For four and a half games, Geelong were in arrears.
They had lost to Melbourne, Port Adelaide, Gold Coast, Greater Western Sydney and were getting touched up by the Tigers on their home turf. At one stage of the GMHBA clash the ferocious Tigers led by 29 points.
It must have been a hard watch for Patrick Dangerfield, still stuck up in the coaches box waiting for his hamstring to be given the all clear (lock it in next week).
But Danger would have been proud of the Cats midfield quartet of Jack Bowes, Tanner Bruhn, Max Holmes and Tom Atkins who were overshadowed across the first two quarters but steamrolled the young Tigers in the third term.
They did so by winning the clearances 12-5, the centre clearances 6-1, the stoppage clearances 6-4 and the Cats let the third-quarter tackles 17 to 11.
Shannon Neale put them in front for the first time all game at the 20-minute mark of the third term. Ollie Dempsey managed a game-high three majors.
Their effort has catapulted Geelong back onto the winner’s list and suddenly their 8-4 return for the season looks healthy.
One negative for Geelong was losing Ollie Henry to hamstring awareness in the second quarter.
AN EARLY BALLS-UP
Geelong seemed to overthink the new holding-the-ball rule across the opening half.
They were timid in their approach to the footy and timid when trying to hold up the more intent Tigers brigade.
It is ironic, considering their coach Chris Scott was the first to publicly express issues with the holding-the-ball rule.
There were no such problems for Richmond. They dialled up the pressure from the opening bounce and were fierce in the contest.
They even seemed to get the rub of the green when it came to the umpires. At least three times across the opening two quarters Richmond players were tackled, appeared to drop the ball and yet the umpires called play on. One even brought a smile to Scott’s face – and we’re tipping it wasn’t making him happy.
Geelong got it right in the third term. They attacked the ball and laid heavy tackles.
Twice they were rewarded in the third quarter – once when Liam Baker tried to break free and then soon after when Thomas Dow dragged the ball back under his body.
YOU HAVE TO LAUGH
Richmond were brave, and ultimately did not have the strength of numbers, but they did provide the two most humorous moments of the night.
The first was when Marlion Pickett was walking from the ground in the last quarter, subbed off with calf soreness, and gave the Geelong crowd the bird (an action that will probably result in a fine).
When it was pointed out to Richmond great and Seven commentator Matthew Richardson, he was quick to defend Pickett.
“Nothing wrong with that from me,” Richardson said, tongue-in-cheek.
“But I am probably not the man to ask to be honest. It (giving the crowd the bird) cost me some coin over the years.“
The other light moment came from key Richmond Noah Balta who was spotted at the interchange bench during the second term referring to a notebook.
To add to the intrigue, he was then seen writing some notes with a ballpoint pen. We kid you not. He appears to be a real student of the game.
But whatever he was reading, and whatever he was jotting down, it worked. The Tigers led by 16 points at half-time.
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