Media articles and Stats: Tigers win by 29

[one-eyed]

Finals alive: Tigers win by 29
richmondfc.com.au
By Ben Broad
Sun 17 August, 2008

RICHMOND     5.2   10.5   13.6   16.9 (105)
HAWTHORN    2.5   4.10    7.15  10.16 (76)

GOALS
Richmond: Connors 3, Morton 3, Cotchin, Tuck, Bowden, Tambling, Edwards, White, Cartledge, Deledio, McMahon, Richardson
Hawthorn: Franklin 3, Brown 2, Lewis, Osborne, Rioli, Bateman, Williams

BEST
Richmond: Richardson, Bowden, Deledio, Newman, Tuck, McMahon, Cotchin
Hawthorn: Sewell, Franklin, Lewis, Hodge, Bateman, Mitchell, Ladson

INJURIES
Richmond: Foley out, replaced in selected side by Polo
Hawthorn: Nil

Reports: Simmonds (Richmond) reported for front on bump on Murphy (Hawthorn) in the first quarter by umpire Nicholls

Umpires: James, Nicholls, Mollison

Official crowd: 44,523 at the MCG

----------------------------------------
RICHMOND has shot back into finals' contention after recording a stunning upset win over Hawthorn by 29 points at the MCG on Sunday.

A week after seemingly blowing their chances with their worst performance of the season, Terry Wallace’s men redeemed themselves with a superb victory over the Hawks, 16.9 (105) to 10.16 (76).

The win means that Richmond, with matches against Fremantle and Melbourne remaining, is right back in the finals' hunt.

Hawthorn, meanwhile, has plenty of work to do in the final fortnight of the home and away season before it tries to mount a challenge for an AFL premiership.

But judging on Sunday’s effort, there is still plenty of work to do for Alastair Clarkson,  as his side was outrun, out-enthused and simply outpointed by a more desperate opposition.

Making Richmond’s win all the more impressive was the fact it was achieved without vice-captain and clearance king Nathan Foley, a late withdrawal before the first bounce.

But it didn’t bother the underdog Tigers, who surged clear early and were never headed despite Hawthorn occasionally threatening.

Matthew Richardson was inspirational and typified his team’s never-say-die attitude, Joel Bowden (38 possessions) and Shane Tuck (36) won huge amounts of the footy while Mitch Morton was lively up forward.

Hawks skipper Sam Mitchell worked his way into the game while Luke Hodge, Lance Franklin and Xavier Ellis were all prominent for the losers.

It wasn’t all good news for Richmond, however, with big man Troy Simmonds reported in the first quarter for making high contact.

The Tigers went into the final term leading by 27 points after Mitch Morton soccered one off the goal line right on the three-quarter time siren to extend their advantage.

That goal came like a bolt from the blue after Hawthorn had dominated much of the third term and pressed hard to reduce the margin with little result.

The question was would the Tigers’ advantage be enough to see off a Hawthorn side that looked set to charge – and one with the most lethal forward in the game at one end.

Franklin entered the match on 91 goals and two majors in the first term made it seem as though it might be a landmark day for the young Hawk superstar as he pressed for the magical three figures.

However while clearly the most dangerous forward on the ground, his kicking boots again deserted him and he finished the day with 3.6 from 10 shots on goal.

With Franklin looming large, the Hawks came hard in the final term with Campbell Brown booting two goals inside the first four minutes to cut the margin to just 15 points.

However Richmond responded firstly through Brett Deledio with a long bomb and then – after Mark Williams had got it back to within three goals – through Jordan McMahon’s piercing left foot.

But perhaps it was a few of Richardson’s Herculean efforts that took the cake in the Tigers’ win.

The veteran, who took a staggering 21 marks for the match, threw himself willingly at contests and fittingly kicked the sealer with a little more than five minutes remaining.

Richo was at his floating best, helping out down back, roaming across the wing and presenting in attack.

