Tigers use finals plan on Hawks Emma Quayle
The Age
August 3, 2013 This time last year Damien Hardwick's Richmond side was trying to catch up to the top eight teams. Now, it wants to claw its way into the top four.
Hardwick wants to keep trying things in the last five rounds and will play a tall forward line this week to try to stretch Hawthorn the way the Hawks do other sides. But he also wants to settle things down, and improve as much as possible before September starts.
''We feel we've got an enormous rate of improvement left in us,'' he said. ''Obviously at the moment we feel there's a gap between the top four sides and us, so we need to eradicate that gap as quickly as possible.
''I think with the way we're playing, we're probably at 6½ or seven out of 10, so we've certainly got some upside in regards to that, which is pleasing.''
Hardwick hopes to have Dylan Grimes back next week and has been told that Tyrone Vickery's concussion will keep him out for only a week.
''We certainly think that the more we play together the better we'll be, so we're looking forward to the challenge of the next five weeks.''
It starts against the top-of-the-ladder Hawks, a side Hardwick said had the best forward line of all, given their ''amount of inside 50s, marks, I think they're No.1 for uncontested and No.1 for contested also. They're a great side and we've certainly got our work cut out for us.
''We're playing against a quality opposition and we certainly get the scope to check how our game is going to be. But there's some things we can look to do to manipulate them, in a way, because they're a quality side and if we go with the status quo then they're probably going to beat us on the ability scale.
''We've got to do a few things and try and manipulate their structures as best we can, but in saying that, they'll be doing the same to us, so there will certainly be a bit going on around the ball. It's going to be a really good test.''
Richmond has increased its height at both ends for the match, bringing David Astbury back for his third game this season to help Alex Rance and Troy Chaplin handle Lance Franklin, Jarryd Roughead, David Hale and Jack Gunston.
Vickery was not considered, after suffering his second significant concussion for the season, while the injured Ricky Petterd and Matt Arnot were replaced by Orren Stephenson, who will share the ruck work with Ivan Maric, and Luke McGuane. Hardwick indicated playing a taller forward line, and two genuine ruckmen, was something the club might do more of in the run home.
''Geelong plays two, Hawthorn plays two, Sydney plays about five. They're very tall. It's something we've got to look to bring into our game,'' he said.
''Orren's a real competitor, we've been really pleased with what he's brought to our club and Ivan's the same. Ty will obviously come back into the mix next week and there's a young kid called [Liam] McBean that we've got who will certainly put his hand up at some stage.
''I think the thing we've probably been doing a little bit better - with Ty obviously down there over the last couple of weeks - is we've probably split [the ruck work] 60-40.
''Orren's probably, overall, a better tap ruckman than Ivan, and Ivan provides a better grunt contest, so to speak. If we manage to get pretty even ruck time and get a couple of goals out of each, that would be a win for us.''
Read more:
http://www.theage.com.au/afl/afl-news/tigers-use-finals-plan-on-hawks-20130802-2r4za.html#ixzz2apoCYNLD
