Richmond vs Coburg practice/intra-club match

[Penelope]

I need to display some ignorance here. Who were the fab 4?

Started at Brisbane with Black, Power, Voss and........ and........

Nope.  Started at Richmond in the mid-late 90's (circa Northey).  We signed our Fab 4 for ridiculous amounts of money on long contracts in the belief that they would be the foundation stone of our next power dynasty.  It used up far too much of our salary cap and placed inflated ideas of the value of each member's
importance in their individual heads.  Ego's and power out of control.  Campbell, Daffy, Richo and I'm not 100% sure of the other one (Gale, Bowden, Knights?) but I know it had a long lasting negative impact on our list and culture.

number 4 was knighter. Incredible selfishness by all 4 players with only knighta and richo justifying their massive contracts.
Then along came gasper and holland.

I think thats a fair assessment of those players y&b.

Cheers for that. I had a suspicion you werent talking about brisbane smokey.


@RR & ball

[mightytiges]

Kelli Underwood was sooking that it was freezing out there but did the ground was in great condition 

For someone like me who doesn't usually feel the cold it was. You would've thought it was mid-winter.

Very good crowd....

Probably around the thousand mark. Fans were standing right around the ground.

The snags they had there were very tasty too.

[RollsRoyce]

Forward line still seems to need lots of work. polak and riewoldt leading the forwards to successful goal tallies- i cant see it to be honest. Griffiths and Astbury should be groomed throughout 2010 to take these roles.

Yeah, to be honest Jack had a bit of a stinker today. He didn't get his 1st touch til the 2nd term, and kicked it straight to a Coburg player on his own with a dinky little short pass.
But Polo and Hislop provided good marking foils in the forward line, and Astbury didn't look too far off. If Polak could convert his chances better, and Jack was just having an off day, our forward setup isn't all gloom and doom. Especially with Morton, Nahas, and Troy Taylor (who did some nice things today) also down there.

[RollsRoyce]

Kelli Underwood was sooking that it was freezing out there but did the ground was in great condition 

For someone like me who doesn't usually feel the cold it was. You would've thought it was mid-winter.

Very good crowd....

Probably around the thousand mark. Fans were standing right around the ground.

The snags they had there were very tasty too.

Hi MT! I didn't see you there today (big crowd) whereabouts were you loitering. I was halfway up the opposite wing to the social club, and also went to the huddles at the breaks to identify players better.

[mightytiges]

Hi MT! I didn't see you there today (big crowd) whereabouts were you loitering. I was halfway up the opposite wing to the social club, and also went to the huddles at the breaks to identify players better.

I was on the pavilion side but around about the 50-mark towards the southern end goals. I went to the Richmond huddle after the 2nd and 4th quarters. I was about to leave atfer the 4th quarter but Cotch said they had another quarter to go.

[RollsRoyce]

I was on the pavilion side but around about the 50-mark towards the southern end goals. I went to the Richmond huddle after the 2nd and 4th quarters. I was about to leave atfer the 4th quarter but Cotch said they had another quarter to go.

Yeah, we almost made that mistake. We were out the exit, then saw them setting up again. Who ever heard of five fourths???
Man was it freezing there. I prefer the cold to the stinking heat, but I dressed for 21 and spent the arvo shivering in a t-shirt.   

[Mr Magic]

Our forward line is going to struggle again this year. No doubt.

[mightytiges]

Firstly thanks to WP for posting the txt message updates  .

Thanks to the Western Ring Road car park   I missed the first 10 minutes so that's why RR I missed who kicked the first couple of goals. I was told it was 3.4 to zilch at that stage so the final score I txted might be off a fraction but it's close enough. It really was one way traffic.

The stiff breeze was worth about 4-5 goals to the Northern end. It was nigh on impossible to kick goals at the Southern end from any distance beyond 20m without the ball holding up or being pulled across the goals. From memory only Hislop managed to snuck one through from about 30m out and he had to start the ball on the near point post so the breeze bananaed it through the big sticks.

