Media articles and stats: Tigers down Lions

[one-eyed]

Tigers down Lions
By AAP
5:18pm AEST Saturday, August 10, 2013

RICHMOND                      6.2   11.7   11.9   14.13 (97)

BRISBANE LIONS             1.3    4.4     7.7    11.8 (74)

GOALS
Richmond: McGuane 3, Conca 3, Vlastuin, Morris, Jackson, Grigg, Foley, Ellis, Riewoldt, White

Brisbane Lions: Mayes 3, Staker 2, Green 2, Hanley 2, Rich, Merrett

BEST

Richmond: Cotchin, Conca, Houli, Ellis, Maric, Foley     

Brisbane Lions: Rockiff, Hanley, Green, Mayes, Redden, Rich

INJURIES

Richmond: Nil

Brisbane Lions: Justin Clarke (shoulder)

SUSBSTITUTES

Richmond: Robin Nahas replaced by Shane Tuck in the third quarter

Brisbane Lions: Brent Moloney replaced by Sam Docherty at half time

Reports: Nil

Umpires: Donlon, Farmer, Harris

Official crowd: 46,961 at the MCG

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RICHMOND has survived a second-half scare against Brisbane to secure victory at the MCG.

Tigers full-forward Jack Riewoldt kicked his only goal of the game late in the final term to secure the 14.13 (97) to 11.8 (74) win on Saturday at the MCG.

While they dropped off badly after half-time, Richmond now have 13 wins and cannot drop out of the top eight.

When Pearce Hanley goaled 20 minutes into the last term, the Lions only trailed by 16 points.

But Riewoldt's superb goal from an acute angle sealed the Tigers' win.

Richmond captain Trent Cotchin was best afield with 30 disposals, while Hanley and Tom Rockliff were prominent in Brisbane's revival.

Richmond did not kick a goal in the third term as the Lions steadily worked themselves into the game.

Brisbane kicked seven goals to three in the second half.

Brent Staker's great kick from an acute angle at 25 minutes was their third for the quarter and they were only 26 points behind at the last change.

Brisbane had won four of their last five games, but the Tigers overwhelmed them in the first half.

The Lions were also without captain Jonathan Brown, whose outstanding career might be over after he suffered a foot injury last weekend.

In-form Tigers midfielder Daniel Jackson set the tone of the first half when he snapping the opening goal in the second minute.

It took Brisbane 22 minutes until they kicked their first goal through Daniel Rich.

The Tigers kicked another two, including a booming shot from Luke McGuane after the siren, to be 29 points at quarter time.

The Lions fell apart early in the second term, barely touching the ball in the opening eight minutes as Richmond ran amuck.

McGuane kicked his third and Shaun Grigg kicked two as Richmond stormed ahead.

The highlight of the quarter for the Tigers was a superb running goal from Matt White at 22 minutes.

The only statistic where Richmond did not dominate in the second term was the most critical - the score.

Brisbane did well to restrict the damage, kicking three goals to Richmond's five in the second term for a 45-point deficit.

Adding to the Lions' problems, midfielder Brent Moloney was subbed out of the game at the main break with a leg injury.

http://www.richmondfc.com.au/news/2013-08-10/tigers-down-lions

[one-eyed]

Richmond shrugs off persistent Brisbane Lions outfit to win by 23 points at the MCG

    Glenn McFarlane
    Herald Sun
    August 10, 2013 4:39PM

HERE is the good news - Richmond locked in that long-awaited finals berth in which its fans have waited so desperately for more than a decade.

Now, the far more sobering news. The Tigers missed a real chance to make a statement to the rest of the AFL competition that it means to do some serious damage in September.

And it showed that it still has plenty of work to do ahead of the finals in just under a month's time.

It was one of those sort of afternoons at the MCG when Damien Hardwick's team secured its lucky 13th win of the season – that magical figure which all but guarantees the club's first finals appearance since 2001 – yet simply could not put the foot at the throat of the Lions when it looked likely.

