Media articles and stats: Tigers falter against Roos

[one-eyed]

Tigers falter against Roos
By Adam McNicol, with Nat Edwards
7:19 PM Sun 04 Sep, 2011

MATCH DETAILS
Richmond                3.2   9.7  10.10  13.13   (91)
North Melbourne      5.3   7.7  12.11  15.14  (104)

GOALS
Richmond:  Nahas 5, Riewoldt 3, Martin 2, Vickery, White, Miller
North Melbourne: Petrie 4, Thomas 2, Harvey 2, Edwards 2, Macmillan, Black, McIntosh, Harper, Swallow

BEST
Richmond: Nahas, Martin, Cotchin, Deledio, Foley, Houli
North Melbourne: Harvey, Cunnington, Bastinac, Petrie, Adams

INJURIES
Richmond: Nil
North Melbourne: Nil

SUBSTITUTES
Richmond: Mitch Morton replaced by Jeromey Webberley in the third quarter
North Melbourne: Aaron Black replaced by Aaron Mullett in the third quarter

Reports: Nil

Umpires: Vozzo, Findlay, Jeffery

Official crowd: 32, 890 at Etihad Stadium

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

RICHMOND has ended 2011 with a 13-point loss to North Melbourne at Etihad Stadium on Sunday.

The 15.14 (104) to 13.13 (91) victory saw the Kangaroos finish in ninth place on the ladder for the second straight year (eighth-placed Essendon was six points clear of them).

The Tigers ended their season, which yielded eight wins and a draw, in 12th place.

Brad Scott's men set up their 10th win of the year by kicking five goals to one in the third quarter.

Richmond fought back early in the last term, and even hit the front when Dustin Martin took a brilliant diving mark and kicked truly.

But Drew Petrie sealed the triumph for North Melbourne by soaring over Shane Edwards and hauling in a great grab close to goal with only three minutes left.

Petrie finished with four goals, while Lindsay Thomas, Aaron Edwards and Brent Harvey all kicked two.

There were scenes of great sportsmanship after the match when Richmond formed a guard of honour for retiring Kangaroo Brady Rawlings.

Rawlings picked up 24 possessions in his last game, although his opponent Robin Nahas booted five goals to be among the Tigers' best players.

Martin, Brett Deledio (in his 150th game) and Trent Cotchin were the other star performers for Richmond.

Interestingly, the Tigers dominated the inside-50 count, with the statistic finishing 61-43 in their favour.

But they were often wasteful in attack, and continually gave up easy goals by pushing too far up the ground and allowing North Melbourne to score on the break.

Influential players
Richmond's Dustin Martin (23 touches, two goals) wreaked havoc in the midfield and up forward. The prodigiously talented 20-year-old ran himself ragged during the first three quarters, but he ran out of puff after giving the Tigers the lead in the last term.

Dream Team highlight
Richmond: Unfortunately in the final game of the home and away season, no Richmond player cracked the ton. Midfielder Dustin Martin was the best performer with a solid 91 points, while Trent Cotchin (88) and defender Brett Deledio (77) were down on their usual output and would have disappointed many Grand Final coaches.

QUARTER BY QUARTER

FIRST QUARTER
In the battle for ninth spot it was North Melbourne who drew first blood, with a brilliant chain of handpasses from half-back setting up Drew Petrie. It wasn't long before the Tigers replied through forward Tyrone Vickery who took a strong contested mark. But it was the Kangaroos who dominated the quarter kicking five goals to three - their superior ball movement the difference. In his first game for the year after an Achilles injury, North Melbourne ruckman Hamish McIntosh paired up with Todd Goldstein and took control of the hit-outs 16 to three. Young forward Aaron Black looked at home on debut with six touches and two marks in the opening term and his effort was rewarded with a goal late in the term.
North Melbourne by 13 points

