Richmond -def- St Kilda: What the Newspapers Say

[WilliamPowell]

Tigers keep marching on
DateApril 6, 2013 
Michael Gleeson
Sports Writer for The Age

RICHMOND 4.5 8.10 12.12 14.15 (99) ST KILDA 3.1 6.6 11.7 12.10 (82)

GOALS - Richmond: Riewoldt 7, McGuane 2, Newman, Maric, King, Conca, Vickery.
                        St Kilda: Riewoldt 4, Saad 2, Maister 2, McEvoy, Stanley, Gilbert, Milne.

BEST - Richmond: Riewoldt, Cotchin, Morris, Grimes, Conca.
                      St Kilda: McEvoy, Riewoldt, Jones, Gilbert, Montagna.

UMPIRES Donlon, Mollison, Foot.
CROWD 56,783 at MCG.

Previously Richmond didn't win these games. Twice now it has. Last week the Tigers won a game as underdogs, this time they were expected to win. On both occasions they toughed it out for victory.

Not for some time has Richmond been a side about which the word consistency would be used. If two weeks marks consistency then it is at least getting to that point. But like last week it made this a hard proposition, which is not intended to under appreciate St Kilda's diligence.

The Saints were well organised and found ways to think their way through and open up the Richmond defence with slingshot play and small forwards. Or they did the traditional approach - kick it to Nick Riewoldt. It was a game plan that had a familiarity for both sides, the cousins Riewoldt each having a night out.

In the head-to-head battle little cousin Jack had the better. He booted seven, his last the goal to steady his side after Ahmed Saad had threaded a fine, dead straight set shot from the boundary to give the Saints a sniff.

Richmond, as it did last week, had the better of the general play but was unable to press the advantage. Dustin Martin was superb for a half then faded, his captain Trent Cotchin had the opposite experience, being unable to shake clear of Clint Jones until it really mattered in the last quarter. The Tigers seemed likely to kick clear during the second term through Riewoldt.

But they did not partly because of Leigh Montagna and Nick Dal Santo in the middle.

The ins for St Kilda were at the least on paper impressively credentialled - Sam Fisher, Leigh Montagna, Adam Schneider and Sean Dempster - two All-Australians and two premiership players. How fit they were for a high-energy early round match was another query.

Richmond meanwhile has reached a point of finding selection a difficulty. Previous first-choice players are now latter thoughts. The Tigers midfield lacks only Nathan Foley, its forward line with Ty Vickery and the weekly surprise of Luke McGuane more varied, while its defence, with the inclusion of Dylan Grimes, is more balanced. Or at least its defence should have been more balanced but for the fact St Kilda made it look top heavy. At one point Troy Chaplin was left to stand Terry Milera. It was not a prospect he would have relished.

Richmond's close-checking forced some errors. On the occasions they were able to think their way through it or win the critical contest that could get the ball over the back they found open space to run into and were able to hurt Richmond with fast play into their forward line. In the first quarter that twice saw them goal when Saad, Milera and Stephen Milne were able to get involved.

These forays were unreliable and the more familiar - and reliable - avenue through Nick Riewoldt was preferred to almost game-changing effect. Richmond had fought to its four-goal lead late in the third quarter but the elder Riewoldt halted their advance. The St Kilda captain marked on the lead and goaled, then a moment later had another when he found a ball over the back and the Tiger lead was halved. Saad's goal at the start of the last gave them a sniff which Jack Riewoldt did his best to extinguish.

Each contest had about it the tension of the idea that it could turn the game, such as when with only three minutes remaining St Kilda trailed by 12 points yet had the ball in hand. The Saints were searching for a way forward and appeared to have found one when they changed direction and an opportunity opened up on the far side of the ground near their forward line. A long ball searched for Ben McEvoy. Tiger Reece Conca had a stay-or-go decision. He went. He left his man and backed himself to get to the ball before McEvoy, knowing they were likely to collide and he risked the ball falling free to his now unmanned opponent. He won the ball. It was a significant. Soon after Ivan Maric made a certainty of the result. The Tigers won a game they should. Finally.

