Richmond bank on historyBy Kim Hagdorn
Sports News First
12 April 2013 RICHMOND is building a case to repeat history ahead of a vital confrontation with a dangerous pack of Western Bulldogs at Etihad Stadium on Sunday.
The last time Richmond won their opening three games of a season was back in 1995 and significantly went on to play in finals.
The Tigers actually stretched their powerful start to ’95 with seven straight wins before copping a 12-goal belting from Geelong in Round 8 when the great Gary Ablett (Snr) bagged seven goals.
Richmond ultimately finished third on the home-and-away ladder with 15 wins, six losses and a draw before another horrible belting from the Cats to the tune of 89 points in a preliminary final.
A new look Tigers with strategic injections of experience over summer to bolster finials hopes in 2013 after a stack of narrow losses last season robbed any hope of a play-off campaign has stormed out with impressive early wins over another top-eight contender Carlton and then St Kilda.
The Tigers finals blueprint can bank vital premiership points for a third successive week and possibly a top-four spot ahead of defining engagements with other serious title contenders this season Collingwood in Round 4 at the MCG, Fremantle in Perth a week later and then Geelong back at the “G”.
Any combination of wins among the confrontations with three of the reigning power clubs of the unforgiving league this season would entrench and confirm the Tigers as serious finals threats in 2013.
Even honourable losses to the likes of the gifted Pies, defensive Dockers and relentless Cats could retain early grounds for a finals threat issued from the Tigers before another short stretch of encounters that should retain a spot in the top eight.
The Tigers have Port Adelaide at AAMI Stadium in Round 7, then extreme battlers Melbourne a week later before clashes with Essendon and West Coast in Perth in Round 10 before Richmond’s bye.
Coach Damien Hardwick and his emerging Tigers have established a foundation to beat the Dogs and then continue to accumulate sufficient wins to potentially be at around 6-4 when they take a break over Round 11.
A finals berth for only the third time since losing the 1982 grand final to Carlton by three goals would then still probably require at least six more wins in the last 12 appointments for Hardwick and his potentially exciting bunch to complete their 2013 finals mission.
One significant obstacle to a crucial Tigers third straight win is a potentially emotional 200-game milestone for highly popular Dogs on-baller Daniel Cross.
The indefatigable and big possession-winning on-baller is likely to generate swirling emotions in the vastly improved Dogs that could stall Richmond’s early quest to retain a grip on a spot well inside the top eight and remain on course for finals for the first time since 2001.
The Tigers are likely to take an unchanged line-up into the clash with the Dogs but could inject some handy midfield experience if off-season recruit Chris Knights wins his first appointment since crossing from Adelaide as a free agent.
http://www.sportsnewsfirst.com.au/articles/2013/04/12/richmond-bank-on-history/
