Tigers vs Saints newspaper articles

[one-eyed]

Tigers pay big price for brave effort
08 April 2006   
Herald Sun
Michael Horan

RESTORED credibility proved cold comfort to Richmond after its brave 11-point loss against St Kilda at Telstra Dome last night.
   
Humiliated on the same ground by 115 points in the season-opener against the Western Bulldogs a week earlier, the Tigers last night came from four goals down in the third term to hit the front in the last quarter.

But injuries and a slightly steadier Saints outfit was enough to defeat the Tigers.

On top of the loss the Tigers suffered serious casualties.

Young defender Will Thursfield may miss the rest of the year after injuring the anterior cruciate and medial ligaments in his left knee, while fellow backman Jay Schulz may be sidelined for up to a month because of a shoulder injury.

As spirited and competitive as Richmond's effort was in front of the 40,740-strong crowd, coach Terry Wallace saw only the harsh reality of it all.

"No points, that's where it sits," Wallace said. "There's been a lot of talk internally. We came to the game wanting to win, expecting to win."

Wallace conceded the injuries, particularly Thursfield's, had played a big part in the final outcome.

"The cost was massive. It hurt us in the end," he said.

Thursfield, playing only his seventh AFL game, had stoically stood Saint star Nick Riewoldt all night, holding him to only three marks until he went down eight minutes into the final term.

"It's devastating for the kid. Riewoldt took five more marks after he was gone," Wallace said.

Riewoldt also kicked the goal that put the Saints back in front four minutes after Thursfield was taken from the ground on a motorised buggy.

Schulz was hurt midway through the third term and, with Greg Stafford withdrawing before the game because of tightness in his calf, the Tigers' tall stocks were desperately low.

Yet Richmond had St Kilda under siege and clearly won the term to go to the last change only five points down.

"The game was there to be won. I thought we could win at three-quarter time," Wallace said.

"We just weren't able to take our chances when they came."

St Kilda was the red-hot favourite going into the match and was given a real fright by Richmond, for which the Tiger coach gave his charges credit.

"I learnt they've got the competitive urges to step up when they've been under emotional pressure," he said.

"You can do two things: You can curl your tail up and it can all be too hard or you can try to fight your way out of it. To a man I don't question that part of their make-up. I thought they did that very well.

"In the end it really came down to the other side having a bit more senior experience.

"Guys who have been there and done that before, being able to get the job done and us being a little bit inexperienced when the game was on and not being able to deliver.

"That's taking the next step, isn't it?"

Saints coach Grant Thomas conceded his team was still building towards peak fitness.

"Most of our guys are going to benefit from that game a lot, benefit from last week a lot and hopefully we'll just keep improving," Thomas said.

"As a coach you always want to set really high standards and want to be 100 per cent all of the time, but that is just impractical in this day and age."

http://www.heraldsun.news.com.au/footy/common/story_page/0,8033,18749344%255E20322,00.html

[one-eyed]

Tigers' frustrating best
08 April 2006   
Herald Sun
Mark Robinson

WE CAN breathe easy, the Tigers are back to their exhilarating, frustrating, snarling and bewildering best.
 
They lost last night, by 11 points, but won so much more.

All those words that mean nothing when you've got them and everything when you haven't – words such as courage and fortitude and ticker – returned last night to Punt Rd.

It's what coach Terry Wallace demanded. It's what his players delivered.

At a pinch, they could have won the game. Only in the last 10 minutes, when the legs got too tired, the minds even more so, and young Will Thursfield was trying to stop the throbbing in a buckled left knee, did the Tigers lose the game.

For all their gameness, however, they still have themselves to blame; brilliant one minute, brain-dead the next. It is the advertisement of the Tigers.

From the start, they played wonderful football. It was enterprising because they took risks, played on, and brought teammates into the game; it was disciplined because they went one-on-one all over the ground.

It was the core of Wallace's game plan after last week's humiliation: run and create, be accountable.

Kane Johnson went with Robert Harvey; Mark Coughlan with Lenny Hayes; Greg Tivendale with Nick Dal Santo; Andrew Raines with Stephen Milne; and Thursfield with Nick Riewoldt. When the Sainters were summoned to the interchange, the Tigers followed. One man, one job.

Throughout, St Kilda's greatest lead was 24 points.

Three times Richmond led. After the first goal of the match, after halftime when Patrick Bowden goaled, and after 11 minutes of the final quarter when Troy Simmonds booted the team's 11th and last goal. That in itself was a miracle after last week.

