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The start of the season is always too early for me. March is the most beautiful month in Melbourne until footy comes along. A Long March, with fine weather and no men’s footy, would suit me fine.

It would suit the AFLW too, of course, and send the best message about the value of their game. We’ll make the men’s season a fraction shorter (our players are always saying it’s too long) and give you some more time and space. Now is the time for the AFL to announce this. Not in ten years’ time. Not next year. Now, after the Tayla Harris’ stand, after the AFL has trashed the women’s game once more.

And while they’re at it, now is the time for Toilet Equality at the ‘G and elsewhere. Make some of the men’s dunnies into women’s until our queues are of equal length. Only then will women and girls know that the AFL takes them seriously.

I digress, but I needed to. The first game doesn’t come out of nowhere. It comes into a glorious month trailing controversies real and contrived. Then the ball is bounced and a flip is switched and it’s on again.

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Our tickets in row Z in the Southern Stand cost us about half a year’s membership, but without them we might not have gotten in at all. As it was we missed Lynch’s first goal. From outside the ground, when we were still lined up, I assumed the roar was for Carlton. There was something about the sound that I didn’t like and it seemed strong at the Punt Road End where, at a Carlton home game, I assumed the crowd to be Blue-ish. But once we were in we learned Richmond had scored first. What did that teach me about tribalism? That, in fact, a crowd’s roar sounds much the same, whatever team it’s for?

We were in our seats when Lynch kicked a goal and were able to deduce, from the way all the Richmond players didn’t mob him, that it wasn’t his first. This was so much better than last year when the Blues killed us in the first quarter and it felt like round 1 at Waverley in 1981 all over again. This was footy the way it should be – a big crowd, Richmond with five goals on the board and Carlton yet to score.

The second quarter was footy as the AFL prefers it – more of a contest, but with the Tigers still in control. Higgins’ goal was the highlight, a quick snap from fair way out on a very tight angle. Has there ever been a player who loved playing so much? His celebrations make me feel young again.

But Carlton had come back a bit and worse was to follow. The third was footy as nightmare. A good lead being whittled away, the Carlton crowd roaring. The lead went down to four goals, to three and then to two. The Richmond defence was under siege. Finally, they forced a turnover and broke away. Dusty tore through the middle, wondering which option to take to set up our much-needed goal. Then he was caught, the Blues fans went nuts, the ball was turned over. He looked very cross with himself. But the counter-counter-attack was thwarted once more.

At a big marking contest Rance went down and play was stopped. We know it’s bad when they actually stop the game. Nobody knew that the problem was. From the scraps of replay we saw he was hurt either in the head or the leg or somewhere in between. All we saw was him falling. And now on the ground, un-moving and the surviving players huddled, discussing life without him.

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This could hardly have been worse. Carlton surging, the lead down to two goals, the quarter barely half over, the best full-back of all time on the deck. But Richmond really stood up then and gave Carlton nothing. It was a desperate end to the quarter but if anything, the break in play had settled the Tigers and all of Carlton’s attacks were blunted.

In the last, order was restored and the Blues were taken apart. What could be better than getting the jump on them early, teasing them in the third and then breaking their spirits in the last? Even after our third goal, with the lead at 28 points and the quarter not half gone, Blues supporters were leaving. This is something I will never comprehend, but I saw Richmond supporters do the same in the prelim last year, so this fickleness infects everyone.
Rance emerged from the tunnel on crutches with a bag of ice on his knee. The crowd roared in appreciation and in sadness.

The best goal of this quarter was Weller’s, a brilliant soccer kick from a good distance out and a similar angle to Higgins’ effort. The lead went out to 40 points before a late consolation goal to the Blues. We could get our breath back before we stood and sang the song.

I could see the smile on Rance’s face which was encouraging. But the way his mates went to him and patted him on the head said “season-ending injury” and so it was.

