Match

Richmond vs Sydney Swans

Commentary / 06 Jul 2023

Pre Game

00:00

Richmond (1931) and Sydney (1930) rank second and third respectively in the AFL for total positive one percenters in 2023, which includes tackles, blocks, smothers and spoils among others. However, Richmond (406, first) as well as Sydney (351, second) also sit atop the league in 2023 for negative one percenters which includes dropped marks, smothered disposals and dispossessions among others.

Quarter 1

00:00

Q1 is now underway.

03:48

Tigers Interchange - Jacob Bauer off due to an injury.

03:56

SCORE GOAL - Swans (Justin McInerney)

04:22

Sydney open the scoring from their first set shot of the match through Justin McInerney. The Swans have outscored their opponents by nine points per game from set shots since Round 10, ranking them sixth in this period.

09:03

Of the four kicks the Swans have sent into their forward 50, Richmond players have outmarked Sydney players 3-1. Richmond have recorded 275 total intercept marks in 2023 to share the league lead with Melbourne in this category.

09:36

SCORE GOAL - Swans (Will Hayward)

11:09

SCORE GOAL - Tigers (Ben Miller)

12:24

SCORE GOAL - Swans (Errol Gulden)

13:17

Both sides trade goals after converting a centre bounce clearance to a major score. Sydney have outscored their opponents by 6.6 points per game from centre clearances since Round 10, while Richmond have been outscored by as many points in the same period, ranking Sydney second and Richmond 17th from this source in the last eight weeks.

16:19

Jacob Bauer's AFL debut has unfortunately lasted less than four minutes after suffering an apparent hamstring injury. He has been replaced by starting substitute Jack Ross.

16:39

Swans Interchange - Angus Sheldrick off due to an injury.

16:56

SCORE BEHIND - Swans (Logan McDonald)

17:50

SCORE BEHIND - Tigers (Maurice Rioli)

20:54

SCORE GOAL - Swans (Tom Papley)

21:23

Tom Papley makes it four goals from five shots for Sydney in a vastly improved performance in front of goal from last round. Papley scored a season-high six goals when these two teams last met in Gather Round.

21:26

Tigers Interchange - Nick Vlastuin off due to the blood rule.

23:15

SCORE BEHIND - Swans (Hayden McLean)

26:00

SCORE BEHIND - Swans (Lance Franklin)

27:55

SCORE GOAL - Tigers (Jack Ross)

28:49

All 13 of Richmond's points have been launched from stoppage clearances so far in tonight's match. The Tigers have been outscored by four points per game from this source since Round 10, thee equal fourth-lowest margin of any side in this period.

29:52

SCORE BEHIND - Swans (Hayden McLean)

30:20

Sydney were dominant in the forward half intercept battle in the first term, outperforming the Tigers 10-2 in this metric, allowing them to score 2.2 (14) to zero from this source.

Quarter 2

00:00

Q2 is now underway.

01:11

SCORE GOAL - Tigers (Marlion Pickett)

01:58

Richmond score the opening goal of the second term, and their first goal of the match from a shot taken in general play. The Tigers have been outscored by eight points per game from this shot source since Round 10, ranked 16th in the AFL in this period.

02:48

Swans Interchange - Jake Lloyd off due to an injury.

05:16

SCORE BEHIND - Swans (Rushed)

07:12

SCORE GOAL - Swans (Isaac Heeney)

09:08

SCORE BEHIND - Tigers (Liam Baker)

10:18

Jake Lloyd (head) has been replaced by medical substitute Aaron Francis.

10:20

SCORE BEHIND - Tigers (Maurice Rioli)

10:26

Back-to-back Dustin Martin kicks inside 50 result in Tigers marks, but only result in two behinds. Among the top 50 players in the AFL for total kicks inside 50 in 2023, Martin ranks 47th with a team retention percentage of 35.3 per cent.

13:02

SCORE GOAL - Swans (Lance Franklin)

14:13

SCORE GOAL - Swans (Justin McInerney)

17:51

SCORE GOAL - Tigers (Jack Ross)

18:16

After recording a pressure factor of just 165 in the opening term, the Tigers have lifted in this regard to 189 to be above average in the second term. The league average in 2023 is 180.

19:33

SCORE BEHIND - Swans (Tom Papley)

22:15

SCORE BEHIND - Tigers (Rushed)

23:16

SCORE GOAL - Tigers (Trent Cotchin)

26:22

SCORE BEHIND - Tigers (Toby Nankervis)

28:07

After allowing the Swans to record 29 uncontested marks in the first term, the Tigers have improved to only concede 15 this quarter. The Tigers have conceded an average of 84 uncontested marks per game in 2023, the fifth-highest figure of any side.

28:28

SCORE GOAL - Swans (Isaac Heeney)

30:32

Approaching half time, the ruck contests have been an interesting battle. The Tigers ruckmen have won the hitout count 23-12, but the Swans midfield have won the first possession count 23-15 to nullify this dominance.

