Are the Tigers the real deal?Jon Ralph
Herald Sun
18 April 2017IS it real?
Those three words will get a run over and again this week as Richmond supporters attempt to fathom their flawless start to the season.
A month into the season “Dimma” Hardwick’s declaration he would make Richmond great again seems to be built on the most rock-solid foundations.
The significant caveat is the quality of opponents, Richmond winning an arm-wrestle over West Coast then outclassing a trio of sides sitting 13th-15th on the ladder.
But the number crunchers and commentators believe Hardwick’s coaching panel is finally coming to grips with modern football.
In an era where sides win games of footy if they can master the turnover game, Richmond is the best going around at that very skill.
Melbourne on Anzac Day Eve is the most significant test yet posed.
But for a Tigers side which lost three consecutive elimination finals with a game plan shown to fall down in September, this game plan looks sustainable.
And a team which didn’t even seem to try in that 10-week tailspin last season is unrecognisable in terms of personnel and game plan.
THE TURNOVER GAME
Call them a mosquito fleet or Jack’s little helpers, but a forward line with Jack Riewoldt, sometimes another tall and a fleet of hungry smalls is proving wildly successful.
Not only are Dustin Martin and Trent Cotchin kicking goals forward, the trio of Dan Butler, Jason Castagna and Daniel Rioli exert the best pressure of any forward line in footy.
Richmond’s points from forward half turnovers and forward half turnovers created are both No. 1 in the league, with the Tigers boasting six and a half minutes more time in their forward half than defence.
All of them also kick goals, Castagna getting his turn against Brisbane and Butler (six goals), Rioli (seven goals) both kicking goals in all four games.
It is by design but also good fortune, with Tyrone Vickery’s lack of pressure and inconsistencies following to Hawthorn and replaced at Richmond by the polar opposite strategy.
You can’t always promise a bag of goals but you can consistently deliver pressure, with Riewoldt creating enough of an aerial contest to spill the ball for opportunities.
BRINGING THE HEATAs David Astbury said after the win over Brisbane, achieved with a modest return from Dustin Martin, the only real focus is pressure on the opposition.
Never a good pressuring or tackling side, the Tigers rank fifth in the league for tackle differential, up from a woeful 18th from Round 23 on last year.
Combine that with genuine ball hunters — Martin, Dion Prestia, Josh Caddy, Trent Cotchin — who have the Tigers ranked fourth in contested ball differential.
When a rival midfield star gets hot, Kane Lambert is assigned cooler duties.
Rivals don’t swan out of stoppages any more but when they do they hit a miserly defence.
With key defenders Dylan Grimes and David Astbury in career-best form alongside Alex Rance, the Tigers are dominating the aerial battle.
So much so, they are No.1 for defence in the AFL, a stat rarely before associated with Richmond.
Reece Conca and Brandon Ellis still have their moments, but so far the maligned duo have held up as rebounding defenders.
All of it adds up to a game plan that looks well equipped to tackle the league’s heavyweights without total reliance on the performances of the stars.
THE CULT HERORichmond have found themselves something special in the ruck in Toby Nankervis.
He isn’t perfect — Stef Martin touched him up on Sunday night but he is an old-fashioned kick-behind-the-play ruckman with expert palming skills.
His hit-outs to advantage rate of 39 per cent is the best in the competition.
He is elite in rankings points (109), disposals (14.5), goals (0.8 a game) and hit-outs to advantage rate.
He is also the best intercept marking ruckman in the comp so far, and all at the bargain rate of pick 46 from Sydney.
THE BALL MOVEMENTFormer Richmond coach Terry Wallace was stunned to witness David Astbury lead Richmond’s stats sheets with just a dozen touches at half time against Brisbane.
“The team (only) had 173 possessions. Their ball movement is pure,’’ he told SEN on Monday.
“As good as Dustin Martin was last year how many times did he get it at half back and kick it sideways?
“How many times did we see Trent Cotchin chip-kick sideways and then run around the back and get it again. It’s not happening. It’s get the ball and go forward.”
The stress test of the next three opponents awaits in Melbourne, Adelaide and the Western Bulldogs.
But a team universally known as one of the flukiest in footy is finally giving its supporters reason to believe.
http://www.heraldsun.com.au/sport/afl/teams/richmond/richmond-may-finally-have-a-game-plan-and-style-capable-of-matching-it-with-afls-heavyweights/news-story/e7e27d027d71fc350b8f01b553965abe