KING OF THE TIGERS
Seven minutes into the final quarter, Tiger Jake King sprung from the ground, seemingly out of nowhere, to sit on Rhys Stanley's shoulders. Nearly horizontally. Sadly, he couldn't quite hold onto the mark. It was eerily similar to Gary Moorcroft's stunning mark at Docklands in 2001. For a man known as the ''push-up king'', he went oh so close to putting his contention in for a new nickname. To cap off a night of highlights for the Tiger, he managed a beautiful checkside goal in the second quarter, splitting the sticks from 30 metres out on the boundary.

FLYING TIGER HIDDEN FORWARD
Luke McGuane is warming by the week to his forward shift. He kicked two first-quarter goals and, OK the first was a gift from a relayed free down the field, but the second one was a genuine forward's speccy. It was a mark the like of which has been hitherto unseen from McGuane at AFL level - he sprang high above a pack so that he ended up taking it at his waist above the other players' heads. Pleasingly, he kicked the goal. Not so pleasingly, at the start of the third he sprayed a snap at goal when he appeared to have ample time.

TAG TIME
Last week, St Kilda sampled Sam Gilbert as a tagger and ran him with Gary Ablett for periods. Suffice to say that experiment has been shelved for now. Clint Jones returned to a more familiar barnacle role, latching himself to Trent Cotchin's shoulder and shadowing him around the ground. He held Cotchin to just nine touches to half-time.

Read more: http://www.theage.com.au/afl/afl-news/tigers-keep-marching-on-20130405-2hctj.html#ixzz2Paq0h3P2

[WilliamPowell]

Richmond signals a changing of the guard
DateApril 6, 2013
Greg Baum
Chief sports columnist and associate editor with The Age

Reflecting the constantly changing face of AFL football, Richmond is 2-0 for the first time since 1997, and St Kilda is 0-2 for the first time since 2000. Reflecting the constantly changing shape of the game, this was Riewoldt v Riewoldt, but not as you know it. Nominally, the cousins were key forwards for their respective teams. Actually, St Kilda's Nick played a position more like wing, and Richmond's Jack played the role of a forward pocket.

A heat map would have shown traces of Nick everywhere but the Richmond goal square, and Jack's trails petering out at the 50-metre arc. Jack was, well, Jack, with everything that has come to mean to Richmond people. Against Carlton in round one, he was industrious, but failed to kick a goal. On Friday night, he kicked all sorts of goals: from a mark taken by wriggling between two defenders, from a smother, by making the most of a broken play, and from a 90-degree snap. That was just the first half.

For contrast, Luke McGuane kicked two early goals, then promptly misplaced the goalposts. Instead, he played a foiling role. Riewoldt is a natural forward, McGuane is naturally not a forward.

Jack was as coach Damian Hardwick prefers him, busy. But his inner jack-in-a-box would not be suppressed entirely. Twice, he flew high and sideways, rather like a high jumper, taking one mark and missing one. OId-timers thought of Royce Hart and sighed. Hart _ for readers and browsers younger than 40 _ starred in Richmond premiership teams, we kid you not.

Nick, tireless as he has been for 13 years now, ranged deep into each end of the ground, trying to provide an avenue for defence and attack. You wonder sometimes if his relentless running makes it impossible to still his pulse enough to kick calmly at goal. Biathletes must perform the same trick, and they are among the fittest sportspeople in the world. Nick's only first-half goal was lashed out of goal square mid-air. But in the third quarter, patrolling nearer to goal, he kicked three in a hurry. Here was class personified.

No supporters study the tea leaves more intently than Richmond's. No supporters bother with portents as little as St Kilda's; they know what they say. Each came to this contest anxiously, St Kilda's because of a first-round defeat, Richmond's because of a first round win. On an ideal football night, the early manoeuvres betrayed this. It was not so much a comedy of errors as a symphony of them, since many resulted in scores.
 
Richmond, using the width of the MCG as well as the length, had the better of it. In the criss-crossing, St Kilda lost track altogether of Dustin Martin, and paid for it. Before the game was properly in its stride, the Tigers led by 21 points. It would hold for the rest of the night, just.

