Media articles and Stats: Tigers turn on Power

[one-eyed]

Tigers turn on Power
Ben Guthrie 
afl.com.au
July 13, 2014 3:50 PM

RICHMOND           4.2   11.6     14.7    19.12 (126)
PORT ADELAIDE    3.3     8.4     12.6    16.10 (106)     
 
GOALS
Richmond: Lloyd 3, Riewoldt 3, Petterd 2, Chaplin 2, Vickery 2, Vlastuin, Deledio, Cotchin, Jackson, Martin, Edwards, Houli
Port Adelaide: R.Gray 4, Broadbent 2, White 2, Schulz 2, Wines, Boak, S Gray, Wingard, Hartlett, Polec
 
BEST
Richmond: Miles, Cotchin, Deledio, Rance, Chaplin, Martin, Riewoldt
Port Adelaide: Boak, R.Gray, Cornes, Wines

INJURIES
Richmond: Conca (concussion)
Port Adelaide: R.Gray (head)
 
SUBSTITUTES
Richmond: Nathan Foley replaced Reece Conca in the third quarter
Port Adelaide: Kane Mitchell replaced Sam Gray in the third quarter
 
Reports: Nil
 
Umpires: Farmer, Bannister, Mitchell
 
Official crowd: 21,483 at the Etihad Stadium

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RICHMOND has put a severe dent in Port Adelaide's top-four aspirations, causing a major boilover with its 20-point victory at Etihad Stadium on Sunday.

The Power, on top of the ladder after round 14, have now dropped four of their past five games and are likely to fall outside the top four by day's end if, as expected, Fremantle defeats Greater Western Sydney.

Met with a willing second-half challenge from the Power, the Tigers held their nerve to hold onto a 19.12 (126) to 16.10 (106) victory.

Unlike its effort against North Melbourne in round 12 when it conceded a 36-point half-time lead, the Tigers showed the kind of resilience it has failed to deliver on for most of this year.

The Tigers were ferocious and determined and, in comparison to the Power, switched on from start to finish.

"I thought our guys' hardness and ability to win the ball inside and then get it outside was really evident on the day," Tigers coach Damien Hardwick said post-match.

"It's something we've worked incredibly hard with over the course of, probably, the last six weeks. It was good to see the dividends of that today."

Young Tiger Anthony Miles was superb for Richmond with 28 disposals and eight clearances, crucially setting the tone for his team around the clinches.

Brandon Ellis (29 touches) escaped the clutches of the Kane Cornes 'glove' to have a significant impact on the game, while Trent Cotchin (26 disposals and eight clearances) and Dustin Martin (25 disposals and seven inside 50s) were also particularly damaging.

Alex Rance was also near faultless in his defensive stopping job on Coleman Medal leader Jay Schulz, holding the Power spearhead to two goals on the afternoon, neither of which was when directly opposed to his man.

The problem for Port was that too many of its key playmakers were off the boil – Schulz, Chad Wingard (17 disposals and one goal), Jared Polec (18) and Justin Westhoff (14 and no goals) all struggled to influence the contest.

The Power were fumbly. They were turnover prone and they lacked the spark that had characterised their successful season to date.

Miles and Cotchin were not shaky as they established the ascendancy for the Tigers. Ranked last in the competition in contested possessions leading into the game, the Tigers smashed the Power in that key category (159-125).

Power coach Ken Hinkley acknowledged his side was struggling in key areas.

"We were badly beaten inside (the contest) again. Contested possession was a significant disadvantage for us," he said after the game.

"They were really effective with some of their stuff and we were quite ineffective with some of our stuff.

"We're not playing OK at the moment, we've certainly got a lot of work to do to improve."

The only sour point for Richmond was the head injury to Reece Conca after he was stretchered from the field in the third term after a huge collision with Power ruckman Matthew Lobbe.

Former Tiger and Power speedster Matthew White tried to keep his team in touch with an incredible end-to-end running goal late in the final term, but the Power could not reel in a determined Tigers outfit.

Travis Boak was the Power's supreme performer from start to finish, collecting 39 disposals and helping himself to seven tackles, but he had few friends.

With the race for the top four on in earnest, the Power will look to get back on track against Melbourne at Adelaide Oval next Sunday.

But as it knows too well, Port can ill afford to drop any more winnable games from here on.

http://www.afl.com.au/news/2014-07-13/match-report-richmond-v-port-adelaide

[one-eyed]

Team Statistics



Individual Statistics

[one-eyed]

Richmond stuns shaky Port Adelaide by 20 points at Etihad Stadium to put dent in Power’s top-four hopes

Jon Ralph
Herald-Sun
July 14, 2014

TROY Chaplin had been waiting 11 years and 17 rounds for a magical day like this.

The planets finally aligned for Chaplin’s Tigers on Sunday as they took down their first major scalp four months into a squandered season. And on the same day as Richmond found its 2014 mojo the 28-year-old made some sort of history after a decade of defensive toil.

