Media articles and stats: Tigers scrape home over Carlton

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Tigers scrape home
By Ben Collins
richmondfc.com.au
11:25pm AEDT Thursday, March 28, 2013


CARLTON              3.3     4.6     9.12     14.17 (101)
RICHMOND          2.9     9.14   14.18    14.22 (106)

GOALS
Carlton: Gibbs 2, Judd 2, Betts 2, Murphy 2, Kreuzer 2, Garlett 2, Yarran, Hampson
Richmond: Deledio 3, Vickery 3, McGuane 2, King 2, Jackson, Martin, Conca, Houli

BEST
Carlton: Judd, Kreuzer, Gibbs, Betts, Simpson, Armfield 
Richmond: Deledio, Cotchin, Vickery, Maric, Martin, Tuck

INJURIES
Carlton: Mitch Robinson (concussion)
Richmond: Nil

SUBSTITUTES
Carlton: Aaron Joseph replaced Mitch Robinson (concussion) in the second quarter
Richmond: Brandon Ellis replaced by Robin Nahas in the fourth quarter

Reports: Chris Yarran (Carlton) for striking

Umpires: Rosebury, Meredith, Mollison

Official crowd: 80,971 at the MCG

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RICHMOND has held off a fast-finishing Carlton to break a nine-game hoodoo against the Blues and hand Mick Malthouse a five-point loss in his return to coaching.

However, the Tigers made hard work of it after leading by 42 points midway though the third term before a Carlton onslaught almost stole the show.

But the Tigers managed to do something they weren't able to on numerous occasions last year – they scraped to victory. But only just.

In front of a huge crowd at the MCG on Thursday night, Carlton kicked the last five goals of the game and might well have won if either of Chris Yarran's two shots in the dying stages went straight.

Alas, both shots – a left foot snap that would have levelled the scores, and another on the run from 35 metres that would have stolen a one-point lead – missed and Richmond won 14.22 (106) to 14.17 (101).

Richmond duo Brett Deledio (17 disposals and 3.1) and Tyrone Vickery (15 touches, nine marks and also 3.1) were the most influential players on the ground – Deledio electrifying in the midfield while Vickery magnetised the ball in attack to take a swag of marks. They kicked three goals apiece.

New skipper Trent Cotchin (33 touches) was also as constant for the winners.

Carlton boasted a similar trio in Chris Judd (27 disposals and 2.1) and Shaun Hampson (eight marks and 1.2), who, along with reinvented midfield star Bryce Gibbs (a game-high 34 touches, including an equal-high 16 contested, and 2.1), were largely responsible for keeping the Blues in the contest.

It was a remarkable transformation after the Tigers appeared home at half-time when they led by 38 points.

As Australian rock legend Russell Morris entertained the crowd during the long break with a rendition of his mega-hit The Real Thing, Tiger fans began to dream that it might finally be an apt description of their team.

They were dominating in every facet of the game and the result would have been a foregone conclusion (if it wasn't already) if not for Richmond's inaccurate kicking – 9.14 and one on the full.

The Tigers' emerging midfield smashed their star-studded Carlton rivals at the stoppages, they linked up superbly with crisp ball use, their pressure forced the Blues into numerous errors, and they boasted a powerful key forward in Tyrone Vickery.

But then the Blues turned the tables dramatically and gave the Tigers serious jitters.

Compounding matters for Carlton, Chris Yarran was reported for striking Bachar Houli in the third term.

The match also featured the first invocation of the concussion substitution rule when Carlton's Mitch Robinson was knocked out and walked off the field to be replaced by Aaron Joseph.

Next week, Malthouse faces another stern test against former club Collingwood at the MCG on Sunday while the resurgent Richmond takes on St Kilda at the same venue on Friday night.

It's the first time since 2008 that Richmond has knocked off the Blues in their now-annual season-opener, having lost their previous four by an average margin of 50 points.

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Five talking points: Carlton v Richmond
By Nathan Schmook
afl.com.au
11:00pm AEDT Thursday, March 28, 2013

1. Tiger relief
Richmond has grown used to losing these games, so the relief on Thursday night was palpable. After nine straight losses to Carlton, including the last four in the now traditional season opening blockbuster, another would have been crushing in these circumstances. The Tigers responded when challenged in the third quarter, and they hung on dearly in the fourth, notching the club's first round one win since 2008. The roar is back and the challenge of playing finals for the first time since 2001 has been set. 

