Media articles & Stats: Tigers lose by 55 points at the 'G to the Swans

[one-eyed]

Tigers lose by 55 points at the 'G
richmondfc.com.au
By Jennifer Witham 4:49 PM Sun 09 August, 2009

RICHMOND has lost by 55 points to the Sydney Swans on Sunday afternoon at the MCG in their round 19 clash.

The Swans celebrated Michael O'Loughlin's 300th game in style with the 18.15 (123) to 10.8 (68) victory after shrugging off first-quarter kicking yips.

The visitors booted 14 goals to seven after quarter-time, as the Tigers struggled to contain the Swans' 11 individual goal-kickers.

Adam Goodes was exemplary with four goals and 25 touches, Brett Kirk had 14 tackles and shook Daniel Jackson for six clearances, and Ryan O'Keefe recorded 22 touches and eight inside 50s.

For Richmond, Jake King was terrific in shutting rebounder Rhyce Shaw out of the game, while Richard Tambling tried hard with nine tackles and 11 contested possessions, and Ben Cousins – in his 250th AFL game – was prolific with 24 touches.

He celebrated his milestone with the first goal of the game after roving a tap from Angus Graham, and went on to win five clearances despite the close checking of Kieren Jack.

Inaccuracy in front of goal was the only thing that prevented the Swans from blowing the game open in the first term.

With Jolly and Pyke monstering the Richmond ruckman and Jude Bolton and O'Dwyer combining well in the clearances, the Swans had five more entries into their forward 50.

They twice moved more than one goal clear but twice let Richmond hit back – the first time when they gifted the Tigers a goal through an interchange infringement that put King in the goal-square.

The second quarter started in similar fashion with Jarred Moore and Jesse White contributing singles to the Swans' tally in the first three minutes.

McVeigh kicked the first of the term two minutes later, which opened up the biggest lead so far of 17 points.

After Dean Polo kicked truly to keep his side in check, the Swans snared the next through Jude Bolton, before White managed two after twice beating Kelvin Moore to the ball.

The Tigers were buoyed when King bombed the ball to the square at the 23-minute mark, and Alex Rance – who recovered from a heavy collision with Smith 13 minutes earlier – soccered it through for their first goal in 17 minutes.

But Luke Ablett snared the honours of kicking the last goal of the half. After the sides traded behinds and the siren sounded, the halftime difference was 29 points.

In the third, the Swans broke the game apart. They got the first goal through Jack, who burst through traffic and kicked a short major one minute in.

After the Tigers got the second through King, the Swans went on a rampage. Goodes and O'Loughlin booted the next five across 12 minutes of play, which pushed the difference to 58 points.

Tyrone Vickery provided a rare highlight for Tiger fans with his fifth league goal in red time, but Ed Barlow and Matt O'Dwyer rounded out the quarter with a pair to leave the three-quarter time margin at 64 points.

Richmond won the final quarter with 3.2 scored to the Swans' 1.5, but it wasn't nearly enough to undo the damage sustained in the first three terms.

Richmond will play Collingwood at the MCG next Saturday afternoon.


Richmond           3.3   5.5      7.6       10.8 (68)
Sydney Swans    4.6   9.10   17.10   18.15 (123)   

GOALS
Richmond: King 3, Cousins, Deledio, Polo, Rance, Vickery, Morton, White
Sydney Swans: Goodes 4, White 2, Jack 2, O'Loughlin 2, Moore 2, Kirk, McVeigh, J. Bolton, Ablett, Barlow, O'Dwyer

BEST
Richmond: King, Cousins, Newman, Brown, Tambling
Sydney Swans: Goodes, Kirk, O'Loughlin, Jolly, O'Keefe, Jack, J. Bolton, O'Dwyer

INJURIES
Richmond: Nil
Sydney Swans: McVeigh (hamstring)

Reports: Nil

Umpires: Margetts, Stewart, Chamberlain

Official crowd: 32,216 at the MCG

http://www.richmondfc.com.au/news/newsarticle/tabid/6301/newsid/82345/default.aspx

[one-eyed]

Swans belt Tigers at MCG by 55 points
AAP | August 09, 2009 5.05pm

SYDNEY has belted a dismal Richmond by 55 points at the MCG to keep its feint finals heartbeat alive.

