New Tiger resolve
17 May 2004 Herald Sun
Michael Stevens
MATTHEW Richardson disposed of four opponents in kicking a match-winning 10 goals against the Western Bulldogs.
Richmond's gun full-forward was the obvious difference at the MCG on Saturday, although the Dogs didn't do themselves any favours with another atrocious kicking display.
But the question everyone was asking after the game was why Dogs coach Peter Rohde didn't try Jade Rawlings on Richardson after Scott Bassett, Ben Harrison, Ryan Hargrave and Matthew Croft were found wanting?
Rawlings, recruited as a tall marking forward, was out of sorts, having only five kicks and contributing a solitary behind.
In the last quarter, with the Dogs trailing by eight points, Rawlings even dropped a "gimme" chest mark, so low was his confidence.
The ball rebounded and Richardson outmarked Hargrave for his ninth goal to seal the game.
Rohde's reaction was to bench Rawlings rather than try him on his brother-in-law Richardson, on whom he last played in Round 22 last year.
When questioned about Rawlings after the game, he replied: "We don't think he's a good match for Richardson.
"We could have played Granty (Chris Grant) back on him but, at the end of the day, we've got to win the game. Jade's the preferred forward who's most likely to do it.
"Granty's playing centre half-back and really dominating the game. There's not a lot of point in putting those sorts of blokes back to suffer the same sort of fate as the other blokes."
The hallmark of Richardson's display was his immaculate accuracy, the product of 250 shots at goal each week in practice, according to teammate Nathan Brown.
It's a scenario the Dogs could well follow, even though Rohde said they had done more goalkicking practice than anyone would believe.
On Saturday, they registered 1.8 in the opening term, and then kicked six behinds without a goal in the first 10 minutes of the third quarter when dominating the game.
Now that the Tigers have re-discovered how to win, there's no reason they can't continue, even though they face Port Adelaide and West Coast on the road in the next two weeks.
It's worth noting that the Tigers' preferred midfield of the opening round – Wayne Campbell, Mark Coughlan and Tim Flemming – was absent on Saturday.
Campbell, missing because of a calf injury, joked after the game that he was responsible for the improved form of Joel Bowden across half-back.
Bowden had 12 touches in the first quarter on the way to 18 kicks and 12 handballs.
Dropped two weeks ago after a record game streak of 136 matches, Bowden played only one VFL game before earning a reprieve at the last minute against Sydney.
In the previous two games, Campbell has played on a half-back flank in an effort to turn his season around, and now Bowden has done the same.
Bowden's brother, Patrick, was one of the Dogs' best players, chipping in for the side's only two goals of the third quarter when it couldn't buy a goal.
Centreman Scott West again was a standout performer with 35 disposals after kicking the opening goal of the game from the 50m line on the run.
Captain Chris Grant also improved as the game wore on, taking several spectacular marks.
But in the first half, when opposed to Darren Gaspar, Grant was continually led away from the hot spot at centre half-forward, allowing Richardson plenty of room to accept bullet-like passes from Kane Johnson.
Gaspar then returned to a more familiar defensive role after halftime at full-back on Croft, allowing Jay Schulz to take over at centre half-forward.
Johnson and Nathan Brown were the Tigers who caused the Dogs most problems in the midfield.
Johnson continues to unobtrusively win the ball and rarely wastes a kick.
His only goal, the side's sixth in the second quarter, was a gem, kicked off the right side of his boot on the run.
Playing against his former team, Brown was on the receiving end of several bumps off the ball, but had the last laugh by kicking three goals in the Tigers' 23-point victory.
After only two wins from the opening seven rounds, the Dogs now face another year near the bottom of the ladder, with fans wondering where their next win will come from.
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