2. An unlikely hero 
It was a desperate tackle from Luke McGuane on young Blue Josh Bootsma that finally settled the seesawing match. Carlton kicked all five goals in the final term and drew within four points with one minute remaining. The Tigers couldn't get their hands on the footy and seemed destined for yet another heartbreaking loss before McGuane wrapped up Bootsma. "Lucky I got a hand on him and was able to drag him in," McGuane told AFL.com.au post-match. "I just tried to equalise numbers and then he tried to take me on."     

3. Old leader shows the way
Carlton's fightback was led by Chris Judd in his first game since handing the captaincy to Marc Murphy. In fact, it was Judd's first game without the burden of captaincy since 2005 when he was a West Coast Brownlow medallist. The champion midfielder won 14 possessions and kicked two goals in the second half, with the Blues kicking eight of the last 10 goals. New skipper Murphy finished with 19 disposals and two goals, but let himself down with a poor tackle attempt on Daniel Jackson in the second quarter.     

4. Fast start? No thanks.
Kicking the first three goals of the game is not the path to success so far in round one. Adelaide kicked the opening three goals against Essendon before losing last Friday night, and West Coast got off to a flyer with the first three against Fremantle last Saturday, eventually losing the Derby. Goals to Shaun Hampson, Eddie Betts and Marc Murphy had the Blues buoyed halfway through the first quarter, but they wouldn't kick another until late in the second term when the Tigers had built a 36-point lead.     

5. Concussion sub
The AFL had its first concussion sub case when Carlton midfielder Mitch Robinson collided with Ty Vickery late in the second quarter. Robinson was taken to the rooms for assessment, with the Blues activating sub Aaron Joseph immediately. Under the new rule Carlton could have sent Robinson back out within 20 minutes and placed Joseph back in the green vest. As it turned out, Robinson was substituted out for good at half time. Richmond, meanwhile, waited until the ninth minute of the fourth quarter to activate Robin Nahas.     

http://www.afl.com.au/news/2013-03-28/five-talking-points-carlton-v-richmond

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Team Stats

Disposals             342 - 347
Efficiency%            73 - 70   
Kicks                    212 - 198    
Handballs             130 - 149    
Con. Possies         158 - 155    
Uncon. Possies      184 - 192
Marks                      69 - 67    
Con. Marks              14 - 12   
Uncon. Marks          55 - 55
Tackles                   40 - 49   
Clearances             41 - 33
Clangers                 42 - 49   
Frees                      20 - 18
Hitouts                   37 - 34 ...... ( Maric 30, Vickery 6, S.Edwards 1 // Kreuzer 20, Hampson 8, Casboult 5, Yarran 1)
Inside 50s              60 - 58    
Rebound 50s          35 - 33    
Score Assists          16 - 19    
Supercoach         1680 - 1620

Individual Stats

PLAYER                D        K    H    CP      DE%   M  CM    T  CL   FF  FA  I50  R50  G   B   SA   C   HO  SC
T.Cotchin            33    22    11    16      48%    3    0    2    7    1    2    6      3    0    1    3    5    0    119
S.Tuck                27    18      9    15      59%    3    1    0    8    1    0    5      3    0    3    0    1    0    107
D.Jackson          24    15      9    10      75%    6    0    4    4    1    2    5      0    1    0    1    3    0      94
S.Grigg              23    17      6      5      65%    8    1    2    1    0    1    7      2    0    0    0    2    0       69
D.Martin            21    12      9    11      48%    1    0    3    2    1    0    2      1    1    2    1    4    0      85
R.Conca            19    12      7    10      74%    1    0    2    3    1    1    3      0    1    0    0    3    0      75
S.Edwards        19      9    10    11      79%    0    0    1    5    0    1    6      0    0    2    2    1    1      79
A.Rance            19    13      6      6      89%    7    1    3    0    4    2    1    11    0    0    0    4    0    104
B.Deledio          17    10      7      9      88%    3    2    2    3    1    1    6      1    3    1    1    2    0    116
I.Maric              16      6    10    12      69%    3    1    3    6    0    2    0      0    0    0    1    2    30    112
C.Newman        16      9      7      6      81%    4    0    1    0    1    0    0      2    0    0    1    1    0      62
J.Riewoldt         15    11      4    10      47%    1    1    1    1    3    1    5      0    0    4    2    1    0      71
T.Vickery           15    10      5      4      60%    9    1    3    0    0    1    2      1    3    1    1    4    6      94
B.Houli              13      7      6      4      69%    4    1    0    0    2    0    3      3    1    1    0    1    0      77
J.Batchelor        12    10      2      3      92%    5    2    3    0    0    0    1      5    0    0    0    1    0      72
L.McGuane        12      6      6      9      75%    3    1    4    0    1    2    2      0    2    1    0    2    0    101
T.Chaplin          10      4      6      6      90%    2    1    1    1    0    0    1      1    0    0    0    0    0      43
B.Ellis                 8      6      2      3      75%    1    0    0    0    0    1    1      0    0    0    0    2    0      35
J.King                 7      6      1      3      86%    1    0    2    0    2    1    2      0    2    0    2    2    0      55
S.Morris              7      4      3      3      71%    1    0    1    0    1    0    1      0    0    0    0    0    0      25
B.Griffiths           6      3      3      2    100%    3    1    2    0    0    0    0      2    0    0    0    1    0      61
R.Nahas             3      2      1      0      67%    0    0    0    0    0    0    1      0    0    0    1    0    0      24

