Media articles & stats: Perfect start for Tigers with win over Carlton

[one-eyed]

Perfect start for Tigers
richmondfc.com.au 
April 2, 2015 9:53 PM


Final scores:
Richmond            2.3          7.10        9.13        15.15. 105
Carlton                 4.7          6.9          6.12        11.12. 78
 
Goals:
Richmond – Riewoldt 4, Lloyd 3, Griffiths 3, Grigg 2, Martin, McIntosh, Gordon
Carlton – Jones 2, Menzel 2, Rowe 2, Tuohy, Gibbs, Jaksch, Bell, Simpson

Best:
Richmond - McIntosh, Hunt, Riewoldt, Rance, Ellis, Vlastuin
Carlton - Docherty, Simpson, Bell, Menzel, Judd

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Richmond has kicked off its 2015 campaign with an impressive 27-point win over arch-rival Carlton, in front of 83,493 fans at the MCG.
 
The Tigers were sluggish early in the match but got better as it wore on, controlling the contest after quarter time.
 
The win was highlighted by the performances of Club’s two new faces, the experienced Taylor Hunt and first-gamer Kamdyn McIntosh.
 
Hunt’s was a four-quarter game, where he amassed a game-high 27 possessions, five tackles and eight marks, while McIntosh ran hard all day and finished with 23 possessions.
 
Jack Riewoldt booted four goals and collected 17 disposals and eight marks in a strong performance up forward.
 
Brandon Ellis finished with 26 disposals, including 18 in the second half, while Anthony Miles won 23 touches.
 
The action-packed opening moments lived up to the pre-match billing, with Brett Deledio reported and Dale Thomas leaving the field – and being substituted - with a dislocated shoulder.
 
When the dust settled, Liam Jones kicked the first goal of the game from a goalmouth scrimmage, and Ben Griffiths opened his account soon after from a set shot.
 
A stalemate ensued for the next 15 minutes, before Bryce Gibbs put through a long-range goal as Carlton started to get on top in general play.
 
Another Griffiths set shot, in between two Blues’ major, and the margin was 16 points at quarter time.
 
On debut, Kamdyn McIntosh started brightly with eight disposals in the opening stanza.
 
Carlton booted two of the first three goals of the second term to extend the lead to over 20 points, with a Dustin Martin dribbler keeping the Yellow and Black in the contest.
 
From there, the Tigers turned the tide, hitting the scoreboard 10 times in a row.
 
The first came from McIntosh, who gathered the ball off the hands of the pack and kicked an impressive running goal – his first in AFL football.
 
Goals to Jack Riewoldt, Shaun Grigg and Sam Lloyd took Richmond to a seven-point lead at the main break.
 
The third quarter belonged to Richmond, who kicked the only two goals from Riewoldt and Lloyd.  Brandon Ellis sprung to life in that term, collecting 13 disposals.
 
Riewoldt kicked his third and fourth goals for the evening to start the final quarter, though goals to Troy Menzel and Kade Simpson kept the Blues in touch.
 
But the Tigers finished strongly to collect their first four points of the season.

http://www.richmondfc.com.au/news/2015-04-02/perfect-start-for-tigers

[one-eyed]

Five talking points: Carlton v Richmond

Callum Twomey 
afl.com.au
April 2, 2015 10:22 PM


1. McIntosh's long wait worth it
Kamdyn McIntosh was on Richmond's list for two seasons before his debut on Thursday night, and he was intent on not wasting any time out there. The first gamer showed why he was picked in Damien Hardwick's round one line-up with a tough, aggressive performance. He was the tackler who drove Dale Thomas into the ground and dislocated the Blue's shoulder in the opening minute, and he continued in the same fashion. By half-time the midfielder had gathered 13 disposals, including a terrific goal where he outmuscled opponent Chris Judd and streamed into goal. Of the many new faces on each side – including those who had crossed from rivals during the off-season – McIntosh had the biggest influence and was close to best afield in the Tigers' 27-point win, collecting 23 touches.

2. Where's best for Jack?
Being an entertaining and animated goalkicker means Jack Riewoldt probably has more eyes focused on him than most players. And it's always interesting to see where on the ground the dual Coleman medallist actually plays. For most of the first half, Riewoldt was used up the ground, getting most of his touches outside the forward 50. Things shifted in the second half of the second term, when he moved closer to goal. His goal was one of 11 consecutive scoring shots for the Tigers in that term, but Jack was happy at times to play the decoy role as Richmond looked for fellow tall option Ben Griffiths. After the main break Riewoldt proved he is most effective inside 50. He snapped a classy goal in the third term and then marked strongly in the last term to finish with four goals and a productive night out.

