Richmond def Brisbane
12.15.87 –v- 12.11.83Like the Tigers, OER hit the road for the team’s first interstate game of 2005 against Brisbane. The venue was the Gabba which the Tigers had not tasted victory at since 2000.
First surprise of the game was Mark Graham getting the tough job on Lion CHF star Jonathon Brown. But what started out as surprise turned out to be a master stroke by Tiger coach Terry Wallace.
Key match ups in the centre were Tuck on Voss and Coughlan on Black. Interestingly Coughlan at times appeared to be playing very wide of his direct opponent but when there was pack situation he always seemed to be in the middle of it. The Tigers were first to score in the opening minutes after a confusing free kick given to Trent Knobel that resulted in a goal to Troy Simmonds. The early stages of the first were tight and a couple of costly skill errors resulted in the Lions first 2 goals. For the most part the first quarter was close but somehow by the end of it the Lions held a 2 goal lead.
The most astounding thing that took place in the first quarter was the inability of the goal umpire to be able to work out that Lion Jonathon Brown took a mark after the ball had crossed the line. As a result the field umpire closest to the contest paid the mark. Sitting in the Tiger Cheer Squad I am sure that one of the reasons one of the field umpires up the field came in to override the decision was because of the noise being made. Originally, it was a shocking decision that fortunately was corrected.
The second quarter was played in two distinct halves. Early the second quarter it looked like the Lions of 2001-2003 with their movement of the ball out of the centre and rebound off the back half. Although, Knobel and at times Simmonds were winning the hit outs the likes of Black and Voss were getting the clearances out of the middle. By half way through the 2nd quarter the Lions were almost 3 goals up. Full credit to the Tigers though, they didn’t drop their heads and continued to stick to Terry’s game plan and they managed to claw their way back into the game in the second half of the quarter. Despite getting plenty of the ball and having what seemed to be endless forays in the forward 50, the Tigers were trailing by 2 points at half time.
The ‘arm wrestle’ continued in the third with both teams making a number of turnovers. The Lions scored first until Tiger spearhead Matthew Richardson got his second to reduced the margin back to 2 points. It was Richo who put the Tiges in front half way through the third quarter when he kicked a brilliant goal from the boundary. By the end of the third quarter with both teams having kicked 2 goals 4 behinds the margin was again 2 points. All signs pointed to close game that was going to go down to the wire and we were not disappointed.
The Lions scored first in the last quarter but the tigers would not be denied. With Tuck, Coughlan and Johnson winning the “in close” contests the Tigers continually took the ball forward and they managed to answer again. With Simmonds presenting at CHF and Graham holding Brown and making him virtually ineffective the Tigers always seemed to have more options when they went into attack. It was during these occasions that Troy Simmonds was at his best. Firstly, he gave us another forward option but more importantly it was his crashing through packs and opening up the forward line for our crumbers that gave the Tigers its best opportunities to score.
There is an old saying that says “the cream always rises to the top” in the final quarter that was certainly the case when Tiger Vice Captain Nathan Brown booted the last 2 goals of the game. Up until that point his shots for goal had been at times disappointing as a score tally of 3 goals 5 behinds would attest. But when we needed some magic Brown kicked a goal that got us back within 2 points. Then due to a terrible turnover from Lions skipper Michael Voss (watch the replay and see Voss put his hands straight on his head) Brown swooped and kicked the goal that gave the Tigers the lead and ultimately victory. In the final 2 minutes it was again our midfielders especially Tuck who crashed packs and work tirelessly to win possession of the ball when it was in dispute.
This was a great victory, the first one I’ve witnessed on the road and one that may just help to shape the Tigers season
WP
