Richmond vs Melbourne, Friday Night 7:40pm, MCG
It’s been nearly eight years since these two clubs faced off in the Friday night slot, almost portraying the relative decline the fixture had at some point. Both are former Victorian powerhouses relegated to the status of middle to lower tier drawcards, desperately looking for a way back to former glories.
Richmond come on Friday to improve on a largely indifferent start the season, moving to three wins from four outings if they can get the job done. Their training run against Brisbane last weekend was no closer to telling us where they sit as a team, with a loss to the Dogs a week before offering more questions than answers.
Establishing a best 22 has been an issue for the Tigers for a long time, spending years attempting to solve problems like finding flankers and extra midfielders to rotate through the middle. New faces like Nathan Gordon, Taylor Hunt and Kamdyn McIntosh look up the challenge alongside Anthony Miles, adding a new depth to a Richmond midfield that has been Cotchin/Martin or bust for too long.
For Melbourne, it’s about continued and sustained effort week to week. They’ve been in all three games this year for long patches, casting the uncompetitive past slowly to one side. Richmond are very gettable and they’re aware of their own psychological flaws as a unit.
One factor should determine whether Melbourne are good enough to pinch this game – successfully rebounding. Last week was a perfect example of what’s left to re-tool at the club, decision making and ball use.
The structures successfully repelled Adelaide time after time, but they would either lose the contest at half-forward or not work hard enough to give options beyond halfway. It’ll take more time to master, but the basics are finally in place.
Key match-ups
Harry Lumumba vs Steven Morris/Chris Newman
Lumumba was one of a few Dees players who was great on the last line of defence last week in Adelaide, and probably has to take up more of a run and carry role in order to get Melbourne’s attacks further up the field. Steve Morris or Chris Newman both have had ‘defensive forward’ responsibilities at some point this year, so they need to restrict Lumumba’s ability to roam.
Trent Cotchin vs Bernie Vince
Melbourne did okay around the contest against Adelaide and implemented a large amount of physicality on the game without one of their grunt midfielder leaders in Jack Viney. Bernie Vince showed a surprising amount of tagging skills for an outside player and might be asked to repeat the role with the assistance of some of his teammates on the Tigers captain.
Result
It’s a critical game for the Tigers, maintaining that bad habit of losing against sides who look lesser than them on paper. Three wins from four starts goes a long way to chasing a repeat finals campaign. They should get the result, but they will be tested.
Tigers by 23.