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Match reports have bemoaned this game as a spectacle. “Objective” writing often does. There were plenty of highlights though. Cotch and Riewoldt each took beautiful marks. Cotch kicked a behind from his but I think Jack split the big sticks. Many too-tall and too-skilful Blues players also took good marks. They have no shortage of good players, despite everyone running them down. I tried to learn their names and numbers but we were so high up in the Southern that we could only read the numbers when play was on our wing, which it often wasn’t.

I don’t know if the rules changes mattered that much. It chokes me to say it, but it did look nice and symmetrical to see everyone lined up, almost like the old days, at the centre bounces. I miss the dinky little kick-to-himself that the full-back had to do to play on. One of those little quirks that the AFL despises and so it had to go.

It looked a lot like the 2017 Richmond – often messy, often scrappy, but from one contest to another the ball herded between the big sticks.
Next week a sickening clash awaits – Book Club to discuss Brideshead Revisited or Richmond v Collingwood?

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Benny Votes

5 Grimes – as always, was great.  Never beaten, always there, always contesting.
4 Vlaustin – was good too. The way the defence stood up after Rance left will be written about for years to come.
3 Cotchin – played a classic good Cotchin game, with a memorable highlight being his mark over his opposing skipper Cripps.
2 Martin – was an important player for us too, even if he was caught a few times.
1 Lynch – great to see the new players get goals in Lynch, Weller and Balta.

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Hi everyone, its Chris here. Time has passed and I still feel gutted about losing the preliminary final to Collingwood. I ignored the first three quarters of the Grand Final, something I have never done before. And to be honest, it was a doozy. But we weren’t there. We were all so certain we would be – maybe we  “got ahead of ourselves” – and I still feel like it’s an opportunity missed, and that casts a shadow back over all our good work and the fun of being the top dogs all through 2018.
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But it was fun. We had fun in the sun as premiers, games clear on top of the ladder, with the reigning Brownlow medallist, coach of the year etc, we won everything but the Cox Plate. This year we got Jack winning the Coleman medal, Snags won the GOTY, and we broke the 36-year McClelland trophy drought. Winning stuff was fun. And that’s my analysis done.

Next year I am handing the baton of The Benny to Brendan O’Reilly whose excellent work you have already enjoyed here from time to time.  Thanks to Brendan for this offer at a time when we thought TTBB might be looking at a year off in 2019. I will continue to chip in photos and graphics and keep adding to the Richmond Virtual Duffle Coat. I am interested in trying to get a public display of the Coat happening somewhere in the Richmond 3121 vicinity so if you have any ideas about that, drop me a line.

Take care in the off season, and bring on 2019.

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Awards

• Congratulations to our great skipper Trent Cotchin who wins his second Benny.
• Josh Caddy had a breakout season and wins the Blair Hartley Appreciation Award for recruits from other clubs. He regularly dominated games playing beside a bloke who won the Coleman.
• Jack Higgins was the only first year player to poll Benny votes so he wins the 2018 Anthony Banik Award. Snags has given us all a lot of fun this year and shaken up the pecking order.
• A combination of a solid season and a lack of fellow lefties, see Toby Nankervis take out this year’s Joel Bowden’s Golden Left Boot. We love you Nank.
• Cal Moore and Liam Baker came off the rookie list this year but did not get votes, so the Tivendale stays in the velvet bag in the drawer.
• Jack Graham had a lot to live up to after his ’17 finals heroics. He never stopped tackling and wins the 2018 Maurice Rioli Grip of Death Trophy

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Full Tallies

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There are some things about the annual Dreamtime Game that always impress me. I’ve attended a few of these matches over the years and loved encountering different Aboriginal mobs that have travelled from afar to attend the event. There’s a different kind of excitement amongst the crowd, with lots of people for whom a trip to the G is a very special event. One of the other things I admire is how the Dreamtime Round concept has worked to extend mainstream understanding of different Aboriginal cultures and identities. The fact that this land we call Australia actually encompasses a vast number of distinct Aboriginal cultures is still a novel concept for many people, so initiatives like the AFL’s indigenous players map are really valuable. (The 2018 edition can be accessed here)

