Media articles - Tigers end long drought

[one-eyed]

Tigers end long drought
4:46:18 PM Sat 27 May, 2006
Paul Gough
Exclusive to afl.com.au

Richmond has pulled off its first win at Skilled Stadium since 1990 to send Geelong's 2006 AFL season to the brink of crisis.

The Cats were left to rue a wasteful final term when they kicked nine behinds without a goal as the Tigers pulled off their second consecutive upset victory - following last week's win over Adelaide - with a 17.8 (110) to 12.18 (90) victory.

It was only Richmond's second victory in 15 attempts at Geelong dating back to 1982 - the last time the Tigers' appeared in a grand final.

That was the expectation widely put on the Cats' shoulders this year following their finals appearances of the past two years and especially after their NAB Cup success during the pre-season.

But now the Cats find themselves in huge trouble at three wins and six losses and with a home match against league leaders West Coast to come next week as well as interstate trips to Adelaide and Fremantle in the next month.

 
And given their current form the Cats could find themselves out of finals contention by then, let alone be fighting for a top four spot as was expected from them when the season began.

But once again the Cats were let down by their forward line as the disappointed Geelong crowd booed their players off at the end of the game.

Much-maligned spearhead Kent Kingsley was again bitterly disappointing and after coming so close to losing his spot in the side this week, he will be surely dropped for next week's clash against the Eagles after failing to kick a goal or even register a stat in the second half.

Centre-half-forward Henry Playfair wasn't much better while Brad Ottens had no impact on the forward line and was thrashed in the ruck where Troy Simmonds was clearly the dominant big man on the ground.

The Cats were forced to rely on their small players to kick their goals with Gary Ablett, who was a constant danger after only passing a late fitness test to play, booting two goals.

But it was an indictment on the Cats' misfiring forward line that their leading goalkicker for the day was midfielder Jarad Rooke, who has made his name in league football as a tagger, with three goals.

Unfortunately the Cats again left too little to too few with Matthew Scarlett magnificent at full-back on Matthew Richardson, who kicked a wasteful 1.4 and one out of bounds, while James Bartel, Shannon Byrnes and Cameron Ling never stopped trying.

However, while the Cats only had about half a dozen contributors, the much-improved Tigers never stopped working for each other and showed great character to run away with the game in the final term after the Cats threatened to take control of the game late in the third term.

In the first three terms the Tigers began each quarter better only for Geelong to finish the quarter stronger but Richmond looked vulnerable when their 16-point lead at the 18-minute mark of the third term was turned into a three-point lead by the Cats at the last change.

However, when Richmond again started the final quarter the stronger through goals to Kayne Pettifer and two from Andrew Krakouer, the Cats just could not summon up another comeback as they wasted chance after chance in front of goal.

Fittingly it was Simmonds, who dominated the ruck all day, who sealed the game when he palmed the ball superbly to Chris Hyde from a ball-up at the 25-minute mark with Hyde running into an open goal to ensure the Tigers' first win over Geelong at any venue since 2000.

The Tigers suddenly find themselves well-placed at five wins and four losses with winnable games against Fremantle, the Kangaroos and Hawthorn to come but what is clear is just how much some of Terry Wallace's players have improved.

And none more so than Pettifer, who finished with 21 possessions, 11 marks and three goals, while Hyde - who had kicked just 12 goals in his 55 previous matches - had a day to remember with four goals while Mark Coughlan (27 possessions) dominated the midfield and Joel Bowden was rock solid in defence with 11 marks.

GEELONG: 5.3, 8.7, 12.9, 12.18 (90)
RICHMOND: 4.3, 8.3, 12.6, 17.8 (110)

GOALS – Geelong: Rooke 3, Bartel 2, Ablett 2, Ottens, Mackie, Corey, Byrnes, S Johnson
Richmond: Hyde 4, Pettifer 3, Simmonds 3, Krakouer 2, Tambling, P Bowden, Coughlan, Tivendale,

BEST – Geelong: Ablett, Bartel, Scarlett, Rooke, Byrnes, Ling,
Richmond: Simmonds, Coughlan, Pettifer, Hyde, Tambling, J Bowden

INJURIES – Geelong: Nil
Richmond: Deledio (knee)

CHANGES – Geelong: Harley (soreness), replaced in selected side by Koulouriotis, Riccardi (calf), replaced in selected side by Stokes
Richmond: Nil

REPORTS - Nil
UMPIRES - McBurney, Davis, Chamberlain
CROWD - 23,386 at Skilled Stadium

http://afl.com.au/default.asp?pg=news&spg=display&articleid=269028

[one-eyed]

Plough wants respect
6:44:52 PM Sat 27 May, 2006
Paul Gough
Exclusive to richmondfc.com.au

Richmond coach Terry Wallace believes it's time his team begins to get credit for its improvement in 2006 after adding Geelong to its list of surprise scalps for the season on Saturday.

The Tigers' 17.8 (110) to 12.18 (90) win over the Cats was their first victory at Skilled Stadium since 1990 and came just a week after they shocked premiership favourites Adelaide at Telstra Dome.