Superstar Adam Goodes turned on a football clinic as the Swans celebrated Michael O'Loughlin's 300th AFL game with their equal biggest win of the season.

The Swans cantered to a 18.15 (123) to 10.8 (68) victory, dominating from the outset.

Some wasteful early kicking for goal meant their 29-point halftime lead did not fully reflect their ascendancy, but that mattered little as they burned off the Tigers with eight goals straight to Richmond's 2.1 in the third term.

The Tigers gained slight consolation by cutting a 64-point margin at the last change to 55 points by the end of the game.

Goodes finished with four goals, 21 disposals and 12 marks.

He and O'Loughlin helped the Swans soar away with a five-goal burst midway through the third quarter, of which Goodes kicked three and O'Loughlin two.

O'Loughlin's first major of the day, 15 minutes into the quarter, delighted the Swans fans in the crowd, with his milestone the main point of interest in a match that is unlikely to have any bearing on finals positioning.

With Richmond's performance peppered with dreadful disposal errors, caretaker coach Jade Rawlings tried to gain something for the future out of the debacle in the second half with some extremely experimental positional moves.

First-year forward prospect Jayden Post started the second half on Goodes, Brett Deledio spent some time on him late in the third quarter and another young Tigers forward Jack Riewoldt lined up on the Swans star in the final term.

Earlier, Sydney kept Richmond in touch with some basic errors, Jude Bolton and Luke Ablett both missing close-range set shots from dead in front in the first quarter, while the Swans also gave the Tigers an easy goal through a free kick from an interchange infringement.

Aside from clear standout Goodes, Ryan O'Keefe and Jude Bolton were both good players for the Swans with their midfield work, while Craig Bolton led a strong defensive unit with his blanketing role on Riewoldt.

For Richmond, Jake King was probably his side's best, combining a stopping role on Rhyce Shaw with three goals.

Ben Cousins, in his 250th game, snapped the first goal of the game and also provided drive from the midfield, although his young opponent Kieren Jack also impressed and kicked two goals.

The only downside for the Swans, who climbed above Hawthorn into 10th spot, were leg injuries to Jarrad McVeigh and Jared Crouch.

http://www.news.com.au/heraldsun/sport/afl/story/0,26576,25904830-19742,00.html

[one-eyed]

Team Stats

Disposals:         262 - 294
Efficiency%:        66 - 68
Kicks:               163 - 193
Handballs:           99 - 101
Con. Marks:          6 - 12
Uncon. Marks:     69 - 81
Tackles:              69 - 68
Clearances:         37 - 33
Clangers:            56 - 45
Hitouts:              24 - 54  ( Graham 15, Jackson 5, Vickery 4 // Jolly 30, Pyke 24 )
Frees:                24 - 25
Con. Possies:      95 - 111
Uncon.Possies:  163 - 181
Inside 50s:         37 - 53
Assists:             11 - 17

Individual Stats

player                D   EFF%    K     H     G     B    CM    UM     T     CL     C     

Cousins, B         24    54    16    8    1    0    0    2    3    5    5    
Tambling, R        23    48    17    6    0    0    2    5    9    4    6    
Newman, C        19    68    17    2    0    1    0    6    6    2    5    
McMahon, J        16    69    13    3    0    0    0    6    5    2    3    
Edwards, S        15    60    5    10    0    0    0    3    1    3    2    
Deledio, B          14    71    7    7    1    0    1    2    6    5    0    
King, J               13    62    9    4    3    2    0    8    0    0    1    
Brown, N           13    77    12    1    0    1    0    5    1    1    2    
Jackson, D         12    42    5    7    0    0    0    2    9    1    3
Morton, M          12    58    9    3    1    2    0    4    2    1    1    
White, M            12    75    7    5    1    0    0    2    6    3    5    
Polo, D              11    91    6    5    1    0    0    3    3    1    1    
Nahas, R           10    60    8    2    0    0    0    1    2    1    1    
Riewoldt, J         10    70    4    6    0    0    0    3    4    1    3
Hislop, T             9    67    6    3    0    1    1    1    1    2    3    
Moore, K             9    78    5    4    0    0    0    4    1    0    2    
Rance, A             9    56    6    3    1    1    0    1    3    2    5    
Graham, A          8    75    2    6    0    0    0    4    2    3    2    
Thursfield, W      8    88    4    4    0    0    0    4    1    0    2    
Vickery, T           6    100    2    4    1    0    0    2    2    0    0    
McGuane, L         5    60    2    3    0    0    1    1    1    0    3    
Post, J                4    75    1    3    0    0    1    0    1    0    1    

