Match

Essendon vs Richmond

Commentary / 22 Aug 2020

Pre Game

00:00
The Tigers have only played one AFL match previously at TIO Stadium, losing to Port Adelaide in 2011 by 15 points. Bachar Houli, Trent Cotchin, Jack Riewoldt and Dustin Martin were the only Tigers that featured in this match that are playing tonight. Essendon has never played an AFL match at this venue prior to tonight.

Quarter 1

00:00
Q1 is now underway.
01:57
SCORE GOAL - Tigers (Tom J. Lynch)
02:07
A quick start by the Tigers, with Tom Lynch kicking the first goal of the match. Essendon has been a poor first quarter side this year. The last time that the Bombers entered the first change in front of the scoreboard was Round 2 vs Sydney.
05:39
SCORE BEHIND - Tigers (Dustin Martin)
05:57
Richmond is applying strong pressure in their forward half, with Essendon struggling to transition the ball out of the defensive zone. The Tigers have won four intercept possessions in their forward half so far, compared to zero for Essendon.
06:59
SCORE BEHIND - Tigers (Tom J. Lynch)
08:15
Richmond's territory dominance continues, with 84% of the play being held in their forward half of the ground. The Tigers have generated seven of the first eight inside 50s to start this match.
11:05
SCORE BEHIND - Tigers (Oleg Markov)
11:11
All four of Richmond's scores so far have been sourced from intercepts.
12:05
Bombers Interchange - Aaron Francis and is possibly out for the game.
12:30
SCORE BEHIND - Tigers (Dylan Grimes)
14:25
Tigers Interchange - Jack Riewoldt off due to an injury.
14:34
SCORE BEHIND - Tigers (Kamdyn McIntosh)
15:06
Richmond has now generated 10 more inside 50s than the Bombers, however have scored an inaccurate 1.5(11) from these entries. The Tigers won the inside 50 count by 25 last round against the Suns – their biggest differential in any game this season.
16:18
SCORE GOAL - Bombers (Irving Mosquito)
17:08
Essendon has scored their first goal of the match through the debutant Irving Mosquito. This first goal was sourced from a kick-in for the Bombers. Essendon averages the third-most points from kick-ins this season.
19:26
SCORE BEHIND - Bombers (Irving Mosquito)
19:31
Essendon has handled the slippery conditions strongly so far, recording an impressive 81% kicking efficiency. In comparison, the Tigers have recorded a kicking efficiency of 62%.
22:21
The siren has sounded to end Q1.
22:22
Richmond finished with 12 more inside 50s than Essendon in the opening term, however only lead by four points due to inaccuracy. The Tigers' forward half kicking efficiency was a low 40%, compared to Essendon's 83% from their respective forward half.

Quarter 2

00:00
Q2 is now underway.
02:10
Richmond is dominating the groundballs in the slippery conditions, winning 16 more than the Bombers so far overall. This is particularly telling in the post-clearance groundballs, where they have won 14 more than the Bombers.
04:41
Trent Cotchin's strong form has continued tonight, leading the match in inside 50s with five from his 75% time on ground. Cotchin recorded a season-high 26 disposals and nine clearances last round against Gold Coast.
07:16
SCORE BEHIND - Tigers (Jack Riewoldt)
07:32
Similar to the opening term, the Tigers have continued to dominate the territory battle. They have generated eight of the first nine inside 50s for the quarter to take their overall total to 25 for the match compared to just six for Essendon. Despite this dominance, both sides have scored one goal apiece.
10:11
SCORE GOAL - Bombers (Dylan Clarke)
10:57
Essendon has scored their second goal of the match through Dylan Clarke to give them the lead for the first time tonight. This goal followed a 50 metre penalty against the Tigers' captain Trent Cotchin. Coming into tonight, Richmond had conceded 19 50 metre penalties for the year - six more than any other side.
11:41
SCORE BEHIND - Tigers (Jack Graham)
13:27
Essendon has improved its pressure this quarter, laying 13 tackles with four of these being applied in the forward-half. The Bombers laid just six tackles in the opening quarter.
15:10
SCORE BEHIND - Tigers (Rushed)
17:19
Essendon controlled the ball on the outside in the opening term, collecting 12 more uncontested possession than the Tigers. The Tigers have turned this negative differential around in the second quarter, leading this stat by 13 for the term.
17:39
SCORE GOAL - Bombers (Irving Mosquito)
19:03
Irving Mosquito has kicked his second goal of the match to be the first multiple-goal scorer for the night. No Essendon player kicked multiple goals in their previous match vs St Kilda.
20:47
SCORE GOAL - Tigers (Shai Bolton)
23:23
SCORE GOAL - Tigers (Daniel Rioli)
24:44
The siren has sounded to end Q2.
24:45
Richmond kicked their first goal of the night sourced from a stoppage late in the quarter to extend their lead to seven points at half-time. The Tigers have eight scoring chains sourced from an intercept possession, whereas the Bombers have been held scoreless from their intercepts in the first half.