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For this particular Tiges vs Bombers Dreamtime encounter I found myself in Perth, in the traditional land of the Whadjuk people. Parochial TV programming meant that the game wasn’t on free-to-air, so I was obliged to download the annoying AFL Livepass app. in order to watch the match on my phone. (Paying good money to listen to the boorish ramblings of James Brayshaw was too much to bear, so I watched the game sans audio.)
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Our boys in yellow jumped fast out of the blocks (a bit like Connor Menadue in last year’s Grand Final sprint), with manic ball movement and ferocious tackling that frequently caused panic amongst the mob in the red sash. It’s always exciting when our team is so clearly switched on right from the get go. Dan Butler’s tackle on Michael Hurley was a particular first-quarter highlight, as was Josh Caddy’s miraculous ability to repeatedly place himself in a dangerous position in front of goal.
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I didn’t mind seeing us concede a goal to the excellently named McDonald-Tipungwuti just before quarter time, but it was more alarming to see the Bombers stringing a few more sausage rolls together in fast succession in the second stanza. Happily, normal service then resumed and, from this point on, pretty much all the play ran in a Richmondly direction. The most exciting dimension of the Tiges’ game in 2018 is our ability to run in waves, moving the ball from one end of the ground to the other with breath-taking fluency. Titch Edwards is always one of the slickest cogs in the machine, and tonight he was simply magnificent. As usual, his handballs were lightning-fast, but in this game his foot skills were also exquisite. His deft soccer kick into the path of rampaging Josh Caddy late in the second quarter was truly spectacular – the play of the game, in my humble opinion. (Watching the replay on the AFL website afterwards, I was doubly glad to have watched the game without Bradshaw’s inane comments at this point.) It’s his ability to see opportunities and then to act in a split second that makes our Titch such an incredible player, often with the result that commentators are too slow to notice his sleight-of-hand manoeuvres. If he’s persistently underrated then this must be the reason why. Tonight though, there was no doubting his genius, and he was clearly best-on-ground.
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Menadue got to reprise his road-runner routine in the third quarter, sprinting down the corridor in open space and goaling on the run. Meanwhile, it was terrific to see Callum Moore playing with enough confidence to suggest he might actually be able to make the big leap from VFL to AFL footy. He looks to me like one of those blokes where the critical factor is all between the ears. If he really decides he belongs at his level then perhaps he can consistently play accordingly. The jury is still out, but tonight he was full of promise.
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Our back-end players were solid all night, and I was especially impressed with the attacking flair of Jayden Short and Reece Conca, both playing with Bachar-like dash. Coming into this game, the Bombers had looked like a resurgent team, but the match played out in manner where the gulf in class between our boys and theirs was just immense. It’s an exciting time to be a Tigers fan!
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Benny Votes
5: Shane Edwards, 4: Josh Caddy, 3: Alex Rance, 2: Nick Vlastuin, 1: Dustin Martin

Coming up next, the 2018 season wrap and the winner of the Benny is revealed.

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We did not smash our way into September, we did not barnstorm … we cruised our way into September. Over the last month we collected the 4 points without too many thrills or spills. Injured players recuperated, we stayed on top of the ladder. There was no change to the season’s starting proposition – Richmond are the best team in it. This was unfortunate for journos, who have to work hard to try to spin a grander narrative.

I only made it to one roster match this year – the first. At quarter time of round one I thought, oh boy, Brendan Bolton’s boys are going to scare some good sides this year. But it was not to be – we went in radically different directions after that. That Sliding Doors bloke has probably done a really smart episode about it.

For New Richmond’s 4th final Marcus and I settled in to watch in the spare room, decorated for the occasion. Ellis dropped! Didn’t quite see that coming.

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Q1

Such an intense beginning. I love footy like this, a mad scramble with intense desire for the ball trumping systems and even skills. The great thing is it is widely available in September all over the country.

Richmond were on top of the Hawks and dominated the quarter. One of our many forward thrusts fell into George’s hands and he, presented with many options, chose very well, chipping it across to Kam McIntosh. Immediately after this kick I saw Sheds coaching Dan Rioli who was fully tuned in to the voice of experience. Shortly afterwards Dan crumbed a ball at his ankles and scored an opportunistic goal.