The Tigers set up their lead with an impressive opening half.

While usual suspects Richardson, Bowden and Tuck were prominent, youngsters such as Daniel Connors (three goals) were equally impressive.

Hawthorn’s big guns, meanwhile, struggled to get into the game, with Mitchell and Brad Sewell kept under close check.

The Tigers led by 15 points at the first break and had doubled that by the main break.

There would be no looking back for Wallace’s men, who can now look forward to rounds 21 with hope and optimism that this September they may now be participants, and not the spectators they have for so long been resigned to being.

Next week the Tigers host Fremantle at the MCG while Hawthorn travel to Subiaco to take on West Coast.

http://www.richmondfc.com.au/Season2007/News/NewsArticle/tabid/6301/Default.aspx?newsId=65686

[one-eyed]

Tigers shock Hawks at 'G
AAP | August 17, 2008 04:21pm

RICHMOND produced a dramatic form reversal to upset a wasteful Hawthorn and keep alive its faint AFL finals hopes at the MCG today.

The Tigers won 16.8 (104) to 10.16 (76), shocking the Hawks by kicking five of the first six goals of the match, with Hawthorn never able to make significant inroads into the deficit.

After trailing by 31 points at the long break, the Hawks had large periods of dominance during the second half, but let themselves down with some woeful kicking for goal, as well as some skill errors in general play.

Star forward Lance Franklin was by far the biggest culprit.

He started the day needing nine goals to notch his century for the season and looked some chance to achieve that feat when he kicked his team's only two majors of the first term.

Both were stunning goals, the first a left-foot banana kick which he rolled through from the right flank, the second a set shot from the intersection of the 50m arc and the boundary on the left flank.

But Franklin's kicking from easier set shots was terrible, finishing the day with 3.6, as well as a shot which sailed out on the full and another which failed to make the distance from about 40m.

The Tigers' early dominance was set up by strong performances in the midfield from Shane Tuck, who had the better of Hawks skipper Sam Mitchell, and Brett Deledio.

Evergreen veteran Matthew Richardson was superb for the winners, particularly in the final term, working hard to make it to contest after contest to ensure the Hawks were unable to mount a comeback.

He finished with 21 marks for the match, as did fellow veteran Joel Bowden.

Young half-forward Daniel Connors shone with three goals in just his second game of the season, while Mitch Morton also kicked three, as their side's only multiple goal-scorers.

Captain Kane Johnson also deserved credit for his defensive role on the Hawks' Luke Hodge, preventing him from having a major influence on the match.

Mitchell tried valiantly to lift the Hawks in the second half with his work in the midfield.

But, after Hawthorn drew within 25 points 15 minutes into the third term, they frittered away the advantage given by their midfield control at that stage, with four consecutive behinds, two of them to Franklin.

The Tigers made them pay with a goal to Morton in the final seconds of the term to extend the buffer at the last change to 27.

Hawks defender Campbell Brown, shifted forward in the final term, started the quarter with two quick goals, to again give his side some hope, but the Tigers were able to hold on, with Richardson fittingly kicking the final goal of the match.

DETAILS:

RICHMOND: 5.2, 10.5, 13.6, 16.9...105
HAWTHORN: 2.5, 4.10, 7.15, 10.16...76

 Goals:
Richmond: M. Morton 3, D. Connors 3, B. Deledio, T. Cotchin, S. Edwards, J. Bowden, M. Richardson, J. McMahon, S. Tuck, R. Tambling, M. White, T. Cartledge.
Hawthorn: L. Franklin 3, C. Brown 2, J. Lewis, M. Williams, M. Osborne, C. Bateman, C. Rioli.

Best:
Richmond: B. Deledio, M. Richardson, S. Tuck, W. Thursfield, L. McGuane, D. Connors.
Hawthorn: S. Mitchell, B. Sewell, G. Birchall, C. Rioli, J. Lewis, C. Bateman.

