ROUND 14 - RICHMOND lost to BRISBANE - GABBA (Away) 3.7.04 RICHMOND 4.4 6.7 10.10 14.12 (96) BRISBANE 4.1 10.4 12.8 17.12 (114) Goals: Richmond: Schulz 6, Ottens 2, Tivendale, Moore, Campbell, Hilton, Brown, Rodan. Brisbane: Lynch 4, Caracella 4, Charman 3, Black 2, Pike, C. Johnson, McGrath, Voss, Akermanis. Best: Richmond: Schulz, Brown, Bowden, K. Johnson, Ottens. Brisbane: Power, Lappin, Black, Lynch, Charman, C. Johnson Richmond Injuries: Stafford (knee), Hyde (corked thigh). Umpires: Davis, Rowe, Nicholls. Attendance: 32,744. It was with great trepidation that OER headed to the Gabba. No-one gave the Tigers a chance and considering the performances of the previous 5 rounds prior to the bye that was no great surprise. How would the Tigers go without Richo at full forward and against the formidable Lions mid-field? It was a fine and warm (compared to Melbourne) Brisbane evening and over 32,000 people made the trek to the Gabba to see the biggest outsiders take on the shortest priced favourites of the 2004 season. First surprise match up of the evening saw Joel Bowden take Jonathan Brown, while Tiger Vice Captain, Darren Gaspar sat on the Bench. Jay Schulz lined up at full forward with rookie Kelvin Moore along side him. Stafford started in the ruck and Brad Ottens lined up at Centre Half Forward. Wayne Campbell started in the centre on Brisbane Captain Michael Voss. Shane Tuck on debut started on the bench. Although the Lions scored the first goal of the match the Tigers did start well. It seemed that the AFL tradition of a team having its coaches future decided and the breaking the schackles had made an appearance at the Gabba. So many things that had been missing from the Tigers play for most of this season had suddenly appeared - chasing, tackling, a fierce attack on the ball and a long and direct style of play. With Brad Ottens dominating at CHF and Jay Schulz presenting a viable target at FF the Tigers found themselves in front at quarter time by 3 points. The margin should have been 9 points except for a late goal by Caracella just before the siren. The Lions hit back hard in the second quarter kicking 6 goals to 2. More importantly the Lions began to dominate the centre clearances and as result the Tigers spent most of the quarter chasing their opponents. At half-time and being 21 points down it was easy to think that the Tigers would get blown away in the second half. But every Tiger fan at the Gabba and watching at home were about to witness the Tigers fight. The third quarter and the Tigers came out and played some its best football for the season. If the quarter belonged to anyone it was Jay Schulz with all 4 Tiger goals. Schulz got plenty of support from Nathan Brown, Kane Johnson and Joel Bowden who were getting plenty of possessions and using the ball well. However, a couple of turnovers costs the Tigers dearly and as a result the Tigers found themselves down by 10 points at the final change. The final quarter saw the Tigers get within a goal with about 4 minutes remaining. Goals to Ottens and Hilton within 2 minutes of each other gave the Tigers the chance at the biggest upset of 2004. However, it was not to be as Pike scored a goal after yet another centre clearance from Lappin and Power. Although the Tigers didn't win and you should never be satisfied with a loss it was pleasing to see the Tiges fight a game out. Positives? There were a few. Firstly, seeing Jay Schulz play an entire game and showing us what he is capable of gives some hope for the future. Kayne Pettifer's 50 metre plus kick ins were a highlight and made a lot of Tiger fans wonder why he hasn't been given the kicking in duties earlier. Finally the continued good form of Joel Bowden, his job on Brown was first rate. Shane Tuck's debut showed us that he is prepared to go into a contest and get the ball. Hopefully we will get to see a few more of our 2004 draftees play before the season out. < BACK TO 2004 FIXTURES >