New-look Richmond Tigers target St Kilda by: Greg Denham
From: The Australian
May 29, 2012 RICHMOND hasn't beaten St Kilda in nine years but a morale-boosting win over Hawthorn has Damien Hardwick's Tigers primed for a crack at the top eight.
It was the first time under Hardwick's watch that the Tigers had beaten the Hawks and now they are mounting a realistic challenge for finals action.
Richmond has not beaten St Kilda in 14 games, its most recent victory coming at the Docklands Stadium (now Etihad) in round four, 2003, by 26 points.
The Tigers, who last made the finals in 2001, got close last year when the two clubs fought out a 95-point apiece draw at the MCG.
The only current Richmond player to have beaten the Saints while wearing the yellow and black is captain Chris Newman.
The win over the Hawks was also the first time under Hardwick in 53 games that the Tigers outscored their opposition in all four quarters.
With four wins and five losses this season, Richmond is two points in arrears to where it was at the corresponding time last year, but with a far superior percentage - 110.6 to 91.24 - indicating the club's competitive improvement from 12 months ago.
Richmond general manager of football operations, Craig Cameron, said yesterday his club faced a new challenge "almost" on a weekly basis.
"With the competition so even and competitive, we can't allow our form to wane because every week produces another challenge," Cameron said.
"We've been happy with some of the areas we've improved in, but four wins is still below where we want to be.
"Everyone here realises the work still in front of us, and that includes Friday night where it will be almost a new generation of players since we've beaten them."
Last week's late withdrawal, Jake Batchelor, appears certain to be recalled after he damaged an ankle in a freak accident last Thursday night.
The defender turned his ankle when he got his foot caught on a tram track.
"He probably would have played had we played on Sunday," Cameron said.
However, key defender Dylan Grimes appears likely to miss another three weeks due to a round-eight hamstring strain.
Richmond hosts Fremantle in round 11 at the MCG, then plays the Giants at Skoda Stadium before its mid-season bye.
The Tigers' encouraging start to the season has been reflected in record membership figures which continue to swell.
Richmond yesterday had 49,300 signed members, and it expects to pass its budgeted figure of 50,000 by next week.
The club has attracted the third biggest membership in Victoria, behind Collingwood and Hawthorn, and has already smashed the previous record of 47,625.
Apart from a blistering midfield, a tighter defence and the welcome addition of former Adelaide ruckman Ivan Maric, Hardwick put part of the club's upward spiral down to blue-collar midfielder Shane Tuck. He plays his 150th game this week, almost two years after he was put on the trade table.
"He has been fantastic," Hardwick said.
"Probably the thing he has worked enormously hard on is the defensive side of his game."
The coming of age of the Tigers' back line has restricted opposition scores to an average of 87 points, well down on the 108 they conceded on a weekly basis in 2011.
http://www.theaustralian.com.au/sport/afl/new-look-richmond-tigers-target-st-kilda/story-fnca0u4y-1226370397163