Umpires: M. James, M. Nicholls, J. Mollison.

Official crowd: 44,523 at the MCG.

http://www.news.com.au/heraldsun/sport/afl/story/0,26576,24194973-5015574,00.html

[Ox]

how in the stuff did bowden get in the bog's.

FMD

[mightytiges]

how in the eff did bowden get in the bog's.

FMD

A lazy 38 possessions lol

[one-eyed]

Team Stats

Disposals:       434 - 359
Efficiency%:      80 - 77
Kicks:             261 - 196
Handballs:      173 - 163
Con. Marks:        9 - 9
Uncon. Marks: 170 - 111
Tackles:            46 - 53
Clearances:       25 - 29
Clangers:          44 - 44
Frees:               21 - 17
Con. Possies:   108 - 90
Uncon.Possies: 328 - 271
Inside 50s:        36 - 49
Assists:             11 - 18
Hitouts:             23 - 37  (Simmonds 13, Cartledge 5 // Campbell 21, Taylor 11)

Individual Stats

player          D EFF% K H G B CM UM T CL C

Bowden       38 84 27 11 1 1 0 21 0 0 4 
Tuck            36 72 12 24 1 0 0   6 2 5 3 
McMahon     30 97 23   7 1 0 0 14 1 0 2 
Deledio       29 79 12 17 1 0 0 10 5 2 2 
Richardson  29 69 21   8 1 2 4 17 1 0 3 
Schulz        29 90 23   6 0 0 0 17 1 0 3 
Newman     27 78 23   4 0 0 0 13 3 1 1 
Johnson      25 80 16   9 0 0 0 10 3 0 1 
Jackson      18 78 11   7 0 0 0   6 2 0 2 
Cotchin      17 65 10   7 1 0 0   6 2 4 3 
Polo           17 88   7 10 0 0 0   4 0 2 0 
Simmonds 17 82 11   6 0 0 0   6 4 2 4 
Tambling   17 94   9   8 1 0 0   7 3 1 1 
Connors     16 88 10   6 3 0 1   3 0 0 3 
McGuane    14 86   7   7 0 0 0   6 4 1 0 
Moore        14 93   6   8 0 0 1   5 1 1 1 
Morton       14 86   9   5 3 1 2   4 3 1 1 
Edwards     11 45   5   6 1 1 0   3 3 2 2 
White         11 64   7   4 1 1 0   4 2 1 1 
Thursfield   10 90   3   7 0 0 0   3 0 0 2
Riewoldt       8 88   6   2 0 0 1   5 2 0 1
Cartledge     7 43   3   4 1 0 0   0 4 2 4 

player FF FA CP UP I50 A     
     
Bowden       0 0 4 35 3 1       
Tuck            1 1 9 27 2 1       
McMahon     1 2 2 28 3 1       
Deledio       0 1 8 21 2 1       
Richardson  0 0 9 22 2 0       
Schulz        0 0 2 27 2 0       
Newman     2 0 5 22 2 1       
Johnson      0 0 1 24 3 0       
Jackson      0 2 3 16 3 1       
Cotchin      0 0 7   9 1 0       
Polo           0 0 6 10 0 1       
Simmonds  2 4 5 11 2 0       
Tambling    1 1 4 11 0 1       
Connors      4 1 9  7 1 1       
McGuane     0 0 5  9 0 0     
Moore         1 0 5  9 0 0       
Morton        2 1 6  7 3 1       
Edwards      2 0 7  6 1 0       
White          1 1 3  9 2 0       
Thursfield    1 1 3  7 0 0       
Riewoldt      0 1 1  7 0 0     
Cartledge     2 1 3  4 4 1

http://superstats.heraldsun.com.au/gamestatslive/5015574.html

[one-eyed]

Two not-so-straight shooters share dreams of 100 goals
Lyall Johnson | August 18, 2008

MOMENTS after the final siren sounded yesterday to give Richmond its best win of the season, Matthew Richardson - who was yet again a hero in the Tigers' victory - embraced Hawthorn's Lance Franklin. The man known as 'Buddy' could have won the game off his own boot but, yet again, did not.

