Richmond No.1 in the AFL for disposal efficiency Mark Stevens
From: Herald Sun
May 23, 2011 THIS time last year, Richmond was playing with the finesse of a bush butcher.
Suddenly, as a tilt at the finals turns to reality, the Tigers are playing with the precision of a sushi master.
Coach Damien Hardwick's "clean machine" is No.1 in the competition for disposal efficiency after nine rounds. Unbelievable.
Unbeaten Geelong has 73.4 per cent efficiency by hand and foot. The once-unloved Richmond is the pacesetter at 75.7 per cent.
"It's a strange one, isn't it?" one of Richmond's best ball users, Brett Deledio, admitted yesterday.
You could always count on the club for playing "Tiger tough" regardless of skill efficiencies, but it has turned full circle.
Richmond is being beaten in the trenches, more often than not losing the contested-ball count, but destroying the opposition in open space.
Against Essendon on Saturday night, the Tigers were smashed in the contested possessions by 34, finished 22 behind for clearances and had a whopping 12 fewer inside-50 entries.
Bombers coach James Hird would have ticked off all those key indicators pre-game as a recipe for certain victory, but his team was spanked in the silk department.
It came down to ball movement and Richmond's ability to zip it from end to end is the most dynamic and clinical in the game.
In a high-pressure game, the Tigers managed to hit the target by foot 68 per cent of the time. Essendon could manage only a 55 per cent success rate.
Richmond's ability to treat players in space with pristine delivery meant it thrashed Essendon 231-143 for uncontested possessions.
Across the season, the Tigers have generated a score after rebounding from the defensive 50m arc 15.3 per cent of the time - No.1 in the competition. That stat says nobody is better at creating unbroken chains from deep in the back half.
On average, Richmond has averaged 18.7 fewer contested possessions than its opposition (ranked 16th).
But with ball in hand, the Tigers are elite.
Deledio told Triple M radio the improvement in efficiency was a result of hard work over the summer and a confidence in Hardwick's game plan.
"We spend lots of time practising the skills, but I think it's just knowing Damien's game plan and knowing where the footy needs to move up and down the ground - it makes it a lot easier for us," Deledio said.
"We're getting a lot of uncontested possessions and it's a lot easier to hit a nice easy one (pass)."
Of all the Tigers to have won more than 100 disposals, skipper Chris Newman is No.1 for efficiency rate with 84.5 per cent.
Deledio is tracking at 77.7 per cent.
All of Hardwick's emerging kids can use it well, too.
The strict "wonky kick, won't be drafted" policy that has been in force at Punt Rd since Hardwick's first weeks at the club is clearly working.
http://www.heraldsun.com.au/sport/afl/richmond-no1-in-the-afl-for-disposal-efficiency/story-fn7si05c-1226060627644