player            FF     FA     CP     UP     I50     A            
   
Cousins, B         2    1    7    18    1    1                
Tambling, R        2    3    11    14    3    0               
Newman, C        3    2    6    10    3    0               
McMahon, J        1    1    3    12    2    0                
Edwards, S        1    0    7    7    1    0               
Deledio, B          0    0    7    7    3    0               
King, J               2    1    4    11    3    0                
Brown, N           0    1    1    11    4    4               
Jackson, D         1    2    5    7    1    0               
Morton, M          1    0    4    8    2    1                
White, M            0    2    5    7    3    1               
Polo, D              1    0    6    5    1    0                
Nahas, R           2    1    4    8    2    0               
Riewoldt, J         0    1    3    6    0    0               
Hislop, T            2    1    6    2    4    2               
Moore, K           0    2    1    5    0    0               
Rance, A            2    3    5    4    2    0               
Graham, A         2    1    4    4    1    1               
Thursfield, W     1    1    2    6    0    1                
Vickery, T          0    0    0    6    0    0                
McGuane, L        0    2    1    4    1    0               
Post, J               1    0    3    1    0    0

http://superstats.heraldsun.com.au/gamestatslive/5015595.html

[one-eyed]

Swans' hard work shows up Tigers
Michael Gleeson | August 10, 2009

SYDNEY - 4.6 9.10 17.10 18.15 (123)
RICHMOND - 3.3 5.5 7.6 10.8 (68)

GOALS - Sydney: Goodes 4, Moore 2, White 2, Jack 2, O'Loughlin 2, Kirk, Barlow, J Bolton, McVeigh, Ablett, O'Dwyer. Richmond: King 3, Rance, Cousins, Deledio, Polo, Morton, White, Vickery.

BEST - Sydney: Goodes, O'Keefe, Jack, J Bolton, Kirk, C Bolton, Jolly, Grundy. Richmond: King, Cousins, Newman, Polo.

INJURIES - Sydney: Crouch (thigh), McVeigh (hamstring).

UMPIRES: Stewart, Chamberlain, McInerney.

CROWD: 32,216 at MCG.

JAKE King is not Richmond's best player, nor anyone's idea of an elite AFL talent, but he was the Tigers' best and only real player yesterday.

This in part explains why they lost, for when King is your best player and leading goal scorer, you are unlikely to win a game of AFL football.

Which is not to condemn King, but is to condemn Richmond. King, a scrappy kick and a bigger scrapper, gets games because he offers Richmond what so few others do.

Honesty. He weekly plays with the same belligerent earnestness and in-your-face defiance that makes him an oddity at Richmond.

Yesterday he played a defensive forward role on Rhyce Shaw, closed the Swan out of the game and ended up kicking three goals himself - one of them a gift for an interchange foul-up by Sydney in the first quarter when Ed Barlow ran on to the ground without bothering to wait for the inconvenient encumbrance of another player exiting.

The King performance was notable because his was a more Sydney effort than Richmond. This match was indeed so typically Sydney and so utterly Richmond.

The historically aware, sensitive Swans, sorry Bloods, were acutely conscious of the moment yesterday. It was dripping with do-it-for-Mickey-O sentiment from the moment they ran on the ground, to the tight group huddles and, apparently, the regular loud urgings from Brett Kirk at stoppages that the Swans had to do it for their mate.

This was something that has not been a mark of Richmond, this desire to work for something weekly, to play doggedly like Kirk or the Boltons, Craig and Jude, who reflexively fight through games as if they know no alternative. Because for them they don't.

