Media articles & stats: Tigers coast against Hawks to first victory of 2016

[one-eyed]

Tigers coast to first victory of 2016

richmondfc.com.au
February 27, 2016


Richmond have registered their first win of 2016, defeating an admittedly undermanned Hawthorn side by 71 points at Holm Park, Beaconsfield on Saturday afternoon.

In front of a near capacity crowd of 6,384 attendees, the decision to field a more experienced side than the previous week in Mandurah paid immediate dividends for the Tigers with Dustin Martin and Jack Riewoldt setting the tone for the victory early.

By the time Riewoldt kicked his first goal during the midway stages of the opening term, he had already taken six marks (four of them contested and inside 50) and laid off a goal assist for Connor Menadue’s game-opener.

The champion goalkicker then gave a demonstration of his range in the second quarter when he got the Club’s first supergoal of the season from just inside the centre square.

Meanwhile Martin went about amassing possessions with ease and showing positive signs that he’s set for another big season. The powerful midfield dynamo gathered 15 touches in the first half and finished the game with 25.

In an at times scrappy affair, brief cameos rather than prolonged four-quarter performances were the order of the day.

Shane Edwards bobbed up with two set shot goals in the second term, while Ben Lennon repeated that effort in the space of two minutes in the third term. Lennon’s first was an opportunistic toe-poke on the goal line. He then marked a Martin snap to the top of the goalsquare and converted. Both added their third goals late in the match, before Edwards lifted the crowd with an outstanding snap from tight on the boundary line to become the leading goalkicker on the day with four.

Captain Trent Cotchin got in on the act kicking two final quarter goals as the game was taken away from the Hawks, capping a solid 21-disposal game.

In a moment that would have brought a smile to the most hardened of Tiger supporters’ faces, the Rioli name was added to the Richmond goals column for the first time since 1987, when Daniel snapped his first goal in the yellow and black in the dying stages of the game.

In a defensive effort that restricted the Hawks to just four goals, Bachar Houli had more of the ball than any other player on the ground with 34 touches, with Alex Rance chiming in with 26 of his own, picking up where he left off from last year’s Jack Dyer Medal-winning season.

Richmond will enjoy next weekend off from the field before facing Port Adelaide at Etihad Stadium on March 10 in their final NAB Challenge match.


Richmond            0.2.1      1.5.3      1.8.4      1.15.5 104
Hawthorn            0.1.2      0.2.3      0.2.6      0.4.9 33

Supergoals:

Richmond - Riewoldt
Hawthorn – Nil

Goals:

Richmond – Edwards 4, Lennon 3, Menadue 2, Cotchin 2, Riewoldt, Moore, Lambert, Rioli
Hawthorn - O’Rourke, Sicily, O’Brien, Hardwick

http://www.richmondfc.com.au/news/2016-02-27/tigers-coast-to-first-victory-of-2016

[one-eyed]

Tigers make light work of reigning premier as Cyril limps off

Travis King 
AFL.com.au
February 27, 2016 6:52 PM


A MOUTHWATERING first-half by star forward Jack Riewoldt and four-goal cameo from Shane Edwards has inspired Richmond to a dominant 71-point win over Hawthorn in their second round NAB Challenge clash at Beaconsfield on Saturday.

The Tigers promised to ramp up their pre-season preparations after bringing back a galaxy of stars – including skipper Trent Cotchin, Dustin Martin and Alex Rance – following a 10-goal loss to Fremantle last week and they didn't disappoint.

Riewoldt (one supergoal, one goal) was at his imperious best early with Edwards elusive at his feet, while Martin, Brandon Ellis and ball-magnet Anthony Miles helped drive the 1.15.5 (104) to 0.4.9 (33) triumph.

The opening stages belonged to Riewoldt, with the superstar forward showing he's busting to play football again by giving Kaiden Brand and James Frawley the run around at Holm Park Recreation Reserve.

"It was hard to hold him back last week, he wanted to play then, but he always wants to play, he's just a competitive animal," Tigers assistant coach Brendon Lade said of Riewoldt.

"So his first quarter probably set us up today and he was pretty good up the ground, definitely."

Riewoldt took six marks – including two big pack grabs – in the opening stanza alone to lead Richmond to a hard-fought five-point lead into the swirly breeze.

The gun forward then slotted the game's only supergoal from inside the centre square in the second term as his side wrested control, booting 14 of the next 17 goals after the first break.

Richmond dominated possessions after a relatively even opening, racking up 356 touches to 265 for the match.