Individuals

I didn't notice Thursty, Simmo, McGaune, Roberts, Hicks, Westhoff and Foley of course out there today.

3. Lids - played the first 3 quarters starting in the centre at bounces and was pretty everywhere inside and outside winning a heap of footy. Would've been close to B.O.G.

4. Polo - I haven't tallied up the goals yet but Deano must have kicked about 4 playing in the forward line for the first 3 quarters. Looks bigger in the torso and he was able to outbody opponents.

6. Polak - played FF alongside to Riewoldt and presented and contested well taking half-a-dozen marks inside 50. No helmet as WP mentioned which was a surprise. Almost pulled off a massive specky as well. Let himself kicking just 1 goal (his last shot), 4 behinds and about 2-3 OOTF. The breeze affected set shots as mentioned but at least half of those misses you would expect an AFL player to nail.

7. Nahas - A quiet first term from what I saw but got more involved in the second pushing upfield to apply pressure and run down opponents. A solid game all up without creating havoc or kicking goals.

8. Riewoldt - Quiet. Just couldn't get in the game with Polly and the midsize forwards getting the footy.

9. Cotch - A class above. His inside work whether at centre bounces where he got a number of clearances or standing up in tackles in traffic to release the ball to a free teammate was brilliant. My B.O.G. Best of all he got through 3 quarters unscathed.

10. Edwards - A good game from Shane even though the ball wasn't down his end all too much. Mopped up in defence and provided plenty of rebound of HB.

11. Dea - Came on with the other newbies in the 4th and 5th quarters.

13. McMahon - Didn't come on until the 4th quarter so I'm presuming Hardwick has him down the order as far as best 22 is concerned. Played well of HB as he was given plenty of space in which to operate which meant he made few mistakes.

15. Farmer - Best of the 4th-5th qtr newbies. Really stamped his presence on the game. Easily would've end up with 10+ possies in his 2 quarters of footy. Clean disposal and showed desperation to contest as shown when he was able to beat two Coburg players - spoiling one who has the sit for the mark and then diving in to prevent a second Burger from collecting the spillage. Early days but he's putting his hand up for the small back pocket spot in the side.

17. Newy - I had Newy 4th best on ground. Rebounded well in his usual role and kept pumping the ball into attack with clean disposal.

18. Rance - Played FB for the first 3 quarters. Hard to judge him as the ball rarely came down his end. Spoiled well. The only error I can think of is he had one sloppy handpass across the defensive goal.

19. Connors - Came on in the second quarter and played solid and pleasingly disciplined game off HB. No trying to take mark of the year or taking on 6 opponents trying to kick a goal from the backline. Would got a fair bit of the footy too and used it well. Looks reasonably fit now he's finally had a preseason and like Polo looks bigger across the chest.

20. Morton - Quiet 2.5 quarters. His first goal late in the 2nd quarter would've been his first touch. We were wondering why Hardwick didn't give Morton a run in the midfield to allow him to get his hands on the footy.

[mightytiges]

Yeah, we almost made that mistake. We were out the exit, then saw them setting up again. Who ever heard of five fourths???
Man was it freezing there. I prefer the cold to the stinking heat, but I dressed for 21 and spent the arvo shivering in a t-shirt.   

I had just a t-shirt on for the first half but thankfully I brought a jumper in my backpack. Most people had thick jackets and scarves on so you would've stood out RR  .

[Hellenic Tiger]

Great report MT

Did Doc Martin play with the rest of the newbies in the 4th and 5th quarters or did he have more of a hit out? How did he go?

Style of footy? With all due respect to Coburg and the final score was it direct or was it a higher possession type of game?

Furthermore how did the skills look overall and by your perception at the same time in previous season are they better do they look crisper? Do the players look more conditioned and fit or has the weights session masked fitness in terms of extra size as som mentioned Polo has bulked up? Who else looks more bulky by the way?