http://live-footy.heraldsun.com.au/StatsCentre/Index/20130120130140103

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Richmond's four-year season-opening nightmare against Carlton ends at the MCG

    Mark Hayes
    From: Herald Sun
    March 28, 2013 11:21PM

THE streak is dead -- but it took forever to turn off the life support.

Richmond, which led by 42 points 11 minutes into the third term, held on by five points to end a four-year season-opening nightmare against long-time rival Carlton, which had three gilt-edged chances to win in the closing three minutes.

The Tigers, so dangerous and poised for 90 minutes, stopped in their tracks, booting their final goal at the 25-minute mark of the third term as Carlton piled on five in the final term.

Coach Damien Hardwick smiled when asked if he'd contemplated what another Carlton major would have meant, but said he'd always "had faith" his charges would hang on.

"But there were a couple of stages where they were just getting (caught) forward of the ball in the last quarter," Hardwick said.

"We controledl the game of footy and should have been a lot further ahead on the scoreboard.

"But Carlton teams don't give up. Mick Malthouse sides don't."

"For us to come away with the win tonight was a really good result for our footy club."

When new captain Trent Cotchin and his deputy Brett Deledio slowed from the blistering speed they offered in the first three quarters, it looked for all money as if the Tigers would add another to the list of six games they lost by less than 12 points last season.

Only a desperation tackle by Luke McGuane in the forward line effectively stopped the Blues' surge in the final minute -- sparking yellow and black celebrations born more of relief than the joy that appeared likely 30 minutes earlier.

Importantly, after a summer of proofless hype, the Tigers showed signs of significant improvement at all levels, not just their vaunted top-end midfielders.

Hardwick was delighted with a slew of his once lesser lights.

Much-maligned big man Tyrone Vickery booted three goals, two against Lachie Henderson in a first-half torching that set up the the Tigers'

"Ever since he wenet down last year. we knew important he was to the side. He's a big man, just 22 years of age ... but we were really pleased to see him work hard and get rewarded like that," Hardwick said.

"He's a tough kid, plays the game hard and he's very competitive. When he ran with the flight of the ball (and clashed with Mitch) Robinson ... it was a sign of (his) fitness and confidence."

Hardwick was also thrilled with McGuane's endeavour -- and the team play of statistically subdued Jack Riewoldt that made both other big forwards viable alternatives.

"It was a significant role for Jack that allowed Ty to get down deep.

It was great team-first footy ... his best game in 12 months."

At the other end of the ground, Steve Morris gave Eddie Betts fits.

Normally Carlton's danger man, Betts was incredibly frustrated with the close attention of the antagonistic Morris which extended, on several occasions, to the bench as the pair ran from the ground.

Jake Batchelor was impressive, especially when he was made the loose man in place of new Tiger Troy Chaplin and helped spark the streak of eight unanswered goals in the first half.

Aside from the need for improved match fitness that is expected in Round 1, the Tigers will be desperate to work on their goalkicking which almost proved their nemesis again.

Richmond, which had equal or more scoring shots than their opponents in 17 matches for just 10.5 wins, frittered away several easy chances in the opening term on their way to 14.22.

