Summary
Geelong’s run of six straight wins comes to an end but this result likely says more about Richmond, who were quite dominant in virtually sewing up a top-four finish.
The Tigers played the match on their terms and were a potent attacking threat from start to finish; had they kicked straight their victory margin of 26 points would have been far greater. Geelong, the AFL’s highest-scoring team this season, were held to just one goal in the first three quarters. They came at Richmond in the final term but it was too little, too late against a team that must be considered a serious chance of securing back-to-back premierships. The Tigers will be sweating on injuries to Tom Lynch (hamstring) and Ivan Soldo (knee), but otherwise this was a red-letter day for the club.
Geelong will live to fight another day, but their careful, defensive, high-possession game was exposed tonight. The premiership picture is looking clearer. Thanks for your company tonight.
FT: Geelong 4-7 (31) vs Richmond 7-15 (57)
Geelong came at Richmond in the last quarter but the better team responded and the better team won. Big statement from the Tigers.
Q4: 1 min remaining: Geelong 4-7 (31) vs Richmond 7-15 (57) Bews misses to the left but Richmond can’t clear the ball away, leaving Ratugolea with the last shot of the game. Which he kicks out on the full.
Q4: 3 mins remaining: Geelong 4-6 (30) vs Richmond 7-15 (57) Geelong are not done with but they’re vulnerable on the counter-attack and Riewoldt winds up on the end of a forward move, outmarking two Geelong defenders before kicking his fourth for the night and ending the Cats’ hopes. Game over.
Q4: 5 mins remaining: Geelong 4-6 (30) vs Richmond 6-15 (51) Goal! Hammer blow for Geelong. From the Hawkins miss, Richmond go coast-to-coast and Castagna kicks truly on the run from just inside-50. Huge.
Q4: 6 mins remaining: Geelong 4-6 (30) vs Richmond 5-15 (45) Miss! Geelong harass their way forward - Richmond under immense pressure with the ball - and Hawkins has a snap but just misses. That would have made things interesting.
Q4: 7 mins remaining: Geelong 4-5 (29) vs Richmond 5-15 (45) Cotchin ducks the head, is caught high, but still wins the free deep in defence. A bit of respite for Richmond but Geelong are on the march again. Richmond are forced to defend desperately and win a welcome free kick in Geelong’s forward 50. Grimes leaves the field for the blood rule.
The Cats have kicked three goals in a row!
— AFL (@AFL) September 11, 2020
Game on 👀#AFLCatsTigers pic.twitter.com/5TF7A9hGJi
Q4: 10 mins remaining: Geelong 4-5 (29) vs Richmond 5-15 (45) Goal! Make that three in three minutes! Ratugolea takes a big mark over Grimes and massages the ball through to now make the game officially interesting. Okay, game on.
Q4: 11 mins remaining: Geelong 3-5 (23) vs Richmond 5-15 (45) Goal! One goal in three quarters and now two in a minute. Hawkins leans back from just outside 50 and flushes it beautifully, splitting the big sticks with a lovely kick. Geelong? Surely not...
Q4: 12 mins remaining: Geelong 2-5 (17) vs Richmond 5-15 (45) Goal! A rare entry inside-50 - and an even rarer mark inside-50 (just their third for the night) - eventuates in a much-needed goal for Geelong, Ratugolea stabbing at his set shot but doing enough to steer it home.
Q4: 13 mins remaining: Geelong 1-5 (11) vs Richmond 5-15 (45) A 50-metre penalty, and some nice work from Rioli, leads to a shot on goal from Martin. It’s a nice attempt from a tight angle, but goes across the face for another behind.
Q4: 14 mins remaining: Geelong 1-5 (11) vs Richmond 5-14 (44) Lynch has started the last quarter on the bench but in a trackie he’s not. His hamstring injury doesn’t look too bad, not that Richmond will risk him. Grimes makes the biggest statement in the early part of the term with a nice contested mark on the wing. A behind to Bolton gets the scoring under way.
3QT: Geelong 1-5 (11) vs Richmond 5-13 (43)
It seemed for most of the third quarter that there was only one team out there: Richmond. They already have enough in the bag for this game to be over - a 32-point lead in the context of this match is enormous - but if they could kick straight this would be embarrassing for Geelong. Injuries to Soldo and Lynch are the downsides to what has been a very impressive performance from the reigning premiers.
