It wasn’t nice, but the Richmond Tigers secured their third win of the season on Sunday with an eight-point win over the Sydney Swans in slippery conditions.
The second lowest game in the AFL era only scored 60 points – the lowest was a 36:22 win by the Brisbane Bears against Footscray in 1996.
Regardless, Richmond took a Gabba win of 4.10 (34) to 3.8 (26) and jumped to sixth place on the ladder.
Kayo is your ticket to the Toyota AFL Premiership 2020 season. Watch every game every round Live & On-Demand. New to Kayo? Get your 14-day free trial and start streaming immediately
Sydney only scored three goals in the sixth round, with heavy rain significantly hindering the goal in Brisbane. The swans’ total score of 26 was the second lowest since migrating to Sydney in 1982.
After the Tigers raced off the blocks with three goals in a row, only one major was scored in the second, third and fourth quarters.
Richmond’s 34 points were the lowest win of the 2020 season – the Tigers only scored one goal after the 11-minute mark in the first quarter.
The last time Richmond won an AFL / VFL match with 34 points or less was in 1908 when they defeated Fitzroy with 34:33.
Although shortened quarters and wild weather certainly played a role in the low-score issue, AFL fans were less than impressed by the disappointing spectacle, and many condemned Sydney’s defensive style of play.
ABC Offsiders’ panelist Richard Hinds tweeted: “Did the snoopers do a COVID test like this. It was far less painful to see #AFLTigersSwans. “
Experienced sports journalist Titus O’Reily wrote: “If I wanted to punish someone, I would lock him in his house and get him to watch this game.”
To make matters worse for Sydney, experienced striker Josh Kennedy suffered a ligament injury in the first quarter and did not return to the field. It is unknown how long the Swans’ co-captain will stand on the sidelines.
Sydney made a shock call to drop Aliir Aliir, the No. 1 Ruckman, for the Sunday battle, a decision that assistant coach John Blakey explained before the first rebound.
“Aliir is struggling with a bit of form right now and we just want to get him back into his best shape,” said Blakey.
“We obviously have some height problems in our back and backpack, but we think we can do it.”
Nick Riewoldt, Shai Bolton, Tom Lynch and Dustin Martin were the goalscorers for Richmond, while Tom Papley kicked two majors for the Swans.
The Tigers will face North Melbourne on round seven, while Sydney will face the Gold Coast Suns at SCG on Saturday afternoon.
.
