It was fun while it lasted, but a gutsy Richmond Tigers outfit eventually ran out of steam as Geelong dominated the fourth term to put their four-game losing streak to bed at GMHBA Stadium on Saturday night.
The Cats were relentless in the fourth, closing down any Richmond attempt at escaping the defensive 50m, and piling on four goals to zip to run the game out 15.9 (99) to 10.9 (69) winners.
“We got smashed at clearance and territory in the last,” was the word from Richmond coach Adam Yze post-match, and well, you can’t say much more than that.
Jack Bowes had what is probably his best game in the hoops, Mitch Duncan put a rough first half behind him to finish strong. and Max Holmes continued on with a season that has him every chance to win a Carji Greeves Medal as they led Geelong to a scoreline that didn’t really reflect Richmond’s efforts from the first three terms.
But final margin aside, the Tigers were pretty damn good for the majority of this clash.
In fact, they were downright dominant in the opening half.
Richmond opened the game in blistering style with a 20-second passage of play that would have put a wide grin on almost any non-Geelong supporter’s face, resulting in a Mykelti Lefau goal that stated their intent for the night.
It was enough to spark a four-goal first quarter with the efforts of Liam Baker (despite an initial hamstring concern), Jack Graham and youngster Kane McAuliffe helping to land a series of gut-punches on the home team early.
The momentum continued into the second term with a ridiculously fortunate bounce gifting Noah Cumberland a goal.
Rhyan Mansell soon followed suit, and eventually Samson Ryan was able to make the most of his enormous frame up forward to give Richmond a near four-goal buffer late in the second term.
Enter, Oli Dempsey…
Not exactly what I expected to write tonight, but the Rising Star fancy (assuming Harley Reid gets rubbed out) showed plenty of class, crafting two goals from half-chances before the half-time break to keep Geelong in striking distance.
He would eventually kick his third out of absolutely thin air midway through the third term, giving Geelong a lead they would then hold for the remainder of the game.
In the end, the fourth quarter was one-way traffic. Richmond worked hard to create opportunities but squandered them under immense Geelong pressure as the Cats, in Yze’s words, dominated the territory game to put the game out of their visitors’ reach.
It’s an important victory for the Cats, ensuring they retain their spot in the top eight while putting a barren month in the rearview mirror.
Of course, they’ll need to improve vastly if they’re going to beat Sydney next week. Luckily for them though, this is a match report, not a prediction, so who cares about next week?
Let’s dive into some of the things that caught my four eyes in this one.
Bright future glimpses where you least expect them
When I want to watch bright young talent coming through the ranks, Geelong and Richmond aren’t exactly my first stops.
That’s why I was pleasantly surprised tonight, as a handful of young players made rather large differences in this one.
Dempsey is the obvious example here. The 21-year-old put together 27 disposals, three goals and five marks and played a major role in swinging the momentum of this game.
But he wasn’t the lone young fella making waves out there.
I really liked the way Samson Ryan utilised his size at times in this one, taking some big marks and kicking some big goals.
Seth Campbell battled hard, Hugo Ralphsmith had a crack and Kane McAuliffe’s first half was impressive.
They’re not the reason people would have bought their tickets, but these youngsters gave the punters a bloody good show tonight.
Max Holmes, good at football
Not the most inspiring header I’ve ever written, but it definitely gets the point across.
At 21-years-old and now in his fourth season, the Cats midfielder has been his club’s most consistent performer this year and was sound once again with 29 disposals and a goal against the Tigers.
His lowest statistical output this season came back in round five against the Western Bulldogs where he managed 20 disposals and a goal (I know, putrid right?).
He’s averaging 31 disposals and a goal over his last three matches and is powering his way towards a best-and-fairest for the club. He’s one of those blokes you feel like has been around for 10 years, but then you Google his age (just like I did tonight) and his performances become all the more impressive.
Never count out Liam Baker, apparently
His night looked cooked when he headed down the race for a look at a tight hamstring early in the first term, but the Richmond vice captain somehow still managed six disposals, three tackles and a goal in the first quarter, despite spending a large chunk of the period on the bench.
He would go on to end the night with 31 disposals and be one of his side’s best, helping out in plenty of handball chains and making solid decisions for most of the night. His patience with the footy was a prominent aspect of his game, as well, as it was Baker putting on the brakes, pausing and assessing several times within the chaos of the game, that allowed the Tigers meaningful forward 50 entries instead of just a bum-rush toward goal. That’s something he seems to be adding to his game.
No Stewart tag this week
He didn’t exactly tear them to shreds, but Richmond deciding not to tag Tom Stewart struck me as an interesting decision given the recent success taggers have had on the superstar defender in recent weeks.
It won’t be something Adam Yze loses any sleep over, given Stewart would only go on to have 18 disposals and was far from the reason they lost, but I’m not sure too many other coaches are going to allow Stewart the same freedoms moving forward.
Lefau injury a real sour pill
Richmond’s injury curse strikes again, and this one is bloody hard to swallow.
I’ve really enjoyed the impact Mykelti Lefau has made on Richmond’s forward line in the absence of superstar Tom Lynch, but it might be a while before we see that impact again with rumours he’s ruptured his ACL following an incident in tonight’s game.
He was up to 15 goals on his debut year before said incident and had been a serious bright spot in a bleak Richmond situation. He’s a tough customer, and for a minute it looked like he was going to try to “walk it off”, but with the commentators yapping about PCL injuries, thinking that he hurt his knee when he slammed it into the back of a Geelong player’s head, but it was the hyperextension on the landing that looked horrible.
Fingers crossed for him -n he has been great to watch this season.
Alright, that’s me done for this one. Much like Richmond at three quarter time, I’m outta here.