Q3: 1 min remaining: Geelong 1-5 (11) vs Richmond 5-13 (43) Martin takes a strong, contested mark on centre wing and feeds Castagna with a beautifully weighted ball. The result - a set shot that cannons into the post - doesn’t do the play justice.
Updated
Q3: 1 min remaining: Geelong 1-5 (11) vs Richmond 5-12 (42) Goal! Another big leap and now it’s Riewoldt who pulls down the hanger, this time going back and drilling the set shot with a conventional drop punt. All Richmond. Geelong on the ropes.
Updated
Q3: 3 mins remaining: Geelong 1-5 (11) vs Richmond 4-12 (36) Grimes takes a speccie but the bigger news is Lynch is off the ground, appearing to be feeling for his hamstring. Behinds to Cotchin and Pickett continue the scoring for Richmond.
Q3: 5 mins remaining: Geelong 1-5 (11) vs Richmond 4-10 (34) Goal! The Tigers are now cashing in on their dominance, Riewoldt taking an easy mark in the forward pocket before directing a snapped set shot through the middle. To be fair, he butchered the kick but it somehow found its way through.
How's that for a kit?#AFLCatsTigers pic.twitter.com/p4WEphXDF7
— AFL (@AFL) September 11, 2020
Q3: 7 mins remaining: Geelong 1-5 (11) vs Richmond 3-10 (28) Martin finds himself with time and space, enough to shrug a tackle and fend off another, and his snap from 25 metres looks to be bending back but not quite enough. A behind. All Richmond at the moment.
Q3: 9 mins remaining: Geelong 1-5 (11) vs Richmond 3-9 (27) Jarvis, the first-gamer, takes a strong contested mark just inside-50 but he sprays his shot wide. They’re under fire, the Cats, and need to take their chances. A 50-metre penalty then releases the pressure on Richmond.
Q3: 11 mins remaining: Geelong 1-4 (10) vs Richmond 3-8 (26) Beautiful tackle from McIntosh leads to a set shot from Houli, but he’s too far out and the ball lands short. Shortly after, Dusty finds himself with a chance from an ‘Eddie Betts’ sort of angle, and his dribble results in a behind only. Urgent, energetic start to the quarter by the Tigers.
Q3: 14 mins remaining: Geelong 1-4 (10) vs Richmond 3-6 (24) We’re back and Lynch has the chance, and an easy one at that, to put Richmond further ahead but his shot on the run from barely 10 metres out hits the post ... on the wrong side of the post, at that. Easier to miss than hit, you would have thought.
Or are you counting Jim as No 1? If that’s the case, play on and I’ll get my coat.
A premiership would probably nudge Tuohy past Tadhg Kennelly as the second best ever Irish player in the AFL
Ever heard of Jim Stynes?
HT: Geelong 1-4 (10) vs Richmond 3-5 (23)
Geelong had their chances in the second term but couldn’t capitalise on their territorial advantage. In the end they outscored Richmond by just one point in the term, Lynch’s goal against the run of play late in the quarter maintaining the Tigers’ buffer. It’s a low-scoring affair, tightly contested as you’d expect from two teams looking to go deep into the finals. The Cats are trying to play their careful, kick-and-chase game - and are hence leading on most statistical measures - but the Tigers are far more dangerous moving the ball forward. Geelong, the AFL’s highest-scoring team this season, have just one goal to half-time but they’re not out of it yet.
Richmond ruckman Ivan Soldo left the field in the hands of the trainer late in the second quarter. #AFLCatsTigers pic.twitter.com/q147piTGDS
— AFL (@AFL) September 11, 2020
Q2: 1 min remaining: Geelong 1-4 (10) vs Richmond 3-5 (23) Soldo looks in trouble with a knee complaint. Big trouble for the Tigers if their No 1 ruckman goes down.
Q2: 2 mins remaining: Geelong 1-4 (10) vs Richmond 3-5 (23) Blicavs goes high and long to nowhere, or no one, in particular inside-50 and Richmond work the ball out with ease.
Q2: 4 mins remaining: Geelong 1-4 (10) vs Richmond 3-5 (23) Goal! A rare forward foray for Richmond finds its way to the right man, Tom Lynch. The one-who-doesn’t-play-for-Adelaide launches from outside 50 and the kick is as straight as a ruler. A goal against the run of play and now Richmond again have some breathing space.