As Jade Rawlings observed after the game, Sydney yesterday ''epitomised playing for the team''. Which magnified the fact that Richmond did not.

''Brett Kirk brings his game to the table every week,'' Rawlings said. ''He had 14 tackles today and didn't have much offensive involvement but he brings what he brings every week, and we have people who pick and choose what they bring to the game very week. Who is going to turn up and that is a question mark on a lot of our players at the moment.''

It is a harsh observation but true of many. Chris Newman does not deserve the tar of that brush, nor Ben Cousins, but these are quibbling asides.

The point that illustrated this difference in mentality and attitude came at quarter-time. The game had been a mess for the first quarter where Richmond's sloppy possession was outstripped only by Sydney's.

The Swans in the first term had 44 kicks and 24 were ineffective or clangers, they had kicked a profligate 4.6 and led the game by only nine points.

Yet the Swans refused to be cowed by their own wastage. They fought into the game and created the momentum that their skills were denying them early. Tellingly in that first term they went inside 50 13 times and scored on 10 of those.

They were efficient in scoring if not goalling. Adam Goodes was the main culprit. In the first quarter he had 1.3 and could reasonably have goaled all four shots.

The change in the game came because Sydney worked harder to create the opportunities and then corrected their disposal. The Swans' eight straight goals in the third term put the match beyond doubt.

It was in that period the match became an education for Richmond. Young forwards Jayden Post and Jack Riewoldt spent the third and fourth quarters respectively on Goodes enduring a lesson in how to play forward.

Brett Deledio, the player Richmond has most sought to re-educate latterly locating him permanently in the midfield as a tagger with instructions to learn the accountable side of his game, was the fourth man dispatched to Goodes. The game was lost but not the lesson.

http://www.realfooty.com.au/news/rfmatchreport/swans-hard-work-shows-up-tigers/2009/08/09/1249756209795.html?page=fullpage#contentSwap1

[one-eyed]

Tigers and Swans milestones apart
Jon Ralph | August 10, 2009

BEN Cousins said on Saturday he wasn't sure whether he could survive without AFL football.

What has become apparent over the past six weeks is that it is the Tigers who cannot do without him.

Yesterday, on a day where Richmond footballers with even a modicum of skill, talent or desire were in short supply, the evidence was again conclusive.

As Mick O'Loughlin's teammates celebrated his 300th game by evoking their typically inspirational Bloods spirit, the Tigers collapsed with barely a whimper.

The Swans went to war for a mate, and not for the first time, the Tigers went to water.

Richmond played shambolic, selfish, soul-destroying football, and as a result Cousins' hard running and precise kicking in his 250th game stood out like a beacon.

But if the size of the task confronting the Tigers' next coach was again apparent yesterday, so was the need for a player of Cousins' spirit and team ethic.

If Richmond is to continue a seemingly endless rebuild, it is players of Cousins' character who will help it get there.

The story yesterday was about O'Loughlin becoming the first Swan to reach 300 games, but as usual Cousins and the Tigers' deep-seated issues stole the limelight.

Coach Jade Rawlings laid the club's problems bare post-match, citing the club's deeply flawed culture as the root of the issue.

It was impossible to miss the irony - in just 12 short games Cousins has become the club's one and only on-field role model, despite his problems and confessed drug abuses.

"I thought he tried as hard as anyone," Rawlings said of Cousins' typically solid performance.

"He pushed himself to exhaustion. He kicked the ball generally pretty well when a lot of other people couldn't hit targets. I thought he was pretty good on what was a pretty ordinary day."

Then came the kicker from Rawlings, one that is an indictment on his raft of second-rate teammates.

"But that's what he does. He turns up. He doesn't pick and choose. He just rocks up and gives what he's got every week."

While Cousins and his teammates were butchering another chance at respectability, Sydney just got down to business as usual.

How can you not love what this club has been able to assemble -- a deep, abiding respect for each other that is played out not in words, but deeds?

Rawlings, who has been around enough football clubs to know about respect or lack thereof, summed it up perfectly.

