Footy gives, and footy takes away. In this match, it gave the Lions a bit of a boost to get back to the sort of form they’d need to consider a run at the finals, while for Richmond, it gave them little more than headaches and concerns.
While plenty of punters would have tipped Brisbane here, few would have expected a close to twenty-goal drubbing, let alone a scoreline that would see the Tigers drop six whole percentage points to have them sitting just a win and three per cent clear of North, while Brisbane got the four points plus a massive boost of 16 per cent from a game that saw a fantastic team effort, as well as solid outings from their stars.
The build-up
Brisbane has continued to draw criticism for their drop off from 2023, going into the match sitting a lowly 13th and some games that have seen them play far below what has been expected of a team most consider to be within a premiership window.
Joe Daniher in particular has been singled out as a focal forward who lacks the ability to bring teammates into the game when he’s not on song, so what better time to prove the doubters wrong than against a defence that’s leaked the second-most amount of goals in the league? A big win was needed to bring their percentage up, and to show that despite some patchy form of late, they can put teams to the sword when the opportunity is there.
Richmond’s woes for this year have been numerous, but start with a lengthy injury list. Graham, Hopper, Lynch, Rioli Jr and Taranto are all best 22 players out for lengthy periods, with Grimes and Baker also not 100%, and promising youngster Gibcus sitting on the sidelines for 2024 with an ACL injury. In fairness though, we could also point to teams like West Coast, Freo, Carlton, Collingwood and GWS who have similar numbers of players on the sidelines, yet they’ve been able to be competitive far more often than the Tigers.
Piling onto their concerns has been a horrendous form slump that has seen them lose by 43 points to Melbourne, 54 points to Freo and 91 points to the Bulldogs. They really needed to show something against Brisbane, which they unfortunately did not.
Ins and outs
Richmond were forced to bring in four new players, with Banks, Maurice Rioli, Graham and Campbell all out with injuries. Kamdyn Mcintosh’s experience was a welcome addition to a lineup that is looking brittle, to go with youngsters Coulthard and McAuliffe, with the excitingly-named Steely Green making his debut. If his nickname isn’t “Dan”, I’d be disappointed.
Brisbane had a relatively settled list, bringing back Noah Answerth at the expense of an omitted Jaxon Prior.
The start
I mean… there’s no sugar-coating this… It was a belting from the first bounce and Richmond never really got into the game.
Richmond’s defence was under-sized and under-equipped to take on Brisbane’s attack, and lacked the belligerence to worry them. I could go through each goal, but really, it was only one of two things happening; Brisbane running away from a stoppage with quick handball movement through excellent midfield structure and willingness to run into open space, or Richmond trying to clear the ball, turning it over and Brisbane once again running it into attack with quick handball movement through excellent midfield structure and a willingness to run into open space.
So, let’s just skip this bit, except to say that Brisbane opened their account with ten goals before Richmond kicked their first, with Ah Chee kicking the opener, followed by Daniher, Mcinerney, Lohmann, Lohmann again, McCluggage, McInerney again, Cameron, Hipwood, and Lohmann with his third of the five goals he kicked in the match. Richmond broke through with their first major by way of Noah Balta’s first at the eight-minute mark of the second term.
By then, it was too late.
Lefau and the Big O
Asking Mykelti Lefau to stand McInerney in just his eighth game was a big ask, and I’m not sure why he was given the job when Oscar was resting forward. He did seem to be running with him for much of the game. While the AFL no longer publish player weights, Lefau gives up ten centimetres and I’d guess the best part of 20kgs to Big O, and at this stage of his career, lacks the hardness, aggression and tenacity needed to make him work for his ball. I’m not sure if they’ll persist with Lefau as a second ruck (especially in a run-with role on the first ruck) when a lot of his junior time was spent as a forward, but with the depleted list they have, versatility is required from everyone.
Lohmann vs Short
I don’t mind Jayden Short’s ability. He has a bit of dash about him, and a willingness to run hard to make himself an option, but Lohmann ate him alive in this match.
Despite being only 21 and in his 18th game, Lohmann worked in perfect synchronicity with Hipwood, Daniher and McInerney to play the mid-sized forward role to a tee. He led to space away from the lanes of the big forwards, he called where he wanted the ball early, doubling back when necessary, and he looked clean with his hands when the ball came in quickly.
With the speed and quality of delivery he was getting from Neale and Dunkley, it’s not a shock that Short was found wanting so often, but the concern was that Short didn’t really seem to be trying to make a much less experienced player earn his shots with the time-honoured defender tradition of an occasional bit of rough housing to let them know you’re around. In fact, Short didn’t give away a single free kick all game, which is great for being considered the nicest bloke on the field, but not too many effective defenders win awards for being nice blokes once they step across that white line.
In fact, most are downright evil bastards who enjoy messing up the pretty-boy forwards. You guys and girls know who you are. Anyone who has made a career at full back has at one time or another put a wry smile on their face as they got up from a losing marking contest, and pushed the Full Forward’s face into the turf a little more than necessary to get themselves back to their feet.
