Gold Coast v Richmond (not so) great expectations:
Richmond made the trek to People First Stadium this afternoon to take on a Gold Coast team that are starting to look like legitimate finals contenders, albeit with there still being a question mark over their ability to win away from home (yes, a 2024 hangover, I know).
The match played out as you would expect, with a team on the cusp of the top 4 playing a young team coming to the end of a long season. Richmond have surprised a few this season, with many tipping them to fail to win a single game, but to my mind this game was all about how much Gold Coast would win by.
With that in mind, I decided to run with another edition of my (not so) great expectations, where I wrote down a few key points prior to the match about what I expected to see, and then review them at the end.
The game started as expected with Farrar getting on the board within two and a half minutes for the Suns. It was evident early that Gold Coast were well on top in the midfield and while Richmond were trying hard, Gold Coast were just a class above, particularly going forward. There midfield trio of Rowell, Anderson and Miller were immense in this first quarter and their defensive pressure and offensive transition allowed for further goals to King, Read and King again (this one a great set shot from the boundary). Richmond’s Faull was subbed off injured early in the qtr after almost taking a mark amongst 3 Gold Coast defenders – this being a theme that continued throughout the match with Richmond often kicking into outnumbered forwards. Richmond finally got a score on the board late in the quarter with a rushed behind, and it looked a question of how much Gold Coast.
The funny thing is, Richmond weren’t exactly horrible. They were industrious and were applying pressure, but all too often Gold Coast had the class, strength and skill to work through that pressure and create scoring opportunities.
The second quarter left a lot to be desired as a spectacle, with both teams seemingly forgetting that kicking the ball between the big sticks is the best way to win games! Richmond evened up the clearance battle a little in this quarter, but managed only 4 behinds for the quarter, with Gold Coast also adding 4 behinds, but bookending the qtr with an early goal to Long and a late goal to Ainsworth.
Richmond’s first goal of the game came in the 3rd with young Harry Armstrong outmuscling Mac Andrew to take a great contested mark, and unlike a few of his teammates he was able to go back and convert. This goal may have been the biggest mistake Richmond made all day – Gold Coast took it personally, almost like they were offended that Richmond dare to score a goal on their home deck, and went about reminding everyone where both of these teams sit currently.
After that Armstrong goal, Gold Coast added 10 goals before Rhyan Mansell added Richmond’s second of the game in junk time giving the Gold Coast an 84 point win. It seems silly to say that Richmond were gallant in defeat when you look at the final margin, but they tried hard all game and were really just out-muscled and outclassed by a really professional Gold Coast outfit.
So let’s get into my expectations and how they went
Rowell and Noah Anderson to combine for 50 touches, 10 tackles, 10 clearances:
Well – they did this and so much more. Rowell was huge in the first quarter and finished with ten disposals (six contested), four tackles and five clearances. My only concern about this expectation at quarter time was that Anderson was slightly quiet to that point in time, particularly on the tackle count – but honestly I expected Rowell to carry most of the load in that department anyway.
I mentioned earlier that Gold Coast seemed to take it personally when Richmond dared to score a goal against them, and Anderson certainly did. In the third quarter alone Anderson had 15 disposals (six contested), two tackles and five clearances. What a one-two punch this midfield is turning into at Gold Coast, and that’s before you even consider Touk Miller and Bailey Humphrey drifting through there.
Anderson and Rowell would end up combining for 65 disposals, 13 tackles and 20 clearances and while my expectation was right, I clearly should have been a bit more adventurous.
Rowell was like a man possessed in this game, and this is not the only game he has played like this season. You know when you go to the beach and maybe you end up getting some fish and chips? You sit there eating them on the beach while 36 seagulls watch you, waiting for you to drop to throw a chip. Maybe you just throw one chip to see them all scramble, and when you do that, there is always one alpha seagull who will beat out all the other seagulls to that lone chip – that is Matt Rowell. He just wants it more. He is the Alpha player when the ball is in dispute, and if you dare to pick the ball up before he can, you can guarantee the alpha is going to wrap you up and slam you into the turf for your efforts.
When there were rumors of Rowell coming to Collingwood, I was discussing with a fellow Mongrel Writer (and Gold Coast fan) the need for Collingwood to go after him on big dollars considering the form of Ned Long this season. My colleague scoffed at me even considering comparing Rowell to Long, where as I was adamant they offered the same thing – time to eat some humble pie, I was wrong. Very very wrong.
Perhaps the only thing that could stop Rowell winning a Brownlow this season is the fact that Anderson is also very bloody good and they can’t both get 3 votes in every game!