Last time, with a return of 1.7, Buddy's teammates helped him out; Jarryd Roughead booting 5.3. Yesterday Franklin was again wayward, kicking 3.6 as the Tigers poured on the pressure and played one of their most consistent matches under Terry Wallace.

The Tigers' impressive 29-point win keeps them in the hunt for a finals berth, even if their mood was dampened two hours later by news that St Kilda had defeated Fremantle.

Roughead played further up the ground yesterday, had just five disposals, only one (uncontested) mark, failed to trouble the scorers even with a behind, and had almost no impact on the match.

Speaking after the match, Richardson, whose 29 possessions and crunch goal in time-on of the final term sealed the match, said he had told Franklin: "Good luck and I hope you get your 100 next week."

From the opening minutes it was obvious Richmond had found the form, resolve and discipline it forgot to take to Adelaide last week. The Tigers also displayed a level of skill and decision-making poise that is too often lacking in their armoury.

Four goals to one in the first 11minutes and they were on their way, another to Mitch Morton in time-on, as the Hawks kicked five behinds. Suddenly the margin was out to 21points, which proved decisive in a game that ebbed and flowed but one that neither side could break open.

Franklin had two in the first term, yet despite his teammates' desire to feed him the ball, was well manned by Kelvin Moore and at times Will Thursfield, with Luke McGuane leaping into packs to lend a fist. Franklin's only other major came soon after half-time.

Wallace has learnt from Alastair Clarkson's use of the rolling zone, and both sides struggled to break through the lines in the second term.

By midway through the term, Richmond was coping better, Shane Edwards snapping truly, Daniel Connors capitalising on a torpedo from Chris Newman out of full-back to link up with Daniel Jackson, and Richard Tambling goaling brilliantly on the run and then following up with another in time-on from a set shot free courtesy of a Jordan Lewis push in the back.

The Tigers went to the main break having outscored Hawthorn five goals to two in both quarters, but when Franklin goaled in the first minute one feared the giant had been roused.

Yet the Hawks midfield of Luke Hodge, Brad Sewell and Chance Bateman was well down on its best, notwithstanding the fine efforts of Sam Mitchell, while the contested work of Shane Tuck, Brett Deledio, Trent Cotchin and Dean Polo was gathering plenty of first use and rattling the Hawks.

They were ably supported by the resurgent Joel Bowden, who stood tall yet again.

Despite Hawthorn's pressure and Richmond's virtual failure to get the ball inside its half of the ground for 15minutes of the third term, the Hawks failed to take full toll.

Goals to Cyril Rioli and Bateman were dissected by one to the Tigers' Tristan Cartledge after a silly 50-metre penalty. And four shots on goal missed the target - two from the boot of Franklin.

Richmond fought on gamely in their back half and if fortune could be said to favour their brave defending, they managed a rare thrust forward in which Trent Cotchin kicked long on his left to a marking contest that Morton was able to run off and soccer through on the siren.

With their legs spent, Richmond had lost their run in the opening minutes of the last. The Hawks, sensing their chance, pounced, Campbell Brown booting two in three minutes.

With the margin down to 15 points, the Hawks looked set to roll over the top of the Tigers, but their usual poise, hard running and skill level was simply not there, and the Tigers responded.

Polo smothered a speculative handball from Shane Crawford, gathered the ball and dished off to Deledio who goaled on the run. Then Mark Williams goaled in return, and another Hawthorn turnover set up a goal for Jordan McMahon.

Richo by this stage was running from end to end, helping out in defence, linking up in the midfield and presenting across half-forward.

Fittingly, Richardson scored the last goal of the match after a fine mark, Trent Croad capping off an average game with a 50-metre penalty.

