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RICHMOND 15.16 (106) def MELBOURNE 11.6 (72)
THE Melbourne Football Club may not have won but they at least played well enough for fans and the media to ease up on the pressure that they have piled onto the club as Richmond notched their fifth win of the season with a 34-point victory in front of 39,148 fans at the MCG.
Indeed while the Demons walked off the field with a sense of having achieved something, the Tigers were less than enthusiastic about their own performance as they struggled to put away their surprisingly feisty opponent.
The Tigers had the numbers in both overall possessions (first year player Nick Vlastuin impressed again with 25 possessions) as well as inside 50′s but it was the finish that hurt them all day.
“We certainly didn’t make the most of our chances going inside fifty,” said Richmond coach Damien Hardwick after the game.
“I think Ty Vickery kicked four straight behinds and I’m not sure what Jack (Riewoldt) kicked but he kicked a similar amount. We just couldn’t quite get the scoreboard reward we were after.”
“We played OK in spurts. Let’s not take anything away from Melbourne; I thought they were very, very good today,”
“Their aggression, their niggle was outstanding.”
It was indeed a good aggressive performance by the Demons who showed commitment at the contest against the Tigers and a positive step for the beleaguered club.
“We feel that since the GWS game, we’ve had one week where people could question our effort, across a five-week period, so that’s not too bad,” said Melbourne coach Mark Neeld.
Chris Dawes, in just his second game for the club since joining the Dees, put in a solid performance with two goals and seven marks and could provide long term help for a team that struggled with its forward options all year.
The club also got a team leading three goals out of Aaron Davey who played a full game for the first time this year rather than coming off the bench as a substitute.
And of course it wouldn’t be a Melbourne game without yet another spectacular mark be the Demons’ Jeremy Howe.
On the downside for Melbourne their top pick of last year’s draft, Jimmy Toumpas, was subbed out of the game for Rohan Bail in the third quarter after he rolled his ankle. The club will see what his immediate availability will be after tests this week.
One other “highlight” from the game was the melee that happened at the half time break, the results of which we will find out later today after the Match Review Panel releases its findings.
Here are the highlights from the game:
RICHMOND 2.4 7.9 12.14 15.16 (106)
MELBOURNE 3.0 7.2 10.4 11.6 (72)
GOALS
Richmond: Riewoldt 3, Martin 3, King 2, Deledio, Nahas, Ellis, Vlastuin, Morris, White, Chaplin
Melbourne: Davey 3, Dawes 2, Dunn 2, Nicholson, Bail, Howe, Evans
BEST
Richmond: Ellis, Vlastuin, S. Edwards, Deledio, Grigg, Houli
Melbourne: Davey, N. Jones, Magner, Terlich, M. Jones
INJURIES
Richmond: Nil
Melbourne: Toumpas (ankle)
SUBSTITUTES
Richmond: Luke McGuane subbed out for Matt White in the third quarter
Melbourne: Jimmy Toumpas (ankle) subbed out for Rohan Bail in the third quarter
Reports: Nil
Umpires: McBurney, Hosking, Foot
Official crowd: 39,148 at the MCG