SECOND QUARTER
The Tigers lifted their intensity in the second term, and a more physical attack on the ball was evident early. They dominated the stoppages winning the clearances 12 to three with the likes of Trent Cotchin, Nathan Foley and Dustin Martin lifting their work-rate. Richmond jumped out of the blocks with three unanswered goals through Robin Nahas and two to Jack Riewoldt. But the Kangaroos weren't without opportunity. Missed shots on goal from Petrie, Harvey and Cunnington were costly for North Melbourne and it wasn't until the 18-minute mark that skipper Harvey finally kicked a goal. The Roos only managed one more goal for the term again through the captain, while at the other end it was the Nahas show, as the small forward's pace caused havoc for North Melbourne defenders Scott McMahon and Daniel Pratt. He finished the half with eight disposals and three goals.
Richmond by 12 points

THIRD QUARTER
After a lacklustre second quarter, the Roos appeared fired up after the main break. Two quick goals in as many minutes through Lindsay Thomas and Aaron Edwards levelled scores. Youngsters Ben Cunnington and Ryan Bastinac lifted their work-rate in the midfield and finished the term with 16 disposals between them. It took the Tigers 18 minutes to score their first and only goal of the quarter through Martin. North Melbourne scored three of their five goals in the quarter from a long kick out of the backline which caught out the Richmond defence, allowing the Kangaroo forwards to run into an open forward line.
North Melbourne by 13 points

FOURTH QUARTER
As was the trend all day, the Coventry end was the scoring end. On top in the clearances all match, the Tigers won the first three centre clearances of the final term, and was well rewarded with two goals to Nahas, who was too quick for retiring Kangaroo Brady Rawlings who was moved on to the small Tiger in the second half. With scores level, North Melbourne had chances to regain the lead but was wasteful in front of goal with Kieran Harper and Leigh Adams missing shots in the first 10 minutes. A goal to Tiger Martin at the 14-minute mark put his side back in front by four points but it wasn't long before the lead changed once again. Edwards then kicked truly to regain the lead for the blue and white. A brain fade from Tiger Daniel Jackson gave David Swallow a shot on goal directly in front and put the Roos in front by nine points. Two missed shots on goal from Richmond's Brett Deledio and Jackson proved costly, as Drew Petrie took a screamer on the goal line and kicked truly to seal the game and ninth spot for North Melbourne.
North Melbourne win by 13 points

http://www.afl.com.au/news/newsarticle/tabid/6301/newsid/122651/default.aspx

[one-eyed]

Team Stats

Disposals                  302 - 374
Efficiency%                 69 - 75
Kicks                        184 - 202
Handballs                  118 - 172    
Con. Marks                  10 - 11    
Uncon. Marks               47 - 90    
Tackles                        62 - 77
Clearances                   45 - 33
Clangers                      40 - 42    
Frees                           18 - 23 
Hitouts                        29 - 46 ......... ( Graham 20, Vickery 8 // Goldstein 29, McIntosh 10, Petrie 6 )
Con. Possies               152 - 136
Uncon. Possies            149 - 239
Inside 50s                    61 - 43    
Marks In50                   12 - 22
Rebound 50                  23 - 42
Assists                         16 - 22
 
Individual Stats

                    Disp.   K    H    G    B     SC   SCA   CM   UM    T    C    Cl    FF   FA   CP   UP  In50s   A    Eff%

