Richmond coach Damien Hardwick rules Jake King out of Round 1 clash with Gold CoastHerald-Sun
March 13, 2014 3:02PMRICHMOND’S Jake King will miss Saturday night’s season opener against Gold Coast with Tigers coach Damien Hardwick today ruling out the small forward.
The Tigers trained at Punt Road this afternoon and Hardwick conceded that it was going to be a tough job for selectors to pick the side that will travel to the Gold Coast for Saturday night’s game at Metricon Stadium.
Hardwick said King had already been ruled out of the side, his limited preparation as a result of off-season toe and shoulder surgeries leaving him underdone and in need of more game time.
But Hardwick said while the much-loved Tiger would be missed against the Suns, his absence would present an opportunity for another.
“We know how important he is to the side, he knows how important he is to the side also,” Hardwick said.
“So it will be a tough decision this afternoon because we’ve got some good players who are going to miss out.
“It’s a great place for our club to be in. Players who are very capable AFL players are going to fall short.”
Hardwick said there was a chance Orren Stephenson, who was also promoted from the rookie list, could play a support role to former Carlton ruckman Shaun Hampson who has suddenly became the Tigers No. 1 big man following an ankle injury to Ivan Maric which will be sidelined out for the first few rounds.
After twice losing to the Suns in Cairns, the Tigers finally got the points last season.
Hardwick said that despite losing to Melbourne in the first game of the NAB Challenge, the Tiger players had improved.
“I think we have improved as a side, you have only got to look at our pre-season form,” he said.
“Obviously really disappointing with our intensity and work rate with the Round 1 NAB Cup game, but our last two games have been more along the lines of a Richmond we’d expect.
“The improvement has been noted in players, like (Ben) Griffiths has been very good, (David) Astbury has had a great pre-season, young Matthew McDonough is another guy. We just have to weigh up the guys who are actually going to get the job done versus Gold Coast. We have to make sure we’re fit and ready to go and we have to make sure we pick the best team that is capable of getting the points for us.”
Hardwick is considering giving football’s toughest assignment — stopping Gold Coast captain and reigning Brownlow Medallist Gary Ablett — to former Port Adelaide player Matt Thomas, who joined the club as a rookie at the end of last season but was upgraded to the senior list this week.
Hardwick is considering what tactics they will use on Ablett and described Thomas as a tenacious competitor who his teammates love to play alongside.
Dan Jackson, who has been used on Ablett in the past, is still on the sidelines but could be back for the Round 2 clash against Carlton.
“We have thought about a lot of options for Gary Ablett,” Hardwick said.
“He is a fantastic player and the thing you assume about Gary is that is going to probably get his 25 to 30 touches anyway so it’s whether we go in with the mindset of having a defensive minded player on him and try to limit him by two or three possessions or we try to attack him the other way. We will work through that with match committee this afternoon.”
But Hardwick is conscious of concentrating too much on Ablett at the expense of not paying enough attention to his quality teammates..
“The danger at looking too much at Gary is that you underestimate the other players in their side like (Dion) Prestia is an outstanding player and (Jaeger) O’Meara is going to be a star. (Michael) Rischitelli is another quality on-baller, as is (Harley) Bennell. You manage to put all your eggs in one basket with Gary or you can actually realise overall that their midfield is a very solid unit that is capable of winning some footy games.”
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