We all see things from a different perspective, and footy is no different.
to cover the Gold Coast Suns visiting the MCG to take on the Tigers, it was important to narrow our focus, and covering both teams properly occasionally requires two people.
In this one, Ben Wesley takes on the role of Suns writer, and your old pal, HB, takes on the Tiger responsibilities. Let’s go!
WHO WAS THE MATCH WINNER?
RICHMOND
The Suns had so many and the Tigers had so few who looked like they could have carried the team to a win.
When I look at the differences between the two teams, they’re stark. The Suns had powerful presences in the guts, in defence, and up forward, whereas the Tigers seemed to rely on decent players working above their pay grade, players who were there for the glory years, and an assortment of younger or mid-range players, who may or may not make it.
It’s hard to go past Ben King’s seven goals, but I’d be more inclined to tip the hat to the Suns’ back six, who just continually cut off the errant inside fifties from the Tigers. Sam Collins, Mac Andrew, and Bodhi Uwland were supreme, and they’re the ones Damien Hardwick would be most pleased with.
If I am looking at Richmond and asking who appeared the most likely to put the hurt on the Suns, it was Seth Campbell. Three goals and 19 touches is the type of result you expect from the very elite small forwards in the competition. He and Sam Lalor were the ones who looked clean and ready to punish the Suns on turnover, but too much was left to far too few.
GOLD COAST
As easy as it is to say Ben King, the man of a million goals and equally as many kicks who without a doubt was the matchwinner, Bodhi Uwland stood up when Richmond were threatening to run with the Suns and denied them, allowing Gold Coast to build stable runs from defence.
WHERE DID WE WIN/LOSE THE GAME?
RICHMOND
The last five minutes of the second quarter opened the gate for the Suns, and they barged right on in.
Up until that point, the Tigers were competitive, and their effort levels both matched, and sometimes exceeded those of the Suns.
It became apparent that as long as the Tigers were able to keep the game in the contest, they were going to be okay. Without sounding disrespectful, they had to bring Gold Coast down to their level and make the contest a scrap. They were successful for almost the entire first half, but fatigue, and the resultant structural breakdown, saw the Suns slam on the final four goals of the quarter, and open up a five-goal lead.
From that point, control was in possession of the Suns, and the Tigers struggled to maintain contact.
GOLD COAST
It took longer than Damien Hardwick would have perhaps liked, but late in the second term Richmond’s spirited youngsters started to fatigue. The Suns’ superior conditioning overcame their subpar disposal and at times bewildering decision-making, and helped players Joel like Jeffrey and John Noble sweep past Tiger defenders to slam home critical red-time goals.
Ben Miller, who’d started well, also suffered a similar fatigue and both King and Read took full advantage of it, adding three goals in this period themselves. The gap the Suns generated allowed them greater freedom of play, which is a kind way of saying they could stop fumbling under pressure to a side predicted to finish some twelve spots beneath them.
WHAT WOULD YOU HAVE DONE DIFFERENTLY?
RICHMOND
I know it is frowned upon in the modern game, but throwing two behind the footy for that last five minutes of the second quarter would have been a godsend. Of course, Adem Yze would have had to have a crystal ball to see things breaking down at that precise moment, but this is a review, and if I want to use the benefit of hindsight, that’s exactly what I’ll do, damn it!
In terms of positional changes, I hate seeing Noah Balta on the last line. I don’t trust his decision-making, and when I see him with the footy in his hands, I always get nervous. With his athleticism, I’d like to see him able to run from defence a little more, and a centre half-back role may have permitted him a little more scope to get out and use his pace.
I also feel the Tigers lacked considerable class in the middle, and this is reflected by the haphazard nature of their disposals from the players in those roles.
Jacob Hopper had 26 touches at just 57%, Tim Taranto had 26 at 61%, and Jack Ross had 24 at 58%.
In short, they’re all hackers of the footy, with the ageing Dion Prestia the only one who looked sure of himself with the ball in hand. Perhaps use of Sam Banks on the outside could have been considered? He was playing second-fiddle to Jayden Short across half-back, as it was. Why not throw him into the middle and hopefully get some lace out delivery as the second or third-release player at stoppages?
I also wouldn’t have minded seeing Taranto operate out of the goal square for a period. He has a track record of finding the footy inside 50, but the Tigers’ needs are many, and I understand Yze not throwing his established mids around too much, even if he basically has two of them who are far too like (Taranto and Hopper).
GOLD COAST
If I were a three-time Premiership coach at the helm of a side highly fancied to make the top four, against a Richmond side made up of teenagers, I’d have simply taken the game on from the start and viciously attacked the soft underbelly of Richmond’s centre corridor defence.
Gold Coast seemed almost unable to execute their wide-flank attacks, giving away more than a few lasso free kicks and struggling to be able to get their internal overlap runs working. The handpass-heavy style was also unsuited to a fast and hungry Richmond chasing pack, especially early in the second term when no Sun could seem to find open room.
MOST UNDERRATED PERFORMANCE
RICHMOND
Well, in order to get this section, you kind of have to be someone that few rate, and that makes it difficult.