Encouragingly for the Tigers, who were missing big men Ty Vickery after his disturbing concussion incident, they had multiple options in attack with Edwards, Ben Lennon and aerial threat Connor Menadue all booting multiple goals.

At the other end, Hawthorn struggled to find a focal point and repeatedly broke down across half-forward.

Tim O'Brien (nine disposals, one goal) presented strongly and James Sicily (10 disposals, one goal) worked his way into the game as the pair pushed their claims to replace Jarryd Roughead in the round one side on Easter Monday.

"We got a little bit out of some of our young players, which was really positive," Hawks stand-in coach Brett Ratten said.

"I thought Tim O'Brien's efforts, whether he was marking the ball or competing … I thought it was a big step up for him."

Without some of their biggest names – Luke Hodge, Sam Mitchell, Luke Breust, Roughead (knee) and Jack Gunston (shin) were all watching on – the Hawks had too few contributors.

However, Josh Gibson (14 possessions) was his reliable self in defence, captain for the day Liam Shiels worked hard and Brad Hill looked in top nick.

The final term was soured for the Hawks when recruit Jack Fitzpatrick was helped from after appearing to hyperextend his knee, with Brett Ratten telling reporters the big man would be assessed later on Saturday.

Ratten also hosed down fears around Cyril Rioli after he copped a knock to his calf and was seen his tracksuit in the changerooms as the final siren sounded.

"Cyril was down for a half, so he ticks that off, which is good," Ratten said. "He was due to come off with the rotations … so perfect."

WHAT WE LEARNED:

Richmond: The Tigers have options in attack, with some of their youngsters showing promising signs against the Hawks. Connor Menadue booted a pair of nice set shots in the swirly conditions, while Ben Lennon worked his way into the game nicely with two majors in as many minutes in the third term. Jack Riewoldt showed great signs, but Shaun Edwards' canny four-goal haul was equally impressive.

Hawthorn: The race to replace Jarryd Roughead is yet to be decided, with Tim O'Brien and James Sicily both showing enough to keep themselves in the hunt. After limited impact against Carlton, O'Brien impressed with his workrate leading at the ball and jumped high into marking contests, while Sicily's mobility combined with aerial threat makes him probably the closest thing the Hawks have to Roughead. Jack Fitzpatrick's late knee injury is a concern after an impressive summer.


NEW FACES

Richmond: Daniel Rioli was slippery when in possession and looks like he has a bag of tricks, despite often being under pressure. Mabior Chol didn't have much of it, but presented strongly at centre half-forward and had the crowd on his feet when he raced towards goal but hit the post on his left foot. Andrew Moore hit the scoreboard and Jacob Townsend also lent strong midfield support to the Tigers' stars, while Oleg Markov was quiet after coming on in the second half.

Hawthorn: The club's third pick in last year's draft, Blake Hardwick (one goal), earned the applause of teammates with his second touch as a Hawk, crashing through two tackles to feed out a handball. Nuggety onballer Kieran Lovell came on after half-time and almost joined the less prestigious second-kick, first goal club until his shot hit the post. Jack Fitzpatrick didn't hurt his round one chances by giving a contest in the ruck and crashing packs up forward, where he spent time on star defender Alex Rance.

NEXT UP: Two down, one to go for both clubs. The Tigers host Port Adelaide at Etihad Stadium on March 10, two weeks before their season-opener against Carlton, while the Hawks take on North Melbourne at the same venue two days later.



RICHMOND   0.2.1   1.5.3   1.8.4   1.15.5  (104)
HAWTHORN  0.1.2   0.2.3   0.2.6    0.4.9    (33)

SUPERGOALS
Richmond: Riewoldt
Hawthorn: Nil

GOALS
Richmond: Edwards 4, Lennon 3, Menadue 2, Cotchin 2, Riewoldt, Moore, Lambert, Rioli
Hawthorn: O'Rourke, Sicily, O'Brien, Hardwick

BEST
Richmond: Riewoldt, Edwards, Martin, Ellis, Miles, Rance, Houli, Cotchin
Hawthorn: Gibson, Hill, Shiels, Whitecross, Burgoyne

INJURIES
Richmond: Nil
Hawthorn: Fitzpatrick (knee), Rioli (calf)

Reports: Nil

Umpires: Deboy, Kamolins, Edwards, Findlay

Official crowd: 6,384 at Holm Park Recreation Reserve

http://www.afl.com.au/news/2016-02-27/tigers-make-light-work-of-reigning-premier-hawthorn

[one-eyed]

NAB Challenge: Jack Riewoldt stars, Jack Fitzpatrick injured as Richmond thrash Hawthorn

Daniel Cherny
The Age - match report
February 28, 2016


RICHMOND   0.2.1  1.5.3  1.8.4  1.15.5 (104)
HAWTHORN  0.1.2  0.2.3  0.2.6   0.4.9 (33)

Nine-pointers:
Richmond: J Riewoldt.