And three times the Tigers were given a standing ovation. At halftime, at three-quarter time and as they trudged from the field. It was that kind of game.

The third quarter was manic after a first-half display that was, if you dismiss last week, typical Richmond.

The usuals cropped up: Darren Gaspar was caught on a wing trying to run around Fraser Gehrig; Kayne Pettifer held it when he should have kicked it; Greg Tivendale drilled it and it didn't hit the target; Andrew Krakouer looked great but didn't find it; Richo missed what he should have kicked, and Simmonds looked like $400,000 and played like $200,000.

At the break, they had 172 touches to 149 and 57 marks to 39. The ineffective kicks were even, but evidence of Richmond's sloppy play was the ineffective handballs: St Kilda's four to their 18.

The third quarter made fans proud. Simmonds, who lifted enormously in the second half, had a shot for goal taken from him by an umpiring decision that was 50-50. The ball was transferred to the other end where Harvey collected a loose ball and goaled. Difference 24. It should have been 12.

When Pettifer kicked the next, and Patrick Bowden the one after that, it was back to two goals. Four minutes later, Pettifer got his third to make it five points.

The Tigers outscored St Kilda in the third term. Last week, the Bulldogs kicked nine goals to one. Last night, they nailed four to two.

All in all, it was a night for winners. St Kilda won the match and Richmond the hearts and minds of their fans.

It's an odd beast, football. This week the game was attacked and dissected like never before. Futuristic and systematic, they said, boring and unaccountable. Last night was anything but.

http://www.heraldsun.news.com.au/footy/common/story_page/0,8033,18749122%255E19742,00.html

[one-eyed]

Riewoldt sneaks Saints over line
08 April 2006   
Herald Sun
Michael Stevens

ST KILDA got the points, but Richmond won the plaudits at Telstra Dome last night after almost pulling off a monumental upset.

And Tigers coach Terry Wallace will be left lamenting what might have been had young defender Will Thursfield's left knee not buckled at a crucial stage of the last quarter.

When Thursfield was taken from the ground by motorised stretcher it left the Tigers with few options to stop key Saints forward Nick Riewoldt, and that proved the difference in a thrilling final term when the game was in the balance.

Trailing by five points at three-quarter time, the Tigers hit the front when ruckman Troy Simmonds kicked truly after being awarded a free kick for an infringement by Max Hudgton.

But just as all the momentum seemed to be going Richmond's way, Riewoldt, relishing the freedom of Thursfield's absence, took centre stage.

Opposed first by Joel Bowden and then Chris Newman, Riewoldt's renowned work ethic came to the fore to give the Saints a sketchy 11-point win.

He was directly involved in St Kilda's only two goals for the quarter, the first coming after he gave Bowden the slip to accept a chip from teammate Nick Dal Santo.

Then he was able to lead strongly into a forward pocket to take a pass from Brendon Goddard. Finding himself outside kicking range, Riewoldt passed the ball off to Lenny Hayes, who kicked the sealer with a boomer from just outside 50m.

Although Thursfield was credited with only one kick and one handpass for the match, his ability to run with Riewoldt and harass him at every opportunity had been a telling factor in the Tigers staying within arm's reach.

His injury could not have come at a worse time as Richmond was in full flight with its tackling and intensity at every contest putting the underdone Saints under extreme pressure.

Even when St Kilda had stretched its lead to 12 points late in the quarter, the Tigers still had an opportunity to forge a remarkable victory when courageous centreman Mark Coughlan marked within 30m at the 23-minute mark.

However, his kick missed and the disappointment of the Tiger players was palpable. But what a turnaround from last week's 115-point thrashing.

Wallace had promised a competitive effort and his young side delivered in spades.

Youngster Daniel Jackson, a late replacement for the injured Greg Stafford, was a revelation early with two first-half goals after contested marks.

And while key forward Matthew Richardson sacrificed his own game to play as a spare defender, the Tigers got good value from Patrick Bowden and Kayne Pettifer, who each contributed three goals.

One of Bowden's goals, from an impossible angle on the boundary line on his wrong side, will be a contender for goal of the year, but his game could have been even better had he not hit the post twice.

Apart from Hayes and Riewoldt, the Saints – missing captain Luke Ball with an abdominal strain – had Robert Harvey and Dal Santo as strong contributors.

Aaron Hamill attacked the ball ferociously, as opponent Jay Schulz, who was on the receiving end of a crunching tackle will testify.