Thanks.

[torch]

hi everyone, i went to the intra-club too. instead of writing a report, i will just use dot points.

* arrived at 5pm, just before the third quarter, and from what i have read, i have missed the A-Team. so this wont be as good as "The Man MT's Reporting!"

* a lot of people, 200+.

*yes, Clarkson was there, as was John Barker, Adam Simpson and two young blokes that were taking notes.

*Clarkson had his two little boys there, and one brought his dad a 30cm piece of lawn to show him and they all started laughing. like a good bloke, Clarkson, put it back. just to let you know, i was about 20 metres from them, and really wanted to hear what they were saying, but next to them was Kelli and Channel 10 and i didn't have to courage to stand next to them!

*In my opinion, what Kelli said about Richmond is a little over the top.

*Like i said, i missed the first two quarters, and was disappointed the i only saw Martin twice, with no touches, however he is a big 18 year old.

*Did Griffiths play? because i am sure he didn't.

*David Astbury, caught me eye! MUSCLE MUSCLE MUSCLE ASAP! that is his problem.

*Let me tell you how disappointed i am in the players body sizes! i stood next to them, and i was bigger in size. I did not see Alex Rance and Kelvin Moore size because they were off after mid way through the third.

*We will get smashed because we are too weak in the body. That was my major disappointed, we are to skinny! Geelong, St Kilda, Adelaide have big bodies! there average players have big bodies! that is the difference!

*Collins, Polo, White, Edwards - sticks! i thought Deledio was bigger in the arms???

*Don't get too excited, we did play Coburg!

*Post, Gourdis down back, don't like, Post should be in the forward line. Gourdis, yeahhhh okkkk.

*King and McMahon played the whole six quarters i think? i didn't see the first two quarters

*Riewoldt was boundary umpiring and was a bit entertaining! he was telling the forwards in the final two quarters where to move and zone after a point! interesting!

*Vickery - Ruckman! that is where he belongs!

*Tambling should be playing in the midfield! not across the half-back line.

*Morton kicked more then 3 goals! he kicked at least 2 in the third, and one in the fourth. somebody said he kicked 3 in the first quarter? if so, then he kicked 6.

*I did not see (Playing): Jackson, Simmonds, Foley, McGuane, Griffiths, Nason, Thursfield, Farmer?, Webberley, Roberts.

*not sure about the other Rookies, but i think Westoff (who missed two running into goals) and O'Reilly did play.

*Collins has something but needs muscle!

*Thomas and Astbury were positives for me! Astbury, we may have found a CHF, and Thomas a good-average player that will get dirty when needed.

*Troy Taylor is interesting. i saw him have 1-3 touches, however, he has this something about him! a dangerous something, that i like, and i hope he plays Round 1 because he has the "something about him!".

*decision-making is still a problem. eg: Jake King. King, takes a mark, and for some reason plays on with his back turned, straight away under pressure, kicks it out on the full. why play on Jake?

*working into the 50 is still a problem. no structure! however, i only saw the last four quarters. players outside the 50 would just kick it without looking, and an easy mark and turn-over occurs.

[mightytiges]

I forgot to mention Jacko didn't play either. Nason didn't play either.

2. Collins - Was surprised he wasn't in the starting 22. Played a solid game getting plenty of possessions in a prime midfield role with the newbies in the 4th/5th quarters.

21. Tuck - Typical tucky. Wins the hard ball but can just blaze away when he kicks it. Didn't come on until late in the 3rd quarter so maybe another senior player who isn't in Hardwick's best 22 at this stage. Looks like Tucky will be back-up this year as he isn't in our future plans. Bring him in later in the season as the young but more talented cubs tire or feel sore and need a break from AFL footy.

22. Gilligan - Came on with the newbies and actually played a solid two quarters. Got a few touches, clean disposal and looked quite comfortable out there.