Q2: 6 mins remaining: Geelong 1-4 (10) vs Richmond 2-5 (17) Hawkins’s set shot from a tight angle is executed well but just misses to the right. Hawkins then almost gets another set shot from inside-50 but he takes the mark just over the boundary line. Out on the full and some welcome respite for Richmond. Eight of the past nine inside-50s to Geelong.
Q2: 7 mins remaining: Geelong 1-3 (9) vs Richmond 2-5 (17) Big body work from Hawkins sends Geelong inside-50 again. Another stoppage eventuates and the Tigers are now struggling to work the ball out. A high tackle isn’t well received by the Geelong players but the ball slingshots back and Hawkins takes a mark inside-50.
Q2: 10 mins remaining: Geelong 1-3 (9) vs Richmond 2-5 (17) Lynch centres the ball from 55 metres out but Geelong’s defence is equal to the task. The ball is spat out to centre wing for a boundary throw-in, at which point Duncan absolutely flattens Cotchin with a fierce hip-and-shoulder. Quite front-on ... will he have a case to answer?
The @GeelongCats are on the board 🔥#AFLCatsTigers pic.twitter.com/JLsjDD5gOj
— 7AFL (@7AFL) September 11, 2020
Q2: 13 mins remaining: Geelong 1-3 (9) vs Richmond 2-5 (17) Goal! The Cats get some overlap going from defence and suddenly the Tigers are outnumbered where they don’t want to be, Hawkins playing a pivotal role in feeding the ball to Close who runs into goal and finishes the job. The Cats are up and running.
Q2: 14 mins remaining: Geelong 0-3 (3) vs Richmond 2-5 (17) Another Martin inside-50 sees Riewoldt under the high ball but the Cats are triple-teaming the Tigers forward and a stoppage is the result.
Q2: 15 mins remaining: Geelong 0-3 (3) vs Richmond 2-5 (17) Frenetic start to the second term and it takes almost a minute for the first recognisable act, a Martin mark on centre wing and an inside-50 that comes to nothing.
QT: Geelong 0-3 (3) vs Richmond 2-5 (17)
Goal! Geelong drop their guard in the final couple of seconds as Rioli finds himself with space inside-50 and splits the middle with a nice snap, just evading the fingertips of Blicavs on the last line. A cruel end to the quarter for Geelong, but Richmond have been the better team and deserve their lead.
Dan Rioli beats the siren with this ripper!#AFLCatsTigers pic.twitter.com/eXNXratRJA
— AFL (@AFL) September 11, 2020
Q1: 1 min remaining: Geelong 0-3 (3) vs Richmond 1-5 (11) Dangerfield launches offa step from 45 metres out, but it fades to the right for a behind. A good last couple of minutes from the Cats.
Q1: 1 min remaining: Geelong 0-2 (2) vs Richmond 1-5 (11) A rare inside-50 for Geelong looks dangerous but the kick is too deep. The result may only be a behind, but it does double their score.
Q1: 2 mins remaining: Geelong 0-1 (1) vs Richmond 1-5 (11) Good defending from Geelong forces a behind but this is another inside-50 for Richmond. Ascendancy in field play firmly with the Tigers.
Q1: 5 mins remaining: Geelong 0-1 (1) vs Richmond 1-3 (9) The ball slingshots to the other end and ends up on the chest of Lynch. His set shot, 40-ish metres out from a slight angle, perhaps should have been converted. But it wasn’t. Let-off for the Cats.
Here’s Jack’s opener.
.@JackRiewoldt08 gets free at a stoppage and snaps the opener#AFLCatsTigers #gotiges pic.twitter.com/PCR6CuSfgH
— Richmond FC 🐯🏆 (@Richmond_FC) September 11, 2020
Q1: 6 mins remaining: Geelong 0-1 (1) vs Richmond 1-1 (7) Geelong go forward and Hawkins looks likely but the Tigers are set up nicely at the back. A bit too easy.
Q1: 8 mins remaining: Geelong 0-1 (1) vs Richmond 1-1 (7) Goal! Nankervis does some great tap work from a boundary throw-in deep in Richmond’s forward line and Riewoldt does the rest, snapping truly for the first major of the game.
Q1: 8 mins remaining: Geelong 0-1 (1) vs Richmond 0-1 (1) 200-man Tuohy gets a kick and then gets dragged. Charming.
