AFL 2020 semi-final: Richmond Tigers v St Kilda Saints – live!

Q2: 8 mins remaining: Richmond 5.1 (31) v 2.5 (17) St Kilda – Speaking of King, he holds onto the ball in attack when he thinks he’s marked it (there was clearly a Richmond hand involved) so the Tigers mug him and burst forward at warp speed. They only get as far as the 50m arc though before indecision costs them and Houli is caught holding the ball.

Q2: 9 mins remaining: Richmond 5.1 (31) v 2.5 (17) St Kilda – After a long spell of St Kilda pressure with just three points to show for it the game is back in dispute around the ground. That King miss still resonates.

Q2: 11 mins remaining: Richmond 5.1 (31) v 2.5 (17) St Kilda – The game is all on St Kilda’s terms this quarter. There is a breeze in their favour, which may be more influential that first thought.

Again they win possession easily in midfield, and this time then switch from right to left and build nicely until King is found isolated on the lead about 40m out. He misses the first chance of the night so far that will leave Saints fans frustrated. They can’t afford not to kick those goals against a team like Richmond.

Q2: 13 mins remaining: Richmond 5.1 (31) v 2.4 (16) St Kilda – The Saints keep the pressure on and they’re quickly back on the attack. Again they find a marking forward on the lead around 50m out, this time the ball ending with Savage to shoot from range, but unlike in the opening quarter his monster effort isn’t big enough. Again the Saints continue to push and a Richmond effort offers a free-kick from the boundary deep in the pocket but Marsh can’t bend his effort enough.

Q2: 14 mins remaining: Richmond 5.1 (31) v 2.3 (15) St Kilda – Better start to this quarter from St Kilda. King marks strongly 80m out and he sets up Membrey with a nice kick but his teammate can’t hold the mark under pressure. The phase does lead to a stoppage inside-50 though, and from that skirmish Jones is hammered high by Cotchin which leads to a long-range set shot from Jack Billings that fades wide.

The quarter-time stats are pretty even, but they hide the intent behind Richmond’s possessions. They dominated St Kilda for a five-minute spell, turning centre clearances into goals at will.

Controversy on the siren! St Kilda have to score with seconds remaining on the clock but Geary drops an absolute sitter of a mark. Somehow the Saints keep the ball alive and as the siren sounds Butler gets his kick away and through the big sticks. Richmond are adamant the hooter had already blown but St Kilda get the benefit of the doubt.

It’s a goal that just about keeps them alive after a vicious burst from Richmond looked set to end the clash as a meaningful contest.

Q1: 1 min remaining: Richmond 5.1 (31) v 1.2 (8) St Kilda – St Kilda need to stop the rot, and a superb rundown tackle from Butler on his former skipper Cotchin could be it. But it isn’t, because the Tigers continue their superb defence of their defensive 50.

Q1: 3 mins remaining: Richmond 5.1 (31) v 1.2 (8) St Kilda – Yowza! Richmond are on a serious tear. Another centre clearance, another mongrel forward, another yellow and black win at ground level inside attacking 50 and this time McIntosh snaps the goal.

Q1: 3 mins remaining: Richmond 4.1 (25) v 1.2 (8) St Kilda – Two in a minute from Bolton. Richmond are dominating clearances and getting the ball forward quickly, causing panic in St Kilda’s defence with players unsure whether to stick or twist. Bolton pounces on the indecision, snapping creatively on the burst with his right foot. Superb inventive finish.

Q1: 4 mins remaining: Richmond 3.1 (19) v 1.2 (8) St Kilda – Bolton replies with a showstopping goal of his own. If Savage’s hit owed everything to aerodynamics, then Bolton’s opportunistic snap relied on the idiosyncrasies of the Sherrin. Wheeling onto his right boot on the arc the kick is a wobbly floater heading for a behind to the right, but once it hits the deck around 15m from home it bounces kindly and curves just inside the post like Tiger Woods’ chip at the 16th at Augusta in 2005.

Q1: 5 mins remaining: Richmond 2.1 (13) v 1.2 (8) St Kilda – Bosh! What a hit! Shane Savage was an unlikely starter tonight but he has already earned his appearance fee, smashing a monster goal that must have carried fully 60m. He accepted Butler’s offload on the burst after the former was going back for a set shot of his own.

Q1: 6 mins remaining: Richmond 2.1 (13) v 0.2 (2) St Kilda – After a couple of minutes of turnover footy in midfield St Kilda earn a free-kick just outside attacking 50 following a terrific chase and tackle form Marsh. The ball quickly ends in dispute in the hot spot and a snap from the chaos just fizzes wide.

Q1: 8 mins remaining: Richmond 2.1 (13) v 0.1 (1) St Kilda – You can tell the Saints want to play on at all costs but Richmond’s defensive set-up is too good for them to just blaze away. The outcome is slow attacking possession with the Tigers happy to let St Kilda play in front of their backline and then pull out all the stops once the ball gets inside 50. It’s a risky strategy, but the space available to counterattack makes it worthwhile.

From one of those counterattacks Howard is penalised for a deliberate out-of-bounds but Lynch cannot execute the check-side from deep in the pocket.

Q1: 10 mins remaining: Richmond 2.0 (12) v 0.1 (1) St Kilda – Some slow footy for a spell down St Kilda’s right wing eventually ends with a centring ball intercepted by Richmond. They build a measured attack down their own right flank that has Martin heavily involved. His ball inside-50 generates a hefty pack and a spectacular couple of leaps and the Sherrin falls kindly for Edwards, front and centre, who collects and dribbles home smartly from 30m.

