Superstar Trent Cotchin's omission looked to have swung the match in favour of the Power, but Brett Deledio and Dustin Martin absolutely dominated in the midfield. They picked up 32 and 33 possessions respectively, with Deledio amassing loads of contested ball too. Their class in the midfield and delivery into the forward 50 was crucial to the Tigers 41-point win. Deledio (19th on the official AFL Ratings) copped some criticism for his performance last week but answered all the critics with a best-on-ground performance.
2. Port Adelaide’s slow starts
It was meant to be the focus of the Power’s week but again they were crippled by a slow start. Richmond won the clearances 14 to eight and inside 50’s 15 to eight in the first term. They also kicked 5 unanswered goals to finish the quarter with a 37-point-lead and 8.2 (50) on the scoreboard. Jack Riewoldt was unstoppable with a left foot snap and a clever checkside in traffic to have 3 goals in the first quarter. At times Port looked capable of one of its stunning comebacks but in the end was too wasteful in front of goal.
3.Two rucks are better than one
Port Adelaide took the gamble by playing just one ruckman in Jarrad Redden but it didn’t pay off. Redden battled hard with 26 hitouts and took some nice contested marks, but let himself down with a couple of costly clangers. The Tigers combo of Ivan Maric (16 hitouts) and Orren Stephenson (28 hitouts), who probably played the best game of his short career, were just too strong around the ground. Justin Westhoff was disappointing for the third straight week and late-inclusion Daniel Stewart had no impact.
4. Shane’s shoulder
Richmond workhorse Shane Tuck copped a big knock to his shoulder in the third quarter and went straight to the rooms. His day looked over at that point but he re-emerged and went straight back onto the field. He carried his shoulder for the rest of the match and could barely lift his arm above his chest, but somehow continued to play out the game. It was a surprising move from Damien Hardwick considering the Tigers had the match won.
5. Chaplin’s return
Key defender Troy Chaplin left the Power and joined the Tigers through free-agency at the end of last season. He was met with boos when he had his first touch and was eyed-off a couple of times by his former teammates, but none of the hits really landed. He had a quiet day on the stats sheet but he did what he had to do down back. He also had the last laugh after his comments about the lack of coaching at Port last year sparked controversy in the lead up to the match.
