Game Review

Unfortunately for all concerned, this intense but scrappy Friday night encounter between Richmond and Carlton at the MCG will be remembered for one of the worst displays of umpiring in the modern era. From the opening bounce, all three field umpires appeared anxious and determined to exert their authority, but in their haste they became trigger-happy, and only confused each other. Typical was a bizarre incident during the third quarter, when Carlton ruckman Matthew Kreuzer soared over a pack inside Carlton’s 50-metre arc and took a clear mark – only for the responsible umpire to rule that a Richmond player in front got his hands to the ball first. That decision sapped Carlton’s resolve, and from then on the result was never in doubt.

Earlier, Carlton had prepared to meet the sixth-placed Tigers by adding experience to the side well-beaten by the Western Bulldogs in the previous round. Omitted were youngsters Blaine Johnson, Mark Whiley, Blaine Boekhorst and Nick Graham (the latter injured), replaced by Bryce Gibbs, Troy Menzel, Andrew Carrazzo and first-gamer Tom Fields. Jason Tutt was nominated as the Blues’ substitute before Richmond skipper Trent Cotchin won the toss, and decided to kick toward the rabid Tiger cheer squad at the city end.

The opening exchanges were fierce, as Richmond got away to a good start with a quick goal to their full-forward Jack Reiwoldt. Less than five minutes in, the Blues were hit with a haymaker when Michael Jamison was concussed and soon ruled out of the rest of the game after a head clash with his opponent. Already undermanned in defence through the absence of Sam Rowe, the Blues had only small forward Tutt to call on, leaving the Tigers with a real height advantage in attack. Still, Carlton’s defenders were resolute early, and they had restricted Richmond to only two majors with three minutes remaining in the first term, when Levi Casboult was paid a relayed free-kick inside the centre square, and launched a spectacular 60-metre bomb that sailed between the posts to keep Carlton well and truly in the contest.

Carlton’s endeavour persisted in the second quarter, but sloppy disposal and erratic kicking for goal prevented the Blues from making any real inroads on the scoreboard. Bad misses from set shots by Tutt and Carrazzo, and a 50-metre penalty against Chris Yarran that resulted in goal to Richmond by Cotchin were costly, yet at half-time the difference between the two sides was still a slender 10 points. Under constant physical pressure, Carlton captain Marc Murphy was striving hard to keep the Blues in the contest, with support from Kreuzer, Carrazzo, Cripps and Tuohy. However, the two most influential players on the ground were Tiger defender Alex Rance (who had kept Lachie Henderson near kickless while constantly repelling Carlton attacks) and ruckman Shaun Hampson. The big former Blue was having a night out for Richmond, and his dominance around the stoppages was proving vital for the Tigers.

Richmond came out firing after half-time, to post the first four goals of the quarter and lead by 35 points. Murphy, Kreuzer, Tuohy and Dylan Buckley (who provided a memorable moment with a brilliant tumbling mark at half-back) then began a Carlton fightback, and majors to Henderson and Kreuzer kept Blues’ hopes flickering. But when Kreuzer’s mark was disallowed, and a snap-shot by Murphy missed in the last minute of the quarter, Richmond clung to a 22-point advantage.

Perhaps the Blues could have summoned some resolve had Carrazzo nailed his set-shot free-kick from 25 metres early in the last quarter, especially when the Tigers also caught the goal-kicking yips and missed their next three opportunities. Instead, the game petered out to a predictable Richmond victory - sealed when Tiger star Dustin Martin (who had been hardly sighted for much of the game) eluded Tuohy in a ground ball contest and kicked the last goal of the game.

Aside from the umpires’ frequent brain snaps, and their extravagant use of the whistle (55 free kicks were paid in total) Carlton fans were left to reflect on the performance of two former Blues who wore yellow and black in this game. Shaun Hampson was the dominant ruckman on the ground, while Shaun Grigg racked up 25 disposals, 7 tackles and four marks against his former club.

Team

B:	33 Tom Fields	40 Michael Jamison (VC)	43 Simon White
HB:	13 Chris Yarran	42 Zach Tuohy	7 Dylan Buckley
C:	6 Kade Simpson	44 Andrew Carrazzo	35 Ed Curnow
HF:	27 Dennis Armfield	23 Lachie Henderson	28 Tom Bell
F:	2 Troy Menzel	41 Levi Casboult	33 Andrejs Everitt
Ruck:	8 Matthew Kreuzer	9 Patrick Cripps	3 Marc Murphy (C)
Interchange:	4 Bryce Gibbs (VC)	20 Nick Holman	36 Cameron Wood
Substitute:	22 Jason Tutt
Emergencies:	12 Blaine Boekhorst	17 Sam Rowe	24 Mark Whiley
Coach:	John Barker

Changes

In: Bryce Gibbs, Troy Menzel, Andrew Carrazzo, Tom Fields.
Out: Blaine Johnson, Mark Whiley, Blaine Boekhorst, Nick Graham.

Subs: Jason Tutt replaced Michael Jamison during the first quarter.

Milestones

Debut : Tom Fields

Brownlow Votes

3. Alex Rance, Richmond
2. Trent Cotchin, Richmond
1. Andrew Carrazzo, Carlton

Best & Fairest Votes

Dylan Buckley 4, Andrew Carrazzo 4, Marc Murphy 4, Zach Tuohy 4, Simon White 4, Kade Simpson 3, Levi Casboult 2, Patrick Cripps 1, Matthew Kreuzer 1