A three-quarter time, I sat back and wondered whether Richmond had just cost themselves the game.
After dominating territory in the third quarter, they managed just 3.6 for the quarter, as the Swans added 2.2 to retain the lead. WIth their inaccuracy, the Tigers failed to capitalise on the multiple scoring opportunities their hard work afforded them. It turns out I shouldn’t have worried.
With a game style suited to the increasingly slippery footy, the Tigers started to grind at stoppages, winning more contested footy and shutting down the run of the Swans, who just couldn’t generate the same potency from defensive 50 they did in the first half.
As the drizzle turned to rain, Richmond basked in the contested nature of the game, whilst the Swans saw their finals hopes washed away.
There was plenty to like in this one, and a bit to dislike, as well. Your old pal, HB doesn’t do likes and dislikes… he does the Loves and Hates, so let’s jump into them.
LOVES
JACK ROSS STEPPING UP
I’ve been a little critical of Jack Ross over the last couple of seasons – it seems that the Tigers have been very patient with him, allowing him to develop at his own pace without ever placing him in the gun and having stories like “Jack Ross is playing for his career” become part of the story of their season.
However, I get the feeling had Ross not started to really show what he was capable of in 2023, there are a few that may have been looking at the Tigers’ list and placing a question mark next to his name.
Starting as sub in this game, you could be forgiven for thinking that this was going to be another game where Ross came on, did a couple of decent things, made a turnover or two, and continued to sit on the periphery of the best 22 at Punt Road.
Well, with the early injury to Jacob Bauer, which was incredibly unfortunate for the young bloke, Ross got an early look at some game time, and man, he made the most of it!
Finishing the game with 20 touches and two goals, Ross patrolled the wing and, unlike so many who occupy that role, did something with his disposals that meant something – he hurt the opposition. And not just bee stings – he brought them to their knees with a couple of huge blows.
Adding to his two goals, Ross worked back hard into defence to provide good fat-side coverage on the last line, particularly late in the game. This is just the second time in his career he has registered multiple goals, and the way he did it looked relaxed – perhaps he is one the Tigers can push forward more often in the future?
They say that crisis begets opportunity… or maybe I just heard that on The Simpsons (A crisitunity!) and whilst seeing Bauer on the bench after just three minutes of game time was a big blow for the kid, Jack Ross took the opportunity that the incident afforded him, and ran with it.
As such, he probably won’t be the sub again next week.
MR VERSATILE
Coming into this game, the impact of Nick Vlastuin was always going to dictate, in part at least, how the game played out. Over the last month or so, he has been one of the Tigers’ best, returning to the form that made him one of the most effective interceptors and controllers of the footy in the caper.
Earlier this season, I reckon the Tigers were doubting themselves and it manifested in their play. There were just key moments where they’d usually take the game on and win it that saw them play conservative footy and lose it, and one of the blokes that it looked to affect most was Vlastuin. Up until that point, I had not seen uncertainty in his game, but it was there as the losses piled up. It was as though the club was being asked questions it had no answer for – none of them.
But they’re answering them now. When Andrew McQualter is swinging moves like he did in this one, you can see that they’re not just answering the questions of others – they’re asking plenty of questions of their own!
If you’d told me before the game that it’d be a Vlastuin contested mark inside 50 to give the Tigers a real sniff at the end of the third quarter, I may have asked whether he accidentally went to the wrong end of the ground or something. But no – McQualter took his chief interceptor and threw him forward. Had it failed, it may have been viewed as a failed Hail Mary play, but with his one-handed grab and goal to send the Tigers to three-quarter time just eight points adrift, you go the feeling something big was brewing. The move worked. The gamble was rewarded. The Tigers made their move.