Schulz hit his head and also appeared to injure a shoulder. He took no further part in the game.

Full-forward Fraser Gehrig kicked three goals but too often was content to wrestle with opponent Darren Gaspar instead of offering a lead for teammates upfield.

Subsequently, when he did lead, Richmond ruckman Troy Simmonds was able to fall back and block his space.

Simmonds was clearly the best big man on the ground, with his 25 hitouts giving the Tigers first use of the ball at the stoppages. He also had 18 telling possessions.

http://www.heraldsun.news.com.au/footy/common/story_page/0,8033,18749127%255E19742,00.html

[one-eyed]

Tigers invite a contest and scrap to finish
By Greg Baum
The Age
April 8, 2006

Richmond, seeking redemption, take on St Kilda with gallant abandon.

RICHMOND came to play at Telstra Dome last night. That is the least that is expected of an AFL team, and ordinarily would not be worth reporting. But after last week's debacle, a willingness to take part would always be the first measure of the Tigers this week. As it transpired, their fanaticism became the dynamic that ruled the game.

The Tigers ran hard. They ran straight. Importantly, they ran down the middle. They ran themselves into the ground. Defenders Darren Gaspar and Andrew Kellaway ran regularly into attack. Forward Matthew Richardson periodically ran into defence, to mark bravely or spoil in the nick of time.

They even ran into trouble. The mistakes they made were born of too much enthusiasm rather than too little. They took on opponents, gallantly, recklessly, but did not always win. They invited contests, as if to stimulate the football instincts that deserted them last week. Whatever else they were this night, they would not be meek.

Terry Wallace and his coaching panel worked harder than last week, too, rotating players constantly through the interchange bench, going short, going tall, pursuing mismatches. A slick change midway through the first quarter gained them a goal while the Saints were caught in two minds about who to man up on the incoming Daniel Jackson. Richmond was on the front foot in all its endeavours.

The Tigers played as one. At quarter-time, they jogged to their huddle. Wallace was already waiting, with a urgent word for Richardson. At half-time, they met on the ground again, Wallace anxious that no momentum be lost.

Richmond monopolised possession. By half-time, St Kilda had made 35 tackles because they were forced to make 35 tackles. The difference between the sides was that the Saints were more poised, more polished, more efficient, deadlier in their finishing. Fraser Gehrig kicked three goals made of brute strength. Between times, he chased Gaspar to the other end of the ground and dispossessed him there.

The Saints have been the hunted for a few seasons now. They have many death-before-dishonour warriors of their own — personified by Aaron Hamill — and Richmond was not going to scare them by sabre-rattling alone. Nick Riewoldt's goal on the half-time siren and Harvey's, a classic of anticipation, early in the third quarter established a four-goal margin.

Richmond's desperation had created only one moment of inspiration, Patrick Bowden's freak snap when wrong-footed on the boundary line in the second quarter.

But even the most hardened sportsman can only bear so much assault. At length, the toll began to tell on the Saints. They lost a little of their cool, yielded two free kicks and a 50-metre penalty, all bringing goals for the Tigers. Patrick Bowden might even have put them in front.

The last quarter was a classic. For 12 minutes, both sides stormed their Bastilles, but could not kick a goal. Misses at both ends affirmed that nerves were fraying. At last, Troy Simmonds' free kick and goal put the Tigers ahead. Deliverance was at hand.

But the last twist was poetically unjust. Unsung Will Thursfield had done a zealot's job on Nick Riewoldt all night, but now wrecked his knee in a horrid moment. Riewoldt seized his moment of liberty to kick the goal that put the Saints back in front. Lenny Hayes reinforced it. Class had told.

At the final siren, the Saints were scarcely triumphant; they knew how close this had been. One chorus, and a tired wave to fans, was all that was left in them; only a bath mattered now. The Tigers almost to a man were on their haunches, or in the hands of trainers. This night had cost them much, but it had gained them something, too: a new beginning to their season.

http://www.realfooty.theage.com.au/realfooty/articles/2006/04/07/1143916724077.html

[one-eyed]

Richmond goes down fighting
By Emma Quayle At Telstra Dome
The Age
April 8, 2006
 
ST KILDA 4.1 9.4 11.6 13.10 (88)
RICHMOND 3.2 6.4 10.7 11.11 (77)
GOALS - St Kilda: Gehrig 3, Riewoldt 3, Clarke, Dal Santo, Goddard, Harvey, Montagna, Fiora, Hayes. Richmond: P Bowden 3, Pettifer 3, Jackson 2, Richardson, Tivendale, Simmonds.
BEST - St Kilda: Riewoldt, Dal Santo, Hayes, Maguire, Harvey, Hamill. Richmond: P Bowden, J Bowden, Johnson, Tuck, Coughlan, Jackson.
INJURIES - St Kilda: Ball (stomach) replaced in selected side by Peckett. Richmond: Stafford (leg) replaced in selected side by Jackson.
UMPIRES: Margetts, McLaren, McInerney.
CROWD: 40,740 at Telstra Dome.

