By Dave Campbell
The miracle degreaser WD-40 was so named because it took 40 attempts to arrive at a suitable formula. Today’s game was brought to us by the number 32, which was the temperature before the opening bounce, and also the number of rule changes the AFL had to make before finally collapsing the formidable Richmond football edifice.
The last thirty degree MCG game (according to my cursory internet research) was when the Hawks completed their “threepeat” in the Grand Final of 2015. An omen for the all-conquering Tigers, or so we thought before the game.
As spectators we were unfamiliar with the conditions, and had to hurriedly consult the MCC dress code on approach to the ground. It seemed my sandals were acceptable as long as they were not scuffed or dilapidated. My daughter’s top barely avoided the “bare midriff” rule. MCC members are often unfairly maligned for their entrenched privileges, but today we sat in the shade while everyone else baked in the hot sun.
The game opened with a frantic ten minutes without a goal. And soon the Tigers were without anyone who could run. The Swans took full advantage of the ‘standing on the mark’ rule to slice up the Richmond defence. They marked, kicked into space, marked, kicked into space and effortlessly moved the ball from end to end. Richmond’s zone defence and the accompanying pressure seemed unable to respond. When Richmond had possession their famed Kaos/chaos football was more ‘Agent Shtarker’ than mastermind Siegfried.
Inaccurate Swans’ kicking kept Richmond in touch in the first quarter. In the second quarter, instead of the famed Sydney Swans flood, we had a dam wall bursting open. The Swans led by 40 points at half-time after an exhilarating run of goals.
I left my seat to look for a water tap and ended up wandering around aimlessly beneath the bowels of the MCG. Was this truly an end of an era for the tigers? We had certainly suffered crushing early defeats in our other premiership years. Today Richmond were being beaten around the ball, up forward, in the backline and in the coaches box. As a long-standing Richmond supporter I could draw upon my reservoir of strategies from the lean years: make lists of the players who should be dropped, dwell upon inconsistent umpiring, or as a last resort – remind myself it was only a game.
The scoring was more even in the second half, even though the Tigers were never really able to negate the Swans’ precise creative kicking and attack around the ball. Throughout the game the Swans’ established stars played supporting roles while their young rookies played with flair, composure and dash.
The Brisbane v Essendon game of 2001 has now passed into football folklore. The Brisbane players spotted the Essendon players resting in the shade at three quarter time, which led to an incredible comeback, and eventually a football dynasty. Today at three quarter time both teams stood well and truly in the shade. In fact the Richmond players were close enough for me to read their whiteboard (which was blank).
Our final reflection is brought to you by the number 1. We calmed down a bit in the last quarter, and began to take some positives from the impending loss. Jason Castagna had matured into an impressive player in his milestone game. This was far less humiliating than being beaten by Collingwood. And far more bearable than Collingwood’s one point loss after the siren.
RICHMOND: 1.3 - 4.6 - 7.9 - 10.12 (72)
SYDNEY: 2.5 - 10.10 - 15.12 - 17.15 (117)
GOALS
Richmond: Lynch 3, Castagna 2, Rioli 2, Riewoldt, Edwards, Aarts
Sydney: Papley 4, Wicks 3, Heeney 2, Hickey 2, McDonald 2, Warner 2, Parker, McLean
BEST
Richmond: Short, Baker, Lambert, Castagna, Lynch
Sydney: Wicks, Papley, Mills, Parker, Florent, Kennedy
INJURIES
Richmond: McIntosh (concussion), Prestia (hamstring), Cotchin (hamstring)
Sydney: Nil
SUBSTITUTES
Richmond: Rioli (replaced Prestia)
Sydney: Bell (unused)
CROWD
43,637 at MCG
The miracle degreaser WD-40 was so named because it took 40 attempts to arrive at a suitable formula. Today’s game was brought to us by the number 32, which was the temperature before the opening bounce, and also the number of rule changes the AFL had to make before finally collapsing the formidable Richmond football edifice.
The last thirty degree MCG game (according to my cursory internet research) was when the Hawks completed their “threepeat” in the Grand Final of 2015. An omen for the all-conquering Tigers, or so we thought before the game.
As spectators we were unfamiliar with the conditions, and had to hurriedly consult the MCC dress code on approach to the ground. It seemed my sandals were acceptable as long as they were not scuffed or dilapidated. My daughter’s top barely avoided the “bare midriff” rule. MCC members are often unfairly maligned for their entrenched privileges, but today we sat in the shade while everyone else baked in the hot sun.
The game opened with a frantic ten minutes without a goal. And soon the Tigers were without anyone who could run. The Swans took full advantage of the ‘standing on the mark’ rule to slice up the Richmond defence. They marked, kicked into space, marked, kicked into space and effortlessly moved the ball from end to end. Richmond’s zone defence and the accompanying pressure seemed unable to respond. When Richmond had possession their famed Kaos/chaos football was more ‘Agent Shtarker’ than mastermind Siegfried.
Inaccurate Swans’ kicking kept Richmond in touch in the first quarter. In the second quarter, instead of the famed Sydney Swans flood, we had a dam wall bursting open. The Swans led by 40 points at half-time after an exhilarating run of goals.
I left my seat to look for a water tap and ended up wandering around aimlessly beneath the bowels of the MCG. Was this truly an end of an era for the tigers? We had certainly suffered crushing early defeats in our other premiership years. Today Richmond were being beaten around the ball, up forward, in the backline and in the coaches box. As a long-standing Richmond supporter I could draw upon my reservoir of strategies from the lean years: make lists of the players who should be dropped, dwell upon inconsistent umpiring, or as a last resort – remind myself it was only a game.
The scoring was more even in the second half, even though the Tigers were never really able to negate the Swans’ precise creative kicking and attack around the ball. Throughout the game the Swans’ established stars played supporting roles while their young rookies played with flair, composure and dash.
The Brisbane v Essendon game of 2001 has now passed into football folklore. The Brisbane players spotted the Essendon players resting in the shade at three quarter time, which led to an incredible comeback, and eventually a football dynasty. Today at three quarter time both teams stood well and truly in the shade. In fact the Richmond players were close enough for me to read their whiteboard (which was blank).
Our final reflection is brought to you by the number 1. We calmed down a bit in the last quarter, and began to take some positives from the impending loss. Jason Castagna had matured into an impressive player in his milestone game. This was far less humiliating than being beaten by Collingwood. And far more bearable than Collingwood’s one point loss after the siren.
RICHMOND: 1.3 - 4.6 - 7.9 - 10.12 (72)
SYDNEY: 2.5 - 10.10 - 15.12 - 17.15 (117)
GOALS
Richmond: Lynch 3, Castagna 2, Rioli 2, Riewoldt, Edwards, Aarts
Sydney: Papley 4, Wicks 3, Heeney 2, Hickey 2, McDonald 2, Warner 2, Parker, McLean
BEST
Richmond: Short, Baker, Lambert, Castagna, Lynch
Sydney: Wicks, Papley, Mills, Parker, Florent, Kennedy
INJURIES
Richmond: McIntosh (concussion), Prestia (hamstring), Cotchin (hamstring)
Sydney: Nil
SUBSTITUTES
Richmond: Rioli (replaced Prestia)
Sydney: Bell (unused)
CROWD
43,637 at MCG
Three generations of Tigers supporters (photo was clearly taken before the game!). Image: supplied.