For a game that didn’t seem to warrant a marquee timeslot, so much came out of this match. From Ward’s potential career-ending injury that quickly transitioned into a possible lateral switch to motivational speaking, and the Tigers showing that the green shoots of a rebuild can be very fragile, each team will have reasons to be proud of their game, while also reasons to wish things had gone a little differently.
After dominating the first half like your chronically online cousin at a pub trivia night, the Tigers would be kicking themselves at coughing up a lead that almost hit the six-goal mark — but they’d probably miss that too.
Powered by the emotional spirit (and shredded knee ligaments) of Callan Ward, GWS stormed home with five final-quarter goals and held on by three points, in a true heart-stopper of a match.
The last five
Richmond have had the slight edge in recent match-ups, winning three of the last five encounters, though the last contest was a 24-point win to GWS at the MCG in round 18 last year.
Ins and Outs
GWS
In: Josh Kelly, Toby McMullin
Josh Kelly returned after missing time due to a hip injury . His comeback bolstered the Giants’ already potent midfield, while Toby McMullin was brought in to add fresh energy to the forward line.
Out: Jacob Wehr, Harry Rowston
Jacob Wehr was omitted from the lineup, while Harry Rowston also made way.
Richmond
In: Dion Prestia, Tyler Sonsie, Tom Lynch, Toby Nankervis
Dion Prestia made his eagerly-awaited season debut after recovering from an Achilles issue. His experience and ball-winning ability were evident, contributing significantly to Richmond’s early dominance.
Tyler Sonsie and Tom Lynch also came back into the team after being sidelined. Lynch’s role as focal point of the forward line has been talked about a lot, but when he’s on form, he’s a big target for a busy Richmond midfield.
Rounding out the returning Tigers is veteran ruckman Toby Nankervis. In a team that relies quite a bit on their younger, lighter players, having a mack truck in the middle of the ground playing sheep dog over his flock is possibly the most important job in the squad. It’s one thing to give a young team the freedom to play with creativity and dash, but having a bloke like Nank around naked sure they’re not getting rag-dolled at the content. At least, not more than once.
Out: Thomson Dow, Sam Lalor, Samson Ryan, Maurice Rioli Jr.
Sam Lalor was out due to a hamstring injury, as well as Samson Ryan and Thomson Dow. Maurice Rioli Jr. was unavailable due to a syndesmosis injury.
The Start
Picture this: Richmond, a team supposedly rebuilding with sticky tape and good intentions, came out looking like the team that served up a buffet of humble pie to a Carlton team that was feeling very optimistic about their season. First blood went to GWS through a clean Tom Green goal, but by the 10-minute mark, Richmond had slammed on four goals and looked like they’d rediscovered the dash and flair that made them so good to watch earlier in the year.
With the flow of the match against them, GWS suffered a damaging blow to their morale when veteran Callan Ward tried to corral Ralphsmith near the boundary, only for his right knee to completely give way. He fell to the ground clutching it in agony, and was helped off the field by the medicos.
By quarter-time, the Tigers had clawed their way to a 28-point lead, and Adam Kingsley looked concerned for his senior player, as well as his team at large.
The Tigers surged forward, playing with a pace and flair bordering on recklessness.Prestia was moving like a man trying to prove he’s still got it after 238 calf injuries, and the young guns that have filled out the Richmond side had their tails up and looked confident.
While the 26-point halftime margin would have been cause for a few smiles, the 7.11 score might have been something to touch on, if only to get value for the energy they put into getting the ball forward.
Richmond’s midfield trio—Tim Taranto, Jacob Hopper, and Dion Prestia—dominated early, with Taranto racking up 15 disposals and two goals by halftime.
The second half
If you tuned out at halftime, you probably assumed Richmond was about to create another identity crisis among teams expected to make finals as they were beating GWS to the ball and swamping the ball carrier with pressure before they had a chance to settle. Closing down space like that frustrates opponents, but it’s hard to play at the sort of all gas, no brakes pace that the Tigers were running.
GWS would have been aware of this, and looked to be biding their time a little. Holding onto the ball a little more, being willing to retreat to half back to slow the pace of the game before causing the Richmond defensive structure to scramble laterally to cover a new attempted attacking vector. Tom Green reached into his bag of tricks and came up with about three extra testicles that gave him the sort of testosterone boost that had Stephen Dank taking notes as Green crashed and bashed his way through the pack. As much as losing Ward hurt the team, it seemed almost like it lit a fire under Green to see his mate off with a finals-worthy effort.
