Richmond edge out Magpies in AFL trial
The Age
March 16, 2007 - 7:29PM
Richmond withstood two last-quarter surges from Collingwood to claim a seven-point win in their AFL trial match in Red Cliffs near Mildura in Victoria.
Down by 23 points at three-quarter time, the Magpies put up strong fourth quarter effort to boot four goals and twice close the gap to within seven points.
Two majors to Tarkyn Lockyer and others to Anthony Rocca and Paul Licuria had the Tiger defence scrambling to hold on in the final stages before a crowd of more than 10,700 at Quandong Park.
The last quarter heroics were left to effervescent forward Nathan Brown, who booted the Tigers' only goal for the term to virtually seal the win, Richard Tambling, Andrew Raines and captain Kane Johnson, who worked tirelessly in the midfield.
Brown enjoyed a solid run in the warm conditions, kicking four goals for the game, while Tambling got better as the afternoon wore on.
Magpie Dale Thomas had a chance to bring his side to within a solitary point late in the game, however his kick at goal from the pocket at the Mildura end missed badly.
Thomas was among the better players for his team, finding plenty of space and showing glimpses of the skill he first demonstrated to AFL fans last season.
Leon Davis electrified the crowd on occasions with his drive through the midfield, while Licuria and Scott Burns were equally conspicuous.
The Magpie camp would have been pleased with the efforts of Travis Cloke, who provided a strong presence up forward and booted two goals in quick succession just before halftime.
Rocca was well held by Joel Bowden and suffered from some indiscriminate delivery inside the forward 50. He managed only one goal for the game.
The Tigers went into the match with close to their best line-up, with only Matthew Richardson, Troy Simmons and Mark Coughlan (all injured) among the few big names absent.
Rookie-listed players Cameron Howat, Jake King and Angus Graham took to the field for Richmond looking to secure the spot on the main list left vacant by Coughlan, who will be out for the season.
The Magpies on the other hand were without the services of skipper Nathan Buckley, who travelled with the team to Sunraysia, Allan Didak, Fremantle recruit Paul Medhurst and Brodie Holland.
Richmond coach Terry Wallace said he had been pleased with the efforts of his younger brigade during the hit-out.
"I think every time you come out to play in a competitive nature you want to win where you possibly can - but it (winning) isn't the be all and end all," he said.
"We've got a lot of young boys that we're still trialling... and a few of those boys have really put their hand up and I thought inspired some of our other players with their efforts."
And he said Richardson would be fine for Richmond's round one clash against Carlton.
"I guarantee he's fine," he said.
"He will be absolutely right for round one - there's no problems there. We'll just have to balance our side as to who's in and who's out after a good effort today."
Meanwhile, Malthouse said his side was working on the structure of its forward line following the pre-season departure of Chris Tarrant, and admitted there was still "a lot" of work to be done.
"We haven't kicked a lot of goals in the weeks we've played," he said.
"I think 15 was probably the most against St Kilda two or three weeks ago. (So) we'll play around with it a little bit."
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