Ironically, in the end, it was missed chances by Matt Kreuzer and Chris Yarran in the dying minutes that enabled them to wriggle off the hook.

http://www.heraldsun.com.au/afl/teams/richmonds-four-year-season-opening-nightmare-against-carlton-ends-at-the-mcg/story-e6frf9mx-1226608771254

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Richmond survives Carlton's charge to win by four points at the MCG

    Warwick Green
    From: Herald Sun
    March 28, 2013 11:24PM

THEY'RE not called long-suffering Tigers fans for nothing.

For five years they've been waiting to get one over their bitter enemy Carlton.

For 12 months they've watched as their team has found any number of ways to lose close matches.

For 12 years they've fronted up in Round 1 full of hope and optimism only to watch it gradually evaporate at various stages before September.

All of those ghosts from seasons past looked to have been banished midway through the third quarter when the Tigers were dominating, full of energy and run as Brett Deledio kicked consecutive goals to stretch the lead to a seemingly insurmountable 42 points.

Particularly when their coach Damien Hardwick had spoken in the pre-season  about how their primary focus over summer was the defensive structure and the defensive aspects of the players all over the ground.

Yet the Tiger nerves started jangling when Chris Judd produced a two-minute purple patch late in the third quarter, managing three shots -- two of them goals -- to reduce the margin to 21 points.

Those same nerves were soothed, though, when new skipper Trent Cotchin stamped his authority on the match.

Cotchin, who had never experienced victory in his previous seven matches against the Blues, looked determined to break his duck.

In one particularyl brilliant passage of play, he gathered a floating ball, produced a Robert Harvey-like body swerve to wrong foot an approaching Blues defender, and drilled a precise pass to Luke McGuane for a goal.

By the final change the margin had been restored to 36 points and all looked well in the yellow-and-black camp.

But the Tiger nerves were fraying again when Carlton kicked the first three goals of the final quarter to reduce the difference to 19 points.

They were numb as they watched their boys simply stop running, tighten up and make poor decisions, leaving the door ajar for the unthinkable.

Tigers fans were contemplating a whole new brand of suffering when Jeff Garlett slotted home two goals to get the Blues to within seven points 23 minutes into the final term.

They couldn't watch when Matthew Kreuzer pulled in a mark moments later, when Chris Yarran first snapped and then streamed into an open goal.

But thankfully for them all of these shots missed. With a minute to play and just four points the difference, it was anyone's game.

Surely a moment of class or luck or umpiring would decide this match now.

As it turned out, it may actually have been that long-suffering yoke that made the difference.

Only five of Richmond's starting 22 had ever played in a Tigers win over Carlton:  Chris Newman, Brett Deledio, Shane Tuck, Jake King and Daniel Jackson.

In fact, going into last night's match, the Tigers team had played a combined 131 matches for Richmond against Carlton, for a grand total of 13 wins.

One of the 17 was Luke McGuane, who had trudged from the field on the previous six occasions to the tune of ''We are the Navy Blues''.

With about 35 seconds remaining, and the ball in the hands of Carlton defender Josh Bootsma, a desperate McGuane launched himself into a fierce tackle that earned him a free-kick and bought enough time to ensure victory.

His point sealed the five-point win.

In truth it had been set up over the first three terms.

Cotchin was superb, with 16 of his 33 possessions contested.

He also influenced the play numerous times when he didn't have the ball, most notably in the second quarter when he chased down and tackled Andrew Carazzo to set up a Tyrone Vickery goal.

Brett Deledio was the architect early, with clean hands and crisp skills when the ball was hot in the first half.

Ivan Maric produced a typically bullocking display in the ruck, while Alex Rance and Steve Morris stuck at their roles of quelling Carlton's main goal threats.

Judd and Bryce Gibbs tried hard throughout, and Michael Jamison kept Jack Riewoldt out of the match.

In the end, though, the difference was that more Richmond players seemed to want it more.

http://www.heraldsun.com.au/afl/more-news/live-carlton-v-richmond/story-e6frf9jf-1226608607899

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Tigers at last over the Blues

   Emma Quayle
    The Age
    March 29, 2013


Mitch Robinson became the first player to test the AFL's new concussion procedures, as Richmond reversed its poor recent starts against the Blues, survived a late Carlton challenge and opened their season with a nail-biting win for the first time in five years.

Robinson jogged wonkily to the bench midway through the third quarter after colliding with Richmond forward Ty Vickery in midair, hitting his head on the ground as he landed and taking time to get back to his feet.