Suddenly the Tigers, who were tipped to win the wooden spoon after losing their first three matches including a 115-point loss to the Bulldogs in round one, have won five of their past six matches and have winnable games against Fremantle, the Kangaroos and Hawthorn to come in the next three weeks.

But Wallace believes there has been too much focus instead on the tactics his team used in its shock win over Adelaide, when it continually chipped the ball short and maintained possession, even though its other wins - including the one over the Cats - were built on free-flowing football.

"I thought our guys lacked the credit they deserved last week and the whole talk was about the coaching and the tactics and whether it was good for the game," he said.

"I think as people we are more negative than positive and I couldn’t believe the carry on this week in relation to our game last week - it was so far over the top."

Wallace said the lack of credit being paid to the Tigers this year was also reflected in the fact that barely a single expert tipster chose them to beat the Cats.

"We were confident going into the game that we could win and we were a little bit surprised that no one else was as confident as we were," he said.

"We had won four of our last five and they had won one out of six so I thought our form was better than the opposition leading into the game."

"So in that case unless something changed dramatically, either we fell away or they lifted substantially, we believed we could get the result."

Wallace was also delighted with the performance of ruckman Troy Simmonds, who was close to best afield with 21 hit-outs, 15 possessions, seven marks and three goals - as well as setting up the sealing goal of the game for Chris Hyde with a superb hit-out from a ball up.

The coach was particularly delighted Simmonds' performance came against former Tiger Brad Ottens, to whom he is so often compared after the former Docker replaced Ottens at Punt Road when Ottens elected to move to Geelong at the start of last season.

"When the two ruckmen (Simmonds and Ottens) transferred clubs everyone says the more fancied one went to Geelong," Wallace said. "But we are fairly happy with our bloke (Simmonds) - he is doing a fair job for us."

http://richmondfc.com.au/default.asp?pg=news&spg=display&articleid=269041

[one-eyed]

Rampaging Tigers put Cats on knees
28 May 2006   Herald Sun
Jon Ralph

 GEELONG coach Mark Thompson has conceded a top-four spot is out of reach for his side this year after the Cats crashed to their sixth defeat in seven games with a 20-point loss to Richmond yesterday.
 
The Cats squandered many chances in the last quarter, scoring nine behinds with the breeze while giving up five goals to a red-hot Tigers outfit.

It sets up a season-defining game against West Coast at Skilled Stadium on Saturday, with the Cats 3-6 and probably needing to win nine of 13 games to make the finals.

Thompson said he was happy with the endeavour of his players, but conceded it was "disappointing and baffling" how quickly his side – the premiership favourite in Round 2 – had lost its confidence and poise.

"(It was) just a major disappointment. We have put ourselves in a real bind," he said.

"Obviously a high finish in the top eight is out of the question and we have got to scramble to win games and make the finals.

"That has got to be the aim of the group. I think they can.

"I thought we took a good attitude into the game. We made a commitment during the week to do a few things and I think we did that.

"What we didn't expect was poor use at critical times and, in the end, just really wanting to win rather than playing the game.

"It will be a massive clash next week and it's a huge game for the club. This week was (massive) and now it just gets bigger and bigger, and the more time we wait for a win, the more pressure it is going to be."

Geelong lost veterans Tom Harley and Peter Riccardi through injury pre-match, but Gary Ablett passed a fitness test on his knee before the game and was clearly the Cats' best player.

The Cats had little contribution from Kent Kingsley and Cameron Mooney while former Tiger Brad Ottens struggled to make an impact around the ground.

Kingsley was close to being dropped this week and after a bright start did not register a statistic in the second half.

With Tigers ruckman Troy Simmonds in control, the Cats started the last term with Mooney in the centre square and lost the clearances 5-0 in the first five minutes to cough up the first two goals.

"It was pretty critical," Thompson said. "They just capitalised on our mistakes when we turned the ball over.

"Sometimes sides get lucky breaks and I thought they had some lucky breaks today."

Thompson conceded there would be pressure from supporters to drop Kingsley next week.

The Cats were determined to play on at all times during the game, but it only worked occasionally and they still looked like a middle-tier side for much of the match.

"I just think (it's) our confidence levels, our ability to try and win the game rather than just let it happen and I think at times we played on, we moved it quick, but there were times we didn't know what to do with the ball," Thompson said.

http://www.heraldsun.news.com.au/footy/common/story_page/0,8033,19278855%255E19771,00.html

[one-eyed]

No place to Hyde
28 May 2006   Sunday Herald Sun
Jon Ralph

NOT for the first time in Geelong's history, the Cats have become a team whose fortunes rise and fall on the brilliance of Gary Ablett.

A team supposedly brimming with A grade players had only one yesterday and it is for that reason Geelong's premiership hopes this year are mortally wounded.

The Cats are in freefall after giving up their sixth loss in seven games at Skilled Stadium yesterday.

Where the Cats had Ablett then little else, the Tigers had a host of players such as Chris Hyde – committed, honest battlers who have risen above their station in the past few weeks through sheer hard work.