24. Taylor - Still trying to find his way and mixed the uncanny skills and balanced feet with some schoolboy errors (misjudged the flight of the ball a couple of times when he had an opportunity to mark) but obviously Hardwick rates him to start him in the Richmond 22.  

25. Graham - Typical game from Gus. Rucked in combo with Vickery.

27. Hislop - Played HFF/midsized forward. Solid game which was good to see. Good defensive pressure as well. Based on what RR said Sloppy would've ended up with around 4 goals himself which is a good return.

29. Vickery - As I said he rucked in tandem with Gus. I prefer Ty to Gus because Ty looks far more natural as a "tall midfielder" when the ball hits the ground. He's willing to get down at ground level to win the ball and can win clearances from his own ruckwork. Did some nice tapwork today where he hit the ball away into space so teammates could run onto the loose footy. Still needs to add bulk as Browne and Coburg's other big body ruckman were able to plonk their frame between Ty and the ball.

30. Tambling - Solid faultless game from Blingers without being spectacular. His footpassing and vision was excellent today.

31. Thomson - As you all know I'm not a big fan of his but credit to Thomo today. Part of the midfield rotation. I'm guessing he had the "tagging" role in the side in the absence of Jacko although there was no need to tag today with the RFC's dominance. Ran hard both ways and pushed forward to mark and kick a couple of goals in the first quarter.

32. Cousins - Typical solid game from Cuz. Played about a half and won more and more footy as the game went along. Dimma very happy with him on Sports Tonight.

33. Gourdis - Replace Rance at FB in the 3rd quarter. The ball didn't get down his end too much so like Rance not much to judge him by today but he got a couple of strong spoils from behind in packs when it did.

35. White - Typical Whitey game. Can get the ball and break lines but his foot disposal lets him down.

36. Martin - Best news out of the day for mine. Will be a gun in the future. Runs all over the ground to gain the footy. One play that stood out was he had the ball in defence and then after dishing off sprinted 80m to the wing to get on the end it. Footskills are excellent as we knew. Hardwick had Lids, Cotch and Martin at centrebounces for most of the first half. An eye into our future. The only negative was Martin got caught a few times holding the ball in tight but positives far outways the negatives.

37. Post - Played CHB today and had a solid game given how little ball came down his end. Marked incoming balls and rebounded well. Hardwick obviously rates Postie's agility, mobility to turn defence into rebounding attack quickly.

38. King - Played the 1st then 4th and 5th quarter from memory. Good game too up forward where his strengths (ferocity, workrate) are maximised and his deficiencies are minimised (his disposal errors don't cost goals as they did in defence). Tried to a couple of times to stand on top of his Coburg opponent's head speckie fashion irrespective of whether he could reach the ball lol. Kingy was boundary umpire for the 2nd quarter. Actually we were saying he could make a good ump if he went down that path.

39. Astbury - pleasantly surprised with Dave's game. Came on at the start of the 3rd quarter and really looked comfortable out there playing up forward. Kicked a couple of goals and just impressed with the way he moved and contested for a young tall. Appears a natural footballer.

40. Moore - Fairly quiet game from Kel (as I said our backline didn't have much to do for most of the game) who played more as a HBF/tall BP rather than his usual key position post. It seems Hardwick is totally rejigging our defence key positions. No Thursty or McGuane today so we are yet to see who Dimma prefers.

42. O'Reilly - Another who came on in the 4th and 5th quarter. Played on a wing. Didn't really stand out but was involved enough in contests to notice him. One compliment I can give is you wouldn't have noticed today he was new to the game as far as his kicking.

43. Browne - Hard to difficult task of being the only RFC player in the Coburg line-up. Spent the whole day in ruck against Gus and Vickery and contested well (can outbody the other RFC rucks at times with his big frame) but then switched sides in the last (5th) quarter where he was pushed into the RFC forward line and kicked a goal.

44. Westhoff - Didn't do too much in the last two quarters when he came on. Looked a bit cumbersome although when he crashes into a pack he scatters opponents. Took two marks inside 50 into the wind but then fluffed both kicks.