The midfielder was replaced immediately by Carlton's substitute, Aaron Joseph, in accordance with the rule introduced on the eve of the season, which allows clubs to send subs temporarily onto the ground while they take 20 minutes to assess his teammate.

Had Robinson returned after half-time Joseph would have reverted to wearing the green vest or replaced a different player. However, the Blues instead ruled Robinson out of the second half.

Richmond held on to win by five points after Carlton dominated the last quarter and got to within seven points before Matthew Kreuzer, Chris Yarran and Yarran again missed shots in the last three minutes of the game.

The Tigers had led by 38 points at half-time, and 36 points at three-quarter-time, before Mick Malthouse's new club made one last push, after struggling since early in the first quarter to slow the Richmond midfield.

Carlton scored the opening three goals of the game, but Richmond was able to level the scores by the quarter-time break, and the Tigers responded again with two goals late in the third term after the Blues had reduced their half-time lead to a more manageable 21 points.

Chris Judd scored two of Carlton's three straight goals, getting the Blues to within three shots after scoring the second from the boundary line, but consecutive 50-metre penalties for late contact took Luke McGuane and then Jake King to the goal line.

The Tigers were unfortunate to fall so far behind early, with three first-quarter shots hitting the post and two more being touched off the boot of Jack Riewoldt as Richmond's midfield began to control the game.

Brett Deledio, Shane Tuck, Shaun Grigg, Dustin Martin and new captain Trent Cotchin in particular were brilliant, beginning to dominate the clearances and become more damaging players around the ground.

Two 60-metre-plus goals from a running Deledio helped stretch the Richmond lead during the second quarter, and Martin took it to 38 points just before half-time when, trapped against the boundary, he curled his running shot through.

Alex Rance was excellent in defence, Jake Batchelor's ability to set up play running out of the back line was just as crucial, and Richmond won without Riewoldt contributing a single goal.

Instead, Vickery kicked three first-half goals in front of the first-round crowd of 80,971, with McGuane scoring twice from close in. The bulk of their goals came from their runners, with Daniel Jackson, Reece Conca, Deledio and Martin all contributing and King's constant hard work being rewarded with two goals.

Carlton's third-quarter effort ultimately chopped just two points from the half-time lead, but Richmond needed to respond for one final time after the Blues mustered three quick goals through Bryce Gibbs, Marc Murphy and Kreuzer to sneak to within 20 points.

An ambitious, rolling Yarran snap hit the post with less than eight minutes left, Jeff Garlett's first goal less than a minute later had the Blues trailing by just two goals and his second reduced the margin to seven points with four minutes to go. Garlett next pushed a free kick across goal where, after marking beside the point post, Kreuzer narrowly missed a difficult shot.

Yarran missed a snap soon after and then botched a running shot, allowing the Tigers to hold on.

Fast Footy

VICKERY MAGIC

Points for something – inventiveness? – should go to Ty Vickery, who found himself standing around 70 metres from goal midway through the first quarter, waiting for a long, looping Trent Cotchin handball to reach him and watching Brock McLean charge towards him.

The Richmond forward’s decision – to ward McLean off with his right leg, raised almost up to his shoulder and coming close to clipping the Carlton onballer on the chin – was interesting, but Vickery somehow got away with it.

POSTERS TIME

It’s safe to say the Punt Road-end goal posts have been properly installed.

Three times during the first quarter the Richmond players kicked into them, Dennis Armfield’s second-quarter set shot faded into the right-hand post, and one of Chris Yarran’s final-term misses, a clever, bouncing snap, rolled into the other one.

JACK THE LAD

Not often in recent seasons has Richmond kicked its way to a five-goal lead, and survived a late challenge, with Jack Riewoldt’s name missing from the scoreboard. The Tigers bat deeper than they used to, and with Vickery kicking three of their nine firsthalf goals they didn’t need Jack to do too much.

That said, he tried his best: twice, smart shots on goal were touched the second they left his boot, and despite not kicking a goal he finished the game with a couple of score assists.

McGUANE’S SAVE

The Tigers downed the fast-finishing Blues in front of 80,971 fans, only surviving thanks to three missed Carlton shots for goal in the dying minutes.

Luke McGuane made himself an unlikely hero, producing a ferocious tackle on Carlton youngster Josh Bootsma to win a free kick and seal the game – by booting a behind – as the siren sounded.