3. The fastest report ever?
It seems unlikely there would ever have been a player reported as early in a season as Brett Deledio was on Thursday night, when field umpire Brett Rosebury took Deledio's number seven seconds into the opening term. The Tigers' vice-captain charged into Blue Simon White after the first bounce and collected White's head with his hip as he leant over the ball. The new guidelines for the Match Review Panel have shown lower-impact incidents through the pre-season graded as fines instead of suspensions. But the early view is that Deledio is in some danger of missing Richmond's meeting with the Western Bulldogs next Saturday. The 27-year-old was subbed out of the game in the last term.

4. Mick's forward mix
With Jarrad Waite gone, Carlton coach Mick Malthouse has had to restructure his forward set-up. Against the Tigers, Lachie Henderson spent plenty of time in attack alongside new recruit Liam Jones. Jones, who crossed from the Western Bulldogs last year, kicked the first goal of the game – and finished with 2.1 – and jumped well at the ball in the air. Kristian Jaksch, who headed to the Blues from Greater Western Sydney, started in defence and moved forward in the second term. He switched back later in proceedings. Carlton decided to leave out Levi Casboult, naming the marking forward an emergency for the Tigers clash. At times his presence would have been handy for the Blues as they sent the ball inside-50.

5. Dimmed lights, 'Fev' and the hovercraft
We almost heard more about clubs' 'match-day experience' plans over summer than we did about the Cricket World Cup. And on Thursday night, home team Carlton opened proceedings in the pre-game fan engagement stakes by bringing back the hovercraft and Captain Carlton mascot. The club aimed to turn the MCG a shade of dark navy blue by turning off the lights and using the LED signage to reference its proud history. Former goalkicker Brendan Fevola delivered the match-balls and nobody at the ground was in any doubt it was a Carlton home game – something all clubs will be buoyed by given the effort put in by marketing teams over the pre-season.

http://www.afl.com.au/news/2015-04-02/no-nerves-for-kamdyn

[one-eyed]

2015 AFL season: Carlton v Richmond, LIVE coverage from MCG

Sam Edmund
Herald-Sun
April 03, 2015


IT TOOK Richmond 40 minutes to live up to expectations on Thursday night. The problem for Carlton was that the Tigers’ next 40 minutes blew them apart.

In a season-opener that exploded to life in an incident-packed first 60 seconds, Richmond took the Blues’ best punches in the first quarter and then stepped up to knock its rivals out.

Carlton lead by 23 points five minutes into the second quarter, propelled by a clearance dominance and a level of defensive pressure that was suffocating the Tigers.

Liam Jones kicked two early goals and looked a different player, Kristian Jaksch swung forward and threaded one from the boundary and Simon White had turned master tagger in blanketing Dustin Martin.

At quarter-time White had kept Martin to one handball, Ed Curnow had restricted Brandon Ellis to two handballs and Trent Cotchin (four disposals) couldn’t shake Andrew Carrazzo.

The Blues had racked up 11 scoring shots to five in the opening half hour and when Troy Menzel caught Troy Chaplin cold in front of goal, Mick Malthouse’s men held that commanding lead.

Then, it all changed.

Richmond started to engineer the sort of play we had all expected. But it was the man who lead them that was very much unexpected.

Kamdyn McIntosh turns 21 today, but he played like a colossus of the game last night in a best on ground performance.

A powerful 192cm 89kg midfielder from Pinjarra, McIntosh lead his more celebrated teammates in a debut that was as good as we’ve seen for some time. He finished with 23 disposals, nine marks and a goal.

The youngster’s spark saw the Tigers go from surrendering victim to aggressor, transforming that 23-point deficit into an eight-point lead by the shadows of half-time.

Richmond simply ran Carlton to death on the outside. It was hard, direct and ballistic ball movement. The Blues chased tail for a solid half hour and looked ragged by the main break.

As good as the Blues were in-close - winning centre clearances 17-9 and total clearances 38-27 - they were obliterated once the ball got on the outside. Indeed, they looked slow.

When the Tigers won it they surged forward like they were on those airport conveyor belts. When Carlton got it, it looked like they were wearing concrete boots.

Ellis sprang to life to gather eight disposals in the first 10 minutes of the second half and was excellent thereafter, Bachar Houli launched countless direct raids off half-back and Shane Edwards’ pace split the game open. It was a mauling.

Taylor Hunt was given a licence to roam and set about collecting a game-high 27 possessions. That man McIntosh took five bounces around the Southern Stand wing before setting up Jack Riewoldt on the lead.

Riewoldt got the better of Michael Jamison and despite playing up the ground for long periods, finished with four goals and eight marks.

Incredibly, all this came while Martin (13 possessions) struggled, Cotchin (17) was quiet and Deledio (18) had little impact.

Carlton was overwhelmed by run and spread. The Blues’ sixth goal was kicked five minutes into the second quarter. It’s seventh didn’t come until five minutes into the last term. It just couldn’t get the ball.

