Media articles and stats: Brave Tigers fall short of Geelong

[one-eyed]

Brave Tigers fall short
By Adam McNicol
afl.com.au
3:49 PM Sun 22 Apr, 2012


GEELONG           4.1    7.3    10.4    11.9 (75)
RICHMOND         3.1    3.6    7.10    9.11 (65)
 
GOALS
Geelong: Stokes 2, Chapman 2, Hunt, Selwood, Hawkins, Podsiadly, Duncan, Motlop, Christensen
Richmond: Nahas 2, Riewoldt, Maric, Vickery, Grigg, Jackson, White, Foley
 
BEST
Geelong: Bartel, Guthrie, Lonergan, Taylor, Mackie, Selwood, Hawkins
Richmond: Foley, Deledio, Cotchin, Nahas, Grigg, Ellis, Tuck.

INJURIES: Motlop (head)

SUBSTITUTES
Geelong: Jesse Stringer replaced George Horlin-Smith at three quarter-time.
Richmond: Matt White replaced Addam Maric midway through the third quarter.
 
Reports: Nil
 
Umpires: Fila, Schmitt, Pannell
 
Official crowd: TBA at Simonds Stadium

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

GEELONG has capped its day of premiership celebrations at Simonds Stadium by scoring a thrilling 10-point victory over Richmond.
 
The Cats unfurled their 2011 flag prior to the opening bounce, then survived a series of challenges from the Tigers before running out 11.9 (75) to 9.11 (65) winners.
 
Kicking with the wind in the final quarter, Richmond looked a big chance to pull off an upset victory when Nathan Foley levelled the scores with 12 minutes remaining.
 
But Geelong held its nerve, a clever snap from youngster Allen Christensen and two brilliant smothers from Corey Enright helping the home side scramble over the line.
 
It was the Cats' eighth-straight win over the Tigers, and their 15th victory in the last 16 matches between the sides.
 
Paul Chapman and Mathew Stokes booted two goals each for Geelong, while Tom Lonergan did a brilliant job at full-back on Jack Riewoldt, restricting the Richmond star to only one goal.
 
Jimmy Bartel and Joel Selwood led the way for Cats in the midfield.
 
Just six days after needing plastic surgery to require a deep cut to his lip, Andrew Mackie collected 19 touches roaming across half-back.
 
Another of the Cats' experienced defenders, Josh Hunt, who was making his first appearance since injuring his calf in the final round of the NAB Cup, gathered 13 disposals and kicked a goal.
 
However, Chris Scott's pre-game demand that his players lift their hardness around the ball failed to have the desired impact, as Geelong lost the contested possession count for the fourth straight week.
 
Wingman Shaun Grigg was Richmond's best player, while youngster Brandon Ellis, in just his fourth game, showed plenty of poise and skill in the backline.
 
Robin Nahas was the Tigers' leading goalscorer with two.
 
The Cats kicked with a three-goal breeze in the opening quarter, yet they led by only six points at the first change.
 
Scott's men then took control of the game when the booted three unanswered goals into the wind in the second quarter.
 
In a clear demonstration of their improvement this season, Richmond refused to be blown away, but Geelong just had too much grit, determination and belief in the end.
 
The Cats travel to Brisbane in round five to play the Lions, and they will be boosted by the return of champion full-back Matthew Scarlett, who has served his three-game suspension for striking Fremantle's Hayden Ballantyne.
 
Richmond hosts West Coast next Sunday at Etihad Stadium.
 
The Tigers face the prospect of losing Reece Conca to suspension for the second time this year after he delivered a high bump to Christensen in the last quarter.

http://www.afl.com.au/news/newsarticle/tabid/208/newsid/133754/default.aspx

[one-eyed]

Team Stats

Disposals          397 - 373
Efficiency%        70 - 68
Kicks                187 - 214
Handballs         210 - 159
Con. Possies     157 - 147
Uncon. Possies  238 - 229
Marks                 75 - 97
Con. Marks         14 - 12
Marks In50         11 - 9
Tackles              73 - 94
Clearances         40 - 37
Clangers            52 - 56
Hitouts              47 - 40 ...... (I.Maric 38, Vickery 5 // West 31 )
Frees                 17 - 20
Inside 50s          48 - 49
Rebound 50s      37 - 36
1%ers               55 - 56
Assists                 6 - 6
Dreamteam    1564 - 1711
Supercoach    1609 - 1692


