1. Tiger Tuck domination
Richmond's absolute dominance of Essendon came in many forms, most significantly in the inside-50 count. At half-time the Tigers led the inside-50 count 42-23. That can point to a dominance out of the middle but it also indicated Essendon's inability to get any flow out of the back half, with Richmond cutting off every rebound. Shane Tuck might not be the glamour drawcard of the Tigers midfield but he led the way with the forward drives, amassing a total of 12 inside 50s for the game. Essendon steadied a little in the third quarter but never came close to winning what was a fairly uninspiring game
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2. Weapon of mass destruction
Essendon high-performance manager Dean Robinson is probably just ahead of AFL umpires boss Jeff Gieschen as the most scrutinised man in the AFL at the moment. The Bombers have suffered a series of soft-tissue injuries after a pre-season with a heavy focus on power. This philosophy has been blamed for a string of soft-tissue injuries that have now claimed Alwyn Davey. Davey was substituted off with a left hamstring injury in the second quarter, adding further pressure to the man known as 'The Weapon'. A shoulder injury to Stewart Crameri and obvious discomfort for Michael Hurley and Nathan Lovett-Murray further compounded Essendon's woes.
3. Cotchin v Watson
Part of the build-up to this match was the meeting of two of the Brownlow favourites Trent Cotchin and Jobe Watson. Both have been in ripping form lately but in a largely forgettable game, Watson had a quiet night, gathering 20 touches while opposed to veteran tagger Daniel Jackson. Cotchin had 31 disposals in a fantastic display around the ground but couldn't kick a goal with any of his five shots. That said, it wouldn't surprise to see his Brownlow odds shorten again.
4. 'Titch' out of touch
Shane Edwards had a reasonable game up forward for Richmond but it is unlikely he will feature in the votes if umpire Matthew Nicholls has any say. Nicholls took the unusual step of paying a free kick against Edwards in the second quarter for abusing an umpire while the ball was in play. Nicholls blew the whistle to stop play and award the Bombers a free kick for Edwards' negative feed back. When Edwards collected Angus Monfries high in a tackle in the third quarter, Nicholls was on the scene and took another unusual action against Edwards - laying a game-day report on the Tiger forward.
5. Bombing out
With faint finals hopes on the line, Essendon had to win for any chance of making the top eight. The lack of competitiveness shown by some of their players in the first half is a major cause of concern. Courtenay Dempsey showed little interest in chasing his opponents when Richmond had the ball and seemed indecisive and lacking confidence when it was there to be won. Leroy Jetta also seemed unaware when Trent Cotchin lined up for a shot at goal, telegraphing that he was going to play on for a good 10 seconds before he actually did.
The views in this article are those of the author and not necessarily those of the AFL or its clubs
