It was a hot Gather Round day as Richmond took on Freo against the wonderful backdrop of a brown Barossa Valley. My first thought was “Why not play the round in winter? The backdrop will be at its best”. Although, neither of these teams are at their best, so perhaps it was an accurate sign of things to come.
Richmond: a very young side who have played some good footy this year, and look enthusiastic as their next phase begins. Fremantle, boasting a full 12 games more experience, were the settled team and expected to win; but it would be their fifth game of the season under the heat rule, and surely that might take a toll on the team. Here’s what I saw:
The cream rises to the top
The first ten minutes were telling for the match. Maurice Rioli had the first goal within seconds, set up Kamdyn McIntosh for a goal a moment later, and shortly after had his second. All of that came about through Rioli’s ability to be a clean, one-touch player who makes instant and good decisions. Likewise for Freo, whenever Shai Bolton got his hands on the ball, something happened. He ran through the middle early in the game, and on two occasions his first touch resulted in a shot on goal.
Up forward, Josh Treacy was clunking everything, kicking three goals himself in an opening ten minute shoot-out. It became clear that whoever could maintain their composure and skill for longer – and capitalise on that – would walk away with the four points.
Unfortunately for the Tigers, Rioli was about their only player who looked a class above, and he was held out of it after half time. They need to find more class around the footy. Meanwhile, Fremantle is a team full of class players: Young, Bolton, Treacy, Chapman, Murphy, and even Dudley all have that cleanliness around the contest, and their engine room have the strength to brut their way through the contest and get it into the hands of the best users.
McIntosh
There’s something about McIntosh that I’ve always liked. He’s never the best player on the field, but he has an ability to make things happen. Used in a defensive role over the last couple of weeks, I expected him to line up on Caleb Serong. He did a few times, but it was nothing at all like a tagging job, and McIntosh enjoyed the freedom, dashing the ball out of the middle on regular occasions in the first half.
However, the Dockers clamped down and he didn’t have enough friends around him to continue. Yze might’ve got him to tighten up on one of Freo’s mids in the second half, but even if he had, the damage was done.
Treacy has arrived – but where’s Amiss?
He’d never kicked more than five in a match, but three in first quarter allowed Treacy to ease past that record, kicking his sixth and final in the third. Not only is Treacy a beast in the air, he’s also quick on a lead and pressures like the best small forwards. But his mate, in Jye Amiss, seems to have gone backwards. A dead-eye a few years ago, his accuracy has now dropped off, as has his ability to win the ball; his one disposal in the first half ended in a kick out on the full.
Amiss is the kind of player who only needs to get it a handful of times to affect a game, but today, as he has been most of the season, he was completely missing. Amiss might start sweating on the fitness of Sam Sturt, because when the classy mid-tall is playing again, Amiss’s spot may be on the line – even Young showed the more genuine full forward craft when he rested up there.
Overuse Vs Overuse
The Dockers love a handball and are often criticised for over-using the ball, as they continue to look for different and better options in space while maintaining movement. It’s a double-edged sword for them, because while it allows them to move through traffic in space, it also allows pressure to build around them. It was the pressure the Tigers brought in the first half that kept them in the game.
But on the flipside, every pass the Dockers make is with purpose. They’ll look for a dangerous handball, they’ll kick it a decent length backwards to someone who’ll immediately go inboard. They’ll go for the dangerous corridor kick. When it works, it gives them space and pace to deliver the ball inside 50.
The Tigers also used handball a lot, but a lot of their possessions weren’t as damaging. When they could move it quickly, they looked very good and “bring the fun” to quote Kelly Underwood, several times. But coming out of defence, or after a passage where Freo could set up defensively, their movement was quite slow as they chipped the ball around in space, waiting for options to open up. Options that rare did.
It’s the illusion of movement: maintaining possession without really going anywhere. If the Tigers want to improve quickly, they need to be more daring more often. Risk losing by more to put pressure on the opposition’s defence. Risk versus reward. However, when you’re struggling, it is something much easier said, or written, than done.
At the end of the day, the proof is in the pudding: 360 disposals per team, 65 inside 50s to Freo and only 35 to the Tigers.
Nank the Tank
Who doesn’t love a good, physical ruckman?
Against Sean Darcy, who probably needed another WAFL game or two, and Patrick Voss who tries but is no ruckman, Nank was determined to show he was the boss. He didn’t dominate around the ground, though his marks in defence were solid, but his physicality in the contest allowed a bit of space for his mids to work. And his hit on Darcy in the third quarter might’ve been unstoppable force vs an immovable object, and the unstoppable force won this time. As the Tigers continue getting games into their young players, Nank’s presence around the ground is an important beacon for them.
Freo get on top
The second half was all Freo. Richmond were unable to maintain their pressure, which allowed the Dockers to control possession and momentum. They perhaps didn’t go for the jugular quite as much as they could, but managed nine goals to one in the half, to build a 61 point margin – their biggest ever against the Tigers. The Tigers didn’t die wondering, but lacked the class to find a goal or two that might’ve just forced the Dockers into another gear. It’s also a good sign when the full back floats forward, and Alex Pearce kicking a goal from 50 in the third was symbolic of Freo’s dominance.
The Cult Hero!
Freo love a cult hero: There’s been Clive, Kepler, and now Voss? I’ve become a bit of a fan of Voss recently. He’s been doing a solid role of providing a second ruck and being a target around the ground. But between his inability to kick goals, his celebratory in the wrong direction last week, knocking someone out with a warm-up goal, then breaking two tackles and kicking it over his head before celebrating wildly enough for “Richmond (to) bring the fun” (thanks, Kelly).
But then, local boy Isaiah Dudley came on as sub. 21 years old, overlooked in the draft, invited to train, and skips on to the list, to just come on as sub in this third game (for three wins) to get past two defenders, and stream down the wing with three bounces… A rival appears.
It’ll be interesting to see if Dudley overtakes the big celebrator, particularly if Voss is cited for whacking Nick Vlastuin across the beak.
Hopper with the numbers – but I never saw him
To say I never saw him is quite unfair because Hopper really is the engine room of the Tigers. He had 24 handballs from his 31 touches, but he only had five clearances and just 14 of his disposals were contested, In addition, only four of them went on for a Richmond score. He tried hard all day, but is he getting bang for his buck? Are the Tigers getting bang for their buck from him?
Hopper is the man for whom Richmond need to build a quality midfield around while he is good enough to help them build, so that he can get to work and be a Neale-type player.
But until then? We’ll continue to not fault his efforts.
Is Health Chapman one of the most underrated defenders?
Chapman is a very young mid-sized defender, but he’s able to be everywhere. He played tall, small and has the composure to win the footy through a crowd, and then he has the skill to find a difficult target and hit them. One to watch.
That’s a wrap
Really, this was a game that went pretty much as expected. After a slow start to the season, Freo have found a bit of rhythm and, with winners all over the ground, are a difficult side to beat. Richmond have all the heart in the world, but that only gets you so far. There might’ve only been 12 games between the two sides, but Freo feels like an experienced side, and that experience showed throughout.
