AFL 2021 season: Melbourne Demons v Richmond Tigers – live!

Q1: 10 mins remaining: Melbourne 0-0 (0) vs Richmond 2-3 (15) The Dees finally get the ball forward on the back of a stunning run-down tackle but McDonald can do no more with his set shot from the right pocket than slam the ball into Grimes’s outstretched hands.

Q1: 12 mins remaining: Melbourne 0-0 (0) vs Richmond 2-3 (15) Goal! The Tigers aren’t letting up. Lynch outmuscles May in a one-on-one and releases Riewoldt, who dribbles one through for his and Richmond’s second goal. All Richmond at the moment. Just the one inside-50 for Melbourne compared to plenty for Richmond.

Q1: 13 mins remaining: Melbourne 0-0 (0) vs Richmond 1-3 (9) Free kick for Grimes at centre half-forward for Richmond – Fritsch was very stiff there … in the back? Really? – and from the resultant play Nankervis has a set shot from the left flank, which he cannons into the post for a behind.

Q1: 15 mins remaining: Melbourne 0-0 (0) vs Richmond 1-2 (8) Goal! Chaos balls galore in the Richmond forward line and it takes an individual piece of brilliance to gain some reward for Richmond, with Riewoldt chasing down a loose ball in the left pocket and soccering one through with his left boot. Delightful and quite classy.

Q1: 16 mins remaining: Melbourne 0-0 (0) vs Richmond 0-1 (1) Richmond keep the ball inside their forward arc – Short and Rioli combine nicely – but Lever is looming large for the Dees. A couple of timely touches early for the former Crow. The ball, however, is staying at one end of the ground in the opening exchanges.

Q1: 17 mins remaining: Melbourne 0-0 (0) vs Richmond 0-1 (1) The Tigers are looking dangerous near goal – McIntosh seemed likely but wasn’t clean enough – before Edwards gets the scoring under way with a snapped behind that misses to the left.

Q1: 19 mins remaining: Melbourne 0-0 (0) vs Richmond 0-0 (0) And we are away. Early centre clearance for Melbourne but Fritsch butchers his inside-50 and kicks it out on the full.

Carlton-Brisbane has only just finished. The Lions won by 18 points. And we’re not far off at the MCG.

A nice touch from the Demons. Thank you to these 30 men, and thank you to all the diggers. Lest we forget.

The big 300 is a big deal, always. Well done, Nathan Jones, just the second Dee to get there after David Neitz. A man who bleeds red-and-blue and one who has squeezed every last drop of his God-given ability.

Just on Dusty, Perhaps there have been “better” players – whatever that means – but I’m not sure I’ve seen anyone who can impact a game with such arrogant ease. And he does it in the big matches. His output in last year’s grand final was next level but entirely unsurprising.

Three flags. Three Norm Smiths. A Brownlow. Countless other gongs and accolades. An all-time great. You can’t argue with that.

Melbourne

B: Adam Tomlinson, Steven May, Trent Rivers
HB: Christian Salem, Jake Lever, Jayden Hunt
C: Ed Langdon, Christian Petracca, Angus Brayshaw
HF: Kysaiah Pickett, Tom McDonald, Alex Neal-Bullen
F: Jake Melksham, Luke Jackson, Bayley Fritsch
FOLL: Max Gawn, Clayton Oliver, Jack Viney
I/C: Nathan Jones, Michael Hibberd, Charlie Spargo, James Jordon

Sub: Kade Chandler

Richmond

B: David Astbury, Noah Balta, Dylan Grimes
HB: Nathan Broad, Bachar Houli, Jayden Short
C: Kamdyn McIntosh, Trent Cotchin, Marlion Pickett
HF: Daniel Rioli, Kane Lambert, Jason Castagna
F: Tom Lynch, Dustin Martin, Jack Riewoldt
FOLL: Toby Nankervis, Shane Edwards, Jack Graham
I/C: Rhyan Mansell, Shai Bolton, Jake Aarts, Liam Baker

Sub: Jack Ross

Have a look at that full-forward line for Richmond. Absurd. Good luck messrs Tomlinson, May and Rivers if indeed teams line up this way.