Quarter 3

00:00
Q3 is now underway.
02:10
SCORE GOAL - Tigers (Jack Riewoldt)
02:23
After a quiet first half, Jack Riewoldt has kicked his first goal of the match following a free-kick against Sam Draper. Riewoldt finished with a game-high six score involvements and five shots at goal last round. He also recorded an equal game-high three uncontested marks.
04:41
Richmond has been on top of the contested possessions all match, which is a worrying trend for the Bombers. The Tigers have recorded a positive differential of 19 for this stat tonight. Essendon has lost the contested possession count by seven per game this season – ranked 16th in the competition.
07:49
SCORE GOAL - Tigers (Dustin Martin)
08:48
The Tigers have scored their first goal of the match launched from the defensive midfield. Richmond averages more points than any other side from defensive midfield score launches - averaging over 17 points per game from this zone.
09:54
SCORE GOAL - Tigers (Kane Lambert)
10:13
Richmond has now kicked five unanswered goals to extend their lead out to a game-high margin of 25 points. The Tigers lead centre clearances eight to three and they have not conceded a score from this source tonight. In the past four rounds, Richmond has conceded four points per game from centre clearances – ranked second defensively.
11:52
SCORE GOAL - Bombers (James Stewart)
13:58
SCORE GOAL - Tigers (Jack Riewoldt)
14:14
Richmond has now scored 5.6(36) sourced from intercepts tonight, whilst keeping Essendon scoreless from this source tonight. The fewest points sourced from stoppages by any side this season is nine points.
16:16
SCORE BEHIND - Tigers (Rushed)
17:45
SCORE GOAL - Bombers (Will Snelling)
18:34
The Bombers have scored their first goal of the match launched from a forward 50 possession chain. Essendon averages 10 points per game from forward 50 launches - ranked second-last.
20:55
Richmond's small forwards have been a dangerous threat all night, winning 16 groundballs in their forward 50. Kane Lambert has lead the charge collecting four groundballs in this zone. In comparison, Essendon has won four groundballs as a team for the entire match in their respective forward 50.
22:52
SCORE GOAL - Bombers (James Stewart)
24:47
SCORE BEHIND - Tigers (Tom J. Lynch)
25:26
Bombers Interchange - Irving Mosquito off due to an injury.
27:50
Richmond has converted 16% of its inside 50s into goals tonight - considerably lower than their season average of 21%. Essendon has scored a goal from 38% of their forward 50 entries - dramatically higher than their season average of 20%.

Quarter 4

00:00
Q4 is now underway.
01:27
Devon Smith has been playing a different role for the Bombers tonight, spending 55% of his time on ground as a defender. This is the first time all year that Smith has played as a defender. He has collected 21 disposals tonight in this new role and is just the second time this season he has reached 20 disposals in a match.
02:08
SCORE GOAL - Bombers (Anthony McDonald-Tipungwuti)
05:24
Richmond has struggled to convert its opportunities in front of goal tonight, particularly from their shots between 30 metres and 40 metres out from goal. The Tigers have scored 1.5(11) from their shots within this range, compared to 4.0(24) for the Bombers from this same range.
06:56
SCORE BEHIND - Tigers (Sydney Stack)
07:09
Richmond has outscored Essendon by 21 points in scores sourced from intercepts tonight. In the past four rounds, Essendon has been outscored by 19 points per game from intercept possessions – ranked last.
07:23
SCORE BEHIND - Tigers (Rushed)
09:47
Richmond has generated 10 of the first 11 inside 50s for the quarter, however it is Essendon that is leading the quarter by four points overall. Richmond has enjoyed 72% of the play tonight being held in their forward half of the ground.
13:45
SCORE GOAL - Tigers (Nick Vlastuin)
14:43
Richmond kick a steadying goal following a 50 metre penalty awarded to defender Nick Vlastuin. This is Vlastuin's first goal since Round 9, 2019.
16:02
SCORE GOAL - Tigers (Tom J. Lynch)
16:38
The Tigers have now kicked their ninth goal of the match from their 60th forward 50 entry. Since 2016, the Tigers have averaged 58 inside 50s against the Bombers – ranked No.1 in the league.
18:32
SCORE GOAL - Tigers (Mabior Chol)
20:10
SCORE BEHIND - Tigers (Dustin Martin)
21:47
SCORE GOAL - Bombers (Jake Stringer)
21:54
Zach Merrett as enjoyed a prolific night, accumulating a game-high 34 disposals as well as being involved in eight different scoring chains for the Bombers which is a team-high. He has also worked hard defensively, applying a game-high 25 pressure acts.
23:59
SCORE GOAL - Bombers (Zach Merrett)
24:41
Tigers Interchange - Ivan Soldo off due to an injury.
26:21
SCORE GOAL - Bombers (Anthony McDonald-Tipungwuti)
28:05
The siren has sounded to end Q4.
28:06
Weight of numbers proved too much for the Bombers, with the Tigers generating 42 more inside 50s for the match. This is the greatest inside 50 differential achieved by any side this season, beating the previous best differential of 33 which Brisbane achieved against Adelaide in Round 4.