We were killing ’em really. The one shot they earned was shanked badly by one of their leaders, Burgoyne. Our composure was superior but we gave away a couple of 50s which resulted in goals, keeping Hawthorn in the game. They started to show glimmers of fight late in the quarter.

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Q2

Again it was our quarter early before Hawthorn gave themselves some hope late. Nank marked and the TV producer clearly knew what would come next although the Hawks didn’t. He dished to Shorty who missed. A fight broke out and the same TV producer decided to focus on that while the game went on in a little window. Now listen old mate. This is a final at the MCG with everything to play for. This isn’t a dead rubber at Metricon in the Sunday graveyard shift. If you must show the fight you pop THAT in the window while we watch the game.

Breust missed a soda and any small apprehension I had felt melted away. Shortly after that Dusty thumped a wonder goal from the boundary; we are doing the impossible while they are stuffing up the probable. Wonderful to see Kamdyn hit the scoreboard and he seemed to be bobbing up everywhere.

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Dusty threaded the needle on the boundary to find Prestia. Mitchell seemed to have gone quiet. Our best in the first half are Dusty, Sheds, Rance, Cotchin, Kamdyn and George. Our backline was impenetrable. I called the game for us at half time.

Q3

Kamdyn in defence took another great stopping mark then set off on a brave run that came off. So many of our next tier are playing with boundless confidence. Moments later up the other end he nailed his third. Our defensive marks are winning this game. They can’t get an inside 50 for love or money. Grimes is having a great quarter as Rance did in the first. Astbury is quiet. Dion goals again – ours are just coming so easy compared to theirs. Rioli goals. We are simply too good for this mob. They fell into the top 4 and we owned top spot, and it looks like it. You’ll have to do better than this, rest-of-the-AFL.

Now Higgins goals. The Hawks have 5 majors – we are just crushing them with pressure. Edwards magnificent. It’s like we are playing a different game. Never in my life (apart from 2nd half of 2017 GF) have I felt so confident that Richmond is on its way to a flag. As Joe suggested last week, Dusty was playing August footy in August and now he’s unveiled his September footy, and its something to behold. Congratulations on your 200th, to the best player going around at the moment and probably one of the all-time greats.

Q4

Dusty the Great went quiet later in that term. Hawks inexperienced players have not stood up, some senior players have had mares (Gunston, Breust) and Clarkson has not fired a shot. Nankervis is such a key for us – thank you baby Jesus and the Blessed Oliver Plunkett for looking after him these last two years. Nank just does his job, it’s as simple as that. And we love him for it.

Sheds tries a few cute moves in this quarter that don’t come off. Riewoldt and Rance both have ankle/foot scares. At the end the vice captains come off arm in arm, sore feet forgotten for now, with a week off to sort them out. There’s Rachel Hofton in the cheer squad!

Oh we’re from Tigerland. What do you mean I have to go to work tomorrow?
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Benny Votes (double for finals)
10 Dusty – Just majestic
8 Prestia – Gained 626 metres for the night
6 McIntosh – Was everywhere, career-high 3 goals
4 Cotchin – 26 touches, was consistent all night
2 Rioli – Moments of genius

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Firstly, apologies to Chris, who single-handedly keeps TigerTiger up and running, for the lateness of this report – no excuses. I have given myself an uppercut, although I have subsequently been told I have the ‘full support of the board’.

Tiges versus Dogs was always going to be a hiding to nothing for the Tiges: win easily and it was because the Dogs had racked their collective cue, win averagely and we were getting ahead of ourselves, lose and we were suffering a Premiership hangover and limping into the finals. In any case, we had 1st sewn up – for the first time since 1982 – ergo, happy days.

My wife, Jill, is a Bulldogs supporter, so we sat down to watch the match together (on opposite ends of the couch) – me hoping we would suffer zero injuries, Jill hoping the Dogs could finish off their late-season resurgence with a competitive game against the reigning Premier – that’s us by the way…

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As it panned out, we both got what we wanted although Jill was less than thrilled that her Scraggers couldn’t finish the job, especially as they had been the better side for most of the match. Jack kicked his 600th and finished with 5 for the night – a great return considering he had the tenacious Dale Morris attached to him with a bungee-cord for most of the night – and in the process put himself in the driver’s seat to win a third Coleman Medal.

