One-Eyed Richmond Forum
Football => Richmond Rant => Topic started by: one-eyed on March 23, 2010, 04:12:28 AM
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Tigers to blood cubs in opener
JAKE NIALL
March 23, 2010
RICHMOND is likely to use up to four new players, including three debutants, in Thursday night's season opener against Carlton.
The Tigers are certain to select their impressive first draft pick, Dustin Martin, 18, while small forwards Ben Nason and Relton Roberts also are probable selections for the first game of the AFL season.
Mitch Farmer, a small defender recruited from Port Adelaide, is a near certainty to be selected for his first game for the Tigers.
Ben Cousins, who missed two training sessions recently due to a mystery stomach ailment, trained without incident on Saturday and again yesterday and only has to train well - and without any issue - tomorrow to be selected for Thursday night, the anniversary of his debut in yellow and black.
Another draftee, Troy Taylor, is only an outside chance to be picked for his debut. Taylor, who is facing an assault charge in the Northern Territory and will appear in court on March 30, is being assessed on his form and team balance, rather than off-field considerations, as the Tigers weigh up their round one team.
Martin, a strong bodied, 187-centimetre midfielder, has been the stand-out newcomer for the club and had been pencilled in to the starting line-up for some time. He has been among Richmond's better players in the pre-season and, while still a teenager, is considered to have the physical maturity and natural ability to cope with an immediate introduction to senior football.
Roberts, 24, an indigenous small forward recruited from the Northern Territory Thunder, is one of Richmond's nominated rookies - the other is Graham Polak - which means that, in effect, he does not need to be upgraded on to the senior list to be selected. Nominated rookies can sit ''inside'' the senior list if a club doesn't have veterans.
Nason is 20 and has played senior football for Central District in South Australia. He, too, has impressed the Tigers in the pre-season games.
Carlton, meanwhile, will pick a vastly different team to the one that played in its elimination final against Brisbane in its last premiership match with up to seven changes.
The Blues are without Brendan Fevola - now at the Lions - and have skipper Chris Judd suspended, but they will regain a raft of players - Jarrad Waite and Michael Jamison among them - while adding Melbourne recruit Brock McLean and perhaps ex-Lion (acquired in the Fevola trade) Lachie Henderson.
Former Fremantle ruckman Robbie Warnock, his 2009 ruined by injury, is a chance to be selected for his Carlton debut. Chris Yarran, another recruit last year, and Setanta O'hAilpin are possible additions to the team that played against the Lions.
http://www.theage.com.au/afl/afl-news/tigers-to-blood-cubs-in-opener-20100322-qr5z.html
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Tigers to blood cubs in opener
JAKE NIALL
March 23, 2010
The Tigers are certain to select their impressive first draft pick, Dustin Martin, 18, while small forwards Ben Nason and Relton Roberts also are probable selections for the first game of the AFL season.
Mitch Farmer, a small defender recruited from Port Adelaide, is a near certainty to be selected for his first game for the Tigers.
http://www.theage.com.au/afl/afl-news/tigers-to-blood-cubs-in-opener-20100322-qr5z.html
;D ;D all 4 are in my team for Thursday night
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Tigers to blood cubs against Blues
richmondfc.com.au
By Ben Broad 12:08 PM Wed 24 March, 2010
THREE Tigers will make their AFL debuts when Richmond meets Carlton at the MCG at the MCG on Thursday night, but coach Damien Hardwick says it is the impact of some older teammates that will determine how his team fares in 2010.
No.3 NAB AFL Draft pick Dustin Martin, Ben Nason and Relton Roberts will all play their first AFL match against the Blues after being drafted by the club last year, while former Port Adelaide defender Mitch Farmer will play his first game for the Tigers.
Hardwick is looking forward to seeing what the youngsters can offer but isn't putting too much pressure on the draftees.
"Ben Nason hasn't even been to the MCG," Hardwick said before the Tigers' final training run at Punt Road on Wednesday morning.
"So it's his first time at the MCG [and] he's got 80,000 people screaming at him to 'kick it!'.