Individual Stats

Player Name         K   H   D    CP   UP   DE% Clg M  CM M50 HO CL I50 R50 FF FA T   1% BO G  B  TG%  GA  DT
Brett Deledio       19   12   31     7   23     74   0   4   1   1     0   3   8   1   1   0   2     1   3   0   1     85   2   103
Shaun Grigg        13   15   28     6   22     75   2   5   0   0     1   4   3   4   1   0   2     2   3   1   0     83   0   100
Shane Tuck         11   16   27   13   14     59   5   5   1   0     0   3   4   1   0   1   9     1   0   0   0     71   0   113
Nathan Foley        8   16   24   14   10     75   3   4   0   1     0   6   5   0   0   3   5     2   3   1   0     72   0   85
Trent Cotchin      14   10   24   12   11     46   2   3   1   1     0   5   5   2   1   1   9     1   0   0   0     84   1   105
Chris Newman     14     9   23     9   13     70   0   7   2   1     0   1   3   4   0   0   2     5   0   0   1     80   0   90
Dustin Martin      10   13   23   10   15     61   5   5   2   1     0   5   2   1   1   2   7     1   0   0   2     72   1   96
Jake Batchelor    10   13   23     5   18     65   4   6   0   0     0   0   0   5   1   2   3     2   1   0   0     95   0   81
Bachar Houli       10   12   22     5   15     77   2   5   0   0     0   1   3   4   0   1   1     3   2   0   0     83   0   70
Reece Conca       11   10   21     8   12     57   8   5   0   1     1   3   3   3   1   2   5     1   1   0   1     77   0   85
Alex Rance         11     8   19     8   11     79   1   4   1   0     0   0   1   3   1   1   1     7   1   0   0   100   0   63
Brandon Ellis      11     8   19     5   14     84   1   3   0   0     0   1   0   3   0   0   5     0   1   0   1     66   0   79
Steven Morris      2   15   17     9     8     88   1   1   0   0     0   3   0   2   1   0   5     5   0   0   0     87   0   60
Robin Nahas      11     5   16     5   12     69   3   2   0   0     0   0   4   0   1   1   2     1   0   2   0     92   1   67
Ivan Maric          5   10   15     8     5     80   2   1   1   0   38   2   4   2   2   1   1     4   0   1   0     97   0   85
Daniel Jackson    6     8   14     6     9     71   3   1   0   0     1   1   1   0   2   2   4     0   0   1   1     86   0   57
Dylan Grimes      7     7   14     4   11     79   1   6   1   0     0   0   0   2   0   0   1   10   0   0   0   100   0   57
Jack Riewoldt      4     7   11     9     3     55   3   3   2   2     0   0   1   0   0   1   2     2   0   1   0   100   0   46
Tyrone Vickery    3     5     8     4     4     88   2   2   1   1     5   1   0   0   1   1   3     3   0   1   0     82   0   46
Brad Miller          3     5     8     7     3     38   1   3   1   2     1   1   1   0   2   0   1     4   0   0   1     98   0   36
Addam Maric       2     5     7     1     5     71   2   0   0   0     0   0   0   0   0   0   2     0   0   0   0     55   1   24
Matthew White    2     1     3     2     0   100   1   0   0   0     0   0   0   0   1   1   1     0   0   1   0     35   0   16

http://www.afl.com.au/tabid/16931/Default.aspx#fixtureid=7693&tab=Stats
http://live-footy.heraldsun.com.au/StatsCentre/Index/20120420120140407

[one-eyed]

Geelong holds on to topple Richmond by 10 points

    Scott Gullan
    From: Herald Sun
    April 22, 2012 7:59PM

THE way the final 10 minutes unfolded in what had suddenly turned into a gripping arm wrestle came as no great surprise to Harry Taylor and Chris Scott.

Richmond had impressively willed themselves back into the contest and had actually drawn level at the nine-minute mark of the last quarter before some Allen Christensen magic got the Cats' nose back in front.

The dilemma for the home team was the Tigers were kicking with a decent wind advantage and showing no signs of going away in a hurry.

Enter Jimmy Bartel. In one passage of play he fought three Richmond players, smothered a handball, laid two tackles, crawled along the ground and eventually forced a stoppage.

It was simply inspiring stuff.