Encouragingly for the Tigers they had 75 more possessions than their more fancied opponents and won 17 more contested possessions.

BEST
Richmond: Tuck, Deledio, Richardson, Bowden, Moore, Connors.

THE UPSHOT
For probably a half of football, Richmond dared to believe it was in with a real chance of playing finals. Then St Kilda kicked ahead of Fremantle to bring the Tigers back down to earth with a thud. Having to rely on St Kilda or Collingwood (or both) to lose their last two games is too thin a hope.

TALKING POINT
Alastair Clarkson, it seems, wasn't happy with the MCG surface, suggesting it was too slippery and soft. But he said later he wasn't really having a whinge. Richmond ruckman Troy Simmonds was booked for a high and unnecessary contact to Thomas Murphy, but if the charge does not get thrown out, the AFL will next year merge with Netball Australia.

HOT AND COLD
The hot has to go to the Tigers' defence of Kel Moore, Luke McGuane and Will Thursfield, who helped contain what is meant to be the most potent forward line in the AFL. The cold, of course, must go to Lance Franklin and Jarryd Roughead, who kicked only 3.6 between them. Well, Franklin kicked 3.6, Roughead's closest shot went out of bounds on the full.

http://www.realfooty.com.au/news/rfmatchreport/september-dreaming/2008/08/17/1218911462226.html?page=fullpage#contentSwap1

[one-eyed]

Hawks unhappy with MCG turf
Michael Gleeson | August 18, 2008

HAWTHORN coach Alastair Clarkson did not wish to suggest he was a losing coach whingeing yesterday, but having lost to Richmond he complained that the MCG turf was the worst he had seen it.

Indeed it was miles worse than that at Telstra Dome, he said, and needed to be urgently resurfaced.

"I reckon the MCG surface could get better, too, because it is the worst I have seen it," Clarkson said.

He observed that the normally accurate Sam Mitchell had difficulty keeping his feet when kicking and had fluffed half of his kicks.

But Richmond had a kicking efficiency of 77%, which would appear to challenge Clarkson's assertion.

MCG chief executive Stephen Gough said the turf, a third of which is constantly in the shade of the new northern stands, would be relaid after round 22, the last home-and-way round.

http://www.realfooty.com.au/news/news/hawks-unhappy-with-mcg-turf/2008/08/17/1218911461196.html

[one-eyed]

Richmond defenders close down Hawk stars
Bruce Matthews | August 18, 2008

RICHMOND defenders made a pact that Hawthorn ace Lance Franklin wasn't going to celebrate his century against them.

Stop "Buddy" was the mantra of the backline boys, led by Luke McGuane and Kelvin Moore who had the unenviable task of curbing the powerful Hawk as he closed on 100 goals for the season.

"We knew all week we were going to keep him to a limited amount," McGuane said.

"But we couldn't leave (Jarryd) Roughead by himself. He's a very dangerous player, and (Mark) Williams is another one. We backed our players one-on-one and we would help out where we could. We make sure we look after each other."

To no-one's surprise, Franklin was Hawthorn's main goalkicker at the MCG yesterday, but his three goals were never going to get his side over the line.

Richmond's backline was the glue for the stirring 29-point win.

Franklin helped the Tigers with some typically wayward kicking for goal, mixed with acts of breathtaking athleticism.

He kicked two goals on Moore in the first half, while McGuane fared even better in the second.

With Franklin shackled, the Hawks couldn't hope to compile a winning score, particularly with Roughead and Cyril Rioli held goal-less and Williams scrounging only one.

"We've been waiting for that game for a long time, to have the back six working the way we want," McGuane said.

"We've got a set back six, good morale and we know what we're doing.

"Geelong came through at the same age - they'll all about 25, 26 - we want to be as dominant as they are now."

Richmond kept Hawthorn under pressure from the moment Trent Cotchin kicked the first goal after four minutes.

The Tigers' patience to chip the ball sideways forced the Hawks to come to them and not sit back in their zones.

