Tigers secure rare win as Eagles struggle with accuracy in front of goal
Updated ,first published
In today’s AFL Briefing, your wrap of footy news:
- Adelaide surged into the top four for the first time this year by dishing out a 72-point belting of an outclassed Essendon.
- A West Coast player went to ground in obvious pain after a gut punch from a Richmond opponent at the MCG.
- Surgery for Swan after suffering a sickening lower leg injury.
Young Bomber Angus Clarke was taken to hospital after suffering a concussion and neck injury in a collision with a teammate as Adelaide surged into the top four for the first time this year by dishing out a 72-point belting of Essendon at Marvel Stadium.
Following a disquieting home defeat to Collingwood last week, the Crows were all business against the struggling Bombers, absorbing a first quarter challenge before growing their margin at every change to move ahead of Brisbane and Melbourne on percentage.
Clarke, 19, has faced a spate of injuries this year and seemed to have shrugged off one when he hyperextended a knee early on. But he then clashed inadvertently with Isaac Kako, resulting in a concussion and an apparent neck problem that interim coach Dean Solomon said was serious enough to send him to hospital.
“His year’s been really interrupted with injury, the foot initially, gets back in the side for two or three, gets a head knock,” Solomon said. “There is concussion there but also a bit of soreness in the neck.
“So they’re going to take him to hospital now to check further and make sure there’s no real damage there. It’s frustrating for him because he’s a really good young man and he’s hungry to be a good player … he just can’t get continuity in his game.”
Adelaide’s senior assistant coach Murray Davis is a contender to take over as Essendon coach, and he did his chances no harm by ensuring that Solomon would oversee another heavy defeat. Crows coach Matthew Nicks said Davis would be welcome to stay at the Crows for the remainder of the year even if he was chosen for the Essendon job ahead of candidates including James Hird.
“I think that’s up to Murray, and the reason it’s up to Murray is I trust him completely,” Nicks said.
“If he wants to be with us we’d love him to stay with us and work right through. He deserves that. He’s been incredible for what he’s done for us the last couple [of] seasons. So we’d love him to stay on, but we also wish him all the best if that is the opportunity that shows up.”
The Crows may also have unearthed a useful role player for the pointy end of the season, with 21-year-old debutant Oscar Ryan finding plenty of the ball and kicking a memorable first goal in the third term.
Skipper Jordan Dawson shrugged off an attempted tag by Mason Redman to be the prime midfield mover for the Crows, who were sweating on the seriousness of yet another hamstring complaint – this time for young defender James Borlase.
Riley Thilthorpe kicked five goals for Adelaide, while Callum Ah Chee was a lively presence up forward in only his fifth appearance of the year after joining the Crows from Brisbane.
Two-metre Peter Wright presented a strong marking target for Essendon with six majors, while Zach Merrett also worked hard. Kako may find himself under the spotlight of the match review panel after a tackle that dumped Adelaide defender Josh Worrell’s head into the Docklands turf.
Before the game, Crows senior coach Matthew Nicks had conceded there was some merit in how former Pies coach Mick Malthouse had critiqued his team’s poor display against Collingwood as “horribly soft”.
“Mick’s comments were warranted, I could feel what Micky Malthouse was talking about, he’s a very experienced head, he knows what he sees in footy,” Nicks told Fox Footy. “We rate ourselves highly in that toughness area but we did drop away in that second half, so what he said was warranted.
Little was proven either way against the Bombers, but the improved ladder position will help.
“We look at results yesterday and we don’t shy away from the fact that opportunity is now there,” Nicks said post-match. “If you win all three games then it’s ours. That’s easier said than done.
“We’ve just got to continue to win now, our destiny is in our hands. In a way we’ve earned the position we’re in, we’ve now got three weeks to nail that, starting next weekend.”
Demons grind out win on Gold Coast
Ed Jackson
Melbourne have survived a major scare to defeat Gold Coast by nine points at People First Stadium and keep their AFL top four hopes on track.
In a see-sawing match with multiple lead changes, the Demons did just enough in the fourth quarter to claim an 18.6 (114) to 16.9 (105) win on Sunday.
Jacob van Rooyen and Harrison Petty each kicked three goals for the visitors, who were clinical with their shots on goal throughout.
Max Gawn was dominant for the Demons with 25 disposals, 10 marks, 33 hitouts and nine clearances while Trent Rivers and Jake Bowey led the disposals for the Demons with 29 touches apiece.
Jed Walter kicked three for the Suns, all in the first half, as Gold Coast were unable to prevent slumping to their 10th straight defeat in what was Christian Petracca’s first match against his former club.
Petracca, whose impact on the Suns was under the spotlight throughout the week following an on-field argument with young gun Leo Lombard in the defeat to Carlton, had minimal impact on the contest with 16 disposals and two clearances.
Instead it was John Noble (34 disposals, seven tackles, 10 marks) and Matt Rowell (30 disposals, nine tackles, eight clearances) who led the way for the Suns, who fought hard but couldn’t hold off the fast-finishing Demons to end their losing run.
Melbourne set the template for their accuracy in front of goal early, kicking five straight in the opening term to hold a three-point lead at the first break.