The Riewoldts were the barometers. In the third quarter, Jack, lurking near goal, kicked two to widen Richmond's lead. Both were from marks, one on a lead, the other after budging Sam Fisher aside. Tony Lockett would have been proud. But St Kilda, with spread and run, regained the initiative, and Nick, doubling and redoubling as only he can, kicked three in reply. The last was from a lucky bounce, well read. Suddenly, the game was like the Riewoldts, with almost no degree of separation

Richmond knows only the hard way. This week as last, weariness showed. Fortunately for the Tigers, the Saints also were breathing hard. A pack collapsed on Jack Riewoldt, and he was awarded a free kick. It, too, was lucky, but it was the luck made by endeavour. Nervelessly, he goalled. At the death, Richmond had more poise, personified by captain Trent Cotchin. St Kilda, said coach Scott Watters, was found "wanting for a bit of polish".

Nick Riewoldt toiled, but fruitlessly. At length, he took his 12th mark, but at half-back, in time-on. Murray Rance was right with him still, a feat in itself. At least there, Nick had only a few metres to jog to shake his cousin's hand at the end of another epic MCG night.

Read more: http://www.theage.com.au/afl/afl-news/richmond-signals-a-changing-of-the-guard-20130405-2hctw.html#ixzz2PasMXjnc

[WilliamPowell]

Richmond star Jack Riewoldt leads the Tigers to victory over St Kilda

By: Mark Robinson From: Herald Sun
April 05, 2013 11:26PM Increase

SOMETIMES, the best team philosophies are slaughtered by individual brilliance.
 
Last week, the superstar forward was goalless against the Blues and played "one of his best games for 12 months", according to coach Damien Hardwick.

Last night, he kicked seven of Richmond's 14 goals and clearly played one of his best games for 12 months.

That's four bags of six or more goals against the Saints in three seasons for Riewoldt, who last night had Jason Blake and then Sam Fisher as opponents.

Unquestionably, he was the difference between winning and losing.

The important point is, the Tigers are 2-0.

It's a welcoming sign from the surging yellow and black from Punt Rd: They can win with Riewoldt hitting the scoreboard and win without him kicking a score.

He wasn't the only Riewoldt to shine on the MCG last night, however.

St Kilda's Nick Riewoldt was outstanding with four goals, and by the end, his opponent Alex Rance must have felt he had covered every inch of the MCG.

The evenness of these two teams was evident by the quarter-by-quarter returns.

Richmond kicked four, four, four and two goals across the four quarters. The Saints replied with three, three, five, but only one - to Ahmed Saad - early in the final quarter which, at the time, separated the teams by four points.

When it seemed like the Saints were running harder, and winning the important contests, the Tigers were able to wrest momentum.

Riewoldt kicked his seventh at the 11th minute and Ivan Maric his first at the 25th minute.

In between was 14 minutes of hard-fought and hard-win footy.

Skipper Trent Cotchin was beaten by Clint Jones in the first half and had just nine touches, but would finish with a game-high 31, including 11 in the tense final quarter.

Maric fought back from a first half in which he was eclipsed by Ben McEvoy, and emerged as a key figure in the second half.

Two big plays, among plenty on the night, were significant for the Tigers.

In the last quarter, sub Brandon Ellis and Reece Conca won huge 50-50 contests in the middle of the ground that didn't result in goals, but which helped lean momentum in Richmond's direction.

Conca just about put in his best game for the Tigers, Dustin Martin was very good in the first half and good in the second, Petterd impressed, while the backs of Chaplin, Grimes and Morris (on Milne) were a strong combination.

At halftime, the Tigers led by 16 points - it should have been more - and errors dominated the play.

At the break, the Tigers had kicked 5.7 from St Kilda turnovers and St Kilda 4.3 from Richmond's errors.

In the first quarter, and in no particular order of irresponsibility or stupidity, Morris missed a target kicking back, Nick Riewoldt dropped a chest mark, Jones had a handball intercept and eventually one error coughed up a goal.

Jack Riewoldt's first half was pock-marked with brilliance, but one of his four goals came from a one percenter.

Sean Dempster attempted to kick across goal, Riewoldt smothered it, got back the ball and kicked Richmond's second goal.

Lenny Hayes was next to be foolish. He went for Richmond's Shaun Grigg in the middle of the ground with a shirtfront, missed him, Grigg went down as if he was poleaxed and the umpire paid a free kick down the field, where Luke McGuane kicked Richmond's third .