The Blues lost Dale Thomas inside that crazy first minute, when the midfielder came off the ground with his left shoulder dangling and disclocated. He could miss months of football in what would be a shattering blow for a player facing a hugely important season.

Deledio was reported inside five seconds when he collected Simon White with head-high contact at the opening bounce. He would appear to be in trouble, new match review panel or otherwise.

The Blues will hope there’s upside. Murphy looks underdone, Gibbs had the fumbles and Matthew Kreuzer and Andrew Walker will return. But they’ve got significant work ahead of them.

Richmond charges ahead, where bigger tests await.

VOTES

3. Kamdyn McIntosh (Rich)

2. Brandon Ellis (Rich)

1. Taylor Hunt (Rich)

BEST

Carlton: White Docherty Gibbs, Bell, Judd, Simpson, Carrazzo

Richmond: McIntosh, Ellis, Hunt, Riewoldt, Houli, Rance, Edwards, Griffiths, Vlastuin

http://www.news.com.au/sport/afl/afl-season-carlton-v-richmond-live-coverage-from-mcg/story-fnelctok-1227289537061

[one-eyed]

Kamdyn McIntosh, Taylor Hunt star in Tigers’ Round 1 win

Mark Robinson
Herald-Sun
April 03, 2015

THE Tigers had to change, be bolder, become stronger.

You can’t start with a 3-10 win-loss record, come home 9-0, get belted in the elimination final, and think another pre-season will rectify the damage on the field and in the heads. It’s one game, but it’s a positive one.

Taylor Hunt and Kamdyn McIntosh not only added depth to Richmond’s midfield last night, they controlled it.

McIntosh, in the No. 33 guernsey, was close to best afield. Never heard of him? He was drafted in 2012 and has dealt with shoulder and foot problems. Last night was his first game of senior footy.

Brandon Ellis, McIntosh and Hunt were the three dominant midfielders. One is a Geelong reject, another is 21 in two days and was a childhood star, and Ellis — well, he might be something special.

Ellis owned the midfield corridor. He has only two touches in the first quarter with Ed Curnow for an opponent. Curnow then gave up the tag — a strange move — and Ellis had 19 possessions in the second and third quarters.

The Tigers took control of the game in the second quarter, battled for a further two-goal lead in the third quarter, and comfortably held sway in the final term.

Depth might be one key to unlocking the magical mystery tour that is a Richmond football season, and Ellis, McIntosh and Hunt were far more effective than Cotchin, Martin and Deledio. That’s depth.

Another move was simple enough in its action, but devastating in its effect.

The Tigers’ rough and tumble half-back flanker Steven Morris was redeployed to a sort of half-forward missile role, and coach Damien Hardwick would’ve been rapt.

Morris will be a sore boy today, crashing and banged into 30 congested situations without any fear for himself and fear for his opponent. He was only credited with three possessions and four effective tackles, but pressure goes beyond actual tackling.

His most memorable came in the second quarter when he spoiled a Chris Yarran mark from a kick across goal, which led to yet another Tigers goal.

He might not kick many goals, but his defensive pressure is one small cog that will improve the Tigers.

Criticised last year for being crab-like in their ball movement, the Tigers were frightening last night.

Time and again they shredded the Blues through the second and third quarters, led by Ellis and Bachar Houli.

We had a crazy 15 minutes where the Tigers caged the Blues; and when the Blues coughed it up, the Tigers mauled them through the corridor.

In the end, Houli had 665m gained off a back flank, which is elite, and Ellis had 364m.

Both of them had 18 uncontested possessions, which was the equal second-most of any player on the ground.

Possessions in the corridor were 11 of 19 for Houli and 12 of 26 for Ellis.

This will kill Carlton coach Mick Malthouse, but total possessions won uncontested were Houli 95 per cent and Ellis 69 per cent.

The numbers make Houli’s game better than first thought.

The margin flattered Carlton, notwithstanding it lost Dale Thomas with a pinged shoulder in the first minutes.

The Blues were dangerous for 40 minutes and plugged away for another 80 minutes.

At one stage early it looked like the Jones and Jaksch Show in the Carlton forward line, but soon enough it was the No Show.

About 10 minutes into the second quarter, the game changed on its head.

The Tigers seemed to be all over the shop. At that time Jack Riewoldt (five touches), playing high half-forward, had more touches than Cotchin (four), Deledio (four), Ellis (three), Miles (four) and Martin (two).

By the end, only Martin failed to flatter with Simon as an opponent, while Riewoldt kicked four and clearly was among Richmond’s better players.

