SYDNEY SWANS 16.14 (110) def RICHMOND 9.9 (63)
THE good news for Richmond fans is that yesterday’s 47-point loss to the Sydney Swans won’t stop the Tigers from playing September football this year.
The bad news is that they won’t be in the finals for long if yesterday’s performance is what they dish up come September.
Clearly while the Tigers have improved there is still a gap between them and the league’s elite teams.
“We got a kick up the backside today,” said Tigers coach Damien Hardwick after the game.
“We probably weren’t hard enough at stages.”
“They were just too good, they were slick, they way they moved the ball through hands was fantastic and we just weren’t good enough.”
Richmond’s best player on the day was clearly Dustin Martin who contributed 30 possessions, three tackles and two goals but while his early contributions helped keep the game within 15-points going in to the halftime break, it was ultimately not enough as the Swans found another gear in the second half and powered ahead.
A combination of old faces, new faces and old faces in new places did the damage for the Swans.
Kurt Tippett has continued to provide the club with a big target uo front as he added another three goals to his season total and both Kieren Jack (26 disposals) and Ryan O’Keefe (30) played a dominant role.
But in a sign of how much talent is on this team eight game veteran Tom Mitchell (25 disposals) and role-player Jesse White (four goals) played a major role in the win as well.
“I thought the performance was really strong,” said Sydney Swans coach John Longmire after the game.
“We had a couple of turnover goals in the first quarter, but once we worked through that I thought that it was a really strong four-quarter effort by everyone in the team.”
“There was probably a real question mark over who would stand up with Sam Reid and Goodesy out, but Jesse White came in and I thought he was super today.
“He was an incredible target up forward and probably used some assets he’s got and used his speed to really move around the ground pretty well.
“Hopefully it’s a really big step forward for him and he can continue, because we’ll need him to.”
Richmond will look to rebuild its momentum for the finals when they play a red-hot Hawthorn squad next Saturday afternoon at the MCG while the Swans will face the Western Bulldogs at Etihad Stadium on Sunday.
Here are the highlights from the game:
SYDNEY SWANS 5.3 8.7 13.10 16.14 (110)
RICHMOND 5.3 6.4 8.7 9.9 (63)
GOALS
Sydney Swans: White 4, Tippett 3, Mitchell 2, K. Jack 2, Lamb, B. Jack, Pyke, Smith, Bolton
Richmond: Riewoldt 3, Martin 2, Conca, Jackson, Vickery, White
BEST
Sydney Swans: O’Keefe, Jack, Mitchell, White, Bird, Tippett, McVeigh
Richmond: Martin, Riewoldt, Cotchin, Grigg, Jackson
INJURIES
Sydney Swans: Nil
Richmond: Vickery (concussion), Petterd (groin)
SUBSTITUTES
Sydney Swans: Brandon Jack replaced by Harry Cunningham at three-quarter time
Richmond: Shane Tuck replaced by Matthew Arnot at three-quarter time
Reports: Nil
Umpires: Stevic, Stewart, Meredith
Official crowd: 29,738 at SCG