45. Grimes - played in defence in the last quarter but didn't notice him get a possession with the ball in our forward half.

46. Webberley - a few touches but nothing to significant. I really didn't realise he was out there until the last quarter. He seemed to be playing on the far wing (where RR sat)

Edit: forgot Contin

28. Contin - Was okay but nothing to write home about. The problem with other people placing high wraps on a kid is you end up expecting more than you would otherwise. A good size though for a midfielder.

[mightytiges]

Team line-ups

First 22: ....... I'm presuming this is close to our NAB Cup squad next week

B:     Moore         Rance      Edwards

HB:   Tambling       Post       Newman

C:     Thomson      Martin      Cousins

HF:    Taylor         Riewoldt      Polo

F:      Nahas         Polak        Morton

R:     Graham      Deledio     Cotchin

Int: Vickery, White, Hislop, King (1st qtr)/Connors(2nd qtr)

Astbury and Gourdis replaced Jack IIRC and Rance for the 3rd qtr.


Ressies 22 (Roughly)

B:     Grimes       Gourdis    Farmer

HB:   Dea            Post       McMahon

C:    O'Reilly      Collins        Webberley

HF:   King         Astbury      Gilligan
   
F:   Browne      Westhoff       Morton

R:   Graham     Tuck       Contin

Int: Vickery, Coburg-ring-ins #18

[mightytiges]

Did Doc Martin play with the rest of the newbies in the 4th and 5th quarters or did he have more of a hit out? How did he go?

Nah just the first 2.5 quarters with the "best" 22. Actually suffered cramp and his legs went from underneath him and he was in the trainers arms for a couple of minutes. Thank god it wasn't an injury. I asked one of the trainers and Martin is fine.

Style of footy? With all due respect to Coburg and the final score was it direct or was it a higher possession type of game?

Yes it was direct and fairly basic Tucky and there was clear purpose today to switch to the fat side when coming out of defence which was pleasing to see. The problem with today though was Coburg were pretty ordinary which shouldn't be a suprise given they are a bottom 4 VFL side. They were making basic skill errors especially by foot a fair bit in defence which allowed us easy scores while our mistakes weren't punished at all as there was minimal pressure. Our intensity and tackling was far greater than Coburg's and we had far greater leg speed which meant we won most 50/50 loose balls simply because a Richmond player could get to it first. Next week in Tassie will be the first reality test for us and our new gameplan.

Edit: I forgot to add that one thing that stood out was the lack of panic handgrenade handballs. Hardly saw a backwards handpass to a flatfooted teammate under the pump. Also there was more first option kicking the ball forward from centre bounces rather than always handballing as first option.

Furthermore how did the skills look overall and by your perception at the same time in previous season are they better do they look crisper? Do the players look more conditioned and fit or has the weights session masked fitness in terms of extra size as som mentioned Polo has bulked up? Who else looks more bulky by the way?

Skills are still same old same old. At times very good but then disposal and decision making deteriorates and makes the whole crowd go WTF! The breeze especially into it made longer footpassing very difficult so it wasn't conditions for prestine footy. Apparently Craigieburn is well known for being windy. We will be a bottom 3 side this year even given some promising young newbies. We are too young and inexperienced.

Polo, Connors and Jack look bigger across the chest. Martin is a ready-made man-mountain for a midfielder. Edwards seems wider across the shoulders but he is still small because he was just a stick to begin with. I wouldn't say too many others look any bigger in size though.

[mightytiges]

Tallying up the final scores

Richmond   6.4    7.7   14.14   16.16     23.19-157

Coburg       0.2    1.3     1.3      2.4         2.4-16


Goals: Hislop 3, Polo 3, Thomson 2, Morton 2, Astbury 2, King, Polak, Cousins, Collins, Westhoff, McMahon, Tuck, Graham, Browne

.... missing two - maybe another to Kingy and Contin (I thought he was a Coburg player initially)