Tigers ready for 'fluent' SaintsBy Paul Daffey
afl.com.au
11:55 AM Thu 31 May, 2012RICHMOND coach Damien Hardwick says his team is ready for a more fluent St Kilda team than those that have dominated the Tigers in the recent past.
Richmond has not defeated St Kilda since round four, 2003, notwithstanding their draw at the MCG in round two last year.
The Saints have won their last 10 matches against Richmond at Etihad Stadium, which is the venue for Friday night's match of the round between the pair.
Hardwick said the Saints under Scott Watters, who's in his first year as St Kilda coach, differs from those coached by Ross Lyon.
"They move the ball differently. There's no doubt about that," Hardwick said.
"They switch the ball enormously from the back half. It's something we spoke to our players about today.
"The speed and fluency with which they move the ball is very good."
Hardwick was impressed by the Saints' ball movement during their 28-point victory over the Sydney Swans at Etihad Stadium last weekend.
He also noted the threat posed by small forwards Stephen Milne, Terry Milera and Ahmed Saad, who've played a large part in the Saints' improved fortunes since their loss to Hawthorn in round six.
Since then they've defeated Carlton, played a strong second half during their loss to West Coast, and defeated the Swans.
"They got stuck a little bit," Hardwick said of the Saints' match against the Swans.
"But then when they started to get their game style up and going they moved the ball very, very well inside 50.
"If you've got dangerous forwards, you want to get the ball in there quickly, and it's something they're doing very well at the moment."
Richmond went on from the promise it showed during its 19-point loss to Essendon in round eight to defeat the highly fancied Hawthorn by 62 points last weekend.
Ruckman Ivan Maric has played an enormous role in the Tigers' improvement, effectively dragging the team along with him with his attack on the ball.
St Kilda will again go into the match with a depleted ruck division, with Ben McEvoy and Rhys Stanley sidelined through injury.
Saints utility Jason Blake last week filled in manfully in the ruck, with Justin Koschitzke as relief.
Hardwick suggested that the identity of Maric's opponent would matter little to him.
"He doesn't care who he comes up against," Hardwick said.
"He's just a competitive beast.
"That's why we love him as our ruckman and that's why he's playing so well at the moment.
"With the quality of their midfield, it's going to be a hard game regardless of who's in winning the hit-outs.
"They're a formidable midfield. It's going to be a big challenge.
"We've very much looking forward to it."
Hardwick praised Richmond midfielder Shane Tuck for markedly improving the defensive side of his game since he took over as coach before the 2010 season.
He said Tuck would definitely be in the top five in the club's best and fairest count at this stage of the season.
Tuck plays his 150th AFL game against St Kilda while full-forward Jack Riewoldt plays his 100th.
St Kilda is seventh on the ladder with a 5-4 record while Richmond is 12th with a 4-5 record.
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