B.Deledio       23    17      6    0    2      94    105    0    2    1      3    2    2    0      9    12    7    0      61%
D.Martin        23    17      6    2    1    126      99    1    2    2      7    1    1    1    10    13    11    1      74%
T.Cotchin       22    15      7    0    0      90    101    0    1    6    10    2    2    0    18      5    6    0      41%
B.Houli          22    11    11    0    0    104      89    0    3    5      0    2    1    1      8    10    5    1      73%
N.Foley          21    11    10    0    0    114      91    0    1    8      7    1    1    1    13      9    2    0      71%
S.Grigg          18    11      7    0    0      74      79    0    3    3      3    1    1    0      9      8    2    0      67%
S.Tuck           18      8    10    0    0      83      82    1    1    7      4    3    2    3    13      5    2    0      67%
D.Jackson      17    10      7    0    2      35      78    0    2    0      1    5    0    4      5    12    3    0      59%
M.Farmer       16    11      5    0    1      71      53    0    2    5      0    2    1    0      4    12    4    0      81%
S.Edwards      14      4    10    0    2      48      62    0    2    2      4    2    0    0      9      5    1    0      57%
J.Post             13    10      3    0    0      56      48    1    4    2      1    3    1    2      5      7    0    0      77%
T.Vickery        13      5      8    1    2      92      72    2    1    2      3    0    1    0      8      6    2    1      85%
M.White          13    11      2    1    0      77      59    0    3    5      1    1    0    0      7      6    5    1      62%
R.Nahas          12      9      3    5    1      93      86    0    2    3      0    2    2    1      7      6    1    0      67%
A.Rance          12      3      9    0    0      79      84    1    2    4      0    0    0    0      8      4    1    0      83%
B.Miller             9      5      4    1    1      51      58    1    3    2      0    3    0    1      5      4    3    2      56%
M.Morton          9      8      1    0    0      40      56    0    4    1      0    0    0    0      1      8    3    0      89%
A.Graham         8      4      4    0    0      56      76    0    3    2      1    1    1    1      4      4    2    1      63%
J.Riewoldt         8      7      1    3    0      60      81    3    2    1      0    3    2    3      6      4    1    0      88%
M.Dea               6      3      3    0    0      22      43    0    2    0      0    0    0    0      2      4    0    0      83%
W.Thursfield      3      2      1    0    0        8      55    0    2    1      0    4    0    3      0      4    0    0      67%
J.Webberley       2      2      0     0    0        1      21    0    0    0      0    2    0    2      1      1    0    0    100%

http://www.heraldsun.com.au/sport/afl/super-scoreboard?match_id=10312407

[one-eyed]

North Melbourne finishes ninth after 13-point win over Richmond

    Michael Horan
    From: Herald Sun
    September 05, 2011

IT WAS the battle of the bridesmaids; for the winner, the dubious bouquet of finishing ninth to be the best of the also-rans.

For North Melbourne, it was an important win after its bid to be a finalist died meekly a week earlier in the face of a 55-point belting from St Kilda.

Richmond's six-game losing streak from Round 14 had already excluded it from September action.

Victories in the past two weeks, however, had given it a shot at jumping over the Roos on the ladder.

In the end, the young Kangas prevailed in a terrific tussle by 13 points to finish one rung short of September action for the second year in a row.

Hardly a return to splendour, but certainly a suggestion that next year they may well get there.

Ditto the Tigers, who finish with three wins from the last four games and with a youthful core group in place to bring relief to their long-suffering fans.

For the 32,890 at Etihad Stadium, the last match of the home-and-away season kept them enthralled and guessing virtually to the finish.

Both sides led at some stage of every term.

There were eight lead changes and the biggest difference at any point was the eventual winning margin.

At the first change, the Roos held the advantage. By the long interval Richmond had pinched a two-goal buffer, only to see the Kangas get out to 13 points at the final change.

Then just when one sensed the Tigers were about to be over-run, Robin Nahas snagged two goals - his fourth and fifth for the game - in the first three minutes of the quarter to level the scores again.

As if to insist his men gave veteran Brady Rawlings a fitting farewell in his 245th and last game, North skipper Brent Harvey - at 33 the oldest player on the ground - provided the run and inspiration to get the Kangaroos over the line.

Some 14 minutes into the final term a brilliant one-on-one mark by Dustin Martin and the resultant goal from a set shot 30m out put Richmond back in front.

It wasn't until well into red time that the Roos regained the lead, from a free kick to Andrew Swallow inside the forward-50 after a rash Daniel Jackson challenge.

From there Brett Deledio and Jackson both had chances to snatch the lead back, but both missed, giving Rawlings his happy finale.

It was a clash of dash, some great grabs and fluctuating fortune.

In the same spirit, the decisive moment came with just 1min 3sec left on the clock when North Melbourne key forward Drew Petrie took a screamer in the goalsquare over the top of Tigers defender Alex Rance and calmly sealed the contest by kicking his fourth goal.

And not all was lost lost for the black and gold. In defeat the Tigers' first pick in the draft will be 12, instead of No.18 had they won the game. This time next year, it just may make the difference.

