One-Eyed Richmond Forum
Football => Richmond Rant => Topic started by: one-eyed on June 04, 2015, 02:51:58 PM
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Dimma's presser today ...
VIDEO: http://www.richmondfc.com.au/video/2015-06-04/hardwick-press-conference-june-4th
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Tigers happy to go head-to-head against Fyfe, says Hardwick
Nathan Schmook
afl.com.au
June 4, 2015 12:27 PM
RICHMOND is set to follow Adelaide's lead and pit one of its main ball-winners against Fremantle star Nat Fyfe in a head-to-head battle when the team's clash at Domain Stadium on Friday night.
Crows star Patrick Dangerfield racked up 38 possessions last Saturday night, compared to Fyfe's 40, in an epic attacking battle between two of the game's superstars.
Hardwick said using one of his own stars, like Trent Cotchin or Brett Deledio, against Fyfe was the first option the Tigers were looking at as they seek to extend their three-game winning streak against the unbeaten Dockers.
Dustin Martin, who has been pushing forward more often and leads the Tigers for inside 50s, is another option available to Hardwick.
"We'll probably go head-to-head at this stage, and if he gets out of hand we'll look at coming up with something else," Hardwick said as the Tigers flew out of Melbourne on Thursday.
"Very similar to us is what Adelaide did (with Dangerfield). The fact of the matter is even if you do tag him he's still capable of getting 20-25 touches.
"We're just going to assume he's going to get 30 touches, we've got to make sure our guy gets 35.
"We'll have a number of options up our sleeve to combat him, but hopefully our boys come out on top."
Hardwick said he was wary of the Dockers' midfield depth, with David Mundy (27 possessions a game) and Lachie Neale (26.2) both capable of playing match-winning roles if the Tigers locked down on Fyfe.
The coach said Shaun Grigg was one Tiger capable of playing a run-with role on Friday night if the Tigers needed him to.
"He's a player that not only has the capacity to go to someone, but the opposition side has to worry about also," Hardwick said.
"Hopefully he can continue that trend and kick some goals also."
With a settled backline that hasn't changed in the past three weeks – and opposition scores of 53 and 43 in the past two weeks – Hardwick said Friday night's clash was likely to be defensively minded.
"[The backline] is probably the one line where we haven't had an injury," Hardwick said.
"Our other lines have probably been a patchwork quilt at stages.
"Bachar Houli has had a great season, Alex Rance is in All Australian form and Nick Vlastuin has had a great year also, like all of them.
"Troy Chaplin is a bit of a leader of ceremonies down there, so to speak. His leadership has been outstanding."
Veteran Chris Newman is set to play up to three quarters in the VFL after recovering from a groin injury.
http://www.afl.com.au/news/2015-06-04/tigers-happy-to-go-headtohead-against-stuff
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Richmond won’t play a hard tag on Nat Fyfe says Damien Hardwick
Bruce Matthews
Herald-Sun
June 04, 2015 1:06PM
RICHMOND is preparing to tackle Fremantle midfield ace Nat Fyfe head-on at Subiaco on Friday night.
Coach Damien Hardwick said the Tigers are likely to adopt Adelaide’s technique of backing a player in a run-with role rather than as a hard tag.
“We’re just going to assume he’s going to get 30 touches and we’ve got to make sure our guy gets 35,’’ Hardwick said before the team flew to Perth today.
“We’ll probably go head-to-head at this stage and see how it goes. If he gets out of hand, we’ll look at coming up with something else.’’
The Tigers coach said Shaun Grigg, who has performed well on key playmakers Joel Selwood, Jobe Watson and Scott Pendlebury this season, was a candidate for the Fyfe job.
“He has had an incredible season. His ability to win contested ball and kick goals has been crucial for us,’’ Hardwick said.
“He’s a player that not only have we got the capacity to put to someone, but the opposition has to start worrying about him. We’ve been pleased with his progression, he’s having his best season.
“He (Fyfe) has had an incredible season, you’ve only got to look at his stats to back that up. But there’s a number of things we’ll go through with our players, whether we apply a team tag, whether we tag at all or whether we just go head-to-head.
“The great thing about the Freo midfield from their point of view is you’ve got Nat Fyfe, then you’ve got David Mundy and Lachie Neale. All three guys are in incredible form. You can try to stop one and the other two will get out at some stage.
“We’ll back our midfield in, similar to what Adelaide did last week. The fact is even if you do tag him, he’s capable of getting 20-25 touches.’’
Mindful of a six-day break, Richmond took 25 players, including forward Ty Vickery, to Perth and will decide the line-up after the main training session for the week at Subiaco on Thursday afternoon.
“It’s easy to look at the last three weeks, but if you look at the last 20 games, we’ve won 14.
“We’ve got great confidence in our playing group, we know where we’re going. We’ve been able to sprinkle in some young blokes who have been playing some incredible footy and stood up and made us a team that’s on the rise,’’ Hardwick said.
“The crucial thing with Fremantle is that they’re starting incredibly well and the gap they put on a side at the end of the first quarter is generally good, so it’s important to get off to a good start.
“A side that’s undefeated, especially at Subiaco, there’s no bigger challenge. The great thing for us, we play pretty well over there and we’re a side that travels well. We relish the opportunity.”
Hardwick said a settled back six this season has been critical to the Tigers’ recent solid form.
“Bachar Houli has had a great season, Alex Rance is in all-Australian form, Nick Vlaustin has had a great year also. Troy Chaplin is a leader of ceremonies down there, so to speak. But you’re only as good as your pressure up the field and that has also improved. Our midfield tackles are AFL (ranked) three or four and our forward line pressure also.’’
http://www.news.com.au/sport/afl/richmond-wont-play-a-hard-tag-on-nat-stuff/story-fndv8t7m-1227382894342
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They'll probably go head to head.......great.
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Anyone reckon they'll go head to head?
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I think if there's a match then they will ultimately be forced to do so
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Reckon Hardwick is too fussed with number of possessions (hence we see Cotchin/Martin doing a lot of 1-2's). Who cares how many times Fyfe touches it, I care more about what he does with it. Playing head to head will allow him much more space and time to be damaging
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Yep - if Hardwick coached Hawthorn, Rioli probably wouldn't get a game...
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I think we've done way too much talking this week. Way too much :shh