With only three points in the contest at three-quarter time the match was reduced to a simple equation: who wanted it more.

Geelong not only did not want it, but was not good enough and, as a result, lost by a humbling 20 points.

The Cats amazingly kicked nine consecutive behinds to Richmond's five goals into the wind in the last term, as the Tigers won their first game at Skilled Stadium since 1990.

Four-goal hero Hyde kicked the sealer as the Tigers got into the positive on the win-loss ratio for the first time this year.

Want a stat that matters? Kent Kingsley had the faith of his coach, but no one else this week, yet he could not touch the ball once in the second half.

That fickle characteristic – confidence – has left everyone at the Cattery and, at 3-6, finals are up for grabs let alone any premiership tilt.

The Cats were slow and reactive and despite plans to race the ball forward at every chance were well beaten in the midfield as the Tigers poured on nine second-half goals.

Their heroes were Troy Simmonds, a colossus in the ruck, as well as midfield dynamos Shane Tuck, Mark Coughlan and Greg Tivendale. It was gripping stuff, a game Geelong had to win, but didn't know how.

Geelong coach Mark Thompson said pre-match he would down tools by quarter time if it had not made a statement, but while the intent was there early the slick handling was not.

With a two-goal breeze, Richmond matched Geelong around the packs and it was only when Brad Ottens was switched into the ruck that the Cats began to find some fluency.

Joel Corey and Joel Bowden were dropping back loose for their teams, but with Ablett and Paul Chapman running the ball rather than bombing it, the Cats found their forward targets and worked to a three-goal lead. For a moment it looked like the Geelong of old – Kingsley a super hit-up target, a marauding midfield chewing up ground going forward and plenty of goalscoring power.

But the Cats do not have the form to keep that type of play up.

Each time a ruck change was made it had a telling effect – Ottens got on top of Trent Knobel, then Simmonds returned to set up his onballers.

And by the time Patrick Bowden had run down from defence to mark and goal and Coughlan had kicked truly on his left, the Tigers had all but erased Geelong's early lead.

Against the wind they redoubled their efforts in the second quarter, even after Jarad Rooke chased down Dean Polo early for a free kick and goal. After trying to hit Matthew Richardson long and high into the wind, Andrew Krakouer, Coughlan and Kane Johnson tightened up to honour leads with precision. It led to a four-goal burst in six minutes as the Tigers took over.

Ablett would haul his side back into the contest again with some genius. He goaled from a free kick, then set up Shannon Byrnes with a lightning handball close to goal.

Geelong might not have mustered the effort Thompson had demanded, but at least they were not the better part of 10 goals down as they had been against the Pies.

By the third quarter, Ablett had his third opponent in Tivendale after swapping between Andrew Raines and Nathan Foley.

Tivendale's engine is huge, but the Cat just ran him off his feet.

But whenever Ablett faded out of the action, the Tigers charged again.

By the time Simmonds, huge all day in the ruck, roosted a 50m goal with the wind, the Cats were down by 16 points late in the third and looking in dire straits.

Richardson was then put behind the ball and it robbed the Tigers of a target up forward. Seemingly within an instant, the Cats had restored parity through Steve Johnson's genius, an Ablett assist to Rooke, and a 30m snap by Bartel.

It set the game up for a classic finish – but could the Cats keep their season alive with 30 minutes of committed football? The answer was no: it is truly crisis time at Geelong.

http://www.heraldsun.news.com.au/footy/common/story_page/0,8033,19277746%255E19771,00.html

[one-eyed]

Cats find new ways to lose
28 May 2006   Sunday Herald Sun
Scott Gullan

ONE play epitomised Geelong yesterday. With 10 minutes remaining and the game on the line, Cameron Mooney marked at centre-half forward, looked up and saw three teammates in the clear 30m away.

His stab pass missed all three and landed in the lap of the Danny Meyer, the only Tiger near the huddle of Cats.

All day Geelong found ways to turn possession over to the Tigers.

While the Cats started the game like their season depended on the outcome of the next 120 minutes, they finished it like a team under siege, with only one win in six weeks.

The run and risk taking evident early disappeared, replaced by fumbling, bad kicking and poor decision making.

Richmond deserves credit for the pressure it exerted on the Cats, but the Tigers did not have their season, and reputation riding on the result.

In the end it was fitting that Chris Hyde was the one to seal the deal for the Tigers. All day it seemed the Cats did not even know he was playing. They did not go near him. It was even comical in the second quarter when he booted two goals in as many minutes to kick off the Tigers charge.

Hyde is not known for having a bag of tricks, but he produced a couple of special moves – the first a fast break, two bounces and a shot from 20m. For his second goal, nine minutes in, he bounced twice, baulked twice, and, after some fancy footwork, scored from the goalsquare.

Hyde kicked his match-winning fourth goal for the day in the 25th minute. And it had some disturbing similarities for the Cats to Nick Davis's memorable goal in last year's semi-final.

A ball-up in the forward pocket resulted in Tigers big man Troy Simmonds tapping the ball straight down in front, with Hyde racing full tilt from the back of the pack to receive the ball on his chest.