Over the next few minutes Corey Enright brilliantly intercepted a kick when the Tigers seemed about to break open, Joel Corey imposed himself on several key contests, Joel Selwood lifted and Paul Chapman popped his head up where it mattered.

Those acts won Geelong the game and while grateful for their invention, it was still slightly infuriating for Taylor.

"In that last 10 minutes you could see the really contested style of footy, stoppage after stoppage and some of our really good leaders like Selwood, Jimmy Bartel, they always stand up in those situations," he said.

"Us as a club probably can't accept that they are going to do that every single week. We need to get better at making sure others stand up and help them out because there are going to be times when they might be getting a hard tag or might be off the ground and others need to do it.

"So it's a bit disappointing that we didn't stand up as a whole group late in the game but in saying that it's good to get the victory."

Scott was particularly excited about the performances of some of his youngsters including Christensen (23 possessions including 12 contested), Steven Motlop (20 touches and one goal) and Cameron Guthrie (18 possession) but admitted it was the old firm who'd ensured the Cats escaped another embarassing upset.

"Those young guys are really important for us but you shouldn't escape the fact that when it was really on Chapman, Bartel, Selwood and Corey were in the middle of it," Scott said.

"To Richmond's credit they made sure the game was still hot late into what had been a tough day at the office for both teams because of the blustery conditions."

After kicking three goals in the opening 12 minutes of the game into the wind, the Tigers then failed to kick another goal until the four-minute mark of the third quarter.

Despite all that they refused to go away which says a fair bit about how far they have come.

Much to Scott's angst, the Cats were again beaten in contested possessions with Nathan Foley, Shane Tuck, Trent Cotchin and Dustin Martin more than holding their own against Selwood and Co.

On the outside Brett Deleido and Shaun Grigg got plenty of the ball as the Tigers went handball happy -- just like North did last week in beating the Cats -- but for all the hard work their only multiple goal-scorer was Robin Nahas who kicked two in the third quarter.

It certainly wasn't a day for tall forwards and Jack Riewoldt (one goal from four kicks) was stitched up by Tom Lonergan while Taylor helped himself to 29 possessions matched against the disappointing Tyrone Vickery (one goal from three kicks).

At the other end James Podsiadly and Tom Hawkins only managed a goal each against the impressive Dylan Grimes and Alex Rance while Steven Morris showed he has a future by limiting the effectiveness of Steve Johnson.

Much of the post-game discussion centred around the impact the demolition of the Doug Wade Stand is going to have on games at Simonds Stadium.

The short answer - a lot.

Even the tenants weren't looking forward to dealing with the elements in the next few months. "It's going to get worse," Scott said.


Four points with Mark Hayes

1. It's long been a big home-ground advantage, but the Cats' big vocal edge has been accentuated with the redevelopment of Simonds Stadium. Amid a sea of blue and white, only one patch of yellow and black was evident. And remarkably, the Richmond cheer squad was placed directly behind their Geelong counterparts at the city end of the ground.

2. You'd have got long odds about it, but Paul Chapman notched his first goal of the season in the first minute of the second quarter of Round 4. And while it was a long time coming, it was vintage Chappy with a clinical snap after a bullocking effort in the forward pocket. But as groundside radio reporter Mark Howard told Triple M, his mother had ducked out for a drink and wasn't back in time to see the goal.

3. Rarely do we see the physically aggressive side of Jimmy Bartel directed anywhere but at the ball, but he gave Jake Batchelor a solid taste yesterday. Bartel, set up by a hospital handpass, cleverly palmed the ball forward to avoid taking possession, in the process riding a big bump from the big Tiger. Batchelor came off second best anyhow, but after the play had passed, Bartel went back to his opponent and shoved him while prone and voiced his disapproval of the bump.

4. So much for the supposed scoring advantage at the southern end of Simonds Stadium. Despite a gusting northerly wind and some kicks holding up heading towards the city end, talk of a three-goal edge the other way proved unfounded. Richmond scored seven of its nine goals to the city end, while the Cats notched four of their 11 upbreeze, too, including the matchwinner from Allen Christensen midway through the last term.
 
http://www.heraldsun.com.au/afl/more-news/geelong-holds-on-to-topple-richmond-by-10-points/story-e6frf9jf-1226335536844

[one-eyed]

Cats and Tigers fall to ill winds
Martin Blake
The Ag
April 23, 2012

GEELONG 4.1 7.3 10.4 11.9 (75)
RICHMOND 3.1 3.6 7.10 9.11 (65)

GOALS
Geelong: Stokes 2, Chapman 2, Christensen, Hunt, Podsiadly, Selwood, Duncan, Motlop, Hawkins.
Richmond: Nahas 2, Jackson, Maric, Riewoldt, White, Foley, Grigg, Vickery.