"They'll (the debutants) take a little while to get going, but hopefully we just see some signs going forward of what they can offer our footy club."
Instead, the coach is more upbeat about seeing the progression of some older Tigers.
"With four debutants in round one it's a massive step for our club, but the other thing is the emergence of players that we need to come forward," Hardwick said.
"You know [Tom] Hislop, [Adam] Thomson, [Daniel] Jackson, these types of players … they're probably the players that I'm more looking forward to seeing how they go.
"Those are the guys that we hope to become better players, and that's a measure of our coaching as well.
"If we can do that we'll become a better side a hell of a lot quicker."
Thursday night will be just the second time this year that key defensive trio Luke McGuane, Kel Moore and Will Thursfield will take the field together - the coach viewing that defensive stability as paramount to future success this season.
In another boost, Ben Cousins is also set to play after a recent illness. The 31-year-old was admitted to hospital twice in the past fortnight with stomach problems but trained without any signs of hindrance on Wednesday morning.
"He's right to go," Hardwick said.
"He's had four training sessions since his illness and he's looked really, really good, so we're very happy with the way he's heading and he'll play on Thursday night."
The first-year coach admitted to some butterflies ahead of his first match in charge
"I can't tell you the difference, whether it's nervous or excited," he said.
"I just can't wait to get it started. It is a starting point and look, we've got a long way to go, but we're looking forward to starting the journey."
http://www.afl.com.au/news/newsarticle/tabid/208/newsid/90950/default.aspx
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Great start Dimma :clapping Already playing the kids and not desperate to win at all costs like TW usually was. Particularly pleased to see Roberts and Nason included.
Well done and keen to to see how Thomson performs in the middle
Stripes
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Richmond calls on new blood
MARTIN BOULTON
March 25, 2010
A KEY player in the deal that sent former Carlton spearhead Brendan Fevola to the Brisbane Lions and another who has not even been to the MCG are among seven players making their debuts for their clubs in the season opener tonight.
Lachie Henderson will line up in attack for Carlton, while former Demon midfielder Brock McLean and ruckman Robert Warnock will also make their debuts for the Blues in front of an expected 60,000-plus crowd at the MCG.
Andrew Carrazzo, playing his 100th game, will be acting captain for the Blues in the absence of the suspended Chris Judd.
The Tigers will blood four debutants, with first-round draft pick Dustin Martin, pacy 24-year-old rookie Relton Roberts, former South Australian Ben Nason and former Port defender Mitch Farmer named last night.
''It's [Nason's] first time at the MCG,'' said coach Damien Hardwick, who added that the 20-year-old could have ''80,000 people screaming at him 'kick it''' in his AFL debut.
''Hopefully we see some signs going forward of what they [the debutants] can offer our footy club.''
Mitch Farmer, who played three games with Port, will also make his debut for the Tigers, while Ben Cousins was named on the interchange bench after recent stomach complaints.
Cousins has trained five times since being in hospital and Hardwick said the 31-year-old was ready for tonight's match. ''He's looked really, really good and we're very happy with the way he's headed,'' he said.
In his first year at Punt Road, the former Essendon premiership player and Hawthorn assistant coach has introduced a game plan that can ''withstand the rigours'' of finals football. ''There's going to be stages where we play really good football and stages where we have bad quarters,'' Hardwick said.
''There might be stages when it doesn't look pretty, but believe me the [the players] are learning a lesson about the way to play the game.''
He said a strong emphasis on defensive structures during the pre-season would continue, while defenders Will Thursfield, Luke McGuane and Kelvin Moore (who only played together once during the pre-season) could form a cornerstone of the Tigers' back six. All three will play tonight.
Tigers captain Chris Newman has put the memory of last year's 83-point loss to Carlton behind him, saying there was no point dwelling on the crushing round-one loss.
''You've got to put it behind you … it's an entirely different playing group and entirely different game plan,'' he said.
''You never forget those things, but it wouldn't do us justice if we went out there focusing on 2009.''
http://www.theage.com.au/afl/afl-news/richmond-calls-on-new-blood-20100324-qwpc.html