I rate Sam Lalor and so does everyone else. I rate Seth Campbell, as well, so he doesn’t get in this section.
In terms of knowledge outside of Punt Road, it’d probably be the work of Sam Banks, as he flew a little under the radar in this one. His work off half-back last season was excellent, and I think the Tigers may have him and Jayden Short a little mixed up in terms of the prominence they have. Shorty has been great, and a Jack Dyer Medal in a premiership year is living proof of that, but Banks needs to start being The Man in that rebounding role so that when the Tigers are ready to pounce again, he will already have 75-80 games of experience as the number one distributor on the team.
Outside of him, Hugo Ralphsmith lifted his work rate after a poor first half, and he finished the game off well with repeated efforts. He is one who needs to discover how to play four quarters, as he flashes in and out far too often for my liking.
GOLD COAST
Zeke Uwland was highly reliable when he got ball in hand, making the Tigers opponents with a couple of years on him seem like they were the third-gamers in each contest. He kicked well, his only blemishes being his shots on goal, and contributed all around the ground.
Ethan Read also had his breakout game, with four goals including some nice set-shots. The kid’s only 20 but he’s got a big frame and may well be a threat this season if opposition defences focus too heavily on Big Ben.
THE MOMENT THAT MATTERED MOST?
RICHMOND
Was it the hamstring injury to Tom Lynch?
He’d just dished off a good handball on the follow up and above all else, his presence inside 50 meant that Sam Collins was always going to have to be wary of his direct opponent.
Once he went down, the Tigers had to rely on Harry Armstrong to go to work, and whilst I think he will be a good forward for the Tigers in years to come, he is definitely a work in progress at the moment.
Aside from that, the plethora of missed handballs, or handballs behind the running player, causing them to stop to wait for the footy, were all moments that mattered, particularly when you combine them as a whole.
Go back to those poor disposal efficiency stats I mentioned a couple of sections above – they were your main culprits.
GOLD COAST
Gold Coast were floundering under a large amount of pressure as the second term ran into its 25th minute, and Joel Jeffrey seemed to exemplify that as he dropped a handball receive in traffic. He was able to gather though and used electrifying pace to lead Sam Lalor a merry dance through the centre of the MCG in what seemed the first real damaging run through the centre that the Suns executed.
A quick-flowing handball chain, seemingly the kryptonite for the Suns’ prime movers to that point, saw Jeffries with a chance from all of fifty-five metres. Lalor tackled too late, the shot eluded a Jayden Short effort that wasn’t desperate enough for him to break his stride, and bounced through.
This was a powerful statement, the Suns daring the flagging Tigers runners to keep up. They couldn’t, and five consecutive goals followed.
WHICH PLAYERS LET US DOWN THE MOST?
RICHMOND
At the conclusion of this article, there will be a section on those who will or won’t make it. I am deliberately going to concentrate on those I thin WILL make it in that section, because the nature of this review, and this question, provides the opportunity to highlight some I have worries about.
Rebuilding teams need to see plenty from those players in the 22-24 age group. That’s where the confidence in a rebuild comes from.
And the Tigers had a few in this game that did not pull their weight.
Steely Green is one that would like to replay this entire game. The one time he hit the scoreboard, he cost Dion Prestia an easy set shot at goal. Prestia had done the work and laid a tackle to win a holding the ball free kick. It was 25 metres out. I don’t know what Green was thinking, but I am guessing it wasn’t much. He snapped without a thought for the team.
And he missed.
James Trezise played ona wing, and basically did a great job of being everywhere the ball wasn’t for the majority of the game.
And after being brought back into the team, Tom Brown struggled in a defence that was, at times, under siege.
I know it is harsh to single out players in this age bracket, but there is a method to the madness. These are the blokes who will drive standards and results in the next few years – playing like this… they may not have a next few years.
GOLD COAST
I’ve sung the praises of Bailey Humphrey for a little while now but this was an uncharacteristically bad performance from the youngster. He shelled chances from all ranges and his passing outside of that was shameful – eight turnovers from thirteen touches indeed.
Thankfully for his sake, the Suns really didn’t end up needing any sort of performance from him as the talls were easily able to beat Balta all day.
Ben Long was also a complete passenger with no touches until the shadows of half-time, but he rebounded with a big third term. Noah Anderson was also not near his usual best.
PLAYER FROM THE OPPOSITION I ADMIRED MOST IN THIS GAME?
RICHMOND
I am taking this question in the following fashion – which of the opposition players would you have most liked in the Richmond team on this day?
Given that, the two I select come from the Suns’ defence.
I remember watching Bodhi Uwland in the pre-season before his first game. He looked lost. He was being pushed around and beaten like a red-headed stepchild.
Man, he has come a long way. He was everywhere in this game, basically playing the role a fit Nick Vlastuin usually plays for the Tigers. Given the Red Menace is nowhere near ready to play at his regular level, seeing Uwland doing it at the other end made me wish that he was wearing yellow and black.
The other was Sam Collins.
He is basically the same size and shape as Noah Balta, but his understanding of his defensive role makes Noah look like the class dunce.