Not one Cat laid a finger on him as casually kicked the goal to make the margin 16 points.

Richmond under Terry Wallace continues to find ways to win and the Tigers deserve all the pats on the back that come their way.

After Round 2 Geelong were premiership favourites and, for those who witnessed what the Cats did to the Kangaroos that weekend, it was money in the bank.

Given the way the Cats had won the NAB Cup in heroic fashion in Adelaide a few weeks earlier, there was universal agreement that this Geelong team was the real deal.

The following week the side lost by 10 goals to Hawthorn at home – and they have never been the same since.

How a side can lose confidence so quickly and so profoundly is a mystery, and one that Cats coach Mark Thompson has been unable to fathom two months down the track.

Maybe, now there are no more high expectations, no more talk of flags, they will be able to figure it out.

That, it seems, is the contrary nature of the Cats.

http://www.heraldsun.news.com.au/footy/common/story_page/0,8033,19278088%255E19771,00.html

[one-eyed]

Wallace: Credit players
28 May 2006   Sunday Herald Sun
Jon Ralph

RICHMOND coach Terry Wallace says it is time for the football community to stand up and take notice of his side after its drought-breaking win over Geelong yesterday.

The Tigers beat the Cats at Skilled Stadium yesterday for the first time since 1990 and have won five of their past six matches.

With momentum to burn, they could also be boosted by the return of injured star Nathan Brown for their match against Fremantle at Subiaco on Saturday night.

The theme of the week for Richmond was "The Record Breakers" and that was what they did, beating the Cats for the first time in eight outings since 2000 and in only their third win in Geelong in 30 years.

Wallace said all credit for the 20-point win should go to his players, overshadowed by his coaching techniques in the Tigers' gutsy win over Adelaide last week.

"I thought our guys really lacked the credit they deserved to get last week and I think they were pretty keen on doing something about that as well," he said.

"The whole talk all week was about what happened to the coaching and was it good for the game, was it a masterstroke? The guys were the ones that put their noses over the footy, got over the ball first, then didn't give it back to Adelaide. It was the players that did it and they were determined to show they could do that again."

Chris Hyde was a star at half-forward for Richmond with four majors, as they kicked five straight goals in the last quarter to Geelong's nine points.

His sealing goal was set up by best-on-ground Troy Simmonds and Wallace was not about to miss another opportunity for a backhander at Brad Ottens, whom he labelled a mercenary early last year.

"When the two ruckmen transferred clubs, Geelong and Richmond, everyone said that the more fancied one came to the Geelong footy club," he said.

"Well, I am fairly happy with our lot and our bloke and I think he's doing a pretty fair job for us. He was a replacement and I reckon he's been a pretty fair replacement."

Brett Deledio injured the medial ligament in his left knee early in the second quarter, but last night was diagnosed with only a Grade 1 strain which should keep him out for a week or two.

Darren Gaspar is also available to return for the match against the Dockers, with Brown to return either this week or the following game against the Kangaroos.

"Yeah, he is a chance. Absolutely," Wallace said.

"We have Darren Gaspar who is ready and available now to come back at any stage and Nathan was the best I have seen him since his return at training on Friday, so he's certainly a chance; whether it's this week or next week we will just have to wait and see.

"His last game was over in Perth, so there are no worries about travel or anything like that."

Remarkably, Wallace has coached five wins from six games at Skilled Stadium, as well as last year's one-point loss in Wayne Campbell's farewell game.

While Wallace said his side was in excellent form, he would not be drawn into any lofty predictions for the Tigers.

"I don't know. How do you know? We have got a little bit of momentum at the minute and we will just chip away at the season," he said.

"We don't build that part of it up at all. We said we wanted to get to Round 10 at 50-50 footy and it looks like we are going to be at 50-50 footy at least."

http://www.heraldsun.news.com.au/footy/common/story_page/0,8033,19278281%255E19771,00.html

[one-eyed]

Tigers finally stand tall over crestfallen Cats
By Lyall Johnson
The Age
May 28, 2006

SKILLED Stadium, like Subiaco in Perth and AAMI Stadium in Adelaide, can be a fortress. And as the Tigers yesterday morning headed down the highway, they would have been well aware no Richmond side had come away with the points from Corio Bay since 1990.

In fact, Richmond hadn't beaten Geelong anywhere in their previous seven contests. Obviously, none of yesterday's players were playing in 1990, and a vast majority were still in primary school. Even Matthew Richardson, now 31, was still in high school and yet only dreaming of such great wins.

But as they headed back to Punt Road last night, winners by 20 points over the Cats — now all but out of contention for a top-four finish — the history books had been re-written and the players could be satisfied they were beginning to build a confidence that would see them beat more fancied teams.

After wearing criticism for their chipping style of play that rolled Adelaide last week, no one rated Richmond a snowball's hope of knocking off Geelong. Their Tigers' skill level would not hold up under pressure, everyone said, the Cats would have too much class, and the Tigers were simply undermanned, especially in defence.