As the clock ticked down in the last quarter and the result for Vlastuin as a forward was already evident on the scoreboard, he was moved again into defence – back to the role he has owned for a few years, now. His 18 touches and eight intercepts will likely have him included in the best for some. Interestingly, he is not on the best players list on the AFL website (largely because they’re wankers, but also because they don’t really know what they’re looking for), but he was well and truly in mine, as his impact at both ends was significant…
… and I don’t think being run down by Tom Papley is embarrassing… More on that soon.
THE MOST ELECTRIFYING MAN IN THE AFL
Back in 1998, there emerged a character so charismatic, displaying so much flair and excellent timing that people who saw him perform knew that he had star potential.
Sure, he’d been around for a year or two at that stage and those in the know had high expectations, but he was yet to truly start believing in himself. That man was Dwayne Johnson, playing the role of The Rock on WWE Television. If you missed his exploits, you missed something special as he, and a couple of others, helped elevate the WWE to an era of brilliance that saw most of their events became must-watch TV. Hell, over 56,000 people turned up to Marvel Stadium, then known as Colonial Stadium to watch The Rock headline a show there in 2002. He was a jabroni-beating, pie-eating, trailblazing, eyebrow-raising, step on the gas, ready to beat somebody’s ass performer, and he never failed to bring the crowd to their feet. And he established himself not only as a star in his role with WWE, but far beyond that.
He became box office.
And that, my friends, is what Richmond have on thiee hands with Shai Bolton.
On his day, Bolton is a force to be reckoned with, and as the Tigers upped the ante in this game, it was Bolton leading the charge. His second half, picking up 18 disposals and four clearances, drove the Tigers to victory. He finished with 31 disposals, which whilst not his season-high, was definitely his most potent display of the year. It was great to see him save it for when the Tigers needed it most.
What I loved best about his efforts in this one was his intent when he did not have the footy. Put it this way – Errol Gulden does not often get caught holding the ball; Bolton got him twice in this game, and seemed to wear his ability to close down on Gulden like a badge of honour. Hell, it’s a badge of honour not many are capable of wearing, so why the hell not?
He may have started slow, but man, he picked up the pace after that first quarter. As the rain started tumbling at the end of the second quarter, you just had a feeling that Bolton was going to come to the fore. Some players can just make the game look easy with a wet footy – Shai Bolton is one of them.
With ten score involvements and four direct goal assists for the game, he was far and away the most potent force on the ground. Three votes – S Bolton.
THE BAKER DIFFERENCE
He is my favourite Tiger for a reason, and that reason was on full display in this game – Liam Baker just wants the footy more than anyone else.
Sure, that statement can be pretty easily challenged, but when I watch this bloke play, he is always the one body lining the footy, never taking his eyes off it, and for the most part, he just wins contests.
Deployed across half-forward in this one, he was a circuit-breaker for the Tigers, with his desperation and refusal to concede a contest a genuine highlight for Richmond.
At 25 years of age, we are now seeing peak Liam Baker, and I reckon both Andrew McQualter and whoever else sits in the main chair next season would love to clone this bloke so you could have one of him at either end, such is the difference he makes to those around him. His contested footy win in the first quarter against Jake Lloyd was vintage Baker, as he simply brushed the veteran Swans defender aside to set up a goal for Jack Ross.
Whilst he is only credited with three tackles for the game, his work to close down avenues on D50 exits for the Swans is something you only notice when you look for it – the guy just gives everything 100% whilst he is out there.
There are a few small defenders/forwards that could take a bit away from the way he plays. I hope some of them were watching him in this one.
A BIT OF LIP FROM THE UMP
I know some of you won’t like this, and given this is a Richmond win and the majority of readers will be Tiger fans, I fully expect you to rail against this opinion, but when a player insults an umpire for his decision and the ump gives a bit back… I’m a fan.
Nick Vlastuin got caught holding the ball in the first quarter after stepping off his line and being run down by Tom Papley. He wasn’t too happy about it and the mics picked up the exchange between Vlastuin and the umps, where the defender said the umpire “That’s embarrassing” in relation to the decision to pay holding the ball.