But, as much as Richmond players stuck to Terry Wallace's game plan, Hawthorn counterpart Alastair Clarkson will wince again when he conducts his video review.

In Olympic parlance, the Hawks established a PB . . . for butchering the ball. They were wasteful inside the forward 50, particularly in a dominant second-term period that yielded only two goals.

Captain Sam Mitchell's normally reliable radar deserted him. The midfielder missed more targets than a cross-eyed shooter on the Beijing range.

Two clangers in a minute saw him summoned to the bench late in the third quarter when the Hawks again failed to capitalise on a momentum shift.

Richmond had the answers. Even when Hawk defender Campbell Brown went forward and twice goaled early in the last quarter, the Tigers didn't falter.

When a misdirected Shane Crawford handpass gifted a goal to Brett Deledio and Jordan McMahon made Mitchell pay for a misjudged chip pass to Stuart Dew, the Hawks' box must have realised this wasn't their day.

Matthew Richardson typified the Tigers commitment, particularly when his younger teammates sniffed an upset win in the last quarter.

Imagine the lift for tired bodies and minds when they saw their spiritual leader fight to dispossess young Xavier Ellis in a two-against-one duel on the northern wing and, four minutes later, put his battered body on the line again to slide in to upend Mitchell.

Fittingly, the ball was safely in those huge Richo mitts deep in defence when the siren sounded on one of the most satisfying afternoons of his illustrious career.

http://www.news.com.au/heraldsun/sport/afl/story/0,26576,24196541-19742,00.html

[one-eyed]

Mike Sheahan's view
Herald-Sun | August 18, 2008

The Hawks went down to Richmond by 29 points at the MCG on a day the Tigers just had to redeem themselves after their shameful effort in Adelaide the previous week.

They were excellent, the Tiges, but Hawthorn paid a heavy price for its extravagance this time.

"Buddy" Franklin kicked 3.6 - is it still alarmist to critique his kicking? - and others including skipper Sam Mitchell made unfamiliar mistakes with their disposal.

The Hawks know their position on the ladder can't change, so their intensity and urgency was down, but Richmond did the job from start to finish.

Even when Hawthorn challenged early in the final term, the Tigers held their nerve. They just maintained possession, racking up 122 disposals in the last quarter, with Matthew Richardson leading the way with a dozen.

Whatever happened to them in Adelaide remains a mystery, but they showed yesterday they weren't going to lay down and die, as they might have in the past.

http://www.news.com.au/heraldsun/sport/afl/story/0,26576,24196895-19742,00.html

[one-eyed]

Tigers stun Hawks to stay in finals hunt
Stephen Rielly | August 18, 2008
 
YESTERDAY, at the MCG, Richmond beat a team inside the top eight for the first time this season, to rekindle the flicker of a finals flame that appeared to have been doused a week earlier by Adelaide. Then, almost immediately, a new game began.

If he was entitled to a warm inner glow after his side streaked away from Hawthorn and later displayed uncharacteristic poise to resist a challenge that twice brought the Hawks to within 15 points in the final term, Richmond coach Terry Wallace decided to add a point or two to the 29 his Tigers ultimately won by.

He decided to get a kick or two in himself, it seemed, in a contest that appears to have had his fate, and that of others who have been by his side for almost four years at Punt Road, in the balance since football director Greg Miller was sacked last month.

Miller went arguing for a contract extension for the coach and Wallace effectively distanced himself from his board days later by describing his ally's departure as regrettable and certainly not in the interests of stability.

Although the coach is contracted until the end of next year, personnel changes have been mooted since and the question of whether or not Richmond's progress under Wallace has been adequate has stood over the club.

Richmond president Gary March tried to still troubled waters before the game by declaring that Wallace would be coach next year. Wallace had his say three hours later when he described the victory over Hawthorn as the best of his time with the Tigers, a sure sign of progress, and paid unsolicited compliments to his staff for their ability to impart the discipline required to unlock the Hawks' zone defence.