BEST
Geelong: Taylor, Selwood, Bartel, Lonergan, Enright, Motlop.
Richmond: Foley, Cotchin, Batchelor, Ellis, Grigg, Deledio.

INJURIES Geelong: Christensen (head).
REPORT Geelong: West (Geelong) for rough conduct against Vickery (Richmond) in the first quarter.
UMPIRES J Schmitt, Pannell, Fila.

IT WAS a difficult day at Geelong, with an ill wind howling out of the north. A defender's kind of day, you might say.

So one by one, they ticked off their assignments, the unfashionable boys at the back. Tom Lonergan eclipsed Jack Riewoldt. Tick. Harry Taylor obliterated Ty Vickery. Another tick. And down the other end, Jake Batchelor and Alex Rance (on Tom Hawkins) and Dylan Grimes (on James Podsiadly) were on top as well. Not a single forward would make a significant impact on the game and, in dry conditions, Richmond and Geelong would manage just 20 goals between them.

Thus, it came down to a scrap Richmond was up for. It is a mark of the Tigers' incremental improvement that for a whole game, which they were given little chance of winning, they were a chance. Halfway through the last quarter when Nathan Foley, a terrier all day, wheeled on to his right boot and launched a long goal, Richmond had drawn level. Kicking with the wind, an upset was in the making.

But Geelong rarely loses close ones, not least at home. Allen Christensen crumbed what turned out to be the closer, and then there were a series of desperate acts that defined the match. Twice Richmond surged into open space but had handballs intercepted (Corey Enright on Reece Conca and Joel Corey on Steven Morris) when an unimpeded ball would have put Geelong in trouble. Caught in a two-on-one situation on the wing, the magnificent Jimmy Bartel managed to hold the Sherrin in until reinforcements came.

Geelong hung on, but Taylor thought too much load was being placed on too few sets of shoulders. ''In that last 10 minutes you could see the really contested style of footy, stoppage after stoppage, and some of our really good leaders - Selwood, Jimmy Bartel - they always stand up in those situations,'' he said. ''Us as a club, we can't just accept that they do it every week. We need to make sure that others stand up and help them out because there's going to be times when they've got a hard tag or they might be off the ground, and others need to do it. That's a bit disappointing we didn't stand up as a whole group late in the game, but good to get the victory.''

Taylor was as significant as anyone, sweeping across half-back, intercepting those helicopter kicks and dribbling balls that are so prevalent on a windy day, collecting it 29 times. Vickery extracted an early goal from a contested mark, but he was pole-axed in a contest soon afterward, hurting a shoulder, and he drifted out of the game.

Taylor knew he would play on the taller ruck-forward. ''I made sure I did my homework and mixed and matched a little bit. I made sure I went into the game with a grounding about how he was going to play.''

Similarly Lonergan, one of the most improved players in the competition, had set himself for the task on Riewoldt, who has had a subdued start to the season but who nevertheless presented a threat. With Matthew Scarlett still sidelined by suspension, Lonergan needed to stand up. ''I think that's what helps him, when he gets a big match-up he really focuses and he has a big influence for us,'' Taylor said of his teammate.

Riewoldt and Vickery managed a goal each, and Riewoldt's six goals from four games will cause some debate this week. But Damien Hardwick would not criticise his maverick forward. ''He competed really well. He's kicked double the amount of points, normally he's a very good kick at goal. The goals will come, he's just got to keep chasing, tackling, presenting to the ball and the scoreboard will come later.''

HARDWICK ON A BEAR HUNT

Damien Hardwick left no doubt what he thought of Taylor Hunt's tagging tactics on Trent Cotchin. Asked if there were any injuries, he said: ''I think Cotchin got bear-hugged to death.'' On whether he thought his midfielder should receive more protection, Hardwick added: ''He's a ball player … people come to see the kid play.''

PLAYERS ON TARGET

On Saturday in Perth, Hawthorn didn't kick its first goal against West Coast until the second quarter, and after 12 behinds. Yesterday, Mathew Stokes goaled after 29 seconds. Despite the windy conditions the Cats and Tigers kicked seven goals straight before a Reece Conca behind 22 minutes in.