McGuane was the surprise for the Tigers. As the designated third tall behind Riewoldt and Ty Vickery, he was a headache for the Saints. He finished the half with 2.3, playing mainly on Dylan Roberton, and took three contested marks.

http://www.heraldsun.com.au/afl/teams/richmond-star-jack-riewoldt-leads-the-tigers-to-victory-over-st-kilda/story-e6frf9mx-1226613651276

[WilliamPowell]

Richmond coach Damien Hardwick lauds his leaders for standing tall late in the game

by: Jay Clark From: Herald Sun
April 05, 2013 11:55PM

RICHMOND coach Damien Hardwick said his leaders were "huge" in the last quarter, getting the game "back on our terms a little bit".
 
But he said the club was happy how the development of its youngsters over the pre-season had added to its midfield flexibility, supporting the bigger names.
 
"A guy like Conca for example, I thought Trent was really well held early by Jones," Hardwick said.
 
"But Rhys is certainly a guy who we think has enormous potential and he probably played his best game for the club tonight.

"We are happy with the depth of our midfield and we think it is certainly improving every game.''

After a goalless game last week, Riewoldt sparkled closer to home against the Saints, nailing seven majors.

Hardwick was happy his spearhead booted a big haul but was adamant it would not always be the case.

"He still started up (the ground) a little bit, obviously Luke (McGuane) was pretty dominant early (in attack)," Hardwick said.

"I think the thing with Jack is he plays his best footy when he does play up the ground.

"The pleasing thing from my point of view to sell it to him is that he kicked six or seven goals today, which is great.

"But there's going to be other games where he doesn't have the scoreboard impact like last week, but he still plays well.

"It's a great learning curve for Jack and other forwards also."

http://www.heraldsun.com.au/afl/teams/richmond-coach-damien-hardwick-lauds-his-leaders-for-standing-tall-late-in-the-game/story-e6frf9mx-1226613662690

[Smokey]

Greg Baum must have seriously been on the turps tonight.  "Murray Rance was with him still"?  WTF?

[WilliamPowell]

Richmond youngster Reece Conca confirms composure as St Kilda rallies
by: Jay Clark
From: Herald Sun April 05, 2013 11:13PM

REECE Conca had a decision to make.

As the ball bobbled between him and Ben McEvoy in the middle of the MCG late in the tense last quarter, it was a contest that could decide the match.

But as the bigger-bodied McEvoy came at him, the Tigers' No. 6 draft pick from 2010 pounced on a crucial ball and swerved, avoiding danger at a time when the Saints smelt blood. A minute later, Conca again turned smartly on the boundary line and passed to Ivan Maric, who iced the game from 30m out.

As much as the Tigers' second straight win was about Jack Riewoldt's return to goalkicking form and the second-half heroics of Trent Cotchin, Conca's composure was vital in his best game for the club.

Richmond will next week shoot for its third straight win to open a season, something it has not done since 1995, a finals year.

It will enter the contest against the Western Bulldogs knowing it can now survive the close ones, an issue that haunted it last year.

But the new Richmond doesn't get as jittery. Not last week, and not last night, as the full-of-running Saints closed to within four points.

As much as the headlines will drum up Riewoldt's big night, and fair enough, coach Damien Hardwick will take great pleasure in the growing depth of his midfield band.

Cotchin was superb in the second half, shaking the tag applied by Clint Jones.

In the first half Dustin Martin and Brett Deledio split the Saints through the middle, pushing the Tigers out to a 20-point lead in the second term.

Although Martin's kicking was wayward in parts, the pair again displayed their matchwinning capabilities, especially when Cotchin was down early.

But the run and workrate of the likes of Conca, Shaun Grigg and Shane Edwards illustrated the growing depth of the Richmond midfield.

It was a night, though, where the Tigers' foot skills swung between white-hot and horrendous.

But for the most part, there was a lot of composure in how the Tigers eased out of trouble from half-back.

The contest looked in their keeping from early on.

http://www.heraldsun.com.au/afl/teams/richmond-youngster-reece-conca-confirms-composure-as-st-kilda-rallies/story-e6frf9mx-1226613646594

[jezza]

Murray.
Rhys.
 

