It would be ridiculous to suggest that the changing of the guard occurred as late as last Sunday night, Melbourne has been the โnew Richmondโ for over a season now, emerging from the depths of the ladder after an isolated finals run for a premiership-winning run, with a few dynamic midfielders leading the charge.
But as Richmond supporters will attest to, the Tigersโ best year when it comes to quality of football wasnโt necessarily any of their premiership seasons, but the in-between 2018 season that was bluntly kyboshed by a flying Texan in September. It remains the only season of Richmondโs four-year run where the Tigers ended the home and away season atop the ladder.
Understruck by an inability to win away from Melbourne โ the only victorious trip away was a soft kill of the then-insipid Suns โ Richmondโs 2018 season saw the Tigers set a VFL/AFL record for consecutive wins at the MCG, romping to 18 wins and holding top spot from Round 13, a week before the bye.
Four All-Australians from eight nominations, a Rising Star nomination in Jack Higgins and a third Coleman Medal for Jack Riewoldt highlighted the 'Year of the Tiger' โ or at least, the regular season of the Tiger.
Richmond had battle-hardened depth in Sam Lloyd, Anthony Miles, Reece Conca and Jacob Townsend, more small forwards than you could shake a stick at and Dustin Martin in his pomp. Alex Rance and Riewoldt bookended either end and the injury troubles of the last three seasons were yet to manifest.
Like the Dees of 2022, Richmond held a daylight lead over the rest of the competition, before a noticeable slowdown ahead of September manifested in Collingwoodโs demolition job of the otherwise perfect Tigers in an eye-boggling result at the MCG.
In the Demons this year, much is similar. The borderline unfair pairing of Christian Petracca and Clayton Oliver has given rise to one of the mightiest midfields the AFL has seen โ especially with the dynamic one-two punch provided by the best ruckman in the AFL, Max Gawn, and his deputy Luke Jackson, who is likely to inherit that title.
Steven May and Jake Lever headline a hard-working backline reminiscent of an eight-headed hydra: where Adam Tomlinson intercepted, now roams Harrison Petty; Jayden Hunt emerges where Michael Hibberd once stood while an untimely knee injury to Christian Salem has seen the rise of second-year backman Jake Bowey.
The depth is monstrous: Sam Weideman, Luke Dunstan and Joel Smith stepping in ably when form and injury become issues in the starting 22. In James Jordon, Tom Sparrow, Kysaiah Pickett and the aforementioned Jackson and Bowey, the Dees have rapidly developing youngsters as a supporting cast.
It would be silly to exclude the mighty wing rotation of Ed Langdon and Angus Brayshaw, which the Dees have adjusted to give time to Jordon in that position. To the exasperation of the league at general, the 21-year-old Jordon looks capable enough in that role to push Brayshaw to half-back, where he is โ of course โ just as difficult and dangerous.
In summary, Melbourne is really, really good. The teams in the next pack โ Fremantle, St Kilda, Brisbane and Sydney โ are all playing solid football, but not to the frenetic, explosive level exhibited by the Demons.
The much-documented third-quarter Melbourne burst has been withering, and the Dees are yet to lose a third term this season. Runs of 28-2 against the Bulldogs, 62-14 against the Giants and most recently 37-13 against the Tigers have set up a cruisey fourth quarter for the AFLโs fittest and best team, who at this point have only been seriously challenged by the plucky Suns in Round 2.
Like the Tigers of 2018, this Melbourne outfit know the precise amount of endeavour to be exacted, with the sheer weight of running power coupled with precise skills too much to bear. Richmondโs defence, despite quality performances from Nick Vlastuin, Jayden Short, Daniel Rioli, Nathan Broad and Josh Gibcus, was eventually overwhelmed.
Melbourne is adaptable: when required, they bulldoze contested football in a gruelling wave forward, using their inside midfielders and small forwards in Charlie Spargo, Pickett and half-forward Alex Neal-Bullen in the clinches and contests.
When that doesnโt work, they use their outstanding intercept and rebound power to out-pace their opponent down the length of the ground. Too tired for that? Theyโll kick their way through defensive zones, utilising their multi-tool forward line, fitted with marking targets Brown, Weideman and Jackson, to rip apart otherwise sturdy backlines.
Bayley Fritsch, a strange centre half-forward lacking size and athleticism, has carved himself a place in the vacuum created by panicking defenders as they search for the big men.
The Demons are a punishing team, capable of exploring any scoring avenue, any weak point, and bursting through the breach. They come in waves, in a dozen red and blue jumpers, to car-jack hapless opponents, making away brazenly with the goodies, jovial the whole way. They are a joy to watch.
The comparison to Richmondโs 2018 comes easily, and against the 2022 iteration was made apparent once again. Itโs a comparison the Demons will obviously be hoping to ignore, with the persuasive precedent indicating an eventual collapse. The Dees look better posited to avoid the coming cliff edge, however โ with more depth, more developing youngsters and a skill base that covers all areas of the field.
Richmondโs wings in 2018 would be outmatched by the likes of Langdon and Brayshaw, and Toby Nankervisโ lone hand in the ruck would surely be swamped by Gawn and Jackson. I would argue that the Tigersโ defensive unit would, on paper, trump that of the Dees, but the margins in both the midfield and forward lines are tighter, with the versatility and mobility of Melbourne a definite point of difference as compared to the field.
Comparisons over different seasons are, in reality, pointless, but the path walked by the Tigers looks awfully similar to that being embarked upon by the red and blue.
The question is sustainability, and, with tongue firmly in cheek, which maligned tall forward may await in a preliminary final.