So much focus was on ex-Richmond dasher Matt White yet it was Chaplin who emerged as an unlikely final-term matchwinner against his old side. It might have only been two goals, but after 11 majors in 177 games his last-term contribution when pushed forward broke Port Adelaide’s spirit.

It would set off a frenzy of celebration as Chaplin soared around Etihad Stadium with outstretched arms in his best aeroplane imitation. Yet on an afternoon when Richmond’s stars and Generation Next kids combined, it was reflective of the Tigers’ joyous outlook.

Richmond would obliterate Port Adelaide in close (+34 contested ball), withstand Travis Boak’s 39 scintillating touches, and see Jack Riewoldt, Anthony Miles, Tyrone Vickery and a host of others play season-best games.

“I don’t even know what it was, I probably looked like an absolute idiot,” said Chaplin of the wild celebrations.

“To the boys credit we played a bloody good side and to get the win is great. “I had the match-up on (Justin) Westhoff and the call was made to go and tag him and I was able to isolate at stages and it worked out pretty well. I was able to kick a couple at a pretty important time. The first (celebration) was about emotion and the second one I didn’t even know I had kicked it. I picked it up and put it on (my right) boot.

“The win meant a lot to me and the boys because of the way this year has gone. We had built this game up to be a big game.”

If Chaplin had iced a frantic end-to-end 35-goal contest of real excitement, the victory was set up by a hunger and aggression so often missing at Punt Road this year.

Boak and Trent Cotchin would go head to head from the first bounce as both sides flashed the ball from the centre square with blinding speed. But while Boak would win that battle, Cotchin was supported by ex-GWS Anthony Miles (eight clearances), Brett Deledio, and the hard-running Brandon Ellis (29 touches).

The Port captain was overwhelmed by Richmond’s collective effort, and when Port Adelaide did get ball in hand they invariably coughed it up. Richmond, meanwhile, had staunch defenders Bachar Houli and Alex Rance dominating and Riewoldt, Ty Vickery and Sam Lloyd (three goals) on fire in the forward arc.

Riewoldt might have kicked 11 goals against an insipid GWS outfit this year, but this was a superior and selfless game, aiding his teammates and kicking big goals to go with his 22 touches.

But if this was Richmond’s first scalp it was another showpiece game from Miles, delisted by GWS last year and having won possessions counts of 30, 28, 27, 24 and 28 in the past five weeks.

He was tagged by Kane Cornes after a ten-touch first quarter, which said everything about his rising status as an inside midfielder.

“I am ecstatic. I always kept the hope I would find my way onto another AFL list and went back home and trained hard and was thrilled to get a chance with the Tigers on the rookie list and I am happy to be back playing AFL now,” Miles said.

“(Cornes) came to me at the stoppages and tried to get off me. I have never had someone go with me at AFL level, and it was a learning curve. I have huge amounts of respect fo rhim, spending a couple of years with his brother Chad in Sydney.

Richmond coach Damien Hardwick fronts the media after his side's 126-106 victory over Port Adelaide at Etihad Stadium.

“We spoke this week about trying to get a scalp above us and we haven’t done that all this year.”

Port Adelaide is in free-fall, out of the top four and having dropped four of the last five games.

They might be flashy and exciting and pretty to watch, but unless they go back to winning the ball in close their mid-season malaise will continue.

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RICHMOND 19.12 (126) def PORT ADELAIDE 16.10 (106)

VOTES 3. Travis Boak 2. Jack Riewoldt 1. Bachar Houli

BEST: RICHMOND: Houli, Riewoldt, Petterd, Deledio, Lloyd, Rance, Miles PORT ADELAIDE: Boak, Cornes, Wines, Gray, Broadbent

http://www.news.com.au/sport/afl/richmond-stuns-shaky-port-adelaide-by-20-points-at-etihad-stadium-to-put-dent-in-powers-topfour-hopes/story-fndv8t7m-1226987341438

[one-eyed]

Richmond upsets Port Adelaide by 20 points

   Jesse Hogan
     The Age
    July 13, 2014

RICHMOND 4.2 11.6 14.7 19.12 (126)
PORT ADELAIDE 3.3 8.4 12.6 16.10 (106)

Goals:
Richmond: J Riewoldt 3 S Lloyd 3 R Petterd 2 T Chaplin 2 T Vickery 2 B Deledio B Houli D Jackson D Martin N Vlastuin S Edwards T Cotchin.
Port Adelaide: R Gray 4 J Schulz 2 M Broadbent 2 M White 2 C Wingard H Hartlett J Polec O Wines S Gray T Boak.

Best:
Richmond: Miles, Houli, Martin, Riewoldt, Cotchin, Deledio, Ellis, Lloyd.
Port Adelaide: Boak, R.Gray, Wines, Wingard, K.Cornes, Broadbent, Lobbe.

Injuries:
Richmond: Conca (concussion).
Port Adelaide: R.Gray (concussion).

Umpires: Luke Farmer, Andrew Mitchell, Jordan Bannister.