He continually came in other the top of the contest and killed any chance of a contested grab to the Tigers. He finished with seven intercepts and ten one-percenters in a role that saw him control the play and make the defensive 50 a pretty safe zone for the Suns.
GOLD COAST
I was impressed with the work rate and scoring ability of Seth Campbell – the kid’s like an Energiser bunny and the pressure he was able to provide really helped stifle the ball movement of the men from the north, with his three goals proving valuable to keeping the Tigers in it for longer than anyone expected.
Dion Prestia made a huge impression early and posed a threat for the Suns’ backline, but fell out of the game when it was there to be won.
Short got a heap of it but was stuck on the outside, forced to clean up the messes of Taranto and Ross, whose inside work was good but didn’t make up for butchering the ball all day.
WRAP UP
RICHMOND
What we saw in this game was the difference in class between the teams come to the fore. The Tigers were up and about after the first ten minutes, and found their way into the game, but sustaining that level against a better opposition is a tough thing to do.
They just seemed to be hanging on.
They hung on early, fighting their way back to be on level terms, and they fought like hell when the margin was around 30 points, trying to keep it from blowing out.
And in that regard, I find it tough to fault them. They were a class below the Suns, and that became more evident as both Lynch and Nankervis hit the pine. With Mykelti LeFau thrown into the ruck, and at times just forfeiting the tap, the lack of genuine tall timber was always going to hurt them.
GOLD COAST
The Suns are an odd case, having faced three wildly different opponents in terms of season expectations, and yet winning by very similar margins. This side didn’t have the look of the nightmare monster that eviscerated Geelong, and for the third consecutive week it seemed the squad wanted to do anything else but increase the gap when the game was dead and go for the big percentage gain.
The lack of convincing ball movement for long periods of this one is a concern, and I can see teams like the Bulldogs and Collingwood stifling the Suns by playing a similar brand, especially if Petracca’s hamstring injury puts him on the sidelines for a short while.
They’re 3-0 and on top of the ladder but, there are still a couple of question marks for the moment as, realistically, this should have been a much bigger win.
HB’S EXTRA VALUE ADD
Been doing this for every review, so given I am part of this one, I might as well add it here, as well.
A POINT TO PROVE
Before each game, I pencil in two players to watch a little more intensively as the contest progresses. There is no uniformity in choosing them – I just kind of look at the individual games and which players need to make a statement.
TYLER SONSIE
He is one who is on the edge, from where I sit. He started this game like a man possessed, relishing the contested nature of the game. With nine touches in the first quarter, it looked like he was in for a big game.
He continued on in the second quarter, heading into halftime with 15 touches to his name
Then Tyler forgot to emerge from the change rooms for the second half.
He finished with 18 touches for the game despite playing 81% of game time, and as the Suns started to assume control, he was one of the blokes who seemed to lose interest.
I sometimes think you can learn a lot about a player when they’re in a team that’s losing. I am not sure what that says about Sonsie’s second half, but my gut feel is that it’s not good.
ALEX DAVIES
He’s gotta make some hay while the sun shines, given Matt Rowell is out.
Now, he gets an even bigger shot at it, wit Petracca injuring his hamstring.
Davies is that player that is unlucky based on who his teammates are. Has a big body, can find the footy, but I’m yet to see him really take control of a game. In the Suns’ best team, he is playing behind blokes that do take control, so in order to crack that rotation, he is going to have to do that, as well. This is particularly the case as Touk Miller is in the mix, as well, and he can play the role of defensive mid as well, or better than most.
NEW FACES IN FOCUS
Usually here, I would focus on a few of the youngsters coming through, but neither of these teams really had any first-or-second-year players to shine a spotlight on, so I have tweaked it a little.
CHRISTIAN PETRACCA
Looked like a million bucks before hurting his hamstring, picking up possessions at will, and hurting with them.
With ten score involvements and three direct goal assists from his 20 touches, he was looking at a third-straight BOG performance before sitting out the last quarter and a half.
ZEKE UWLAND
Ben stated, above, that the only ting that let him down was his kicking for goal, and it would be tough to argue against.
Zero turnovers from 15 touches – that’s exactly what you want to see from a three-game player.
SAM GRLJ
Understated, but I’d love to see him trusted with the footy a little more. Made some nice inboard handballs in traffic, but didn’t get enough of it to have a big impact. I have a lot of faith in him.
LEO LOMBARD
I know he played last season, but injury basically killed his season and fitness base. He looked lively here, but I found he tried to take the game on a few times instead of taking the first option.
Finished with 11 touches but needs to understand he doesn’t have to break or fend every time he gets it.
SAM LALOR
Another who played last year, and another whose body betrayed him.
I have to say, I can do without Dwayne Russell calling him “Dusty” whenever he does something remotely good, as if this continues, he will be calling him that name quite a bit.
Strong overhead, had clean hands all day, and if he’d kicked straight, he’d be the talk of the town. Finished with 1.2.
And that be it – massive thanks to Ben Wesley for jumping in and covering for us today, due to another writer experiencing technical difficulties. If you like this stuff, hit the link below and join the The Mongrel.
We go alright, huh?
