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The Richmond Tigers have upset one of the top premiership favourites with a low-scoring 19-point win over the GWS Giants.
Final Score
Richmond 9.10 (64)
Giants 6.9 (45)
When the GWS Giants overcame the Richmond Tigers at Spotless Stadium in May, I was behind the goals when the improbable moment of Jeremy Cameron breaking free from the centre square and then scoring the goal occurred. Join The Roar from 1:10pm (AEST) for all the live scores, highlights and action.
The Giants members at that end of the ground were, of course, excited, but still amazed. The Giants, until the second part of that last quarter, were dominated by outstanding Richmond pressure and skills.
That was until Richmond started to crack, with the missing of easy set shots.
So it is that we come to the second act of this play, this time at the MCG, with Richmond supporters eagerly hoping for a squaring up of the result.
However, also at this time, Richmond come to the game with mostly good form – except for the still inexplicable St Kilda result – and the Giants limping their way through a set of last gasp draws and a comprehensive loss to the rampant Swans.
On the theme of limping, the Giants are still down in terms of injuries, with the first game hero Jeremy Cameron still out with a hamstring issue, and it was still clear last week that Devon Smith, Rory Lobb and Toby Greene are still not quite 100% in sync with what is required of them.
While it is good news for the team that Stephen Coniglio and Brett Deledio played well in the NEAFL game yesterday, there’s still no guarantees that it will be a smooth run for the supposed “Harlem Globetrotters.”
Partially as a result of the injuries, the Giants are debuting Albury academy player Will Setterfield, who will be watched keenly.
It is for this reason that we should be surprised that the Giants are clear favourites with bookmakers.
Richmond really should be clear favourites for a number of reasons. One of which is them being at home – the Giants have not played at the MCG since Round 1, 2016 and have only had one win at the venue.
Other reasons include the continuing domination of Dustin Martin; the emergence of Kane Lambert; the domination that Alex Rance has exhibited over the likes of Jonny Patton and the continuing experience and strength of veterans like Riewoldt and Cotchin.
For the Giants, the recent strengths for the club have been Callan Ward’s performances, along with the straight shooting of Patton, which makes the Rance vs Patton battle important.
There is one other element in their favour. The theme of Richmond missing easy set shots in front of goal remains problematic and continues to be an issue.
For the Giants, who used to be plagued by set shot yips in their early days, it has not been such an issue. During this tough part of the season, it has been their relatively straight kicking that has kept them in games.
This should be a tight game and worth a watch, even if you believe the Giants are a plastic team.
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