Official Crowd: 21,483 at Etihad Stadium.

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With finals out of the equation, the next-best hope for Richmond supporters arriving at Etihad Stadium was to see their team putting in a sterling effort. By half-time it was clear that irrespective of whether it preserved its unexpected 20-point lead over Port Adelaide, those supporters would be going home satisfied. They also went home with We're From Tigerland ringing in their ears, as the half-time margin was replicated at full-time.

As for the Tigers' players, they went home with their goal of regaining respect, admittedly from a single performance, achieved.

"We had a massive, massive focus coming into the game that we needed to earn the competition's respect, and the best way to get it was to come here with great mentality of contested football," explained Bachar Houli, whose precise distribution out of defence was vital to Richmond, especially as it began to get well on top of Port in the second quarter.

The scrappy opening to the match gave little indication of what was to follow. Port was better at finding space, particularly during chains or possession, while Tigers players too often kicked the ball forward aimlessly.

The turning point for Richmond was a stirring set-shot goal from Brett Deledio from a tight angle just outside the 50-metre arc. It lifted the Tiger-dominated crowd of 21,483, and the midfielders in turn lifted. The player chiefly responsible for that was not one of the terrific Tiger trio of Deledio, Trent Cotchin and Dustin Martin but Anthony Miles, a 22-year-old discarded by GWS.

The four goals that followed set the tone for the rest of the match, with both teams allowing the other ample space to surge forward.

Richmond went to the first change with a five-point lead. By late in the second quarter that lead had increased beyond five goals. The scoring load was well shared, with spearhead Jack Riewoldt particularly selfless.

Proof there was still some roar left in the Tiger army despite a wretched season came just before the break when fan favourite Dustin Martin streamed through the attacking 50-metre arc and, after three bounces, slammed through a goal, generating arguably the biggest cheer of the match.

Miles was not the only mature-age recruit starring for the Tigers. Sam Lloyd, 24, justified his inclusion for the first time since round nine with two goals. He delivered a desperate tackle on Jasper Pittard at centre half-forward that forced a turnover and resulted in a goal.

The Tigers' concession of two goals in the last three minutes of the half allowed the Power to get closer than it probably should have been.

That lapse in concentration seemed sure to cost the home team badly when Port kicked four of the first six goals of the second half to reduce its deficit to single figures. The Power began to swamp the Tigers with its willingness to play on and run the ball forward, although the Tigers at least maintained their strong tackling pressure throughout.

Port captain Travis Boak led by example throughout the match, and was well supported by Matthew Lobbe in the ruck, Ollie Wines with him in midfield and Robbie Gray up forward. Gray's four goals were crucial because spearhead Jay Schulz was blanketed by Alex Rance, and kicked uncharacteristically poorly in his few shots at goal.

After the slew of goals that began late in the first quarter none were scored in time-on in the third quarter, which ran for 34 minutes as a result of Richmond's Reece Conca having to be stretchered off after a head clash with Lobbe.

With Richmond's lead cut to 13 by the last break the match seemed poised for a Power surge, not just because of the visitors' reputation as fast-finishers but because of the high stakes involved, with their top-four ladder position in jeopardy.

Some of the most influential Richmond players in preventing that were those among its most publicly maligned this season.

Coach Damien Hardwick's decision to send key-defender Troy Chaplin into attack was a masterstroke as he kicked two goals - and was not shy in telling his former teammates he was happy with his new football home. Soon after, Ty Vickery produced a stirring pack mark, flying in from the side, and converted the opportunity to extend the lead to 27.

While the Power kicked two goals in the first three minutes of time-on, the latter a brilliant finish on the run from Matt White after a sprint and three bounces from the wing, the two Richmond goals that followed not only settled the contest but were also deserved, both for the team as a whole and the players who delivered them.

Riewoldt's clinical finish from 40 metres, his third goal, snuffed out any prospect of a Power win, while Houli's made it even more emphatic.

Read more: http://www.theage.com.au/afl/afl-match-report/richmond-upsets-port-adelaide-by-20-points-20140713-zt63z.html#ixzz37N4DBOEE

[tiga]

Its clear to me that the most important stat to come out of yesterdays game was the kick to handball ratio. It was a massive improvement over the previous week.

Rich V Port
Kicks: 209 Handball: 135

Rich V Lions
Kicks: 211 Handball: 227

Almost 100 less handballs in the Port match compared to the previous week proving we played a much more direct game of football. A game we played for most of last year.

[YellowandBlackBlood]

Its clear to me that the most important stat to come out of yesterdays game was the kick to handball ratio. It was a massive improvement over the previous week.

Rich V Port
Kicks: 209 Handball: 135

Rich V Lions
Kicks: 211 Handball: 227

Almost 100 less handballs in the Port match compared to the previous week proving we played a much more direct game of football. A game we played for most of last year.

I noticed this at the game. We were far more direct and we didn't kick to the pockets but to more dangerous parts of the forward line.
Played like last year.


Why now..........?