Goals:
Richmond: S Edwards 4, B Lennon 3, C Menadue 2, T Cotchin 2, A Moore, D Rioli, J Riewoldt, K Lambert.
Hawthorn: B Hardwick, J O'Rourke, J Sicily, T O'Brien.

BEST
Richmond: J Riewoldt, A Miles, D Martin, A Rance, S Edwards, C Menadue, B Houli, T Cotchin.
Hawthorn: B Hill, J Gibson, B Whitecross, L Shiels, S Burgoyne

Umpires: Robert Findlay, Chris Kamolins, Curtis Deboy, Jack Edwards.
Crowd: 6384 at Holm Park Recreation Reserve.

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Slim, slick and and at-times spectacular, Jack Riewoldt opened his 2016 campaign in style on Saturday.

Cutting a noticeably streamlined figure, the dual Coleman medallist was the standout player on the ground at Beaconsfield's Holm Park Recreation Reserve, running far and wide to cause issues for an under-strength Hawthorn outfit, whose tall stocks could be further depleted after a late knee injury to recruit Jack Fitzpatrick, who landed awkwardly in a marking contest.

The Tigers had been thrashed last week by Fremantle, but, bolstered by the inclusion of nine first-choice players, they made light work of the Hawks in front of a sellout crowd of 6384 in Melbourne's south-east, winning by 71 points.

Manned at stages of the afternoon by premiership hero James Frawley and youngster Kaiden Brand, Riewoldt's first half was something to behold.

He might have finished the day with just two majors, but his 10 marks — five contested — pointed to an impressive workrate. It was as though Jack had been stuck in a box all summer, and, finally unleashed, had boundless energy to expel. Two leaping first-quarter grabs had the crowd humming, bettered perhaps only by a nine-point supergoal, launched from 55 metres in the second stanza.

Richmond's strength in recent times has been stability, and again it was the same names who led from the front. Anthony Miles was typically industrious, setting the tone early with his work burrowing into packs. For all the off-season drama, Dustin Martin still looks like he can play, finding plenty of ball, and more than willing to take the game on.

Miles' ex-Greater Western Sydney teammate Jacob Townsend arrived at Punt Road with a reputation as a hard man, and his performance did nothing to suggest the label isn't deserved, while fellow mature-age recruit Andrew Moore was a steady contributor. Sudan-born Tigers rookie Mabior Chol almost provided one of the day's highlights in the final term, bounding into space before hitting the post from close range. Coming up against his famous uncle Cyril, Richmond draftee Daniel Rioli provided plenty of spark, a late goal among the day's more uplifting moments.

The sole concern for the winners was Jake Batchelor, with the defender hobbling off the ground in time on of the third term.

Hawthorn would not be overly perturbed with the result given captain Luke Hodge, Sam Mitchell, Jack Gunston, Luke Breust, Isaac Smith, Ben Stratton and Jonathon Ceglar were all onlookers. But even accounting for the imminent return of Gunston and Breust, the fact they kicked just four goals for the afternoon would be of some concern given the extended absence of Jarryd Roughead.

Neither Tim O'Brien nor James Sicily did much to show they would come anywhere near filling Roughead's sizeable boots, although the Hawks should know that they are unlikely to face many backlines in 2016 as resolute as the Tigers' on Saturday. Alex Rance's extended break looks like it worked a treat, the with the reigning Jack Dyer medallist combining well with Bachar Houli for the thrifty victors.

Richmond were not at full strength either, with Brett Deledio, Ty Vickery, Shaun Grigg, Ben Griffiths, Chris Yarran all still to return.

But it should not be forgotten that five times in the last eight years the Hawks have made the grand final. In four of those seasons, including in round 18 last year, the Tigers have beaten the men from Waverley. Is this an early omen of another Hawks premiership? Hawthorn will take all the February losses you can throw at them if afforded the chance to keep making (and winning) grand finals.

http://www.theage.com.au/afl/afl-match-report/nab-challenge-jack-riewoldt-stars-jack-fitzpatrick-injured-as-richmond-thrash-hawthorn-20160227-gn5ayp.html