30:49

SCORE BEHIND - Tigers (Ben Miller)

31:08

Eight Richmond players gained 19 metres or more via handballs in the first half of today's match. By comparison, only Ollie Florent (31 metres gained) and Callum Mills (21 metres gained) reached this threshold by hand for Sydney.

Quarter 3

00:00

Q3 is now underway.

01:13

SCORE GOAL - Tigers (Liam Baker)

01:24

Liam Baker opens the scoring with a brilliant goal off the ground to bring the margin back to two goals. The Tigers have scored six goals off the ground in 2023 to rank equal second in the AFL in this metric.

02:39

SCORE BEHIND - Tigers (Rushed)

04:32

SCORE GOAL - Tigers (Toby Nankervis)

05:51

SCORE BEHIND - Tigers (Liam Baker)

11:02

SCORE BEHIND - Tigers (Jack Riewoldt)

11:40

After being edged 18-19 in the clearances in the first half, the Tigers have won six of the first eight clearances in this term. While they have kicked two goals from their two clearances inside 50, they have launched just two behinds from the centre bounce despite winning all three centre clearances this quarter.

14:45

SCORE BEHIND - Swans (Braeden Campbell)

15:40

SCORE GOAL - Swans (Isaac Heeney)

17:21

Isaac Heeney gets a goal to keep the Tigers at bay for now, from his team-high sixth disposal for the term. He has recorded five groundball-gets this term, two more than any other player on the ground.

20:31

SCORE BEHIND - Tigers (Shai Bolton)

21:12

Sydney have recorded 18 possession chains originating in their defensive half this quarter, with only one of those chains ending inside their forward 50. By comparison, three of the Tigers six defensive half chains this term has concluded inside their forward 50.

22:40

SCORE BEHIND - Swans (Rushed)

24:31

SCORE GOAL - Swans (Will Hayward)

25:04

Despite losing the inside 50 count 6-17 for the term, the Swans have equalled the Tigers output in terms of goals with two apiece. Richmond have struggled in this regard in 2023, converting just 21 per cent of their inside 50's to goals, the third-lowest conversion rate of any side.

26:46

SCORE BEHIND - Tigers (Trent Cotchin)

29:28

SCORE GOAL - Tigers (Nick Vlastuin)

30:09

Nick Vlastuin kicks his second goal in three matches, after not kicking a goal in the 48 matches before this stretch, to get the Tigers back within 10 points just before half time. The Tigers have now kicked two goals to zero from defensive half intercept possessions.

31:16

Richmond recorded 19 pre-clearance contested possessions in the third term on the way to winning the clearance count 15-5. They recorded 18 pre-clearance contested possessions combined in the first two quarters of tonight's match.

Quarter 4

00:00

Q4 is now underway.

01:37

Jack Riewoldt kicks goal 779 to move into third outright on Richmond's all-time goalkicking list, behind Matthew Richardson and Jack Titus. This also moves Riewoldt into outright 13th all-time on the AFL-wide goalkicking table.

02:49

SCORE BEHIND - Tigers (Shai Bolton)

05:20

SCORE GOAL - Swans (Lance Franklin)

07:53

SCORE BEHIND - Tigers (Jack Ross)

09:28

SCORE GOAL - Tigers (Jack Graham)

10:42

Richmond have scored from three of their four forward half intercept possessions in the final term for a return of 2.1 (13). Sydney are yet to record a forward half intercept in the final term.

11:10

SCORE BEHIND - Tigers (Jack Ross)

14:19

SCORE BEHIND - Tigers (Tim Taranto)

17:09

Richmond may be left to rue their medium-long distance goalkicking accuracy if they lose this match. From shots at goal taken beyond 30 metres out from the goal line, they have scored 4.12 (36). From inside 30 metres out, they have kicked 6.2 (38).

17:40

SCORE BEHIND - Swans (James Rowbottom)

22:31

Sydney are winning the stoppage first possession count 9-7 in the final term, but Richmond's pre-clearance pressure rating of 271 is helping them to turn this around in the clearance count which the Tigers lead 10-6 in the final quarter.

27:20

With under two minutes remaining, there is barely anything to split the two teams. The disposal count (199-199), contested possession count (132-131), intercept possession count (65-64) and goals (11-11) are indicative of the tug-of-war nature of this game.

28:46

SCORE GOAL - Tigers (Jack Graham)

30:08

SCORE GOAL - Tigers (Dustin Martin)

30:53

The Tigers turn their clearance dominance into the match-deciding factor of tonight's match, kicking truly from two straight clearances to effectively end the Swans finals hopes for 2023. The Tigers have outscored the Swans 44-33 from this source, their equal-third best single game margin from this source in 2023.

31:51

A true sliding doors moment proved a defining factor in tonight's match with substitute Jack Ross coming on early in the game for the injured Jacob Bauer, and Ross ends up being the top-scorer for the Tigers in the match with 2.2 (14).