Round 5 Recap: Eagles Down Tigers; Still No. 1

It was never going to be easy. The tigers showed great will and effort in this one, as their talented youthful midfield took it up to us for 4 quarters. But at the end of the day, with much going against us; down rotations, on the road, in front of a hostile (indeed feral) crowd we eked out a win. That's what good teams do and our last 2 games indicate that we are definitely one of them.

It really was an atrocious start. Two goals to the Tiges within a couple of minutes had me thinking back to that game against the Saints last year. But if it looked bad on the scoreboard, Mitch Brown couldn't tell as the late replacement was subbed off with a scratched eye. It was a sorry sight. Brown sitting on the bench, with a red eye, shaking his head in disbelief. This game could have been a significant opportunity for the game-starved backman, as E-Mac pulled out with an ear infection. That's something I've never had but it sounds truly harrowing. Anyway, bad luck for Brown.

Things looked bleak, but we persisted and responded. These were the key themes throughout the game. Whenever it appeared that Richmond might just run away with it, we responded and scored timely goals. JJK rolled his ankle which effectively meant he just stood in the forward line the rest of the game, but still we fought on.

Kerr was huge. He showed amazing tenacity and grit in the contest with his 28 possessions and two superb smothers. Although I think notions about a 'KerRenaissance' are a little premature, he has been near best on ground the last two weeks. He is a champion of the club and it's great to see the little guy get a clean run of games to show he's still got it. If Kerr wasn't best on ground, then Jack Darling was the guy. He kicked 4 goals straight including the sealer with 15 possessions, 5 marks and 2 tackles. With JJK's partial incapacitation, Darling really stepped up.

Speaking of stepping up, NicNat is starting to find consistency throughout games now. The big Fijian had 26 hitouts, 14 possessions, 5 marks and 5 tackles. Special mention has to go to Priddis for 2 amazing handballs in our forward line late. He found the open man twice in tight areas (no pun intended) which resulted in goals.

We could have easily dropped this one. Richmond came to play and they showed that last week was no fluke. But we showed better poise when it mattered. That's why we're 5-0 and Jack Riewoldt has that look on his face.

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On a side note, prior to this season the Dockers were without premiership and occassionally entertaining. Now under Lord Lyon, they will still be without premiership but also exceedingly soporific. Well done Dockers.