Can we talk about the footy please?

I had a few openings in mind for this article. The first was an opening story about Edwin Valero, one of the best super flyweights and lightweights in the world in the late 2000s/early 2010s and the man who was most likely at that time to beat the phenom that was an in his prime Manny Pacquaio. Valero was in a motorcycle accident before his pro career began that led to a skull fracture and blood clot. For his whole career, he struggled to pass the necessary tests to be licensed in most parts of the United States but kept fighting wherever anyone had more lax standards, like Texas and Central America. The story ends with Valero murdering his wife and children before hanging himself in his jail cell. There is a direct link between the brain trauma Valero suffered, and the trauma he inflicted on himself and his family.

I was going to tell this story as a way in to talk about how truly awful it was to see Dion Prestia prone on the ground with a concussion, the game being played over the top of him with no real regard for his safety or the sanctity of competition given the Tigers were playing 17 vs 18. The idea was meant to be a window into how bad brain injuries can truly be and how seriously the AFL should be taking concussions, instead of just paying lip service to it while kicking the ball over the player with the brain injury.

The other thought that I had to start the article was to write about why I think that a red card should be instituted in the AFL, specifically for incidents like the Stewart one. It was late, the ball was gone, it was deliberate, and it was meant to injure Prestia. It would probably be used maybe once or twice a season but it would be a good thing to bring in.

But then I watched the game again.

Instead of arguing about a pantomime villain in Stewart or make us wrestle with the morality of watching football or really any contact sport like the Valero story would, why don’t we do something novel and talk about the game?

It was a titanic struggle between two sides who are in a lot of ways pretty similar.

Both have been great sides in the recent past, Richmond admittedly more recently than Geelong. What binds the two though is that they are trying to pull off the most delicate high wire act possible in a sport that takes parity seriously through mechanisms like a draft and a salary cap: rebuilding on the fly.

Both Geelong and Richmond are still trying desperately to contend while bringing in young players and transitioning old greats out of their original starring roles into supporting parts. Like Paul Newman giving Tom Cruise the runway in Colour of Money, so too is Dustin Martin giving the spotlight to Shai Bolton. Geelong are trying to do the same thing as well with Selwood attending less centre bounces than ever before and generally spending less time on the ball to clear a path for players like Tom Atkins.

The game started off hot with both teams playing well. With about 5 minutes left in the first quarter, Prestia was sniped by Stewart. Everything changed after that. Tyson Stengle kicked a goal from the ensuing play and Richmond didn’t score for the rest of the first quarter. Geelong went into quarter time up by 20 and the game felt like it could get out of hand.

That feeling did not abate until well into the second quarter, with Geelong kicking the first three goals. But then the Tigers swung the changes, finally finding a way to replace Prestia’s contested ball excellence and rare ability to get first hands on the ball. They threw utility Liam Baker onto the ball as a way to institute some ferocity into the game and he delivered.

Baker kicked a goal from a goal mouth scramble after Ivan Soldo failed his attempted impression of Zidane’s volley in the 2002 Champions League final. Baker was in the play again a minute later, finding Dustin Martin in the pocket where he kicked an impossible goal on the wrong side for a right footer. It was Baker again streaming through the middle and finding Bolton for Richmond’s third goal in a row.

All of a sudden, a football game had broken out.

In the third quarter the Tigers got their forward half turnover game going, and the game was heading in their direction on the back of Baker, Bolton and Lynch who was making his presence felt physically. Robbie Tarrant also should be mentioned as a player who had an excellent game showing rare courage in the second quarter going back recklessly with the flight of the ball and coming into the game with a broken knuckle.

The other thing that happened in the second half though was Chris Scott swinging a change, throwing Jeremy Cameron into the middle to use his pace, power and aerobic capacity to blow the Tigers away. That worked exceptionally well with Cameron constantly around the ball. I also think that there is a psychological aspect to it. If you see a big power forward with a reputation for ferocious athleticism in the middle there has to be a boost for teammates and extra focus on him for defenders, even if stats do not bare it out.

The move reminds me in some way of subbing in a goal keeper for a penalty shoot-out (much love Redmayne). Even if the stats do not bare out that the player coming on is a better shot stopper than the keeper coming off, bringing him in like a closer in baseball has to affect the psyche of the players shooting. Tim Krul coming on in the 2014 World Cup quarterfinal vs Costa Rica despite being a statistically average penalty saver for Newcastle immediately springs to mind.

Even if the scoreboard showed a close game, Richmond were haranguing Geelong every time they were near the ball and Geelong’s kicking coming out of defensive 50 was extremely shaky, getting picked off time and again. Richmond’s pressure was beginning to tell.

The dam wall seemed to break at the beginning of the fourth quarter with Richmond kicking the first 2 goals of the final term and having had, at the point of Tom Lynch’s third goal to put Richmond 17 points up, the last 12 inside 50s.

But the Cats have serious mettle too.

They kicked the next 3 with Cameron kicking the punctuation mark to tie the game 15 minutes into the final term.

From here it was a battle of attrition with Geelong dominating the play but simply failing to convert, with 3 straight behinds. No goals were kicked until the 26th minute of the final quarter when Maurice Rioli, one of the most famous names in Tiger history, kicked a goal to put the tigers ahead by 3 points.

It seemed to be written. Richmond was home.

They have been so good at killing games when they are in position to win since the three game heartbreaking run of losses in 2017 against the Bulldogs, Fremantle and GWS. As a Tigers fan, I felt comfortable that the game would be killed by a clinical tigers side.

But, even though the laundry is the same, these aren’t the 2019 Tigers. They’re a little older, a little slower, and their best contested ball player had been knocked out. Geelong got the clearance through some fresh blood in Tom Atkins who kicked it deep and let Jack Henry take an absolute screamer in a big spot.

The kids are alright in Geelong.

After this there was still about a minute left in the game. Richmond pushed the ball inside 50 again and again but could not find anyone. With the final roll of the dice Jayden Short hacked the ball forward only to find public enemy number 1, Tom Stewart. He was as excellent as he was hated on Saturday afternoon, which is to say that he was truly extraordinary. If it felt like Rioli kicking the apparent sealer was written, this is the only more perfect ending. The man who will rightly be crucified this week by all those who are not straining to tell us how much of a ballplayer he is and how out of character this was ended the game as he played it. With poise and calm, his final act in a Cats guernsey before a midseason holiday befits a player of his calibre.

What a game. I’m just glad we can talk about it.