The ump, to his credit, shot back immediately with “No, not for me.”
I thought I’d have a bit of a look at social media after the exchange – big mistake, with people calling for the umpire’s head and saying that what he did was the umpiring version of dissent.
Nup… the ump didn’t insult Vlastuin. He simply fired back when Vlastuin had a go at him. I rate that.
I have memories of the great Glenn James umpiring games, and there were times when you’d see an exchange between him and players where they’d all have smiles on their faces. Yeah, footy is a tough business – it can be very serious, but when you take all the personality out of it, including that of the umpires, you end up with a sanitised and bloody boring product.
Let the boys play, let the umps umpire, and if they have a bit of chatter that does not veer towards disrespect, then that is all good from where I sit.
HATES
GEEZ NANK…
Part of me wants to know whether Toby Nankervis wanted to make a statement to open the second quarter, or whether he just had a brain fade.
I have a bit of a running joke with people, that if I were able to place bets on who would give away the first free-kick of a quarter or the game, I would have made a fortune betting on the Tigers’ big man. It’s like he comes out of the team huddle with a head of steam and simply cannot control himself – a little like me when I walk into a room and someone has left a bag of Doritos open. I have to eat them – don’t even talk to me about restraint! Nank is the same – he just has to run into someone.
And whilst continually eating other people’s Doritos may earn me some harsh looks at home, or perhaps a heart condition down the track, it won’t cost me three weeks on the sidelines in the AFL.
Alas, I think it will sit Toby out for that long.
And look, it is not as though I hated what he did or anything – I grew up watching a game that had these incidents all the time. I might be desensitised, but in the modern game, you just cannot get away with that shit.
Richmond are playing a string of Elimination Finals. This week was one hurdle – next week they get West Coast, then the Hawks, but it is the third game that could be very costly if Nank gets three weeks. That week, they play the two-headed monster of Gawn and Grundy.
There is little doubt in my mind Nank will cop a suspension. It would be wise for the Tigers to try everything in their power to get it down to a two-week suspension. They’re gonna need their big man.
A WASTED SEASON
You can look at the injuries in the back half, some players not playing up to potential, and others just meandering through the year hoping things would somehow turn around. However you choose to look at it, though, this season has been a monumental failure for the Sydney Swans.
As many of you would be aware, I have been a bit of a Swans fan for the last few years. 2021, I loved watching them play. In 2022, they put it all together and headed to the Grand Final, where they ran into a buzzsaw and were flogged by the Cats.
That was okay, however, as the nucleus was intact and Sydney had improvement left in them.
But they have just fallen over and could not get back up in 2023. They’ve not been near it. Even this week, to get 26 points up, there was a moment or two in the second quarter where you felt they were on the verge of putting the Tigers away.
But they just couldn’t do it.
The read off hands from Tom Papley at one stage was so good it should have been framed, but the snap, which he’d nail nine times out of ten, let him down.
It has become the story of the season for them, hasn’t it? They’ve threatened to do a lot, but have never followed through. Continually setting themselves up to win, but failing to deliver.
Yes, the injuries to both McCartins and Dane Rampe tore their backline to pieces, and they’re only now just getting things back on an even keel. Nick Blakey had to play tall. Aaron Francis was brought in as a key defender. Everything has seemed difficult.
And that may be okay going forward.
I doubt we’ll see Paddy McCartin back again – that knock he sustained looked so innocuous that anything remotely like a knock to the head may put him in a lot of danger. Sydney is going to have to replace him and get the expected improvement from Blakey, Gulden, McDonald, Sheldrick, and Campbell to again rise up the ladder.
They should be able to, right?
Right?!?!
Yeah, of course – just as they were supposed to be a contender this season.
Men, teams, and coaches make plans… and the Footy Gods laugh. I am afraid that the Swans may have missed their opportunity, and now may have a couple of years until they’re truly back on track. They remind me of the 2009 Hawks… only they didn’t sneak that flag as a surprise before they were truly ready. Using that team as the measurement, the Swans have about 2-3 years before they’re back in the mix.