And I’m yet to meet one who is apologetic about that fact either.
Ruck battle
OK Tigers fans, here’s some good news for you; Nank won the ruck battle against McInerney.
Both of the big men attended a similar number of ruck contests, had a similar number of hit outs, clearances and intercepts, and McInerney did kick two goals, but I’m giving Toby the nod for his ferocious work at the coal face with eight tackles and putting in a presence that pretty much none of his teammates were willing to do.
Like Lefeau, Nankervis also gave up some size to McInerney, but he matched him in aggression, tenacity, and clever ruck craft when finding his mids—no small achievement considering how hard Brisbane were working at stoppages to shut down Richmond’s ball movement.
The secondary rucks were Daniher and Lefeau, with Daniher struggling to tap the ball, but rather relying on his smalls to shark the crumbs of the contest. Lefeau had better ruck craft with seven hit outs (two to advantage) against Daniher’s two (none to advantage) despite Daniher attending almost twice as many ruck contests as Lefeau, and most of Lefeau’s being against McInerney. I really liked his craft of avoiding being stuck in the armpit of Oscar, instead using his mobility to jump at the ball at angles that stopped Oscar man-handling him in the same way he would when both were resting in Brisbane’s forward line. I’ll give the nod to Lefeau here too.
Brisbane’s midfield
Neale, Dunkley, Fletcher, Reville, Rayner and Sharp all looked excellent working the ball from stoppages into attacking positions. By controlling the middle of the ground, it freed up players like Dayne Zorko to move the ball out of defence seemingly at will.
Time and again, Neale and Dunkley combined to shift the ball out of congestion and hit a moving teammate who could collect the ball without breaking stride and surge forward.
It’s simple footy—create a structure with inside mids, link player and outside run—but it was executed perfectly and caught Richmond napping time and time again.
It wasn’t as if Brisbane depended on individual starring efforts either, their dominance was a result of every player near the ball fulfilling their role with gusto and a willingness to run hard to support a teammate.
Basic stuff, but it works wonderfully when the whole team buys in.
Where is Dusty’s head at?
I know, this is some low-hanging fruit. Speculation about Dusty’s future will be reaching fever-pitch after an uncharacteristic game where it took until near the end of the opening quarter for Martin to touch the ball, and it was a shot at goal that he pulled badly to the right. Moments later, he had the ball 15 metres from goal, and rather than taking the sort of regulation snapshot expected of him, he sought to find a teammate at all costs, causing a turnover that saw the ball go end-to-end and Brisbane to score again.
It seems everyone with an opinion is resigned to Dusty heading North in the off-season to join Hardwick at the Gold Coast, with even Richmond stalwart media voices Matthew Richardson and Caroline Wilson claiming that on current form, he’d be offered a base contract, if he’s offered one at all.
Dusty’s 16 touches, three tackles and two clearances in this match won’t have done anything to address that concern either.
Losing on-field leadership when rebuilding can be highly problematic (just look at North Melbourne as an example of that), but if the contract (or trade offer) from the Suns is a good one, Richmond may be able to pick up another quality young player to speed along the process. The Suns won’t be able to rely on walking Dusty to the draft either, with North Melbourne having expressed interest in him for a fair chunk of the last decade, and desperately trying to attract someone who is willing to be an example to their young talent.
Would the Tigers prefer a 33-year-old Dusty to be a one-club player and be an example to their cubs, or take a deal that lets him head to the Gold Coast and bring in someone who might be part of their next finals tilt? It’s a tough call to make, but it’s the question that won’t go away until he signs a contract.
Next up
Brisbane get an extra day’s break to take on Hawthorn at Marvel stadium. Both teams have been patchy with their form, but the Hawks showed a lot of grit in their game against Yartapuulti (Port), falling agonisingly short as the Power finished strong.
Losing a close one to a quality side might be the push Hawthorn needed to really sink their teeth into the match, or it could be hard for their young legs to recover from in time for this match. It’s a tough call, but I think Brisbane might be a little too strong for the Hawks here.
Brisbane by 23.
Richmond have their annual Dreamtime match against Essendon, and it shapes up as a defining game for the club. With an ever-growin injury list made worse this week by Rhyan Mansell suffering a concussion, Sam Naismith tearing an ACL, and Mykelti Lefau suffering a hard hit that it was initially thought broke his jaw, it’ll be a case of every fit player getting a game. The problem is that it’ll mean many players playing out of position and in an unfamiliar role, meaning that further injuries are more likely as players are asked to play out of the role that their body is accustomed to.
Essendon fans are riding high at the moment, sitting second on the ladder and looking forward to putting a hurt on Richmond in a marquee match.
I have no doubt Richmond will show a lot more in front of a massive crowd than they have for the past month, but with their depleted list, low morale and coming off some massive losses, I can’t see any way to not tip Essendon, and by a lot.
Essendon by 80+
