Ties in football are hollow affairs. They suck the air out of the stadium. They immediately have you scratching for perspective: who dodged the bullet? Who pissed it away? Whose two points were grounds for optimism? Invariably, they prompt a few days of very tedious content about extra time and golden points. The SEN open line (“how you doin’…that’s the way… hey I just wanted to talk about scrapping the draw…”) is ringing in my head as I type.
Last night’s season opener was no different. It started with Dustin Martin lunching on a spilt mark in the opening seconds. It ended with the Carlton and Richmond players slouching about like Brown’s cows, assuming their neutral poses. In some ways, one’s mind cast back to the early days of the pandemic, to a mind-rotting drawn game between Collingwood and Richmond. “Well that was a complete waste of a couple of hours, wasn’t it?” Nathan Buckley said to Damian Hardwick. The cardboard cut-outs in the crowd nodded in agreement.
Last night’s fixture had much more weight, and was far a better contest. But it was no epic. Football at this time of year is often completely different to the football played in June, or in August. The grounds are harder, the players are afforded a bit more freedom, and the football pings. Last night, however, felt a like a pipe opener. There were plenty of shanks, fumbles, and dropped marks. A number of players fatigued and cramped early. Even Dusty’s “don’t argues” were thwarted.
Nonetheless, both sides can take positives. In particular, George Hewett played an outstanding game for the Blues. Unfashionable and unobtrusive, he’s one of those footballers that doesn’t get anywhere near the credit he deserves. He has clean hands and a cool head – two things they could have desperately done with last August. Lewis Young was also excellent down back, particularly late when the Blues were under siege. Richmond had 15 inside-50s in the final term, but Carlton defended stoutly. Michael Voss gathered his players on the ground and told them he was proud of them. “If this happens last year, we lose by six goals,” he said.
There were positives for Richmond too. They ran hot just after half-time, with Daniel Rioli dominating off half-back, Kamdyn McIntosh patrolling his wing, and Shai Bolton tap dancing his way across the MCG. The latter is an exquisite talent, but he can be incredibly frustrating at times. Deep into the final term, he had a set shot, straight in front, to get the Tigers within a point. As is the modern way, he played on, snapped around his body, and made an absolute meal of it. It was that sort of evening.
But the Tigers can take heart that they kept Carlton to just 58 points. In 2022, their defence was leaking like Kevin Rudd. But they looked far more organised and compact. It was great to see Dusty back, too. From the moment Mitch Robinson cannoned into his kidney, nothing went right for Martin. He was desperately ill. His dad died. Just when he was getting back to form, his body let him down. And then, on the eve of the elimination final, supposedly scandalous footage from seven years ago surfaced. For a while, it looked as though he was moving to Sydney. His Range Rover was stolen and the thieves used it to ram an unmarked police car. Apart from that, his summer went well. He presented in pristine condition and started like a house on fire last night.
During the week, Hardwick urged restraint. “We’re an emerging side,” he said. “We’re not the side that we were.” But despite the acquisition of two GWS franchisees, the Tigers are still very much a territory team. “Grass is our friend,” he says all the time. And Dan Rioli’s metres gained were off the charts last night.
Tim Taranto (32 touches) was another fine contributor, and played a nice little cameo when Lynch stretched for his match saving mark, gently nudging Weitering out of the contest. Richmond values power-endurance athletes, and there’s few better runners in the game than Taranto. The rub on him is his kicking, which was sloppy at times. Likewise, Jacob Hopper showed that he’s more than a heavy haulage player, with his neat sidestep and sleight of hand. But really, they could have had Dennis Hopper out there, reprising his role as Mad Dog Morgan, and the feeling at the siren couldn’t have been any more bizzare. Such is the tie. They’re frustrating and a bit bewildering. Still, not every football match has to be an epic. Not every match has to end with one side trudging off and the other celebrating with gusto. Sometimes, on a night like last night, a tie is an entirely fitting result.