Q1: 12 mins remaining: Richmond 1.0 (6) v 0.1 (1) St Kilda – The Saints got inside Richmond territory, but just as Ratten feared the rebound the other way spells trouble. It ends with Rioli marking just at the limit of his boot and his set shot fading at the last second and dropping short.

St Kilda do well to hit the other way quickly and after a centring ball to the top of the square they’re unlucky not to be able to force a snap on goal away. Excellent smothering defence from the Tigers.

Q1: 14 mins remaining: Richmond 1.0 (6) v 0.0 (0) St Kilda – Another centre clearance win for Richmond, this time helped by a free-kick for a high tackle. This time St Kilda repel the first entry then chop off the second soon afterwards. However, on their way out of defence they kick out on the full on centre wing. I’m not sure what happened next because I’m pretty sure Bruce McAvaney misused the word skidmark.

Q1: 15 mins remaining: Richmond 1.0 (6) v 0.0 (0) St Kilda – *Ominous music plays*. Richmond win the centre clearance. Some nice hands in midfield creates enough room for a hoof forward towards the leading Lynch. The returning spearhead marks strongly under close attention, goes back and threads a lovely set shot from 35m on a reasonable angle. Quite the start from the champs.

Four quarters from Port Adelaide. Who will get there?

Speaking of the anthems, Richmond look focussed tonight, unlike last week when Hardwick arrived late with a sheepish grin on his face.

“We need to get the ball to ground” says Brett Ratten as the sides line up for the national anthem. He has identified Richmond’s ability to rebound from intercept marks as their greatest weapon.

The first week of finals set a very high bar. Let’s hope we’re raving about week two, and week three…

Welcome on board SD. They’re a good bunch below the line around here so I’m sure you’ll be inundated with nominations for a team to follow soon enough.

Out come St Kilda, in the whitest iteration of their uniform. Is their coach the most liked man in footy right now?

Agree with this. I think the definition of attack also needs to extend beyond tactics and include character. Brisbane went toe-to-toe with Richmond last week and refused to back down. Once they established they would not be pushed over the Tigers looked robbed of a crucial edge.

It’s a beautiful clear night on the Gold Coast with the temperature around 20C, kept in check by a light northerly breeze. Metricon Stadium (with dimensions similar to the MCG) was nominated by Richmond as their home from home, and it’s a venue that has served them well in recent times with the Tigers enjoying a nine-game winning streak dating back to 2017. This season alone they’ve taken down four finalists at the ground.

St Kilda are two from three on the Gold Coast this year, all of which were nailbiters.

Roosters v Raiders in the NRL is going to be fantastic. Harry, feel free to pop back with score updates at your leisure.

We will have both the AFL and NRL covered tomorrow night.

It’s been a tough week at the selection table for Brett Ratten with three massive holes to fill in time for St Kilda’s biggest game in a decade. Paddy Ryder had a day out against Western Bulldogs but he finished the elimination final in tears sensing injury would rule him out the remainder of the finals series. Jake Carlisle has left the hub to attend the birth of his third child. And Ben Long was rubbed out by the Match Review Panel for coming off the line and cleaning up Jack Macrae during last weekend’s victory. The Saints exhausted all avenues of appeal but never looked likely of succeeding with clear evidence undermining any case they could have mounted.

The trio charged with filling such big shoes are Josh Battle, Jonathon Marsh, and Shane Savage. Battle is a straightforward recall after the consistent defender missed the clash with the Bulldogs with foot soreness, but Marsh has only appeared five times this season – and only once since round six – while Savage has only featured once, back in round nine.

B: J.Marsh, D.Howard, B.Paton
HB: N.Coffield, C.Wilkie, J.Geary
C: B.Hill, S.Ross, J.Billings
HF: D.Butler, T.Membrey, J.Sinclair
F: D.Kent, M.King, J.Battle
FOLL: R.Marshall, Z.Jones, J.Steele
I/C: S.Savage, H.Clark, D.Hannebery, J.Lonie
EMG: R.Abbott, D.Roberton, N.Hind, J.Webster

IN: J.Marsh, J.Battle, S.Savage
OUT: B.Long (suspended), J.Carlisle (family reasons), P.Ryder (injured)

Richmond are bolstered by the return of premier goalkicker Tom Lynch after he missed the qualifying final with a hamstring injury. During that defeat to Brisbane the Tigers struggled to to convert their play around the ground into a consistent threat inside 50 with Harris Andrews at fullback and Daniel Rich in front of him, both excelling. Nathan Broad is Damien Hardwick’s other inclusion, the hardworking defending making his first appearance since round 15, and only his second since round 12. Jake Aarts and Mabior Chol are the pair to make way.

B: D.Astbury, D.Grimes, N.Balta
HB: L.Baker, N.Vlastuin, B.Houli
C: K.McIntosh, J.Graham, M.Pickett
HF: S.Bolton, J.Castagna, D.Martin
F: T.Lynch, J.Riewoldt, D.Rioli
FOLL: T.Nankervis, S.Edwards, T.Cotchin
I/C: D.Prestia, J.Short, K.Lambert, N.Broad

IN: T.Lynch, N.Broad
OUT: J.Aarts, M.Chol (both omitted)