Standby for a shoot-out: Wallace
5:07:27 PM Tue 19 April, 2005
Angus Morgan
Sportal for afl.com.au
Richmond coach Terry Wallace says he expects a high-scoring shootout at Telstra Dome on Sunday when the in-form Tigers and Saints clash in one of the games of the round.
Coming off three straight victories, Wallace said the next two rounds against St Kilda and Port Adelaide will clarify just how good the Tigers are.
He said, however, that the Tigers are playing with confidence and will be looking to provide Matthew Richardson with quality service against the Saints, while at the same time trying to stifle St Kilda full-forward Fraser Gehrig who bounced back to form with six goals against Melbourne last Sunday.
"Both sides will try to free up their power forward and squeeze the opposition one. I don't think there's any doubt that will be the formula that both sides will try to work on," Wallace said at Punt Road on Tuesday.
"But the nature of (Telstra Dome) is the ball gets from A to B pretty quickly… that's the difficulty of trying to clog up the game. Personally, I think the winner will kick a fairly big score."
Wallace said that if the Tigers can get their hands on the ball, move it quickly and match the Saints for hardness at the ball, they will come somewhere close to achieving the minimum 16-goal target they have set themselves for each match throughout the season.
Wallace added it would be important for Richmond to get away to a good start, something the Saints have turned into an art form of late.
"Over the past 18 months, they have been a really powerful starting side, really wanting to impose themselves," Wallace said.
"All great footy sides to that… and they kick big scores early. That's the challenge for our guys to withstand that.
"It's the start of the game where both sides come in, wanting to prove a point, butting heads at the start and if one can get a strong statement over the other one it sometimes can be lasting," he said.
"Quite regularly the side that gets that strong willpower over the other side wins games of footy."
Wallace said the hat-trick of victories had lifted the mood around the club, but by no means were the players getting carried away.
"I've seen a group of guys who were low in self-esteem when I arrived, get some of that back," Wallace said.
"But not too many of them are getting ahead of themselves and we're quite comfortable with where we're at. I don't think we've achieved that much yet."
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