The midfield of Green and Kelly grew a collective backbone and started giving their forwards something resembling usable delivery, though Jesse Hogan was being monstered by two or three defenders at once, Greene, Cadman and Brown all started presenting as viable attacking options as the GWS midfield realised that their spearhead was being manhandled.
Jake Riccardi took a speccie that will end up on some kids walls as well.
So high we’re pretty sure he briefly entered Qantas airspace. Unfortunately, the GWS kicking boots were still the wrong size, and they couldn’t quite eat into the lead. Richmond, meanwhile, just sort of stopped. Like a 2001 Dell laptop trying to run Cyberpunk.
The odd thing is, while Richmond extended their half time lead by a point, GWS had stemmed the bleeding and looked like a boxer that had taken their opponents best shots and remained standing, but the game was still well and truly Richmond’s to win.
Then, Callan Ward showed why he’s held in such high regard in the Giants’ camp by talking to the lads in the three quarter time huddle. A bloke facing the end of his career put aside his worries to spell it out for the boys and push them to keep their heads up and fight it out to the siren.
Footy is an elite sport, and the players are dedicated professionals that give everything they can, but there is always an emotional, motivational element in everything people do, and if any of them weren’t inspired even a little by a veteran club man putting his comfort to the side for the sake of his team one last time, well, they’re probably some kind of sociopath or something. Or German.
The finish
If you’[re in charge of a failing business, you could do worse than hire Callan Ward as a motivational speaker. His teammates turned around the momentum and form of the match with an intensity normally reserved for September action.
The Giants kicked five unanswered goals, driven by a huge increase in pressure and running pace. They turned the final quarter into a highlights package that teams will be studying come finals time. Between bad kicks, turnovers, and general chaos, the Tigers looked like the rebuilding team that they are, rather than the giant-killers they threatened to be..
Aaron Cadman kicked two clutch goals, including a dagger half way through the term to bring his team into striking distance, Callum Brown put them ahead, and Toby Greene, ever-willing to play the heel, iced the clock with the sort of smugness only he can get away with.
Richmond, despite their early dominance, failed to score a goal in the last 48 minutes of the game. The Tigers’ inaccuracy in front of goal—registering 10 goals and 17 behinds—proved costly.
Controversial moment
In a match full of momentum swings and shoulder-shrugging goal-kicking, the most controversial moment came late in the final quarter when Richmond fans erupted over a no-call holding decision in a critical inside-50 contest. With under five minutes to go, Tim Taranto appeared to be gently bear-hugged without consent by Jack Buckley, but the umpires swallowed their whistles like they were auditioning for a mime troupe.
To add spice, GWS promptly rebounded and iced the game at the other end. Tigers coach Adem Yze was seen post-game staring into the middle distance.
Right about now, there will be Richmond fans ready to yell about the missed call, but likewise GWS will be pointing out that the final free kick count was 15-4, heavily in Richmond’s favour. Was this an even-up for some earlier calls? Was it a case of the umps just losing themselves in the moment? Am I including this just to irritate both supporter-bases in one paragraph? Who really knows?
Midfield matchup
This one had the drama of an angry post-divorce legal battle—both teams wanted midfield dominance, and neither was walking away without a scene.
Richmond came out swinging. Tim Taranto was explosive early with 15 touches and two goals before halftime, operating like a jilted lover out for revenge. Dion Prestia, freshly returned from the physio crypt, brought clean hands and a burst of class, finishing with 31 disposals and 7 clearances. Jacob Hopper also had 13 clearances and was a brute around the stoppage.
After half time the script flipped.
Tom Green went full Neanderthal in the best possible way—smashing packs, laying tackles, and bashing through traffic like a shopping trolley with a grudge.
Josh Kelly had an influential second half, with his spread and inside-50s (5 total) critical to GWS’ late surge.
You have to give the chocolates to GWS’ mids here, though it’s worth pointing out that Richmond did rack up some impressive clearances at the coal face, but it was GWS’ structure and ability to move the ball out of congestion into their running mids in the second half that made the difference.
Ruck Battle
A proper meat-and-potatoes matchup between two physical ruckmen. I’ve said it before many times that I’m a fan of the big men playing as the brutes they are. I’ll grant that there is an elegance to the mobile midfielder ruckmen, and the tactical options are always welcomed by an AFL coach, but there is something beautiful about the brutality that the Cro-Magnon evolutionary throwbacks can bring when they decide to just thump the hell out of each other in every contest.
It’s funny, if any player manhandled the other by repeatedly punching, slapping, elbowing, wrestling and kneeing, they’d probably get weeks. Here, it’s just another boundary throw in.
