Media articles and Stats: Tigers triumph at the Gabba over winless Lions

[one-eyed]

Tigers triumph at the Gabba as Lions stay winless
Michael Whiting 
afl.com.au
April 17, 2014 10:29 PM


BRISBANE LIONS          0.1    3.2        7.6       9.9       (63)
RICHMOND                   2.8    4.10    9.13    15.16    (106)
 
GOALS
Brisbane Lions: Brown 4, Bewick, Paine, Lester, Taylor, Cutler
Richmond: Riewoldt 4, Martin 3, Gordon 3, Edwards 2, Cotchin, Arnott, Petterd,
 
BEST
Brisbane Lions: Brown, Rockliff, Lester, Zorko, Redden
Richmond: Cotchin, Riewoldt, Martin, Petterd, Jackson
 
INJURIES
Brisbane Lions: Nil
Richmond: Nil

SUBSTITUTES
Brisbane Lions: Brent Moloney on for Jackson Paine in the third quarter.
Richmond: Nathan Gordon on for Matt Thomas in the third quarter.

Reports: Nil
 
Umpires: Stephens, Hay and McInerney
 
Official crowd: 20,676 at the Gabba

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AFTER surviving a scare, Richmond breathed life back into its spluttering season with a 43-point win over the Brisbane Lions at the Gabba on Thursday night.
 
The Lions hit the front midway through the third quarter, but the Tigers responded emphatically, piling on five late goals in the term to put the result to rest.
 
They ran away in the final quarter to win 15.16 (106) to 9.9 (63).
 
Jack Riewoldt relished the extra responsibility in a forward line minus the omitted Tyrone Vickery, kicking four goals, including two in the vital burst late in the third.
 
Trent Cotchin also bounced back after his much publicised struggles the previous week against Collingwood.
 
The Tigers' captain finished with 32 disposals and a clutch goal in the match-winning third quarter burst.
 
He started the night with second-gamer Nick Robertson tagging him, but as the night wore on, ran around relatively unopposed.
 
Shaun Grigg (29), Ricky Petterd (28) and Dan Jackson (24) were also prolific ball-winners, while Dustin Martin was classy in the forward line, adding three goals.
 
The Tigers dominated early, but kept the Lions in the match by kicking just 2.8 in the first quarter.
 
The badly undermanned Lions lifted for Jonathan Brown's 250th match, but ultimately lacked the polish to finish the job.
 
Fielding a team minus stars Daniel Rich (knee), Matthew Leuenberger (knee), Pearce Hanley (hamstring) and Daniel Merrett (suspended), it was a marked improvement on the past fortnight's floggings from Gold Coast and Port Adelaide.
 
They had 10 players with fewer than 25 games experience and showed plenty of endeavour after a poor first half.
 
Goals to Ryan Lester, Brown and Lewis Taylor early in the third quarter gave them an unexpected lead before Richmond delivered its knockout blows.
 
Brown turned back the clock in his milestone game, taking some vintage marks and finishing with four goals.
 
He had 16 disposals and nine marks, but it wasn't enough.
 
While not a classic victory in its nature, it moves Richmond to a 2-3 win-loss record ahead of a brutal fortnight against Hawthorn and Geelong.
 
The first half was littered with mistakes from both teams and struggled to reach any heights.
 
The biggest roar came when Brown kicked the Lions' first goal of the match, seven minutes into the second quarter.
 
The Lions did have another reason to cheer, winning the second quarter by five points.
 
It was their first winning quarter of the season – at the 18th attempt – after being the first team in VFL/AFL history to go without winning a single term in the opening month of a season.

http://www.afl.com.au/news/2014-04-17/brisbane-lions-v-richmond-match-report

[one-eyed]

Richmond Tigers claw their way to victory over Brisbane Lions at the Gabba
Herald-Sun
April 18, 2014

CATFIGHTS are rarely pretty affairs.

But the four premiership points were a thing of beauty for Richmond which clawed its way to a 43-point victory over Brisbane at the Gabba.

In a horribly mistake-riddled affair, the Tigers managed to repel a serious Lions surge in the third term in which Brisbane briefly hit the front.

Tigers stars Trent Cotchin and Jack Riewoldt stood tall when their team needed them most.

The star duo were strong early and were dominant figures again when the game was in the balance in the third term to guide the Tigers to their second win of the year.

Cotching finished with 32 disposals, seven clearances and one goal while Riewoldt had four goals and nine marks.

Dustin Martin was also influential for the Tigers with three goals and 18 disposals playing as a forward.

A flurry of late goals blew the game open for Richmond to the point where the final margin probably flattered the Tigers, who were too big and too strong for the undermanned Brisbane outfit in the dying stages.

In his 250th match for the Lions, Jonathan Brown did his best to lift Brisbane to their first win of 2014 with four inspirational goals and nine marks.

Brown walked through the banner with daughter Olivia and son Jack before crashing through the packs in trademark style but it was not enough as Brisbane crashed to its fifth loss in five outings in 2014 to be last on the ladder.

Brisbane did win its first quarter of the year by just shading the Tigers in the second term but it will be of no comfort to senior coach Justin Leppitsch and his men.

