Tigers’ talls key to SeptemberCourtney Walsh
The Australian
27 Aug 2019Richmond’s tandem tall combination of Jack Riewoldt and Tom Lynch has the Tigers well positioned to negotiate the difficulties key forwards can experience in September.
That is the view of Riewoldt’s cousin, former St Kilda champion Nick Riewoldt.
Lynch was recruited from Gold Coast as a $1 million-plus per season forward. The ex-Suns captain has performed well in his first year at Punt Road, given he scarcely had a pre-season after undergoing knee surgery late in 2018.
Riewoldt, a triple-Coleman medallist, has endured a testing year because of knee problems, but he was dynamic against Brisbane on Sunday at the MCG, booting four goals in the opening term to give the Tigers the upper hand in the critical encounter.
“Of all of them, Richmond are the best equipped with the form that Tom Lynch is in and we know what Jack is capable of,” Riewoldt told The Australian.
“There is going to be one bob up and if I had to guess, I reckon Lynch is well positioned and the way he has played, I think his contested marking has come back.
“Both of those guys can mark it in a contested situation and I think that puts them in a good position (for September).”
The last fortnight of the home-and-away season saw spearheads flourish in an engaging Coleman Medal race.
Ben Brown became the first Kangaroo since Wayne Carey in 1999 to kick 10 goals in a game when North Melbourne effectively ended Port Adelaide’s finals hopes in Round 22.
Then GWS Giant Jeremy Cameron returned from a hamstring problem to boot nine goals against the Suns on Saturday night, the haul enabling him to reclaim the race lead from Brown and seize the Coleman Medal for the first time.
Yet just as we have witnessed the disappearance of the goalkicker who racks up a century in a season, it is also now a rarity for a key forward to kick goals at will during a finals series, perhaps because of the ramped-up defensive pressure applied by sides. Jack Riewoldt kicked the highest tally in last year’s finals series, booting five goals in Richmond’s preliminary final loss to Collingwood.
Giant Steve Johnson, a roaming talent, was the outlier in the 2017 finals series, kicking six goals in a semi-final against West Coast, while small forward Eddie Betts booted six for the Crows in an elimination final in 2016.
Nick Riewoldt, an analyst for Fox Footy’s AFL 360, said a key forward retained value even if the avenues to goal had become more difficult.
“They have a function to perform. History would suggest it is generally a little bit harder for key forwards, once the finals start — for whatever reason, we haven’t really seen bags from key forwards in a long time,” he said.
“So I think as much as anything, the onus on key forwards to compete really strongly and ensure the ball is getting to ground, they will be the conversations that are occurring for all of those key forwards.”
Former Carlton captain Mark Maclure was another outstanding forward who was a premiership player with the Blues in 1979, 1981 and 1982.
He said the key forwards at all clubs had a vital role to play by ensuring they brought the football to ground if unable to mark.
He felt reigning premiers West Coast presented last September as a well-balanced forward line.
Jack Darling set the tone in the third term of the grand final against Collingwood, while Josh Kennedy had been a dominant performer for a decade.
“Most of them have got two talls and a bunch of good smalls,” Maclure said.
“The ones who haven’t, they can’t win. Last year, if you watched the grand final, the talls of West Coast won the game with marking but the smalls actually create most of the opportunities.”
Like Riewoldt, Maclure feels Richmond have a well-balanced forward line.
“They have two big forwards and some great small forwards and that is a key, I think,” he said.
“They are interesting to watch. They are really nice to watch and I wouldn’t discount them.”
https://www.theaustralian.com.au/sport/afl/tigers-tall-forwards-give-balance-for-afl-finals-campaign/news-story/70a8f93b8f8115c6ad46a0e4a5139630