The ruck battle to be a draw
I rate Witts and Nank. I don’t agree with some of the rhetoric this week that Witts should be considered as the best ruckman in the competition. For me, there are two ruckman who can currently be considered for that mantle – Gawn and Grundy. The next tier done would be Xerri and Cameron, and then it’s Witts and Nank. No disrespect to either of them as they are both very good players – but I don’t think they have been the difference between their teams winning and losing as much the aforementioned rucks.
Today, as I suspected, they kind of cancelled each other out. Neither of them played badly, but neither of them had a massive impact on this contest. Their stats were nearly identical, with Witts excelling where expected with hitouts (particularly to advantage in the first quarter) and Nank doing a bit more grunt/ground level work with more tackles.
Fiorini to score big in the Mongrel’s Robbie Flower Wingman of the Year this week
Okay, he maybe didn’t go big, but I thought he was very good today. 23 touches, and eight score involvements – including atleast two direct goal assists which is very good considering he only kicked it into 50 three times! I’ve always thought he was a very good wingman and he played the role well today. 91% disposal efficiency, and those inside 50 kicks, also tells me that he has perhaps learnt to take care of the ball a bit better which is what may have been keeping him out of the team until now.
Maurice Rioli and Ben Long to lay a combined 4 tackles inside 50
Well this was flat out wrong. Long laid one tackle inside 50 early in the second quarter, and while he still worked hard today and jagged a couple of goals, he was also a bit undisciplined giving away four free kicks, two of which were off the ball and resulted in turnovers in the middle of the field against his team.
Luckily for Gold Coast, Farrar bobbed up with the pressure today. four tackles inside 50 to go with 2.1 and eight score involvements, after three goals and four tackles last week against Brisbane – maybe I picked the wrong Gold Coast forward here today?!
Rioli unfortunately was disappointing today. No tackles inside 50 was partly due to him playing a bit further up the field today, and the ball not being down there much, but for all the talk of his pressure and how exciting he is as a defensive forward, he is yet to find other ways to involve himself in a game. He was fumbly and times looked genuinely scared of taking possession today – and at one point when he did in the midfield he was run down by Will Powell.
Touk Miller to have 2 shots on goal
This was based off the fact that he has added more goals to his game this season as he sits at half forward sometimes to allow Humphrey to go into the bounce. He had 0.1 and passed one off when could have had a shot. It’s good to see him add this attacking threat to his game, and yet is another string to Gold Coast’s bow in the midfield. We all know about Miller’s hard work and hard run, but they now have the luxury of resting him forward where he is still dangerous, while unleashing a bit of mongrel in the center bounce with Humphrey.
Suns to dominate clearances on the way to a 10 goal win
Well – they didn’t dominate outside of that first quarter, but their stoppage and clearance work setup a lot of their scoring shots early. And despite some woeful kicking in the 2nd quarter that threatened to leave their hard work unrewarded, they went on to win by over 10 goals.
Tom Lynch to deck someone
This one was a bit tongue in cheek as he is suspended. But would this game have played out the same if Lynch hadn’t let his team down and was available for this one? Particularly after Faull went down early!
Collins and Vlastuin to each have 10+ intercepts
This started well with Vlastuin and Collins having one each in the first minute of the game and got better from there. Vlastuin has been doing it all season and often you wonder where this Richmond team would be without him as the general down back. Likewise, Collins is one of the best key defenders and interceptors in the game currently – he’s also a massive unit and I expected him to be able to toss aside the young Richmond tall forwards with disdain, and he did to that on a number of occasions. The two combined for 23 intercept possessions for the match and both should score pretty well in The Mongrel’s Defensive Player of the Year this week.
Other bits:
Ethan Read could have had a bag today. He kicked 2.2 and also dropped a couple of marks close to goal in the last quarter. I also wasn’t expecting to hear Paramore’s “The only exception” after he kicked a goal either. Don’t get me wrong, it’s a banger, but never expected to hear it at a sporting event.
Another umpire collision today (what is it with Gold Coast?!) when Nank clattered into the umpire who clattered into Witts. Personally I think this one was the umps fault – I thought they were supposed to back away after bouncing the ball? This guy stood there like we has waiting for an autograph!
I again liked the game of Sam Banks today – he will grow into a real threat off of halfback from Richmond in the next year or two. He is a booming kick and uses the footy well.
And that’s about it….
The Suns have Carlton, Giants (at Gold Coast), Essendon and Port to go – they are a genuine chance to finish in the top 4 and while there are still question marks over them when it comes to playing the better teams in the comp away from home they will be dangerous in finals no matter where they finish.
Richmond have Saints, North and Geelong to go. I’d expect them to continue to be competitive but am a bit nervous for them with that Geelong game. The last game of the season for a young group with nothing left to play for, up against the well-oiled and finals bound cotton-on machine – Richmond could still have a say in how the top 4 plays out!