It was a performance as good as any produced in a Richmond jumper yesterday, of which there were many, and as polished as the Tigers were overall and have been in years.

Richmond kicked 16.9 from only 36 forays forward of their 50m arc, for instance. They played with impressive and decisive patience, keeping faith in the idea that the trick against the Hawks is not to panic. That the zone, once breached, disintegrates and scoring can be a relatively easy matter.

"We were ready for it and that, to be honest, is a real credit to the coaching staff," Wallace said.

"The assistant coaches who put so much work into that area of the game, probably real credit to the guys who go and do the opposition analysis. They did their homework, we then put a couple of strategies in place to break that down and then you've got the players who stuck to the strategies that we put in place."

Wallace added that after the horror of last week's one-goal first half against the Crows, the control witnessed yesterday was as good as he has seen from any of his Richmond sides, reflected in the swift, early scoring and, later, the high numbers of possessions when the game needed to be sandbagged.

"We went from being as undisciplined, structurally, last week to as disciplined, structurally, as what I've seen since I've been here. It shows what you can do in a week in footy," Wallace said, before adding: "I think the people in the industry sometimes look at a fortnight in footy and don't look at the bigger picture at times. I think we've shown as much natural improvement over the course of the season as have most of the other sides that are lower down the ladder.

"The key to our game was that it was more of a four-quarter performance. We've won games this year where we've had eight or nine goals in a quarter and had a terrific patch and then gone missing for a patch in the game. It was probably our best four-quarter, disciplined, do-the-right-thing, nothing fancy, get-the-job-done game that we've played."

Hawthorn is certainly the best of the sides Richmond has beaten this year and yet it offered significant assistance in its demise. Jarryd Roughead had kicked 10 goals in his two previous games against the Tigers and yet it was as if the Hawks were under instruction yesterday not to kick to him. Or Mark Williams, for that matter.

Roughead finished with five possessions and one mark and did not score. Williams kicked one goal in the last quarter, and the Hawks kicked consecutive goals only once in the match, in the last term when Campbell Brown first brought the Hawks to within 15 points.

The level of Buddytricity, the focus on feeding Lance Franklin's extraordinary gifts, reached a self-destructive and, to look at Roughead's frustration late in the game, corrosive level.

Franklin kicked two early goals and customarily missed with three other shots in the first quarter but that is now expected of him. He finished with 3.6, to be six goals shy still of the 100 mark, and undoubtedly deserved to be fed but there were numerous times when he was not the appropriate player to go to.

When Hawthorn dominated the game in the third term, only to produce 3.5, it was plain that they needed to spread the Richmond defence by honouring any player open inside their forward 50 metre arc.

Instead, the likes of Matthew Richardson, Jordan McMahon and Joel Bowden were able to roll back and congest the Hawthorn forward line as nearly every ball went Buddy's way.

Hawthorn coach Alastair Clarkson denied that this was the case. As he has before. Then again, he was miffed with the slightly heavy state of the MCG, too, as if somehow his side was at a disadvantage to a Richmond outfit not known in the past for being especially robust or precise.

"He (Franklin) has had 10 shots on goal," Clarkson protested.

"There were times when Williams and Roughead were on and they were kicked to and they were cut off just because the execution of the kick was poor. Other times, in the last quarter Mark Williams is on for a lead and he tries to take a chest mark rather than out in his hands and it gets punched away. There are plenty of opportunities for all of our forwards to have an impact on the game."

Except that only one did. Which did not escape Wallace's attention, either.

"I thought they put a few eggs in that basket today," Wallace said, to score yet another point in the game played after the final siren.

http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,24197165-5012432,00.html

[Tigermonk]

how in the eff did bowden get in the bog's.

FMD

because he keeps proving you wrong Brackets & you cant take it 
Bowden played a great game,  surely you would see more being at the game