WIND POWER RAISES SPIRITS

A power outage played havoc with ticket scanners, the scoreboard and public address system causing queues and testing tolerance. But it couldn't stop the wind, which ensured the Cats' 2011 premiership flag fluttered fiercely after it was unfurled by Chris Scott and Cameron Ling in front of the AFLs Andrew Demetriou and Mike Fitzpatrick. - PETER HANLON

http://www.theage.com.au/afl/afl-news/cats-and-tigers-fall-to-ill-winds-20120422-1xf0z.html#ixzz1smuOAhKR

[one-eyed]

Cool heads get Cats home, but a troubling trend becomes clearer

    by: Stephen Rielly
    From: The Australian
    April 23, 2012

A CURIOUS game unfolded at Simonds Stadium yesterday.

It was, for instance, both a comfort and a concern for Geelong that poise alone enabled it to defeat Richmond by 10 points.

With a fluky but useful breeze at their backs, the Tigers drew level 10 minutes into the final term but were stopped dead almost as they did so by the composure of Jim Bartel, Joel Selwood, Joel Corey, Corey Enright and Paul Chapman, among others.

Allen Christensen, who, with Steven Motlop, had buzzed about the Geelong forward line like a fly in a bottle, would kick the sealing goal but it was the cool heads of the experienced Cats that stopped Richmond.

As Cats coach Chris Scott observed: "Those young guys were really important for us but you shouldn't escape the fact that when it was really on Corey, Bartel, Selwood and Chapman were right in the middle of it."

That meant after Nathan Foley had goaled from beyond 50m to bring the Tigers within touching distance of their first win at the cattery in six years, the ball was driven deep into Geelong's forward line and basically kept there until the siren sounded.

On the couple of occasions the Tigers were able to battle their way out, Bartel and Enright either forced errors from them - Enright's smother of a Reece Conca kick was typical - or won critical possessions that kept the Tigers pinned down.

The game was, for the last 15 minutes or so, taken into a trench from which Richmond could not find a way out.

"It was an important part of the game, wasn't it," Scott said.

"Kicking against that breeze . . . at three-quarter time you would have thought the advantage was with them and when they drew level with a fair bit of footy to play you'd think they were in the box seat to win the game.

"But the will to . . . make sure of contested situation after contested situation was important. Unfortunately, from our perspective, we didn't see enough of that earlier in the game."

The sting in the tail of Scott's comment was that for the fourth time in four matches this season his side had won fewer contested touches than the opposition, a stat that is becoming a troubling trend.

"It does matter. I think every coach would say they value those things above most others and the reality is we can't stick our head in the sand," Scott said of his side's decline around the contest.

"The reality is that if that happens to us we'll lose more often than we win. It has happened the first four rounds and the numbers don't lie. We have to really get to the bottom of exactly why it is."

But for the ability to trap a less experienced foe and force it into nervous errors, there was very little to distinguish Geelong from Richmond yesterday, which is not something that could said about any encounter these teams have played for years. In 2010, the last time the Tigers visited Geelong, they were thrashed by 108 points.

In a perverse way, the loser was the winner yesterday. Or, perhaps, there was no loser, for Geelong got the premiership points but Richmond left with something almost as valuable -- the belief that it is making up ground.

Both coaches knew that, apart from the last half of the final term, the result hung on Richmond's barren second term, when it kicked 0-5 with the breeze.

In fact, from the middle of the first term until the five-minute mark of the third quarter, Richmond totted up eight straight behinds, admittedly on a day when the northwesterly made life a trial for goalkickers.

Only three players kicked more than one goal - Mathew Stokes, Chapman and Robin Nahas all kicked two - as defenders on both sides were able to exploit the lack of precision in general play.

None were better than Harry Taylor, who not only cleaned out Ty Vickery but gathered 29 touches and took eight marks.

Still, for a side still very much in a coltish stage of development and with a record against the Cats to be afraid of, this waste might have invited heavy defeat. It usually does.

But Damien Hardwick's side has now taken Geelong and Collingwood - last season's grand finalists - to 10 and 21 points, respectively, and was respectable until the very last against Carlton in round one. There has not been as much substance in a Richmond side since 2001.

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/sport/afl/cool-heads-get-cats-home-but-a-troubling-trend-becomes-clearer/story-fnca0u4y-1226335705555