Wasteful Richmond cops third dose of heartbreak Mark Stevens
From: Herald Sun
July 30, 2012 RICHMOND was as short as $1.22 with bookies to make the finals after rolling St Kilda in one of the games of the year in Round 10.
It seemed reasonable value too, given the Tigers' run, carry and precise finishing at Etihad Stadium on that freaky Friday night.
But Richmond is Richmond. The cynics, mumbling in the background about the skinny odds, were right.
The Tigers have beaten two teams since - Greater Western Sydney and Melbourne.
And there has been unprecedented heartbreak.
Richmond has lost its past three matches by less than a goal - the first time that haunting trifecta has happened in club history.
That scenario has arisen only eight times in AFL history, with Fremantle the last team to suffer three narrow defeats in a row, in Rounds 6-8, 2008.
Putting the pain aside, it is impossible to ignore the inexcusable brain explosions and stuff-ups along the way.
Fox Footy commentator Gerard Healy yesterday described the Tigers as the "disappointment of the season" and it is difficult to contradict him.
So what has gone wrong?
Richmond is doing so much right if you look at the typical key indicators.
The Tigers have averaged 29.6 more disposals than their opponents, ranked third in the competition.
They also rank No.1 in contested footy at plus 12.7 a game against their opponents.
On top of that, they get the ball inside 50 12 more times than the opposition on average (No.3).
Those are the numbers of a $1.22 chance for the eight, yet something has gone horribly wrong - and the loss to Gold Coast provided a valuable insight.
The Tigers won contested possessions, disposal efficiency and tackles, yet lost.
Hawthorn, in dropping a game to Geelong in Round 2, is the only other team this season to win those three categories and lose.
It comes down to being wasteful when pumping the ball inside 50 and when shooting at goal.
In four of the defeats since the win against St Kilda, the Tigers have had more scoring shots - against Fremantle, Adelaide, North Melbourne and Carlton.
In that block of games, between Rounds 11-18, Daniel Jackson has kicked 1.8, Shaun Edwards 10.14 and Jack Riewoldt 16.13 - and that is just a glimpse into their wasteful returns.
Overall, the Tigers' goalkicking accuracy has fallen from ninth in the competition to 16th in that time.
They also average only 9.1 marks inside 50 a game - also ranked 16th.
Yes, the Tigers are close, but they just can't finish.
At least they have youth on their side as the youngest teams outside GWS and Gold Coast.
http://www.heraldsun.com.au/afl/more-news/wasteful-richmond-cops-third-dose-of-heartbreak/story-e6frf9jf-1226438066435
