Richmond upset Port Adelaide
Tenacious Richmond upset Port Adelaide by 33 points to wreck the retirement party of Power stalwart Kane Cornes.
PT1M34S 620 349RICHMOND 3.4 7.5 7.5 11.10 (76) PORT ADELAIDE 0.3 3.6 4.10 5.13 (43)
GOALS: Richmond: Riewoldt 4, Martin, Griffiths, Batchelor, Ellis, Deledio, Edwards, Menadue. Port Adelaide: Monfries, Wingard 2, R. Gray.
BEST: Richmond: Ellis, Deledio, Riewoldt, Miles, Martin, Grigg. Port Adelaide: Boak, Cornes, Wines, Ebert, R. Gray, Westhoff.
INJURIES: Richmond: Vickery (knee). Port Adelaide: Trengove (ankle).
UMPIRES: J. Bannister, B. Hosking, R. Chamberlain.
CROWD: 45,268 at Adelaide Oval.
Just when the curtains were about to fall on Richmond they produced another starring performance – against a seriously troubled Port Adelaide at Adelaide Oval on Sunday night.
Brett Deledio of the Tigers celebrates with teammate Steven Morris after a goal. Photo: Getty Images
But the win came with a huge price with the Tigers' Ty Vickery suffering a right knee injury, which may keep him out for at least two months. Port's Jackson Trengove suffered a left ankle injury and is expected to miss a few weeks.
Vickery hobbled off the field in excruciating pain during the second quarter, with initial reports suggesting scans on Monday are likely to reveal medial ligament damage.
It wasn't pretty football, especially in the third quarter when Port had 14 inside-50 entries for 1.4 and held Richmond scoreless, but given the stakes on offer and the pressure on the vanquished, this may prove of the most significant days in the Tigers' season.
To respond to one of their most mentally crushing losses for some time – trailing seven goals to none in the first term of the first elimination final to Port last season and losing by 57 points – was a clear message Richmond has good old fashioned courage and pride. Despite early fears, their season is alive as they jumped into the top eight.
For Port to be so inept with Kane Cornes playing his 300th and last game, goes far beyond bewildering – simply proof that there is something very wrong. After being hailed as a likely finalist, at 3-5 they need to find something special like Richmond has shown in the past two rounds to recover.
The show was supposed to be a tribute for Cornes, but while he did a great job in his final shadowing role against Trent Cotchin, it was obvious his teammates lacked ability under pressure to change the early game trend – combating Richmond's aggression on the ball.
Richmond joined those to expose Port's game plan by refusing to allow them to drive through the corridor, checking closely to cull the quick run-on ball movement, and slow the pace of the game at the right times.
And full credit to Richmond for adapting to a perfectly executed game plan set by Richmond coach Damien Hardwick. The Tigers were focused, determined and disciplined, and overall produced an excellent team effort.
For so long so much has weighed on the shoulders of Jack Riewoldt, and on Sunday night he worked incredibly hard, produced a gem of a team game, caused concern for Port in the forward line and brought teammates into the thick of play with quality passages.
You know something is wrong with Port when Chad Wingard misses a goal from 20 metres right in front, and two minutes later Jay Schulz, regarded by many as the finest set shot in the game, is gifted a 50-metre penalty and also misses from that distance.
Port has been sapped of confidence, and the superior fitness appears a myth. Maybe they haven't got over the second Dubai fitness campaign. Whatever, they were exposed by Richmond as a tired side both mentally and physically. If their players could not ignite themselves with Cornes' departure, then what will?
Hardwick is no rocket scientist – he just got his players to respond to a desperate need to be disciplined and hard with their tackles, denying Port the opportunity to play like they like to play. Pre-match, the pressure on the eventual loser was going to be huge, so a big start was in need. To hold Port goalless in an opening quarter for the first time this season was a telling factor. To continue the tough approach without Vickery from eight minutes into the third term was impressive.
After being held scoreless in the third term to reduce their lead to 13points, Richmond regrouped, especially with the confidence they had won five of their six last quarters this season while Port – the so-called fittest side — had won just one. It was a disappointing end for Cornes; a huge boost in hope for Tigers fans once more.