As far as the game went, yes, it was close but as a game it really wasn’t much. The Dogs tried really hard and nearly won, we did as much as we could to win without risking a bruise of any sort. The stats don’t lie: we lost the clearances, tackles, contested possessions and, this will surprise no-one, the free-kick count. In fact, we lost the free-kick count 10-20. 10-20!!! FFS. Every footy follower bemoans how poorly the umpires treat their team, but I can say in all honesty: we are being shafted by the maggots. I mentioned this fact during the game and my comment was met with disbelief from the other end of the couch – ‘All the frees have been there, we’re just going in harder.’ I tried a couple more times to get some sympathy from Jill but was met with rolling eyes and a request for a larger couch. I gave up.

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On the Bulldogs front, if they ever get sick of Jack McCrae, he’s more than welcome at Punt Road – he is a jet. And if there is ever a TigerTiger award for Best Ranga from Another Club, Ed Richards would be the shortest-priced favourite since Cam McIntosh won the AFL Player Who Looks Most Like a Pensioner award.

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In summary: we did enough to win, we will go into the finals with an almost perfectly healthy list and we’re a reasonable chance to go back-to-back. If anyone had told us this 2 years ago we would have told them, in the words of Darryl Kerrigan, ‘you’re dreamin’.

Go Tiges.

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Benny Votes
5 Jack – 5 in a tight game, used his work-rate to get on top of Morris as the game progressed
4 Nank – clearly won the ruck contest and covers as much ground as most mid-fielders – is pivotal to our success
3 Graham – very pleasing to see his form after returning from his shoulder – 8 tackles
2 Dusty – has plenty more gears to work through once the finals begin
1 Titch – he is like Shaun Burgoyne, only better

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It’s ironic that as Richmond barrels towards a likely 2nd successive grand final, TTBB is sputtering uphill on bald tires with practically nothing left in the tank. This is not a plea for financial support – we don’t cost much to run and that’s covered by our merch sales (thank you to everyone who has bought a little piece of Tiger Tiger for themselves). Spare time for blogging has been hard to come by of late, and even organising contributors takes time and energy. But the end is in sight!

To business – our unimpressive but competent dispatch of Essendon in round 22, about three weeks ago. We looked too good for most of the night but gave up the last 4 goals of the game. We went in without Cotch, Lambert, Prestia or Astbury, but brought back Nank and sent Ivan II back to the VFL.
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More was probably written about a handshake at the coin toss than was written about the match. Such as by the self-satirising Andrew Bolt. I don’t know Adam Saad very well but I do know Bachar Houli is a great Australian and if more like him are keen to come here, I will bake them a halal cake.

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Q1: Loved Grimes attack on the ball to dead-heat Anthony McDonald-Tipungwuti. And George’s one-two dance move for our third goal.

Q2: Our quarter but we lost our way in front of goal, kicking 1.6. A chain of passes out of deep defence ending with Bachar in the forward pocket was sublime. And Caddy marking on the point post while Goddard was busy pointing.

Q3: A frustrating night for stand-in skipper Jack although/because Josh Caddy just kept judging the pack marks better. Bruce McAvaney said “Caddy” like he was singing a death metal song about golf. Young Baker kicked his first.

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Q4: Cale Hooker who is a 7/10 footballer briefly looked like a 9 and Essendon gave their long-suffering faithful a bit of sunshine. We switched into cottonwool mode and coughed up some cheapies. Not Dan Rioli though, his late tackle on Adam Saad saved a few blushes. As Dimma said “It was a terrible game of footy, but I was happy with the win”.

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Benny Votes

With only the highlights clip as a refresher on the game, I am once again giving the Benny votes out just as the best players were listed in the AFL match report.

5 Martin
4 Caddy
3 Rance
2 Short
1 Edwards

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