But yesterday, when the game was there to be won, the Tigers came from behind in a tense final quarter to boot 5.2. Geelong could manage only nine behinds.

The Cats started the better of the sides and in the early part of the first quarter looked as if they had regained some of the form that had them rated as premiership contenders.

They manned up well — not falling into the same trap as Adelaide in allowing Richmond to monopolise possession — and were running from defence in numbers.

By half-way through the first they had raced to a three-goal lead and things were looking ominous for the Tigers, who shipped a loose man into defence to stem the flow.

But when Patrick Bowden raced from defence into attack and goaled, followed a minute later by best afield Mark Coughlan drilling one on his left from 50 metres, they went to quarter-time a goal down.

As it would transpire, despite trailing at every change, the first quarter would be the only one Richmond would lose. They won the second by two points and the third by one point to be only three behind going into the last.

In the second Richmond took it up to Geelong and by the 13-minute mark when Kayne Pettifer, who is continuing his rich vein of form, got his second of the game after his third chest-mark screamer in three weeks, the Tigers regained the lead.

Troy Simmonds, who dominated the ruck in the absence of Geelong captain Steven King, was close to best on ground and proved a tower of strength throughout the game, kicking three goals.

Richard Tambling was also enjoying his best game of his short career. He finished with 1.2, but his best contributions were further afield where his pace and sure hands were crucial.

The third quarter was an arm-wrestle, with Richmond leading for most of it only to have Geelong surge late with hard running and tackling to snatch the lead with three late goals.

Going into the last it was Richmond's new-found confidence that set up the win. The Tigers hit targets and ran off their opponents to take control and when the game needed to be shutdown late, they did it with poise.

Geelong coach Mark Thompson was not disappointed with his players' endeavour, but their kicking at crucial times let them down. In particular their last-quarter efforts in front of goal cost them victory.

For Geelong, a few more Gary Abletts may have been the difference. As it was, one of them was almost enough. So many times did he skip past opponents, gather balls in packs he had no real right to and find teammates with deft kicks. He was Geelong's best by a long way.

http://www.realfooty.theage.com.au/realfooty/articles/2006/05/27/1148524934325.html

[one-eyed]

By Lyall Johnson
The Age
May 28, 2006

Richmond looks to have lost Brett Deledio for at least six weeks after the youngster left the field in the second quarter with damage to his left medial ligament after being caught in an awkward tackle. It may also lose Shane Tuck, who could come under scrutiny for what seemed to be a behind-the-play elbow to Ablett's head in the third quarter.

Unlike the Cats, Richmond coach Terry Wallace says his team has been full of confidence. "We were confident going into the game that we could win," he said, "and probably a little bit surprised that nobody else was as confident as we were.

"Obviously Geelong has been a terrific side over the last couple of years, people expected them to bounce back. But you can only go on exposed form, and I thought our form was probably in a position that was better than the opposition leading into the game, so unless something changed, unless we fell away or they dramatically lifted, we believed we could get the result.

"I thought our guys really lacked the credit they deserved to get last week, and I think they were pretty keen on doing something about that as well."

http://www.realfooty.theage.com.au/realfooty/articles/2006/05/27/1148524934298.html

[one-eyed]

Pettifer turnaround a portend for harder Richmond
By Rohan Connolly
The Age
May 28, 2006
 
SOONER or later, someone is going to have to start giving Richmond some credit. Perhaps the kudos will eventually come should it happen to sneak into this season's finals. Which, based on yesterday's effort, is a distinct possibility.

Like last week's unexpected victory over Adelaide, yesterday's 20-point win over Geelong, just the Tigers' third at Skilled Stadium in the past 30 years, was a game in which you kept waiting for the favourite to run over the top of the plucky underdog. But, again, Richmond just refused to let it happen.

Geelong had finished the third term full of running with the last three goals to hit the front. The Cats were desperate for a win after five losses from their past six. Richmond hadn't won a final quarter all season. But it was the Tigers who seized the initiative, booting the last five goals of the game while all Geelong could do was kick behinds.

That makes it five wins from their past six games. But neither coach Terry Wallace, nor his players, are expecting a rush to tip this undersold team against Fremantle in Perth next week. That's just par for the course these days.

They'll just keep plugging away, the efforts and workrate of the likes of Chris Hyde, Chris Newman and Kayne Pettifer continue to get under the guard of pundits and opponents alike. That trio has been at Punt Road for at least five years now; their names standards on the teamsheet for an eternity. But each is a significantly better player now than they were then, Pettifer perhaps the most cogent example.

It was last year when the much-maligned No. 9 pick in the 2000 draft began to turn his career around. This season, he's got better still. And his three goals, 21 possessions and work ethic pretty much defined another against-the-odds Richmond victory yesterday.

"Not one person tipped us in the paper … again," he noted with a broad grin after the game. "We like it that way. That's the best win we've had this year, I reckon."

So why the lack of respect?

"I suppose we've had a few blokes out, and we're starting a rebuilding phase, but we've been having a lot of meetings, and just getting a lot smarter, I suppose, compared to last year, when we did a lot of dumb things like turning the footy over and just our skills. But we've turned it around a lot, and when we beat Geelong and Adelaide two weeks in a row, it puts us up there."