Brisbane hit the lead for the first time on the night when first-year player Lewis Taylor kicked a running goal midway through the third term after earlier goals to Ryan Lester and Brown had the Gabba jumping.

But the Tigers quickly and emphatically seized the momentum back.

Two goals to Riewoldt and majors to Cotchin, Ricky Petterd and Matt Arnot put Richmond back in front and one the march to victory as the Tigers brutally exposed Brisbane’s time-on woes to take a 19-point buffer into the last change.

Quite incredibly, Brisbane was just 14 points behind Richmond at the main break.

The Tigers could have three times further in front if they kicked straight and capitalised on their superiority for significant portions of the first two quarters.

The Lions won the second quarter — their first of the season — to roar back into the contest that should have been over.

Richmond led by 19 points at the first break after dominating inside 50s (19-5), total disposals (103-67), marks (29-17) and clearances (11-7) in the opening term.

Jack Riewoldt had the first goal of the match after less than 60 seconds and it took another 15 minutes before the second major of the match through Dustin Martin.

Brisbane’s only scoring shot came through Dayne Zorko in the 26th minute.

If the first term was hard to watch, the second quarter was terrible.

All it needed was the theme music from the “Benny Hill Show’’ over the PA system to complete the comedy of errors.

Richmond sunk to Brisbane’s level and the Lions pounced.

Brown kicked Brisbane’s first goal of the match in the seventh minute of the quarter as Brisbane scrapped and scraped.

Martin kicked a superb goal from the boundary line to settle the ship for the Tigers but goals to Rohan Bewick and Jackson Paine kept the home side well and truly in the contest.

BEST:

Richmond: Cotchin, Riewoldt, Martin, Jackson, Petterd,

Brisbane: Brown, Rockliff, Lester, Zorko, Robertson,

http://www.news.com.au/sport/afl/richmond-tigers-claw-their-way-to-victory-over-brisbane-lions-at-the-gabba/story-fndv8t7m-1226888362172

[one-eyed]

Ugly, but Richmond gets job done against Brisbane

   Andrew Stafford
     The Age
    April 18, 2014

Former Essendon great Matthew Lloyd predicted a “world of pain” for the Lions this year. It didn’t take long to manifest itself, with serious injuries to key players Daniel Rich, Matthew Leuenberger, Pearce Hanley, as well as a suspension to Daniel Merrett, exposing the club’s lack of depth.

At least it gives first-year coach Justin Leppitsch a genuine alibi. Richmond’s Damien Hardwick is in his fifth season, and has no such luxury after one win from the first four rounds in a year when Tigers fans are desperate for at least one finals win to build on last year’s first final-eight finish since 2001.

To say the pressure was on the Tigers was an understatement. They started brightly enough – Jack Riewoldt was on the board within a minute – then managed another three goals in a half of football, along with 10 behinds. They had 19 inside-50s to five in the first quarter alone. The game should have been over.

Not just over, but stuffed in a box, nailed shut and buried at sea. Perhaps Stadiums Queensland could look at taking out the first few rows – that would have at least helped both sides keep the ball in play. Not Jordan Lisle, though, who picked up the ball in the back pocket, all alone, then put it into the next tier of seating.

Dustin Martin, one of the few players to show any class in this abysmal exhibition, took a look up at the goals and coolly hooked it through from the resulting free kick. If only some of his peers had punished the missed targets, dropped marks and inept decisions so ruthlessly. Instead, at half-time, the Lions were within 14 points.

Until that second term, the Lions hadn’t won so much as a quarter all year. It only took them three goals to do it. Jonathan Brown’s first major in his 250th game gave the home crowd a sniff. A second early in the third quarter, along with majors to Lewis Taylor and Ryan Lester, gave the home side the sniff of an improbable victory.

Maybe it’s best left to your imagination to decide what that says about where the Tigers are at right now. It took them until the 21st minute of the third quarter for Riewoldt to kick their fifth goal, and regain the lead. Riewoldt then added his fourth, Trent Cotchin scrounged another, then Matt Arnot from a set shot.

The Lions retreated meekly after that, but it was anything but convincing for Richmond – forget the blowout final margin. The night before Good Friday has been one of the Lions’ few regular television showcases in recent times; they’ll be hard pressed to hang onto it.

Good players were hard to find on both sides. Cotchin hit back with a solid performance after his mauling at the hands of Collingwood’s Brent Macaffer last week, standing up when his side needed leadership. Riewoldt, who the Tigers sought out constantly, was a constant threat.

For the Lions, Brown showed some of his old authority, and received a rare, and deserved guard of honour from both teams after the game. Tom Rockliff and Dayne Zorko were serviceable, and not much more. Given the inexperience on display, the decision to make Brent Moloney the substitute was baffling.

Hardwick, of course, will take the victory; any win at this stage of the year, no matter how ugly, is welcome, and gives them something to build on. Justin Leppitsch, for his part, will be wondering where his first four premiership points are coming from.

As for the spectators, this game was a world of pain.

http://www.theage.com.au/afl/afl-match-report/ugly-but-richmond-gets-job-done-against-brisbane-20140417-zqw3t.html

[tigs2011]

So triumphant.