The Tigers were very good at times, moderate at others, and downright vulnerable at different stages.

The first half showed that their midfield runs almost as deep as any in the premiership race, their defence is as resolute as it has been for almost a generation and that its forward line is less reliant on Jack Riewoldt than it has been in the past.

The second half showed cracks in all areas that would have seen Hardwick happy to put the four premiership points in the bank, but clearly frustrated that it could not have been achieved with greater certainty.

After an outstanding first term that yielded six goals to one and a 29-point ascendancy, it looked like it would be a procession for the Tigers. That received even more validation in the second term as the home side dominated the stats sheet as they went to a game-high lead of 46 points later in that term.

A percentage-booster looked to be in the offing.

That never happened, and the fact that it didn't will give Hardwick plenty of ammunition leading into Saturday's big clash with Carlton.

Admittedly, teams that have all but locked in finals appearances can sometimes have flat moments against sides that they know they have their measure against.

Yet Richmond was always flirting with danger against a side that has almost made an art form of resurrecting hopeless situations against good teams.

The Tigers failed to kick a goal in the third term, as the Lions wrestled their way back in the contest, winning the ball out of the middle with almost as much regularity as their opponents had in the first half.

The difference was 26 points at the last change as Brisbane threatened to cause yet another final term upset, when Pearce Hanley brought his team to within 16 points at the 20-minute-mark.

Six minutes and 26 seconds remained on the clock as Richmond nervously clung onto the match, making more than a few mistakes in the process.

Finally, it was Riewoldt, who iced a game that should have been secured a hell of a lot earlier, when he nailed a left foot angle goal five minutes later, to the relief of the Richmond faithful, and quite probably, his teammates.

The final margin was 23 points, and that was all that mattered in the final analysis.

Trent Cotchin was a strong contributor again, Daniel Jackson continued his fine season, Steven Morris and Bachar Houli were strong in defence, and Nathan Foley gave plenty of drive.

For the Lions, Tom Rockliff played a bit role in getting his team back into the contest, while Hanley was solid, Matt Maguire had an intriguing duel with Riewoldt, and Sam Mayes slotted through three goals.

http://www.heraldsun.com.au/sport/afl/richmond-shrugs-off-persistent-brisbane-lions-outfit-to-win-by-23-points-at-the-mcg/story-fni5f22o-1226694761202

[one-eyed]

Tigers look to fine-tune

    Chloe Saltau
    August 11, 2013

RICHMOND          6.2  11.7   11.9   14.13 (97)
BRISBANE LIONS 1.3    4.4     7.7   11.8 (74)

GOALS
Richmond: McGuane 3, Conca 3, Ellis, Jackson, Riewoldt, White, Foley, Vlastuin, Grigg, Morris.
Brisbane Lions: Mayes 3, Staker 2, Green 2, Hanley 2, Merrett, Rich.

BEST
Richmond: Cotchin, Jackson, Morris, Conca, Foley, Houli.
Brisbane Lions: Rockliff, Hanley, Redden, Green, Leuenberger, Rich.

UMPIRES Donlon, Farmer, Harris.
CROWD 46,961, at MCG.

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This game didn't rise to great heights and neither did Richmond, but Tigers fans at least left the MCG secure in the knowledge that for the first time in 12 tortured years they would be back to watch their team in September.

The highlight of the match was probably Jack Riewoldt's mercurial goal, kicked across his body from the boundary line 25 minutes into the last quarter to seal the game. As Riewoldt does, he turned to the Tiger army for some adulation, but in fact his game, like Richmond's, was not the sort of performance that will do when the finals roll around.

He missed four shots at goal and helped to set up four others, but coach Damien Hardwick later admitted the forwards didn't function as well as they should have, and the Tigers were unable to convert their ascendancy in other areas of the game to the scoreboard.

''I thought we controlled the game, the possession count, the contested ball, all those stats were heavily in our favour. We just didn't make the most of our opportunities when we went inside 50,'' Hardwick said.