Q1: 10 mins remaining: Geelong 0-1 (1) vs Richmond 0-1 (1) Nice hanger from Grimes deep in defence nullifies a Geelong inside-50. At the other end, Castagna gets on the end of a chain of passes but his set shot from a tight angle results only in a behind.
Q1: 12 mins remaining: Geelong 0-1 (1) vs Richmond 0-0 (0) A bit of Dusty magic sets up a Richmond forward thrust and Lynch almost pulls down a one-hander in the right forward pocket. But no cigar. Finals-like start to the match.
Q1: 13 mins remaining: Geelong 0-1 (1) vs Richmond 0-0 (0) Geelong looking to control the footy early but Richmond manning up well. Space and time at a premium for all concerned.
Q1: 15 mins remaining: Geelong 0-0 (0) vs Richmond 0-0 (0) And we’re away. Early centre clearance for Geelong. Ripping tackle from Blicavs earns an early HTB call.
Dangerfield wins the toss. Geelong are batting first. Two minutes away.
It would be outright rude of me to not point out that a Richmond player is also celebrating a milestone tonight, Happy 50th, Jack Graham.
Coming from a Crows fan, Jack would look good in the tri-stripes next year.
50 games for Jack Graham, that is!
— Richmond FC 🐯🏆 (@Richmond_FC) September 11, 2020
A special banner designed by Harper & Kenzie Cotchin, inspired by our @orcs1 crew 💛 pic.twitter.com/i1MXTvkMJe
We’re unlikely to be treated - or, if you’re a Richmond fan, subjected - to a repeat of the round-six fixture of 2007 that saw Geelong boot a lazy 35 snags.
35 goals? What's that, a goal every couple of minutes or so of playing time on average. How is that even possible? Or have I miscalculated?
Yes Harry, you’ve miscalculated. Back in the old days, quarters used to last longer than 16 minutes.
A bit more love for Zach.
A special sendoff for Tuoh Hundred ☘️ #AFLCatsTigers #GeelongStrong pic.twitter.com/UlkP6SnzkX
— Geelong Cats (@GeelongCats) September 11, 2020
Late change: Gary Rohan is a late out for Geelong, replaced by first-gamer Ben Jarvis.
Back to Zach, and you’ve got to hand it to the lad from Portlaoise, a speck in the Irish province of Leinster with a population of 20,000 and change. Tuohy has succeeded in crafting a an excellent career which started at Carlton in 2010 and is still going strong at Geelong. They love Zachary at the Cattery. Congrats on game No 200.
This, surely, is his finest moment. Great craic.
Righto, straight to brass tacks. Who is going to win? For what it’s worth, my two cents - which is worth about two cents - has Geelong prevailing by five points in a low-scoring arm wrestle. We’re unlikely to be treated - or, if you’re a Richmond fan, subjected - to a repeat of the round-six fixture of 2007 that saw Geelong boot a lazy 35 snags. They did finish the year with a 119-point win in the grand final, so in retrospect it wasn’t as bad as it looked for the Tigers.
Preamble
Good evening and welcome to our live coverage of what many in the industry wouldn’t hesitate to call a dead-set Friday night blockbuster. And at this stage of what’s been a wretched old year, it doesn’t get much better than Geelong versus Richmond at the home of footy – Queensland. It’s a rematch of the 2019 preliminary final and there would be no shortage of people Victorians who’ll wager this is a likely preview of this season’s grannie. Which, if you’ve been living under a rock and/or in stage-four lockdown, will be played at 6.30pm (EST) on 24 October at the Gabba, just inside the dog track.
Even non-Victorians – or “people from interstate” as some AFL insiders would have them known – will concede that one, or both, of these teams are perfectly legitimate candidates to progress through to the 2020 decider. Certainly, the winner tonight will be ensconced in the top four and well placed for a run at the title. For Richmond, it’s almost a must-win.
Still no Joel Selwood for Geelong, but the Cats welcome back everyone’s favourite Irishman – Zach Tuohy – for his 200th senior appearance. The Tigers, who’ll be relieved to return the club’s focus to on-field affairs, have two big ins in the shape of Dylan Grimes and Kane Lambert. One of the outs is Jack Higgins, which leads me to wonder who has been handed the task of telling jokes.
To get involved in tonight’s funfair, or to even share your best (clean) joke, send me an email or a tweet @scott_heinrich
A premiership would probably nudge Tuohy past Tadhg Kennelly as the second best ever Irish player in the AFL