‘The lack of game state knowledge…’: Shanks, brainfades and pure elation in three chaotic minutes

Caught your breath yet?

Because the last three minutes of Saturday’s North Melbourne-Richmond clash might be the most chaotic, rollercoaster three minutes we’ll see on a footy field this season as players struggled with composure and efficiency.

Ultimately, it was the Kangaroos that walked away with a remarkable four-point upset win to break a 14-game losing streak. But they did it the hard way.

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After trailing by 32 points at half-time, Richmond launched a second-half comeback and hit the lead thanks to a composed set-shot attempt from Jack Graham.

And there’s where the composure seemingly ended for three minutes.

North Melbourne then had a chance to quickly pinch it back, only for a snap attempt from Charlie Lazzaro to hit the post.

‘This is for you Nobes’ | 00:35

Richmond’s Ben Miller, despite his team leading by two points, then quickly brought the ball back into play from a kick-in. It backfired, with the kick landing in space before Kamdyn McIntosh pinged for a throw thanks to North’s pressure.

Then Hugh Greenwood panicked, taking the advantage and wasting a shot at goal that led to a boundary throw-in.

“I’m not sure why Ben Miller was in such a hurry,” Montagna said.

“And then Greenwood trying to take the advantage with a left-foot checkside on the run – probably not his go.”

Amid the chaos, though, came a moment of brilliance, with veteran ruckman Todd Goldstein palming the ball perfectly into the lap of Cam Zurhaar, who pounced and snapped his sixth goal to give North the lead again.

But as shrewd as the Roos set play was, Montagna was flabbergasted how Zurhaar had so much space.

Zurhaar goal ENDS 14 game winless run | 00:52

“The Richmond defenders just didn’t track him going through,” Montagna said.

“They allowed him to get the running start and Goldstein, with all the experience in the world, great set play.”

After a series of stoppages, Miller took an intercept marks at half-back, only to shank his kick out of bounds on the full.

The Roos then moved the ball forward where Curtis Taylor marked just outside 50. But instead of taking his time, he played on with a kick to Luke Davies-Uniacke, who was just metres from the goal line.

But Taylor’s kick had too much juice on it, sailing through for a behind to give the Tigers 57 seconds to move the ball coast-to-coast and pinch victory.

“They could’ve taken up 30 seconds there, the Kangaroos,” Montagna said.

The Tigers kicked long straight down the middle of Marvel Stadium, leading to a mark to Noah Cumberland, who then found Jake Aarts inside 50. Aarts marked around 40m out from goal with 44 seconds left … and played on. And North’s Bailey Scott was there to apply immediate pressure, forcing a rushed handball then a rushed kick at goal that was thumped through for a rushed behind.

And that was enough for North Melbourne to hang on by four points.

Miller and Aarts’ respective decisions late in the game no doubt would’ve frustrated fans. But ultimately Richmond lost the game due to its inaccuracy, booting 11.22. It had an extra 11 scoring shots and 21 inside 50s than the Roos and still lost.

Of shots taken within 40m on Saturday, Richmond kicked 2.11 for the night.

“Richmond squandered plenty of chances and they’ve left the door open in that top eight for a number of clubs,” Montagna said.

Richmond Tigers press conference | 03:53

Western Bulldogs legend Brad Johnson added on Fox Footy: “Richmond were all over them – 33 scoring shots for the game. That’s the only separation in the game there.

“Other than that, they controlled the front half game, repeat entries – they had it all going their way. But in the end, they just weren’t clean enough.”

The Tigers are now clinging to a spot inside the top eight ahead of clashes with Fremantle, Brisbane and Port Adelaide after a horror loss to a North Melbourne side that sacked coach David Noble mid-week. The result follows the Tigers giving up a 40-point second-half lead against Gold Coast last week.

Coach Damien Hardwick took aim at his Tigers’ lack of intent and woeful inaccuracy, claiming it’s “Richmond killing Richmond” after consecutive costly defeats.

But Hardwick was less concerned with Aarts’ brain fade and rather with everything that led to the Tigers not having already put the match away at that point.

North Melbourne Press Conference | 06:07

“Until you’re in that situation, you don’t know,” Hardwick said of Aarts.

“Unfortunately, he probably made a decision that if he had his time again, he’d take back, but the reality is he made it, so we move on.

“There were numerous reasons (we lost). The last defensive-end goal was poor … you can’t let a guy (Zurhaar) come from the other side of the pack and just stroll through.

“It was ridiculous, and probably sums us up, really. It’s Richmond killing Richmond at the moment.”

Hardwick made a point of highlighting the Tigers’ “abysmal” and “diabolical” pressure rating of 1.6 during the first half, which was well below the AFL average of 1.8.

But what frustrated the triple premiership coach most was they lost despite creating more than enough opportunities, including 21 more inside 50s and 11 more scoring shots.

“Our system in itself held up – 60-odd inside 50s, 30-odd scoring shots. We just didn’t execute,” he said.

“It’s not as if they were hard shots on goal. We kicked 1.9 from inside 30. We’re paid to kick goals; we didn’t. That’s the reality of it.

“Great win by North. I thought their hardness and ability to play quick was good but, all in all, if you look at that template, we should win.”

— with NCA Newswire