[WilliamPowell]

Jack Riewoldt leads Richmond with seven goals in win over St Kilda
by: Courtney Walsh
From: The Australian April 06, 2013 12:00AM

JUMPING Jack Riewoldt a hypocrite?

It may sound harsh, but that is one way to describe the Tiger after he booted a match-winning seven goals in Richmond's 17-point defeat of St Kilda at the MCG last night. Not that he, or Richmond fans, will mind.

The dual Coleman medallist went goalless in the win against Carlton when he was effectively a decoy to open space for teammates, including Tyrone Vickery.

In The Australian on Monday, Riewoldt said: "It gets to the stage where you haven't had as much (team) success as what you want and you start to look outside the box a little bit. So my goals this year are purely based around improving my teammates."

Not a week later, Riewoldt took it upon himself to stand up. Or, more accurately, jump, leap and soar up.

He flew at everything. Some, like the second-term cracker, stuck. Others he missed completely.

Mind you, his cousin at the other end was pretty handy, too. If the Richmond Riewoldt is a star, Nick Riewoldt is a champion.

The Saints skipper was outstanding from the opening minutes with his three goals in the third term keeping St Kilda within striking distance by the final break.

When Ahmed Saad kicked the first of the last quarter from a tight angle, the margin was just four points to the Tigers. Again, it was Jack Riewoldt to the fore.

Infringed when desperately trying to keep the ball in Richmond's forward line - to that stage the Tigers had seven free kicks inside the attacking 50m to none - the spearhead kicked truly from 50m at the 11-minute mark to get the margin back to 10 points. The Saints continued to press, though shots from the tightest of angles went begging, one from Terry Milera only barely when it thumped into the post. But when Ivan Maric, whose 100th game had hardly hit any heights in his duel with Ben McEvoy, kicked accurately at the 26-minute mark, a second straight win to start the season was Richmond's.

Early in the piece, Richmond's Riewoldt had a surprise rival for high-marking highlights in Luke McGuane, who kicked two first-term goals, the latter after soaring high on the back of Jason Blake.

His emergence had a dual affect - not only was he proving a valuable foil for Riewoldt, he also forced direct opponent Sam Fisher to alter his methods.

Fisher, who was returning from a foot problem, earned All-Australian status playing as a floating third defender but the Tigers were able to make him play accountable football.

Two late goals to Rhys Stanley and Saad closed the margin to 10 points at quarter time.

By half-time the Tigers had extended the lead to 16 points, with Riewoldt proving the star attraction with another two goals.

One thing the first half was devoid of was any real pressure. The tackling was staggering, but not through ferocity or regularity, with the combined tally of 34 extremely low for modern-day football. By match's end the tally was a more respectable 54 to 43 St Kilda's way.

That the Tigers were able to establish a first-half break despite minimal influence from Richmond skipper Trent Cotchin, who was well held by Clint Jones relishing the return to a midfield tagging role, was another positive.

But to the captain's credit, he found a way to shake loose of Jones and finished the match with 31 touches, the most for his side.

Richmond has another chance to further its credentials as an early-season leader when pitted against Western Bulldogs at Etihad Stadium tomorrow week.

RICHMOND 4.5 8.10 12.12 14.15 (99) ST KILDA 3.1 6.6 11.7 12.10 (82) Goals: Richmond: J Riewoldt 7 L McGuane 2 C Newman I Maric J King R Conca T Vickery. St Kilda: N Riewoldt 4 A Saad 2 B Maister 2 B McEvoy R Stanley S Gilbert S Milne. Umpires: Chris Donlon, Jacob Mollison, Nicholas Foot. Official Crowd: 56,783 at MCG

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/jack-riewoldt-leads-richmond-with-seven-goals-in-win-over-st-kilda/story-e6frg6n6-1226613651072

[WilliamPowell]

Two for two for Tigers
By Nick Bowen
Exclusive to richmondfc.com.au 11:21pm AEDT Friday, April 5, 2013

A SEVEN-GOAL haul from Jack Riewoldt has seen Richmond outlast St Kilda by 17 points at the MCG on Friday night.

Richmond's 14.15 (99) to 12.10 (82) victory saw the club win its opening two games of the season for the first time since 1997, with the Saints falling to 0-2 with the loss.