It’s hard to split these two. Nankervis had a few more hitouts (36-32) but attended 13 more contests. Both had two clearances, three tackles, two intercept possessions and had some telling tap work to their mids.
In light of my above description though, I’m giving the nod to Nank for one thing that isn’t on the stat sheet — tap distance. A few occasions saw Nank turn into a human trebuchet as he wheeled his fist like medieval siege machinery to launch the footy forward for his smalls to chase. I might be a simple man, but seeing a human kaiju yell at his mids “Chase this!” as he uppercuts the Sherrin thirty metres brings a smile to my face.
The Stats that Sting
- Marks Inside 50: GWS 11 – Richmond 8. Considering that Richmond led the Inside 50 stats 61 – 50, it shows you the glaring issue in this match. Richmond were forced to take shots from play far more often than they should have, and 10.17 is the sort of scoreline you lament in a tight loss. It works out to a 37% accuracy vs GWS’ 60% conversion rate. Ouch.
- Contested Possessions: Richmond 145 – GWS 140. This stat was much worse at halftime, but GWS managed to almost square the ledger. It shows just how dominant Richmond were in the first half, and how the above stat hurt them.
- Tackles: GWS 63 – Richmond 43. While the Tigers brought a lot of pressure early on, GWS added a physical element of bringing their opponents down once they took the game on. It’s often a tactical decision to stay standing as the tackler, making it less likely to give away a kick or lose your own feet, but it also lets the opponent dispose of the ball easier.
- Clearances: Richmond 42 – GWS 29. Winning clearances like this and having the game remain close is a heart-breaking result.
- Free Kicks: Richmond 15 – GWS 4. I’m sure plenty will be made of this, but I’m not a fan of digging into it too much. For what it’s worth, it wasn’t the worst officiated game of the year, but there have been some shockers.
- Last Quarter scores: GWS 5.2 – Richmond 0.5. Sums up the day.
Going out on your shield
I hate hearing people pronounce the end of Ward’s career mid-match. Yeah, it didn’t look good, but I think the commentary team should have let the bloke take a breath before writing his epitaph. Although if that was his last time lacing up the boots, he’ll go out knowing that it wasn’t due to any lack of mental fortitude or desire on his part.
The 35-year-old Giants co-captain and inaugural club warrior went down with what appeared to be a dreaded ACL tear, the same knee he ruptured in 2019. As he was helped from the ground, visibly emotional, fans and teammates alike felt the gut punch of what may have been his final on-field moment. A 327-game veteran across the Bulldogs and Giants, Ward has been the embodiment of grit, leadership, and resilience, serving as the spiritual backbone of GWS since their inception. But even sidelined, he made an impact. At three-quarter time, he reportedly delivered a fiery speech that pulled his teammates out of their collective malaise and harnessed that energy into a desire to fight and claw their way back into the contest.
Part of me wishes we could hear what was said, how the team responded to one of their legends asking for that little bit more from them, knowing he gave until he couldn’t, but there is also something special in leaving it just for them, for a club that is still finding its culture a bit, and for it to stay within those walls.
For all the effort the GWS administration (and the AFL for that matter) have put into creating a club that could stand on its own, it might be moments like this that bond the team together in a way that they can pass on through to the players that come to the Giants.
If Ward is done, and late mail suggests that’s likely, his career will include a club B&F, multiple runner-ups, three AA jackets, and the AFLPA most courageous award in 2018. He’s currently sitting on 97 Brownlow votes too, maybe he might crack the ton in the postseason? Unlikely, but you never know.
Final thoughts
I’ve probably been a bit harsh on a rebuilding Richmond here, but as someone who has attended plenty of Tigers matches, I’m confident nothing I’ve said is any worse than what’s been screamed out in the lounge rooms around the country. A win would have been great, but maybe in the long run, the learning experience of how to shut down an opponent’s momentum when the game is on the line will pay off.
For GWS, this might be the moment where they move from a brand to a club, and here’s hoping they push on and make it happen.
Next up:
Richmond host Sydney as the Swans look to recover from a 90-point pounding at their home ground at the hands of the Crows. While Richmond were a little disappointing in letting this game slip away, the Swans were never in their match and didn’t convert the chances they did have.
Nothing more to say really, on form, you can’t pick the Swans to win. Not without a huge turnaround in execution and will.
Richmond by 42.
GWS head to the Nation’s capital to take on Port Adelaide in what could be the season-defining match for the Power. A bye won’t have made the successive smashings they received from the Dockers, Cats and Dogs any less sour, nor remove the memory of their showdown loss.
Again, I can’t find a way to tip a team in form like this. GWS win it 93-41.