Pettifer is well aware for years he's been a favourite whipping boy, not only of Tiger fans but the wider football community. And it continues to spur him on now he's begun to deliver consistently the talents on which the Richmond recruiters were banking all those years ago.

"I love it. Terry's been pushing me to work a lot harder," he said. "I've been lazy over the last four or five years. I've just had to develop a bit of a work ethic, and I suppose the harder you work, the luckier you get and the more ball you get. In the past I've just been trying to pinch a goal. Now I'm pushing up the ground a bit more and getting on the end of them. I've had to work on my fitness a lot over the break because I was carrying a bit of weight, and the hard work does pay off … it's not rocket science.

"There are a few blokes in the media who do bag you, but I feel like I'm starting to turn it round, and my teammates have got a bit more confidence in me now and do use me a bit more. We've got a good group of guys, we're a lot tighter and, hopefully, we can keep going forward. Shane Tuck two years ago was 'finished', and now he's playing great footy, and guys like Chris Newman, and five- and six-year players like myself have had to stand up and instead of being mediocre players, stand up and start playing really good games consistently."

That's something Wallace is in no doubt Pettifer's doing now. "I thought earlier in his career he needed three or four goals to be a quality player, because that was the way he played his footy, he was probably on the receiving end of it, finishing it off," Wallace said. "Now he's on the start of it, and that makes him a far better player as far as I'm concerned."

And Richmond a far better team for it. Pettifer, like his Tigers, might not yet be flavour of the month in the football world, but when you keep playing as well as he is, and keep finding ways to win in the manner Richmond has, who cares?

http://www.realfooty.theage.com.au/realfooty/articles/2006/05/27/1148524934331.html

[one-eyed]

Tigers break records, Geelong hearts
By Roger Vaughan
foxsports.com.au
May 27, 2006

RICHMOND travelled to Skilled Stadium today keen to break AFL records; they left Geelong with the Cats' spirits nearly broken for the season.

The Tigers' outstanding victory ended a 16-year drought at the ground; more importantly, it left Geelong with its year almost shot.

The Cats were determined to recover after last week's 102-point mauling from Collingwood.

Instead, they recorded their sixth loss in seven games after opening the year with the pre-season premiership and two wins.

Coach Mark Thompson admitted a top-four finish was now beyond Geelong, saying the side would have to "scramble" for a finals berth.

"We have to reassess again," he said.

"Obviously a high finish in the top eight is out of the question. We have to scramble to win games and make the finals."

Thompson was pleased with his team's better effort today, but he did not speak to the players after the match.

"I just need a bit more time to really dwell on it," he said.

 "I'm going to go home and watch it now.

"I haven't spoken to the players - generally we made a better effort than we did last week.

"We played some good footy at times and weren't able to sustain it, in the end we lost the opportunity through kicking points.

"It's (a) major disappointment. We've just put ourselves in a real bind."

Geelong hosts West Coast next Saturday, and Thompson was confident his team would turn around its form soon if it maintained today's effort.

Richmond kicked 5.2 to nine behinds in the final term to win after railing at every break - and being down by three points at three-quarter-time.

Cats forward Kent Kingsley, whom Thompson admitted was close to being dropped this week, had no touches after half-time.

But the Tigers were superb, breaking a seven-game losing streak against Geelong to record their fifth victory from their past six matches.

"The record breakers" was written large on the whiteboard in the Richmond dressing room.

Ruckman Troy Simmonds dominated and Chris Hyde kicked four goals.

After all the debate over last week's keepings-off win over Adelaide, coach Terry Wallace said his player badly wanted to again prove their worth.

"I thought our guys really lacked the credit they deserved last week, they were pretty keen on doing something about that as well," he said.

"The whole talk all week was about what happened with the coaching and was it good for the game....the guys were the ones who actually put their noses over the footy, got over the ball first and then didn't give it back to Adelaide.

"They were really determined to show that they could do it again."

Gary Ablett was outstanding for Geelong after passing a fitness test less than two hours before the game.

The Cats lost Peter Riccardi (calf) and Tom Harley (soreness) as late withdrawals.

Richmond youngster Brett Deledio hurt his knee in the second term, but he may miss only one or two weeks.

The Tigers will regain key defender Darren Gaspar and possibly Nathan Brown for next Saturday night's visit to Fremantle.

http://foxsports.news.com.au/story/0,8659,19277965-23211,00.html

[PuntRdRoar]

http://www.heraldsun.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,5478,19278855%255E20322,00.html


finally I made the papers lol

[one-eyed]

Cats a mirror image of themselves 16 years ago
By Tim Lane
The Age
May 29, 2006

IT WAS the sort of historic hook that elevates just another footy result to something more. Richmond hadn't won at Geelong since 1990. That was a long time ago. The Tigers still had players from their most recent premiership. Collingwood hadn't won a flag for almost 32 years. The premiership cup had never left Victoria. My daughter was 10 years old.