Richmond did not relinquish the lead after Riewoldt goaled to put the Tigers a point up at the five-minute mark of the first quarter, but try as they might, they could never quite put the Saints away.

Several times Richmond got out to leads of up to four goals in the first three quarters only for the Saints to hit back

Full article:
http://www.richmondfc.com.au/news/2013-04-05/two-for-two-for-tigers

[Stripes]

Fantastic win that was hard fought. The Saints never let us break away at any point except for the very early periods of the game and we were able to find a way to keep that margin in take for the rest of the game. Conca was fantastic. His attack on the ball, poise under pressure and pinpoint passes were highlights. He was the biggest difference between the sides on a night when the Riewoldts almost negated each other and Cotch broke even with Jones.

Thought McGaune was another huge plus though he needs to study old tapes of Morton to learn how to kick around his body on the run. We didn't seem to get the same output on the scoreboard from our midfielders and small forwards as we usually do and I credit their midfielders and experiences defense for that. McEvoy beat Maric on the night and plugged the hole infront of Jack multiple times.

The game was very heated at times and I am concerned with a few possible MRP findings with Houli, Cotch and even Kingy. Fingers crossed they go no where.

Chaplin played an improved game from last week and the rest of our defense was solid. We now seem to have a stronger tall defensive lineup than small. Houli had a lower output than normal but this was because he played a more blanketing role than normal to help reduce their small forwards impact. Morris was strong for most of the night.

Great game to watch. The Saints cheersquad numbers, and supporters numbers in general, were embarrassing compared to ours. We are really starting to grow now. 

[one-eyed]

Five talking points: St Kilda v Richmond
By Nathan Schmook
afl.com.au
10:30pm AEDT Friday, April 5, 2013


1. Jack's back
After roaming the flanks last week in a selfless team role, Jack Riewoldt was back to his goalkicking best on Friday night, taking advantage of an undersized St Kilda backline. The 2012 Coleman medallist booted four first-half goals and finished with seven, with his contested marking a highlight. It continued a strong recent run against St Kilda for Riewoldt, who has now kicked 27 goals in his last five clashes against the Saints. Cousin Nick was strong for the Saints, kicking four goals, including three in the third quarter to drag his team back into the game.   

2. Saints battle down back
It wasn't just Riewoldt stretching the Saints backmen. Luke McGuane hit a purple patch in the second quarter opposed to Dylan Roberton, while Ty Vickery was important, playing on both Sam Fisher and Jason Blake. The Saints regained All Australians Sean Dempster (hamstring) and Fisher (foot) from injury, but they lacked height against the Tigers' big forwards. Rhys Stanley played forward for the Saints and was well held before moving back in the fourth quarter as a loose man. 

3. Cotchin cops treatment
The Saints couldn't contain Gold Coast star Gary Ablett last week, and they did everything possible to make sure Trent Cotchin didn't have a similar influence against them on Friday night. Cotchin, who was tagged by Clint Jones, was buffeted off the ball through the first half, winning free kicks because of the Saints' treatment on multiple occasions. The captain broke free in the third quarter to win 11 possessions and he finished with 31, breaking the 30-possession barrier for the sixth straight game. On the umpires, the Saints would not have been happy with the lopsided count for free kicks inside 50, which was 7-0 early in the fourth quarter.       

4. Blake's brain fade
Tasked with kicking in from a behind late in the third quarter, St Kilda's Jason Blake took a novel approach and handballed the ball out of the goalsquare. It was a tough night for the defender, moving between Riewoldt and Vickery, but it's hard to excuse the bizarre mistake. Fortunately for Blake, the ball was cleared from the resulting ball up and Richmond didn't score.

5. Tigers winning the close ones
Richmond lost six games by less than 13 points last season – including three by less than four – so Tiger fans were right to get the jitters again heading into the fourth quarter on Friday night. Ahmed Saad closed the margin to just four points early in the final term, but the Tigers steadied to go 2-0 for the first time since 1997. In their favour, St Kilda clearly ran out of run after a gruelling match on the Gold Coast and a six-day break.

http://www.afl.com.au/news/2013-04-05/talking-points-st-kilda-v-richmond

[Stripes]

Great to wake up to all positive articles too. Last weeks win was more relief than elation but this weeks I felt we fought for and deserved ( no panic in sight)