should help Geelong reach 8-3 and in a position where it can launch for a 12th top-four finish since 2007.
MATCH REPORT: CATS STUN TIGERS WITH MASSIVE TURNAROUND
The Cats had lost six of their previous seven games against the Tigers, including three finals, but there was one crucial difference between those encounters and Friday night’s meeting – Jeremy Cameron.
The result saw the Cats conquer a major psychological hurdle in their bid for long-awaited premiership success and Cameron looms as a key piece to that ambition. It hasn’t taken him long to fit into his new team, and after just three games he is already the Cats’ most dangerous forward.
Cameron ran rampant, finishing up with 22 disposals, eight marks, six goals and 15 score involvements and he could have had seven majors if he didn’t do his best Malcolm Blight impersonation late in the third quarter, when his quick snap under pressure from two metres out went the wrong side of the goalpost, despite having more time to settle than he realised.
He had plenty of support in attack, too, with Gary Rohan (five) and Tom Hawkins (four) combining with Cameron for 15 goals.
With the Tigers having already lost to Sydney by 45 points, Melbourne by 34 and now Geelong by 63 in the opening two months, the question now has to be asked – is the Richmond empire starting to crumble?
RICHMOND’S THIRD QUARTER FROM HELL
It’s hard to remember Richmond’s backline having a worse 30 minutes during their premiership run than what they produced in the third quarter.
It was just costly mistake after costly mistake.
Nathan Broad got the ball rolling with two huge errors in the first nine minutes, firstly dropping an easy mark which allowed Tom Hawkins to set up a goal for Brad Close, and secondly missing a simple target from 15m away, which led to a turnover and a Cameron goal.
Eight minutes later youngster Rhyan Mansell dropped a sitter, allowing Hawkins to set up another Geelong major, this time for Gary Rohan.
And another triple premiership Tiger in Nick Vlastuin rounded out the horror show with a pair of fumbles in the space of five minutes which both led to Cameron goals.
An ideal start to the second half for the Cats ðŸ‘#AFLTigersCatspic.twitter.com/SRFMd7Rx6R
— AFL (@AFL) May 7, 2021
CATS’ ATTACK TEARS TIGERS TO SHREDS
It was an offensive masterclass from the Cats in the second half as they helped themselves to 13 goals to Richmond’s two.
They were able to achieve that incredible feat by comprehensively winning the marks inside 50 (20-6) and tackles inside 50 (18-4) as well as the disposals 439-308 and contested possessions 148-115 while still finishing on top in tackles 74-61.
SHAI BOLTON OMG 😱#YokayiFootypic.twitter.com/uQTLB3UnNj
— AFL (@AFL) May 7, 2021
BOLTON TAKES A HANGER
Shai Bolton took an absolute screamer in the first quarter which will be very hard to beat for mark of the year.
The 175cm Tiger jumped on the shoulders of the 198cm tall Mark Blicavs, then got an extra boost to go so high into the air that he ended up taking a chest mark.
There were shades of Shaun Smith’s classic 1996 screamer against Brisbane at the Gabba, so Bolton could be forgiven for looking up to the scoreboard to take a sneak peek at the replay before converting the set shot from point-blank range.
Melbourne great Garry Lyon declared that Bolton’s screamer would not be beaten this year.
“Mark this down. That is not only the clubhouse leader, I’m declaring that!” Lyon said on Fox Footy.
“That’s as good as you’re going to see this year.”
“If his legs went from under him, you’d have a better appreciation for the height.
Brisbane champion Jonathan Brown said the incredible grab reminded him of former Demons high-flyer Jeff Farmer.
CASTAGNA MILES OFF
Jason Castagna committed one of the worst shots on goal ever seen on a footy field in the first quarter.
As the Richmond goalsneak ran to 35m out directly in front, he tried to banana the ball through the big sticks, but unfortunately for him, he kicked the wrong side of the ball, sending it out of bounds on the full about 45m out from goal.
It’s hard to recall a ball missing its target by such a distance.
TIGERS 4.3 7.7 8.9 9.9 (63)
CATS 1.3 6.4 14.8 19.12 (126)
LERNER’S BEST
Tigers: Bolton, Short, Aarts, Edwards.
Cats: Cameron, Rohan, Hawkins, C.Guthrie, Henderson, Henry, Stewart.
GOALS
Tigers: Aarts 3, Bolton 3, Lynch, D.Rioli, Riewoldt.
Cats: Cameron 6, Rohan 5, Hawkins 4, Smith 2, Higgins, Close.
INJURIES Tigers: Edwards (ankle).
Cats: Simpson (hamstring), Dahlhaus (back)
LATE CHANGE Rhys Stanley was replaced in Geelong’s selected side by Esava Ratugolea
UMPIRES Haussen, Stephens, Williamson
VENUE MCG
PLAYER OF THE YEAR
LERNER’S VOTES
3 J.Cameron (Geel)
2 G.Rohan (Geel)
1 T.Hawkins (Geel)
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Originally published as AFL 2021: Hugo Ralphsmith in line for Richmond debut after Shane Edwards injury blow
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