ABOUT an hour before Richmond sought redemption against St Kilda last night, Terry Wallace was asked how he had managed to rally so many badly beaten teams in his coaching career.

But bouncing back from 115-point floggings and worst-ever days at the office, said the Tigers coach, was not about instilling anything new in players. Instead, it depended on how many of them already cared about their football club.

"There are certain games in the year where you get an opportunity, under pressure, to just find out a little bit about the group," Wallace told a pre-match sponsors' function.

"Our journey's just begun, but what I'll find out tonight is the blokes who actually want to come along for the journey."

Not long after 10pm, Wallace would have been imagining a more enjoyable trip. His players lost, and remained in search of their first four points this season. But the Tigers were beaten only by 11 points, by an opposition side also on the rebound, and they lost only bit by bit.

St Kilda was weakened when new captain Luke Ball withdrew from last night's side with what the club described as an abdominal injury, not a recurrence of osteitis pubis.

Down by five points at quarter-time, the margin slipped to three goals at the big break. A Robert Harvey goal started the quarter, but then Kayne Pettifer kicked two goals, and Patrick Bowden kicked two more.

Fraser Gehrig kicked his third goal to wrench back a bit of space, but had Bowden's third shot not slammed into the post, the Saints would have had some chasing to do.

That said, there were more things to deal with before they could secure their first points. The Tigers dominated the first eight minutes, stopped to watch Will Thursfield get taken off on a stretcher, then dominated a little bit more.

Richmond hit its first lead in more than an hour, 12 minutes into the final term, after Max Hudghton's arm sneaked over Troy Simmonds' shoulder, but as they had done all night, the Saints did just enough, at just the right times.

Nick Dal Santo found Nick Riewoldt, whose even steadier kick got the lead straight back. Lenny Hayes added another, and then the Saints' defenders spoiled and cleared a final few dangerous balls.

That this Richmond side would take a little beating became clear in the first 30 seconds of both the first and second quarters.

In the first, Greg Tivendale snaffled a mark beside the boundary line, and threaded the game's opening goal.

Gehrig sat deep in the St Kilda forward line, with Riewoldt just a little higher up, and both were significant in bridging the gap, then stretching it. Two Gehrig goals had the Saints in front 11 minutes in, and the 100-gamer with his second club then ushered through a running Dal Santo goal.

Richmond interchanged Riewoldt's opponent, Thursfield, for Daniel Jackson halfway through the quarter, and Jackson scored the first of his two first-half goals by sprinting to the forward line, before Riewoldt had sussed out who his new opponent was, and drifting into mark.

Riewoldt, with Joel Bowden alongside, marked and got a quick one back, but the Tigers held in and kept creative minds creative.

Darren Gaspar's decision to run Gehrig up-field did not quite pay off. Gaspar marked and chose to run around the Saint, but was bailed up, and coughed up a handball.

Aaron Hamill missed the shot on the rebound, before Matthew Richardson slid into his first grab at the opposite end, cutting the margin to five on the cusp of quarter-time.

Richmond got going first in the second term, too, Bowden delivering off an even more impressive angle than Tivendale had.

Having nudged a loose ball to Nathan Brown, Bowden ran on for the handball, then a checkside goal from tight in the forward pocket brilliantly stole the lead.

That was only temporary. Aaron Fiora and Xavier Clarke snaps restored the order, before Leigh Montagna waltzed with ease into goal. Brett Voss and Justin Peckett missed three shots between them, but it was the Tigers who had to keep chasing.

http://www.realfooty.theage.com.au/realfooty/articles/2006/04/07/1143916723635.html

[Ox]

When the Sainters were summoned to the interchange, the Tigers followed. One man, one job.

easy

[WilliamPowell]

When the Sainters were summoned to the interchange, the Tigers followed. One man, one job.

easy

Aint that the truth