"We were playing for a milestone, and whilst he's a 12-gamer he's someone who has offered a fair bit to our footy club.

"But it meant more to them to play for their mate, who was playing his 300th. They epitomised playing for the team today."
....
Encapsulating that desire was Brett Kirk, at every stoppage willing his teammates to do it for Magic.

Kirk's extraordinary 14 tackles spoke volumes for his capacity to lift for a teammate.
....
Again, it was impossible not to draw comparisons with Richmond's complete lack of effort.

What would clubs like the Tigers give for a player of Kirk's motivational qualities?

"I thought to see Brett Kirk at three-quarter time, he was still really vocal to his teammates," Rawlings said.

"I hear that he was calling out to his teammates at stoppages, about their requirement to play for their mate. And to see Brett Kirk, the way he went over to him in the rooms, to acknowledge Michael O'Loughlin, that just sums up Brett Kirk.

"He brings what he brings every week. And we have people who want to pick and choose what they bring to the table every week.

"Who is going to turn up? That is a question mark on a lot of our players."

http://www.news.com.au/heraldsun/story/0,21985,25906265-11088,00.html

[one-eyed]

How much can a Tiger bear?
Mark Stevens | August 10, 2009

AT LEAST Richmond fans can take comfort from the fact their president was sharing their pain yesterday.

Gary March had his own Tony Jewell moment as another Tiger turnover handed Sydney a goal in the final minute of the third term.

Channel 7 cameras captured March cursing and throwing his head back in sheer frustration, only a major hair-pull away from the infamous scene involving former Richmond coach Jewell in 1987.

One can only imagine what the diehard supporters behind the goals at the Punt Rd end were doing.

After all the gains Richmond had made in recent weeks under caretaker coach Jade Rawlings, the 55-point loss to Sydney at the MCG yesterday was a brutal reality check.

The Tigers were as bad as at any time in an ugly season.

Rawlings said the Tigers had hoped last week's sloppy win over Melbourne was an "aberration".

It became obvious early in yesterday's game, as the Swans had 10 shots at goal in the first term, that it wasn't.

Adam Goodes ran riot with seven disposals and had 1.3 on the board by the first break.

Down by 29 points at halftime, Richmond then allowed the often stodgy Swans to kick 8.0 in the third term.

It was the last of those goals, set up after Lewis Roberts-Thomson made a one-handed interception of another wayward Richmond rebound, that left March reeling.

Richmond kicked 3.2 to 1.5 in the last term, but the scoreline flattered the Tigers.

Sydney, whose ferocious early tempo showed how much it wanted to celebrate Michael O'Loughlin's 300th game in style, took a deserved breather in the final 15 minutes.

Brett Kirk was still tackling like a madman and barking orders to teammates, but most in the outer were in danger of nodding off by that stage.

The fact that Richmond's best player was Jake King, in a defensive role on Rhyce Shaw, summed up its day.

"It was our biggest win," Rawlings said of the move.

But he did see the irony in King, who he sarcastically described as a "brute of a centre half-forward", kicking three goals.

With other more conventional targets such as Jayden Post and Jack Riewoldt ineffective, Rawlings used King as an example of how far discipline and hunger can carry you.

Shaw had 11 disposals and two rebound 50s for the game so King deserved the plaudits.

Ben Cousins racking up 24 touches, Brett Deledio's disposal was clean and Nathan Brown showed his sweet left boot can still hit targets, but that was about it for the Tigers.

Shane Edwards and Richard Tambling offered some adventurous run, but too often turned the ball over.

The young ruck combination of Tyrone Vickery and Angus Graham was smashed, with Sydney dominating the hitouts 54-24.

Troy Simmonds, after a couple of outings in the VFL, will surely return next week, along with Joel Bowden, because the Tigers are in desperate need of some muscle and experience.

Goodes and Ryan O'Keefe stood out as class acts, continually taking the right options.

March has been a patient man and a voice of reason this season, starting from Richmond's horrendous Round 1 loss to Carlton.

Yet there is only so much one man can take.

http://www.news.com.au/heraldsun/sport/afl/story/0,26576,25906116-19742,00.html