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After a month from the blackest depths of hell, Richmond have put smiles back onto their supporters’ faces with a stirring 15-point win over Essendon in front of a packed Dreamtime at the ‘G crowd.
» Click here to read the full match report
Final score
Richmond Tigers 11.15.81
Essendon Bombers 10.6.66
It’s the annual Dreamtime at the ‘G clash between the Richmond Tigers and the Essendon Bombers, and this one has even more riding on it than most. Follow the match on The Roar for all the live scores and highlights from 7:25pm (AEST).
It’s the 50 year anniversary of the 1967 referendum that amended the constitution to include Indigenous Australians, so symbolically this match means more than most, but even from a footy perspective, a win is vital for both sides.
In an even season, both the Bombers and the Tigers sit with 5 wins and 4 losses, and while the victor will be entrenched in the top eight, the loser risks falling to the bottom of the mid-table cluster.
Since surprising the competition with five straight wins to start the season, Richmond have reverted to the Tigers of old, losing not one, not two, but three heartbreakers to leave their season on tenterhooks.
A five-point loss to the Western Bulldogs was disappointing, an after-the-siren defeat to Fremantle was gut-wrenching, and the less said about the last minute of their match last week against GWS the better.
Damien Hardwick’s coaching has been criticised for the losses, but when push comes to shove, the likes of Trent Cotchin, Jack Riewoldt and Dustin Martin simply haven’t been able to show enough leadership to marshal their team to victory.
But in all three matches, the Tigers have shown they’re good enough to match it with any team in the competition, and having been dealt some severe body blows in the last month, nothing would be sweeter than a statement-making win on the big stage.
While the Tigers have been having a month straight from hell, Essendon’s last two weeks have been as brilliant as they’ve been since the beginning of the doping scandal that destroyed almost four seasons for the club.
Against a pair of contenders in Geelong and West Coast, the Bombers have simply been electric, winning the ball with some manic pressure and then using their speed and foot skills to cut apart the opposition.
With Joe Daniher producing Carey-like numbers up forward, Zach Merrett racking them up in midfield, and banned Bombers Michael Hurley, Dyson Heppell and Jobe Watson all surging back into form after a lean few weeks, Essendon are the form side of the competition- making coach John Worsfold’s claim that the players had “hit the wall” look a tad premature.
But in the wackiest season in decades, form can change at the drop of a hat, and the Bombers will know that the last few weeks will have counted for little if they can’t get the job done here.
And having lost the last two Dreamtime matches, a win over the Tigers would be perhaps their sweetest yet.
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Prediction
This is the very definition of a 50-50 game, so you can pretty much guarantee that whoever you pick, the other side will win.
But while the Bombers are in excellent form, the Tigers will have been stung by their trifecta of supporter-crushing losses, and will come out firing to get the job done this time.
Richmond to break their four-match losing streak by 15 points.
Players from multiple clubs have changed their jumper numbers this week to honour the 50th anniversary of the Indigenous referendum, and Richmond’s Shane Edwards will join Lance Franklin, Shaun Burgoyne and Steven May in switching his regular number 10 for the number 67.
Can “Titch” lead his Tigers to a win that will finally put smiles back on the faces of their supporters? Or will the Bombers’ rich vein of form carry them back into the top eight?
Join The Roar for live scores, analysis and highlights from 7:25pm (AEST), and remember to leave us your thoughts in the comments section below.
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