And it’s a damn shame, because the way they played in 2022 made them look as though they had something special.
LOWER THE FLAG
So, Nank copped his whack for the hit on Jake Lloyd, above. He’ll cop another whack with a suspension.
My question is this – where were the Swans players when Nank dropped Lloyd? Where were the players that actually took offence to one of the biggest blokes on the field nailing one of their prime ball movers from half-back and taking him out of the game?
From what I saw, Nank just jogged off and left Lloyd laying in a heap and NOBODY even went near the bloke! I’m not sure what that tells you, but it tells me that the fire and passion in this Sydney team weren’t there in this one. No one flew the flag in this game. It wasn’t “one in, all in” – it was “sorry about that, mate – I hope you’re okay”.
he wasn’t okay. He was concussed and ruled out of the game – stand up for your damn teammate!
At the next stoppage, Tom Hickey gave away a weak free kick to Nank and that’s about it – the AFL will deal with him, but not one of the Swans players had enough heart and fight to go in and fly the flag.
It spoke volumes to me.
QUICKIES
I’m kind of glad we’re seeing the last of Buddy, now. He tried his backside off in this game, but he is completely shot below his knees and I can remember a coach telling me that was always the first thing to go in a player.
I like what I see from Angus Sheldrick, but he only played half a game – that ankle must have been bothering him more than he let on.
Was nice to see Dusty slam through that goal to seal the deal in the last quarter. He was pretty productive, but his delivery by foot has such a huge gap between his best and his worst.
Again, Errol Gulden played an excellent offensive wingman role. Not so great at playing defensive side of his own opponent, but he obviously has the green light to run wherever he sees fit and relies on others to cover. Two goals to Jack Ross tells me they didn’t cover well enough.
Crowd MVP of the night goes to the woman who managed to continue knitting as her Tigers kicked a goal and she had her beanie played with by the annoying guy she was with, sporting the 2021 Nick Vlastuin look. She wasn’t dragged along to the game at all, was she? What a bloody trooper to put up with all that. Much better than the old Richmond bloke who earned the runner up spot by taking his top off for some reason in the last quarter, whilst crossing himself and thanking the lord.
They definitely breed them interestingly at Punt Road.
I really like Justin McInerney – I want to see him more on the wing, but I understand the attraction of having Braeden Campbell in the role. What I don’t like is seeing his tackles being broken so easily.
Thoughts on Jack Riewoldt? He is at the stage where he needs Tom Lynch to work off. As a number one target, he is now up against players who are quicker and stronger. And truth be told, the cohort in the middle for Richmond at the moment are not big on lacing out passes.
Marlion Pickett as the deepest forward? I thought he got away with a few infringements in marking contests that led to Richmond inside 50s in this game. He is quite good at making it look clumsy and just part of the contest, however, so more power to him until he gets an umpire that looks for that type of stuff.
Logan McDonald made a case for being the worst wet weather forward in the game in the second half of this one. His return of one handball for the entire second half (no marks, no tackles) is horrible. It was like playing one man down.
And finally, Sam Banks had a couple of nice moments in defence. Denied Buddy a goal at one stage and was solid for the majority of the game. Horrid start to Jacob Bauer, however. I hope he gets another shot before the end of the season. To have a hammy end your debut after three minutes – that’s rough.
And you know what – that may just do me. The door remains open for the Tigers – they need to kick it in with a huge win over West Coast next week to build some percentage. Don’t blow it like St Kilda did!
As for the Swans, they’re now done. Yes, yes… mathematical chance, but they don’t deserve to play finals this season, and any level-headed Swans supporter would realise that. It’s no point making up the numbers. Draft well, trade wisely and return stronger.
Massive thanks to those who continue to support my work – it is a labour of love, but you guys do enable me to put in the time it deserves. So, sincerely… thank you.
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