Read more: http://www.theage.com.au/afl/afl-news/tigers-at-last-over-the-blues-20130328-2gxpv.html#ixzz2OrNv8BbL

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Richmond hangs on to emerge from history's cold shadow

   Greg Baum
    The Age
    March 29, 2013


On the MCG scoreboard on Thursday night, there was a countdown to the beginning of the season. So did Melbourne contemptuously gloss over the matches played last weekend in the Adelaide and Perth outstations. More than 80,000 at a floodlit MCG; here was football's locus and heart. After the soft opening, here came the hard.

If Thursday night was a song, it would have the abbreviation trad after it, for tradition. After the scorching summer, suddenly there was wind, rain and cold on cue. The dark coats of winter were out in force, and the scarves, too. In Melbourne, the new black is still black. Black-backed Richmond and Carlton liveries reinforced it; the whiteness and brightness of the Swans suddenly was so last season.

These were the most trad rivals, but in a Melbourne way. A mini-Murphy and a mini-Martin walked in side by side, deep in earnest schoolboy conversation. Melbourne rivalries, though felt in the heart, run no deeper than skin. It remains one of the games civilising niceties, never to be taken for granted.

If, in the AFL's robotic way, there had to be a national anthem, at least Greta Bradman, Sir Donald's grand-daughter, was on hand to sing it. Bradman on the MCG: that was tradition. There was one last ceremonial, as coaches Mick Malthouse and Damien Hardwick shook hands warmly. Malthouse in navy blue: it suits him. Malthouse laying down his law Chris Judd, as perhaps no-one has before: it suits Carlton. On the evidence of the night, they will have much to talk about: what might have been, certainly, but also what might yet be.

At first, and then again at the feverish end, this shaped as a night of grim tradition for Richmond, the club that comes with more yearning than any other, the club with the competition's goodwill on its side, the club that somehow always finds a way to squander it. In the first quarter, the Tigers' lop-sided score of 2.9 included three "posters", an accurate snap from Jack Riewoldt that was touched off the boot, but not Riewoldt's other snap, which was fractions of a second after the siren.

Looked at one way, this was ever-fated Richmond. Looked at another, it was 12 scoring opportunities, the largesse of midfield and clearance dominance, also a fervour that the Blues, after a powerful initial burst, simply could not match. Typifying this was new captain Trent Cotchin's horizontal, lunging tackle on Andrew Carazzo that yielded a goal for the surprising, and in this instance gratified Ty Vickery.

In the second quarter, the Tigers consummated that ascendancy, in one run outscoring the Blues 64-11. It proved decisive ... just. In the early rough-and-tumble, their ball movement had been haphazard, but now it was Cotchin-Delidio-Martin smooth, perfect eddies in the middle of the maelstrom. The MCG shook and rattled. Carlton, plainly enough, had a plan, but it was lacking in one detail: it did not feature the ball. Perhaps Malthouse should have drawn one on his whiteboard.

Perhaps he did. Modern football is too draining for any team to sustain an effort such as Richmond's, the more so now that stop-plays have been not just declared an offence, but criminalised. Carlton, animated by Judd, reimposed itself on the game, and then took possession of it, but itself now was wasteful. Two 50-metre penalties against, two goals, stabilised Richmond. But Judd continued to grow into the game, each precise incursion stinging the Tigers like a paper cut.

From him, the Blues took their cue. Now they were rampant. For the second time in the match, history's cold shadow began to stalk Richmond. Five unanswered goals accelerated Carlton, until it seemed momentum must sweep it home. But as is so often the case when a glorious comeback invites completion, the last goal refuses to be kicked. Matt Kreuzer and Chris Yarran, twice, missed coups de grace. Malthouse rued other moments of lack of composure.

Aptly, the last act was Luke McGuane's tearing down of Josh Bootsma. His free kick also missed, but even as it did, the siren sounded. When Richmond fans recovered their breath, their resounding "yellow and black" (trad) filled the MCG, and the 2013 football season was declared officially open.

Read more: http://www.theage.com.au/afl/afl-news/richmond-hangs-on-to-emerge-from-historys-cold-shadow-20130328-2gxpz.html#ixzz2OrOfjRGq

[one-eyed]

It's a knockout

    Jake Niall
    The Age
    March 29, 2013


WHEN Chris Judd screwed a right foot kick across his body and found Marc Murphy in the goal square during the first quarter, one did not need extra sensory powers to know what thousands of Richmond folk were thinking.