Bailey Humphrey’s goal after the siren at the end of the second quarter, despite a question mark over whether he ran off the line of the mark as he came into kick, had the hosts in front heading into the main break.
And the Suns extended that lead to three goals during a high-scoring third term, kicking four goals alone from free kicks.
The Demons, however, kicked two goals in the last 30 seconds including another after-the-siren major to Petty to snatch a one-point lead heading into the final quarter.
A nasty looking fall early in the fourth quarter forced Blake Howes from the field clutching his left wrist but it didn’t deter the Demons, who kicked four goals to three to secure the points.
Suns defender Sam Collins (ribs) failed to return after sustaining a hit to his side in a marking contest with Ed Langdon in the second quarter.
AAP
Tiger in the gun for behind-the-play blow
Marc McGowan
Richmond took a major step towards dodging a second wooden spoon in three years with a second win this season over a wayward West Coast as Tigers defender Luke Trainor faces match review scrutiny for a gut punch.
Adem Yze’s men had lost eight matches in a row by an average of almost 50 points, and were on the bottom, behind Essendon on percentage, with a miserable 2-17 win-loss record before Sunday’s 11-point victory.
Richmond took advantage of the Eagles’ yips in front of goal at the MCG to climb above the Bombers and within one win of 16th-placed West Coast, who had kicked 3.17 at one stage before losing 12.12 (84) to 9.19 (73).
The result eases pressure on coach Yze, who has presided over only 10 victories in 66 matches in what is a full-blown rebuild at Tigerland.
“We’re rebuilding, so when you rebuild, you need games into younger players,” Yze said.
“We get a win today, but we still need Jonty Faull, Harry Armstrong and Tom Sims [to get back from injury] … we’ve still got guys we need to gel together. But at the same time, if we can scratch out some wins while we’re going through what we’re going through with unavailability – it’s terrific.
“We know what we’ve got within our four walls … we’ve dealt with more than what other teams have dealt with.
“But when you see Sammy [Lalor] do what he does today; he’s [only] scratching the surface. When those lads start to grow together; it’ll be really exciting.”
Yze re-signed until the end of 2028 in November last year, and chief executive Shane Dunne said last month he had the club’s backing.
There were only 12 points between the sides at three-quarter-time, but goals to Richmond premiership veterans Tom Lynch (20 disposals, 2.4) and Toby Nankervis blew the margin out before they withstood a late fightback.
The Eagles, who have been competitive most weeks despite their lack of success, have plenty to rue, with Jake Waterman’s 2.6 day – on top of putting another kick out on the full – headlining their woeful goalkicking.
Elliot Yeo had a chance to slice the difference to six points with a set shot inside the last two minutes, but sprayed it to the left, only for No.1 draft pick Lalor to seal the contest with his third major after winning a test of strength.
West Coast were trying to beat Richmond at the MCG for the first time since 2015, but the 33,737 crowd instead were able to celebrate a rare Tigers triumph this season.
Tim Taranto led Richmond’s charge with 32 disposals and a game-high 11 clearances, while Harley Reid was outstanding in a losing cause with 34 touches, 20 contested possessions and nine clearances. Mid-season draftee Marcus Herbert (34 disposals) was also prolific for the Eagles.
Yze said he had not seen Trainor’s behind-the-play gut punch to West Coast’s Jack Williams in the second quarter. They were engaged in a standing wrestle before Trainor struck the Eagle with a clenched left fist.
The second-year Tiger, playing his 30th career game, instantly jogged away while Williams went to ground in obvious pain and went to the bench soon after.
“I’m not too sure how hard the impact was, but if he’s gone and done something wrong, we’ll look at it,” Yze said.
“I think there have been a few fines over the last few occasions when things like this have happened, so hopefully, we can get that type of result.
“We don’t want to be losing players through stupidity [when we have so many injuries], so hopefully, it wasn’t too bad. We’ve educated our players, and they understand what’s right and wrong.”
It is the type of incident the AFL aimed to stamp out when it announced tribunal changes in February, revealing that incidents where a player strikes another in the chest or stomach were more likely to be graded medium impact and result in suspension.
Match review officer Michael Christian has typically graded these incidents as low impact, which led to fines rather than bans.
Richmond’s lengthy injury list includes key defensive options Noah Balta, Josh Gibcus and Campbell Gray, while prized draftee Sam Cumming (ankle) was the latest addition on Sunday.
Surgery for ‘devastated’ Swan after leg injury
Peter Ryan
Sydney Swans defender Will Edwards had surgery on Sunday after suffering a sickening lower leg injury against the Saints on Saturday.
Edwards appeared to dislocate his ankle and was carted from the field having received pain medication during the Swans’ 19-point win at Marvel Stadium.
Coach Dean Cox described the injury as “devastating” for the 23-year-old, who made his debut this season following a series of leg fractures and infections.
The club is expected to provide more information about the injury and his prognosis after the operation. Midfielder James Rowbottom will also have surgery to repair a broken hand sustained during the match against St Kilda.
For the Saints, Jack Silvagni (dislocated shoulder) and Tom De Koning (hip pointer) are in doubt for next Sunday night’s match against their former team, Carlton.
Daniel Brettig is The Age’s chief cricket writer and the author of several books on cricket.Connect via X.
