After suffering contrastingly disappointing results in Round 6, Richmond and Hawthorn will be out to bounce back when they clash this Friday night at the MCG.
After only defeating last year’s wooden spooners Carlton by nine points in the opening night of the new season, Richmond have crashed to five straight losses to currently be sitting in 15th place on the ladder.
It is their worst losing streak since mid-2011 and has heaped all the pressure on coach Damien Hardwick, who in March signed a two-year contract extension which would see him through to the end of the 2018 season.
This was supposed to relive the pressure on the 43-year-old, who since taking over as Tigers coach in 2010 has overseen some steady improvement at the club, culminating in them reaching the past three finals series, though they have not been able to crack their finals hoodoo which dates back to 2001.
Instead, it seems to be having the reverse effect to the point that the Tigers are enduring their worst start to a season since 2010, when they lost their first nine matches before marginally recovering to finish 15th with six wins.
Not since Hawthorn in 2010 has any club come back to reach the finals after starting a season so poorly.
On that occasion, the Hawks were 1-6 and had just come off an eight-point loss to the West Coast Eagles in Perth, a week after being embarrassingly exposed by an Essendon side that would ultimately finish third-last at the end of that season.
Ironically, their comeback would start against the Tigers in Round 8, when they won by three points after Sam Mitchell laid the crucial tackle on Shane Tuck, who was just about to kick the match winning goal for the Tigers.
Had Tuck kicked the goal and the Tigers won, then it is likely Hawks coach Alastair Clarkson would have been given his marching orders and the club wouldn’t have won the last three premierships.
But the rest, as they say, is history. The Hawks went on to finish seventh that season before being knocked out by a Fremantle side they had thrashed by 116 points in Launceston a fortnight earlier, in an elimination final in Perth.
Since then, the Hawks have finished in the top four in each of the last five seasons, have reached the grand final in each of the last four and have won the last three premierships in succession to cement themselves as one of the best AFL teams this millennium, if not this decade.
Similarly, and famously, the Tigers were able to come back from 3-10 midway through the 2014 season to win their last nine matches, culminating in a victory over the Sydney Swans on the road, to sneak into the final eight.
Thus, the Tigers has the chance to start mounting another comeback of its own season-wise and it’s only appropriate that they face the Hawks this Friday night.
They’ll have to face the triple-reigning premiers without their captain Trent Cotchin, who suffered a cheekbone injury in last week’s disappointing loss to Port Adelaide, while Alex Rance still has to serve the final week of a two-match suspension incurred by striking Melbourne’s Jack Watts on Anzac Eve.
The Hawks will also enter Friday night’s match wounded and desperate to bounce back themselves after suffering their worst marginal defeat since 2009 when it lost to the GWS Giants by a whopping 75 points last Saturday night.
While it was barely surprising that the Hawks were again defeated by the Giants, as they were in the corresponding match last season, the manner in which they were defeated could be the first signs that their premiership dynasty is about to come to a shuddering halt.
Or will it?
The triple reigning premiers will be without captain Luke Hodge for at least a month after it was revealed he suffered a knee injury against the Giants, while defender James Frawley is no certainty to play after he was concussed in the third quarter.
Recent history is also against the Hawks, who have lost three of their last four matches against the Tigers dating back to 2012.
This includes a 62-point spanking handed out by Damien Hardwick’s men that year; it was that loss which would prove to be the turning point for the Hawks as they then reached the grand final, losing to the Sydney Swans by ten points.
Like they did four years ago, the Hawks will be expected to rebound from last week’s heavy defeat and get their bid for the four-peat back on track.
And so, the stage is set for two teams eager to redeem themselves after suffering very disappointing results last week. Can the Tigers get their season back on track before it’s too late, or will the Hawks bounce back like champion teams do?
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Chief certainly gave David King the details he wanted!
Will it get the Hawks ready for a crucial clash with North Melbourne?
Round 5 of the AFL provided plenty of action, from big scorelines to upset wins and pressure starting to build on some clubs and coaches already.
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