''I didn't think our forwards isolated that well today. I thought they were jumping, emphasised by the last play of the day. Jack could have marked and then he and Ty [Vickery] crashed in together. We didn't have a great day from a forward line point of view so we've got some work to do in that area.''

Richmond won the contested ball 141-115, the uncontested possession 280-176, took 124 marks to Brisbane's 65 and took the ball inside 50 metres 55 times to the Lions' 44. And yet, after Pearce Hanley kicked a running goal with seven minutes left in the game, Brisbane had a chance to win it. That was after Richmond endured a goalless third term, and Brisbane kicked seven goals to three in the second half, including a brilliant shot from a tight angle from Brent Staker, 25 minutes into the third quarter.

Reece Conca said it was a measure of the growing confidence within the group that the Tigers didn't panic.

''We've got a few things to improve on,'' he said. ''We went into our shell a little bit and we didn't quite take the game on like we did in the first half. To our credit we steadied ourselves pretty well and got the job done.''

''As a playing group we are pretty confident in the way we are going. Like 'Dimma' said, we just missed a few opportunities but we tended to control most of the game, so obviously when a team gets a run on they look dangerous, but we composed ourselves and finished off pretty strong.''

At first, the Tigers seemed to have picked up where they left off against the flag fancy Hawthorn last weekend. The midfield, through the clearance king Trent Cotchin, was on top. Daniel Jackson was in the thick of things, setting the early tone by snapping through a goal in the second minute and drilling passes into the forward line. Conca was tackling hard - four tackles and two goals in the first quarter - and Luke McGuane continued to bob up as a forward, with two goals in the opening term and three for the match.

It took Brisbane 22 minutes for Daniel Rich to surge forward and spear through the Lions' first goal, a classic on the run from 50.

Cotchin was classy and best afield, collecting 30 disposals, including 14 contested, despite a diligent tag for most of the match from Andrew Raines. Steven Morris, who has a connection with the Tigers of old through his flag-winning father Kevin, was tough and precise. He hit Conca on the chest to set up a goal in the first term, threaded one of his own in the last and was among the Tigers' best. Matt White, who has worked his way from the fringes to become an important player, showed the value of his speed and skill.

For the young Lions who had a sobering glimpse of life without Jonathan Brown, Tom Rockliff worked hard to lift the team, who were undermanned after Brent Moloney was subbed out at half-time, with 34 disposals, and Sam Mayes provided an alternative target to Daniel Merrett with three goals.

At the end, the strains of ''yellow and black'' rang out across the MCG but the song will be belted out with much more gusto if the Tigers can produce a more finals-worthy performance in September.

LIONS' STOCKS FLAGGING

For the first time since 2001, when Brisbane won the first of its three consecutive flags, the Lions fielded a team without a premiership player in it. Jonathan Brown, out with a serious foot injury and deliberating about whether to play on, Simon Black, who is battling groin issues, and Ash McGrath are the last links with those glory years apart from coach Michael Voss, who is trying to build the next premiership team.

TIGERS CONFIDENT ON DUSTY

Dustin Martin's contract talks have dragged on but the Tigers are confident he will follow Jack Riewoldt and re-commit to the club. ''It's probably taken a little longer than we would have liked but we're pretty confident there's some details [we can] work through,'' Richmond chief executive Brendon Gale said on 3AW. ''I think Dustin doesn't want to go anywhere, wants to be at our club, he's an important part of our future, we love Dusty, he's a kid who's really matured and evolved the past couple of years. We're pretty confident that will be done in due course.''

ARMY HAS SEPTEMBER ASSIGNMENT

The prospect of Richmond's first finals campaign in 12 years has certainly mobilised the Tiger Army, who won't be planning any holidays for September. The crowd of 46,961 on Saturday afternoon was a record for Richmond-Brisbane contests at the MCG.

Read more: http://www.theage.com.au/afl/afl-match-report/tigers-look-to-finetune-20130810-2roqy.html#ixzz2bZ8FxqCi