I remember it well. As a single parent who worked on weekends, this one was easily organised. She could come with me and spend the Sunday afternoon with her uncle and aunt, who lived at Geelong. She had no interest in footy back then but did ask who was playing. I told her that there may as well be only one team playing and that if Geelong didn't win she could drive the car home. I hated reneging on a promise, but deep down I don't think she minded.

Richmond's chances were apparently no more promising going into last Saturday's match. In this city's two newspaper tipster polls there were 39 votes for the Cats and three for the Tigers. The three included the Black Dog and the Kiss of Death. Lyall Johnson of The Age now walks proudly in their company.

Just as in 2006, the Cats had raised expectation into the 1990 season. They had almost won the '89 grand final. Premierships were on the agenda. Success was expected. And the Cats fell over. Having won four on the trot before that round-seven encounter with the Tigers, they proceeded to lose their way completely and finished 10th. Back then they had a brilliant attack and a flaky defence, a mirror image of now.

This year they won the NAB Cup. They began the season with a couple of spanking wins. After the second of them the opposition coach excused his team on the basis that it had lost to the likely premier. The Cats have won one out of seven since. I suppose Mark Thompson has more important things to worry about but perhaps he should have a chat to the Black Dog.

We all forgot some important, but basic, things. Carlton won the NAB Cup last year. Geelong won only 12 games and one final in 2005. One narrow semi-final defeat against the eventual premier does not necessarily foreshadow a flag. Numerous teams win their first couple of games of the season without being world beaters. The Cats are still woefully light on for target forwards.

For the past couple of years they have been a limited but apparently conscientious group that has extracted close to the best from themselves. Compare the Cats to the premier teams of recent seasons, though, and there is one glaring difference. There is no Hall, Tredrea, or Brown; no O'Loughlin, Lade, or Lynch. A defence and midfield whose best efforts kept rebounding in their faces due to a deficient attack would eventually but inevitably die of a broken heart.

Thompson's worst sin has been to believe either too much in his team or be seduced by the public support it drew. The danger now is that with hope turning to disappointment the toll taken on everyone could have a fragmenting effect. Thompson might feel as though he's back at square one. Yet his outfit just needs one more dimension. It seems to be the story of Geelong's relatively recent life.

http://www.realfooty.theage.com.au/realfooty/articles/2006/05/28/1148754871779.html

[one-eyed]

Tiger wear down Cats
29 May 2006   Herald Sun
Scott Gullan

TERRY Wallace was right as usual. The Tigers coach rarely gets it wrong these days and he felt his team hasn't been getting the kudos it deserved.

Last week it drove premiership favourites Adelaide completely mad at Telstra Dome for an unlikely victory, seven days after being beaten by 20 goals.

On Saturday against a former premiership favourite which was playing for its life, Wallace and his boys got it done against the odds again.

Yes, Geelong's woes make a sexier story, but tribute needs to be paid to what is happening at Punt Rd.

Top of the list is the making of Kayne Pettifer. He has gone from erratic and much-maligned to being one of the more dangerous half-forwards in the game.

Against Geelong he had 21 touches, 11 marks and three goals. He has developed that wonderful quality of looking like doing something every time the ball goes near him, whether it be taking a hanger or kicking an impossible goal.

This was a day for Tiger fans to salute several players who they have spent the past couple of years bagging.

Richard Tambling's slow start to his career has been monitored and criticised heavily by the yellow and black army.

Taken at No. 4 behind Brett Deledio in the 2004 national draft, the talented Aborigine has been slow out of the blocks compared with his teammate.

Playing as a lead-up half-forward against the Cats, Tambling played the best game of his career taking 11 marks and having 23 disposals.

Troy Simmonds, and his five-year contract, has been a popular whipping boy for Tigers' fans.

Against former Tigers favourite son Brad Ottens on Saturday, Simmonds justified Wallace's faith in him.

His work around the stoppages, in combination with Trent Knobel, destroyed Ottens and Cameron Mooney.

Importantly, Simmonds also floated forward to kick three goals, something Geelong fans can only dream about when it comes to Ottens.

Chris Hyde is known more for getting knocked out every second week than his goal-kicking prowess. He led all scorers against the Cats with four and flourished by being ignored by his opponents.

There were plenty of other positives with Dean Polo showing he knows how to play at half-back and Ray Hall turning in a polished performance at full-back after a shaky start on Kent Kingsley.

For two weeks the pressure the Tigers have been able to exert has eventually worn down two more highly regarded opponents.

That says a lot about Wallace and the way he directs his troops. They know how to win, something Geelong has no idea about at the moment.
 
http://www.heraldsun.news.com.au/footy/common/story_page/0,8033,19285874%255E19742,00.html

[one-eyed]

Comedic Cats give last-quarter laughs
John Harms
The Age
May 31, 2006

I WAS in a fantastic mood as we jumped on the train at Southern Cross Station on Saturday morning. I was with a couple of good mates, Paul Sheedy and G.C.J.D. Haigh, there were reports of sunshine in Geelong, and we were only playing Richmond.

