Yellow and black! Tigers by six goals
richmondfc.com.au
By Mic Cullen 9:45 PM Sat 25 April, 2009
North Melbourne 3.2 5.6 6.9 7.16 (58)
Richmond 2.2 6.7 10.12 13.16 (94)
GOALS
North Melbourne: Swallow 3, Hale, Warren, Thomas, Edwards
Richmond: Riewoldt 3, Bowden 2, Newman, Deledio, White, Moore, Collins, Tuck, Morton, Nahas
BEST
North Melbourne: Swallow, Urquhart, McIntosh, Petrie, Simpson
Richmond: Riewoldt, Jackson, McMahon, Nahas, Rance, Deledio, Tuck
INJURIES
North Melbourne: Harvey (dislocated elbow), Hansen (hamstring)
Richmond: Richardson (hamstring)
Reports: Nil
Umpires: James, Hay, Meredith
Official crowd: 29,224 at Docklands
--------------------------------------
A DOMINANT forward performance from Jack Riewoldt has led Richmond to its first win of the season at Docklands on Saturday night.
The Kangaroos jumped the Tigers early, kicking the first three, but the visitors booted 10 of the next 13 to lead by 27 points at the last change before winning by 36 points, 13.16 (94) to 7.16 (58).
With star Matthew Richardson off early in the second with a hamstring injury, the Tigers were forced to change their focus in attack and Riewoldt stepped up, kicking three in the second before the midfield fired in the third to add to the Roos' misery.
The game was a war of attrition early – Roos skipper Brent Harvey was forced from the field with a dislocated left elbow just 12 minutes in and sat out the rest of the match, then teammate Michael Firrito followed two minutes later with a left leg injury, although he returned.
Richardson returned late in the third, although with a distinct limp, but then North's Lachie Hansen went off early in the last clutching a hamstring.
The Harvey injury will cause a nervous wait for the Roos, with Eagle Beau Waters set to miss the entire 2009 season after dislocating his elbow midway through last season.
For the Tigers, Shane Tuck led contested possessions, a major problem area for Richmond this season, and he was closely followed by young Robbie Nahas.
Angus Graham was good all game, making space and generally being effective around the ground as well as in the ruck.
Jordan McMahon played an excellent game while Richard Tambling and Jarrad Oakley-Nicholls, completing a much-maligned trio at Punt Rd, also showed plenty of effort and desire.
Mark Coughlan made a welcome return to the big time after three years on the sidelines, getting through the game and running and tackling well.
He was good through the midfield, as was Brett Deledio.
For the Roos, Andrew Swallow did well to kick three, former skipper Adam Simpson was good in the clinches, Gavin Urquhart gave good drive off a wing, Drew Petrie offered a strong target up forward, as did David Hale when he went down there.
Early in the game it was all Roos, with Hale starting the ball rolling with a snap off the left inside 90 seconds, then youngsters Jack Ziebell and Andrew Swallow got the lead out to 19 points.
But that joy soon turned to despair with first Harvey and then Michael Firrito off the ground, and the Tigers looked a lot better in kicking the last two of the term, with Nahas good in the buildup of both, and Richmond trailing by just one straight kick at the first change.
Riewoldt kicked the first of the second term and gave the Tigers the lead after a beautiful general-play tap-on from tyro ruckman Adam Pattison, but a horrible error from Brett Deledio presented Andrew Swallow with the chance to reply.
But the Tigers were confident and it showed in their ball use, with Nahas bagging one before Riewoldt booted a brace. Aaron Edwards then kicked a major to get the margin back to just seven points at the long break.
Four goals to one in the third saw the Tigers break the game open, with even defender Kelvin Moore running hard to get forward to score, and the Tigers led by 27 points at the last change.
In the last, the Roos had their chances but kicked a mass of behinds while the Tigers scored three majors to one to sew it up.
Next week, the Roos are up against Collingwood on Friday night, while Richmond treks to the MCG to play the Swans.
http://www.richmondfc.com.au/news/newsarticle/tabid/6301/newsid/75614/default.aspx