Why tonight’s Richmond-Carlton clash mattersJai Bednall
Herald-Sun
April 02, 2015AFTER last year’s botched round one the AFL season begins with a sense of normalcy tonight when Carlton and Richmond meet at the MCG.
The Blues and Tigers were first round partners every season from 2007 to 2013 before pushing their date back to round two in 2014 because of the unavailability of the MCG.
Both teams enter this season with serious finals ambition but also with question marks over their legitimacy as top eight contenders.
It sounds outrageous but tonight’s game could be decisive in which of these clubs reaches September.
No doubt the loser will leave the MCG tonight telling themselves “it’s only round one” but a look back over their meetings since 2007 shows this game is extremely important.
Only once (Carlton in 2013) has the team on the wrong side of this result recovered to play finals footy.
And for eight years running — if we include last year’s contest in round two — the winner of the game has finished above its rival on the ladder by season’s end.
2014 — Richmond d Carlton by 12 points. Season finish: Richmond 8th, Carlton 13th
2013 — Richmond d Carlton by 5 points. Season finish: Richmond 5th, Carlton 8th
2012 — Carlton d Richmond by 44 points. Season finish: Carlton 10th, Richmond 12th
2011 — Carlton d Richmond by 20 points. Season finish: Carlton 5th, Richmond 12th
2010 — Carlton d Richmond by 56 points. Season finish: Carlton 8th, Richmond 15th
2009 — Carlton d Richmond by 83 points. Season finish: Carlton 7th, Richmond 15th
2008 — Richmond d Carlton by 30 points. Season finish: Richmond 9th, Carlton 11th
2007 — Carlton d Richmond by 17 points. Season finish: Carlton 15th, Richmond 16th
Those numbers suggest tonight’s winner will either play finals or at least be well and truly in the race, but predictably Richmond coach Damien Hardwick spent his pre-match press conference on Wednesday playing down the significance of the game.
“I think for most footy clubs (with) round one there’s a bit of false hype really,” Hardwick said.
“From our point of view it’s one game out of 22 that we’re going to play.
“The fundamentals of the game don’t change whether it’s round one or round two - we’ve just got to put our best foot forward and make sure our guys play to the best of their abilities.
“If that’s the case then I’m sure we’ll get the result we’re after.”
The ball will be bounced in front of a huge crowd at the home of football 187 days after triumphant Hawthorn skipper Luke Hodge raised the 2014 premiership cup.
The Blues are widely considered to have a playing list building for the future rather than one capable of playing finals in the short-term.
Still, Malthouse has spruiked the youth of his list as a positive heading into the season.
He has worked wonders with unheralded groups before and has put as much work into his charges as he possibly could over a long summer.
“It’s been the longest pre-season in history and it felt like it,” Malthouse said.
“But it’s a bit like this, six months ago you can’t believe how long away April is looking ... and now you’re feel like you need another week.”
http://www.news.com.au/sport/afl/why-tonights-richmond-carlton-clash-matters/story-fndv7pj3-1227288778153