Full time scores:

NORTH MELBOURNE 5.3 7.7 12.11 15.14 (104)
RICHMOND              3.2 9.7 10.10 13.13 (91)

Goals: North Melbourne: D Petrie 4, A Edwards 2, B Harvey 2, L Thomas 2, A Black, A Swallow, H McIntosh, J MacMillan, K Harper. Richmond: R Nahas 5, J Riewoldt 3, D Martin 2, B Miller, M White, T Vickery.

Best: North Melbourne: B Harvey, L Adams, B Rawlings, R Bastanac, T Goldstein, S Thompson. Richmond: R Nahas, D Martin, T Cotchin, B Deledio, N Foley, D Jackson.

Umpires: Michael Vozzo, Scott Jeffery, Robert Findlay, Michael Jennings.

Official Crowd: 32,890 at Etihad Stadium.

http://www.heraldsun.com.au/sport/afl/north-melbourne-finishes-ninth-after-13-point-win-over-richmond/story-e6frf9m6-1226129137307

[one-eyed]

Tigers and Roos battle to the end
Peter Hanlon
September 5, 2011


THE home-and-away preliminaries are finally over, but rather than go out with a whimper, the last inconsequential match of a weekend full of them rose above its last-day-of-school looseness to provide a cracking finish. North Melbourne won it, denying Richmond its customary consolation of finishing ninth.

It might only have been of consolation value, but this game was ridden to the very end by fans who know that however long the modern football season might seem, the off-season feels interminably longer.

The Kangaroos didn't make it safe until the last three minutes, when the unexpected sight of Brent Harvey short-passing rather than taking a shot at goal threw Aaron Edwards so much he dropped the mark, but his boot-to-ball recovery sat up for Drew Petrie to take one last ''hanger'' for the year.

He duly popped it through, to the groans of Tiger fans at the other end of the ground who had been convinced that Dustin Martin's bullish last quarter and Robin Nahas's bewitching goal-front work might send them to Monday feeling not so mad after all.

Spleens were vented regularly from the pro-Tiger crowd at perceived injustices of officialdom, but what ultimately brought their team undone was North's ability to hit them on the break. Four of its five third-quarter goals came from forwards getting free ''out the back''; these are the game's most deflating goals, erasing any industry that precedes them and exacting maximum punishment for a single mistake.

North began with an old-fashioned approach to ruckwork, with Hamish McIntosh (forward) and Todd Goldstein (back) taking half the ground each. In between, Ben Cunnington, Harvey and Leigh Adams set the ball rolling; Richmond's lack of early run was exposed in a 25-55 deficit in handball-receives, and 38-76 in uncontested possessions.

While Bachar Houli went with Harvey and won plenty of the ball himself, Cunnington was pitted against Trent Cotchin, who responded in kind by winning the ball in close and dragging the Tigers back into the contest. Momentum swung, and the Tigers looked the more likely winner.

For a time they had balance, with four of nine first-half goals coming from contested marks from Tyrone Vickery and Jack Riewoldt, who as usual wasn't afraid to work up to the wing to win the ball in the air, while the headache Nahas was giving last-gamer Brady Rawlings became a migraine when the hapless Rawlings had a defensive handball pinched in close by his direct opponent, who slammed it through in a flash.

Lindsay Thomas and Petrie combined for the first two after the long break, and both were influential in North regaining its spark and composure. Petrie was as he almost always is - dangerous, committed and honest - while Thomas at last found some joy at the end of a maddening year.

His two goals, two behinds took his 2011 tally to 21.36, but after a dressing down for not going hard enough in the second quarter, Thomas responded with a vigour that stopped several opponents in their tracks. His 11 inside 50s was matched only by Martin.

There was no time to think of a hard-earned drink as the Tigers exploded into the last quarter, Martin winning the first two clearances as Nahas went from pocket-pincher to aerialist, goaling twice from marks that defied probability. When Martin went forward, outbodied Cunnington and coolly finished, Richmond was in front.

Aaron Edwards, whose hard-running and soft hands became more telling as the night wore on, clawed the lead back from a free kick, and Daniel Jackson needlessly caught Andrew Swallow high at a stoppage to make it tough for the Tigers. And even harder to swallow for Nathan Foley, who had kept Swallow to eight touches at half-time, at which point Foley was wearing nearly as many stitches in his eyebrow.