This was the game to get the season back on track. Yet, when G.C.J.D. asks how we'll go, I can't give voice to the practised optimism: "We could win by 10 or we could lose by 10. I have no idea." A Geelong fan from Adelaide smiles in agreement.

Sheeds is a vet from Toowoomba. We went to Oakey High School and uni together. He was a gangly 15-year-old who, at well over six feet, managed to play the lead in The Pajama Game before his voice had broken. I'll never forget the director, a teacher who was as metropolitan as tube boogies, going berserk at him for being late for the first Saturday morning rehearsal. Sheeds nonchalantly explained to the city slicker he'd be there when the milking was done or she could shove it where the sun don't shine.

He remains an enthusiastic cricketer; a 200-centimetre leg spinner whose technique makes the frog-in-a-blender action of Paul Adams look normal. He propels himself at the crease knees wobbling, shoulders shrugging and arms swinging. He gets in the classic delivery stride, and props. At this point, a pulse begins in his lower body and moves peristaltically through his body like a rat through a carpet snake. It terminates in his right hand. At this instant, the right leg comes through with the right arm, his head goes down, and from an alarming height and with astounding pace, Sheeds rips out some of the most unplayable leg spinners since O'Reilly. About one in six. It is rare to find a keeper who'll stand up to the stumps to him.

As the train glides into South Geelong, I realise I am sitting with arguably the most eccentric spinning duo ever assembled in one place. Jumbo joins us. We have lunch at the Sawyers Arms, a cosy pub of fireplaces and granddads in cords and nannas in tartan skirts. (If you order the pumpkin soup, it comes with a bread roll and the hymn numbers for church at St Paul's the next day). The 1963 grand final plays on the television screen. Everyone is in a good mood.

As we walk to the ground, there is a bloke putting on a quaddie. He tries to control his formguide in the three-goal breeze so he can find the nags he's circled, all while talking into his phone. It's a bit like watching Geelong's forward line.

The terrace is chockers. There are clusters of loyal Tigers supporters amid the hordes of blue and white. Some of them, in their 20s, have never seen Richmond win here. Yet they still come. We squeeze our way in. Jumbo looks around and says: "I love country footy."

The Cats kick into the breeze and their start is encouraging. In the fine tradition of Abletts v Richmond, young Gary has come to play. But some of his mates haven't.

Richo is magnificently Richo. He demands the footy, gets it and misses, and soon after puts another one out on the full. No one will say anything, but we all know at Geelong he should have had 10 years with us. I love him.

The terrace is puzzled by some of the Cats' options. Kent Kingsley marks 40 out, and passes off to Matthew Scarlett. Wouldn't that be our full-forward looking for our full-back? Scarlett kicks a point. Cameron Ling marks within spitting distance of the goals but he turns and kicks 30 metres backwards to Andrew Mackie in the pocket. Mackie drops a chest mark you'd expect your eight-year-old nephew to snaffle. The terrace groans.

Yet somehow we lead at half-time. It's enough of a lead for the ground announcer to play the Geelong song. That's an A-grade mozz.

The Tigers stay keen and for a while, their pace is hard to contain. They skip clear and a collective consciousness of worry descends upon Kardinia. When "Dasher" Milburn is pinged for throwing, the worry becomes angst. Even the umpires are turning on us. And then the gods. From the free kick on the boundary line, Greg Tivendale mistimes his shot. We are right in line. It wobbles through the air — left, right, left, right — its final wobble taking it through.

But the Cats fight back and we lead at three-quarter-time. Coming home with the wind. We should be fine. Shouldn't we?

The last quarter is crazy. The Cats' decision-making goes from mediocre to poor to ridiculous. There is no leadership. Just miss after miss. Shannon Byrnes, who has been good all day, runs into goal on his right foot. You can almost see him thinking, "I should kick this with my right", but then changing his mind, straightening up and kicking a left-footed point.

The terrace is frustrated. There is a moment when we realise the expected comeback isn't going to happen. Henry Playfair misses from 10 metres and there is a collective "No!" The wag in front admonishes the crowd. "Give Henry a break, it's only his second kick of the day." We total nine miserable behinds for the quarter.

The gods give Richo the last goal of the day. It is amusingly serendipitous. And we all get to sing the Tigers song — because it's such a cracker of a song.

The terrace is too busy shaking its head and laughing at Geelong's ineptitude to be annoyed and angry. Someone suggests Kent Kingsley should call a press conference and announce his retirement.

The jeers come from the other end of the ground. There are reports of membership cards being thrown over the fence. In just three hours, Sheeds has had it all explained to him.

http://www.realfooty.theage.com.au/realfooty/articles/2006/05/30/1148956348201.html

[mightytiges]

Yet somehow we lead at half-time. It's enough of a lead for the ground announcer to play the Geelong song. That's an A-grade mozz.

You are kidding! 

Richo is magnificently Richo. He demands the footy, gets it and misses, and soon after puts another one out on the full. No one will say anything, but we all know at Geelong he should have had 10 years with us. I love him.

The Cats got the booby prize - 10 years with a unfit Ottens on $$$ lol.