You didn't need ESP, either, to read Richmond minds when, with several minutes remaining in the final quarter, Jeff Garlett snapped a goal, to draw the Blues to within 12 points.

When Chris Yarran pounced on a crumb and snapped unsuccessfully from 20 metres, with under three minutes remaining, again, a terrible fear had seized Richmond minds. By this stage, as the margin was whittled to six points then five, the faithful were entitled to be hiding behind the covers of the Footy Record.

In each instance, there was pure yellow and black dread. "It's happening again."

And when Yarran took another shot a minute or so later, this one on the run and on the right foot, from 40 metres, it seemed that - against all odds, logic and the match's previous trajectory - Richmond would blow an unlosable match. It appeared that Mick Malthouse's new men were poised to pull off one of the most improbable heists of his storied career in his very first outing for the Blues.

But Yarran's final shot went well wide. Richmond exhaled, swept the ball to the other end, where Luke McGuane provided the winning moment, a fierce tackle on Josh Bootsma that secured him the match's final possession - and shot on goal (a point of course) - and possession of four points for the belatedly beseiged Tigers.

The first thoughts of troubling Tiger de ja vu came when the Blues led 3.1 to 0.4. Carlton's Batman and Robin had just combined for a telling goal. The Blues had jumped the Tigers, as they had in previous encounters, some of which were over after 20 minutes. In some recent, heavily hyped round ones, these critical early moments of the season deflated the collective confidence of the Tiger team and tribe.

But, as with Essendon and the Dockers earlier in the round, the team that conceded the first goals, owned the next - decisive - period of the match. These Tigers are made of - somewhat - sterner stuff than their paper predecessors.

That said, the Tigers still provided a period of horrible anxiety for their people. Mick Malthouse teams do not meekly succumb, even if this one hasn't mastered the Malthouse system, it has quickly developed the Malthouse mettle. Damien Hardwick would say as much. "They didn't give up. Mick Malthouse sides don't."

Carlton's final quarter charge prompted some Tiger jitters, but the buffer Richmond had built was - just - enough for Hardwick's men (and they are no longer kids) to withstand a severe and unexpected challenge.

By quarter time, the Tigers had wrested back the momentum. The scores were level, but this flattered the Blues, since Richmond had struck the post three times, and had an accurate Jack Riewoldt snap touched off the boot.

The Tigers would own the second term. The electric jolts that Judd supplied late in the third term - two classy goals from difficult positions - were voided by well constructed Richmond replies, one to the irrepressible Jake King.

During the formative first two and a half quarters, we were witnessing the difference between a team that has blended together, gradually gaining confidence in one another and in their game plan, and another that is still learning to play a different tune. Tyrone Vickery's two-goal contribution in that second term, plus the centre clearances of Trent Cotchin and Shane Tuck, were critical. Brett Deledio would subsequently provide further kick, what Hardwick thought there were the "big time player" moments (two goals and two very good marks under pressure) in the third quarter.

The Richmond band is settled and in synch. The Carlton's orchestra - conducted by Mick Malthouse for the first time - needed more time to play Mick's music. The coach had told them what he wanted, how he wanted them to play, how to defend, kick it down the line under pressure and make the boundary their new best friend.

The Carlton players knew the words, but not the tune.

By the final term, they'd started to hear it, albeit their late run was caused by chancing their arm, as Malthouse suggested, rather than classical Malthouse, defend-first football. Inspired by the will of Judd, the class of Bryce Gibbs, the strength and smarts of Matthew Kreuzer and the electricity of Garlett, Eddie Betts, plus some contribution from a hitherto quiet Murphy, they almost made the first game in Melbourne of 2013 one that Carlton fans would never forget and Richmond would never forgive.

Thankfully for the Tigers, the Blues couldn't find the winning note. Not yet.

Read more: http://www.theage.com.au/afl/afl-news/its-a-knockout-20130328-2gxq6.html#ixzz2OrP7rYrR

[Eat_em_Alive]

Understanding that we held onto a tight finish and closed the game out and the fact that the blues couldve converted to win the games. Ifs, buts and maybes...
Is it just me or do all of these headlines from media reek of dissapointment from the media that we did not fail?
Could not find one creative or inventive headline.