Brett Deledio twice missed long last-quarter shots that he might have got, and Jackson one he should have from much closer, but Edwards' goal was the ninth and final lead change of a game that Petrie made safe with one last leap of faith.

BANNER FINISH

North's run-through paid tribute to Hamish McIntosh finally reaching 100 games, and featured a spitting-image likeness of the ruckman, which they've had all year to get right. Yesterday was his 26th birthday, and he prepared for his milestone game by spending an early-afternoon hour in the ABC commentary box.

PHONE HEX

Lindsay Thomas finished a year that has tested his self-belief with another testing night. Having come up short when running with the flight on the wing, he stepped through the interchange into a telephonic earful from coach Brad Scott. Thomas responded well, and was at the heart of several goals.

HAPPY ENDING

Brady Rawlings ended his 245-game career with a win, and was certainly happy to see the back of Robin Nahas as teammates Daniel Pratt and Michael Firrito chaired him through a guard of honour. Rawlings soldiered on all night, But Nahas wasn't about to send him off lightly, kicking five goals.

BEST

North Melbourne: Harvey, Thompson, Adams, Thomas, Cunnington, Petrie, Edwards.
Richmond: Martin, Nahas, Cotchin, Deledio, Foley, Tuck.

http://www.theage.com.au/afl/afl-news/tigers-and-roos-battle-to-the-end-20110904-1jsfh.html#ixzz1X0QU2QZs

[one-eyed]

Footy's 'also-rans' see a bright future
Martin Blake and Ashley Porter
September 5, 2011

NORTH Melbourne rounded out a solid but ultimately disappointing season with a final-round win over Richmond at the Docklands yesterday and Port Adelaide avoided the wooden spoon with a win against Melbourne - minus Tom Scully- at Adelaide Oval.

The Kangaroos, who dropped out of finals contention in round 23, finished ninth, repeating their 2010 performance in terms of position, but with one fewer win. While coach Brad Scott said he saw improvement, but would be ''hellbent on improving our playing list'' when the trade period comes around.

The Roos conceded the lead in the last quarter but dug out the final two goals to win and ensure an appropriate celebration for Brady Rawlings' final game after 13 seasons.

Veteran skipper Brent Harvey was best-afield along with Drew Petrie, who kicked four goals, including the sealer after a huge mark in the goalsquare at the 26-minute mark of the final quarter.

Scott believes the playing field is not level because of the high number of additional service agreements being used by the richer clubs to pay their players. He said West Coast had more than 50 ASAs this year, cash-poor North Melbourne just four. ''The AFL are talking to us about that. The commission and the executive are acutely aware of that issue and they're doing an enormous amount of work in the area. The CBA needs to be sorted out before we can start planning for next year. That's critical, but I think all parties know that,'' he said.

Richmond improved on last season with 8½ wins, finishing 12th, three places up. The Tigers had opportunities last night, particularly early in the final quarter when pint-sized Robin Nahas twice marked high balls booted into the forward-50-metre zone, and Dustin Martin began to surge into space and extract balls from the stoppages.

But ultimately an undisciplined free kick at the 24-minute mark by midfielder Daniel Jackson - cuffing Andrew Swallow across the head at a stoppage - cost Richmond. Swallow kicked truly from 35 metres and the Tigers could not wrest back the lead. Jackson also missed a set shot from 35 metres at the 25-minute mark that could have kept the game alive. Acting captain Brett Deledio also was guilty of missing a couple of running shots at goal late in the game.

Coach Damien Hardwick said the Tigers' improvement was best-measured by the ''upward curve of individual players.

''You only have to look at the youth of our spine - Ty [Vickery], [Jack] Riewoldt, down back [Alex] Rance, [Jayden] Post, these type of players, all under 22 years of age. It's exciting for our club going forward.''

http://www.theage.com.au/afl/afl-news/footys-alsorans-see-a-bright-future-20110904-1jsfo.html#ixzz1X0RHJjss

[TigerLand]

Jackson 59% eff... get stuffed 75% of that would be uncontested too