Riewoldt’s role, which has been questioned for several years, worked well. He was influential wherever he roamed, while Ben Griffiths (six marks, three goals) was the big-bodied key target the Tigers have been waiting for him to become.

http://www.news.com.au/sport/afl/richmond-v-carlton-2015-kamdyn-mcintosh-taylor-hunt-star-in-tigers-round-1-win/story-fndv8t7m-1227289886983

[one-eyed]

Finally, down and dirty football

Jon Pierik
The Age
April 3, 2015

RICHMOND   2.3   7.10   9.13    15.15 (105)
CARLTON     4.7   6.9     6.12     11.12 (78)

Best:
Richmond: K McIntosh, B Ellis, J Riewoldt, B Deledio, T Chaplin.
Carlton: B Gibbs, T Bell, S Docherty
 
Goals:
Richmond: J Riewoldt 4 B Griffiths 3 S Lloyd 3 S Grigg 2 D Martin K McIntosh N Gordon.
Carlton: L Jones 2 S Rowe 2 T Menzel 2 B Gibbs K Jaksch K Simpson T Bell Z Tuohy.

Injuries:
Richmond: Nil.
Carlton: D Thomas (dislocated shoulder).

Reports:
Richmond: B Deledio by field umpire B Rosebury in the first quarter for rough conduct against S White.
Carlton: Nil.

Umpires: Ben Ryan, Robert Findlay, Brett Rosebury.

Official Crowd: 83,493 at MCG.

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In a week where drugs and gambling issues have overshadowed the game, there was something almost quaint when attention turned to Thursday night's season opener at the MCG.

Instead of the spotlight being on who allegedly took drugs and why, it was finally about where would the Blues get their goals from, and were the Tigers the real deal? All serious questions, but ones which at least can be laughed about.

In the end, it was Richmond which had the last laugh with a 27-point win, but supporters of all kinds were the winners with the focus back on the field.

That focus, though, in the opening seconds was on Tigers star Brett Deledio and his report for a heavy hit on Simon White, and minutes later when Dale Thomas was crunched and suffered what could be a season-ending left shoulder injury.

On a relatively mild autumnal night, the temperature quickly rose, and it was debutant midfielder Kamdyn McIntosh, former Cat Taylor Hunt, Brandon Ellis, Brett Deledio, Sam Lloyd and Jack Riewoldt, the latter having shifted to full forward from midway through the second term, who led the way for the Tigers.

"It was pretty amazing night. I just wanted to use my fitness," McIntosh, who will celebrate his 21st birthday on Friday, said.

However, they could well have asked whether some of their key movers, including skipper Trent Cotchin and raging bull Dustin Martin, were ready for the season to start in the first term, for it was the Blues who appeared harder at the man and ball.

Blues mentor Mick Malthouse and his assistants had implemented a surprise move, sending customary defender Simon White into the middle to shadow Martin. The Tiger had just the one touch in the first term, and was barely sighted for the rest of the night.

Much to the bemusement of some fans, the Tigers also had a surprise of their own through the opening term. Riewoldt, their premier key forward, was used as a half-forward flanker - and had little to no impact.

This left fellow tall Ben Griffiths and a swag of small men as the marking options. While Griffiths responded with two goals on new Blue Kristian Jaksch (who had a dirty night), it was a questionable move by Damien Hardwick. If the Tigers are to launch a serious September campaign, surely Riewoldt needs to be in a position all game to kick a bag, a point reinforced by commentators, and goal-kicking greats, Jason Dunstall and Garry Lyon.

Bryce Gibbs and Chris Yarran provided plenty of drive, and with Chris Judd working hard and Liam Jones a viable target inside 50, the Blues skipped out to a 23-point lead early in the second term.

The Tigers appeared in a malaise when Troy Menzel grittily tackled Troy Chaplin, forcing a free kick close to goal and converted a goal. But in the blink of an eye, the Tigers found momentum, and it was their opponents who were under immense pressure.

McIntosh, after two years in the VFL, led the way. While certainly not a pretty player, his toughness and will to win the ball - as shown when he roved a pack, dashed away from Judd and converted to kick spark the comeback - was impressive. The Tigers look to have found themselves a player.

The Tigers took control in the contest and away from the gaggle of bodies, enjoying a whopping 35-15 advantage in uncontested possession through the second half of the second term.

When Riewoldt, Shaun Grigg and Sam Lloyd converted, the latter after Steven Morris forced a turnover from a poor Sam Rowe intended pass, the Tigers found themselves in front.

If the suddenly sluggish Blues, having activated substitute - and draftee - Clem Smith in the opening minutes, were to rebound, they needed to again turn the contest into a grind. This they did in the opening 10 minutes of the third term but when Lloyd ignored a Riewoldt lead and goaled from 50, the Tigers had notched six of the last seven goals.

There was a poignant moment when Riewoldt, after flying unsuccessfully for a mark, quickly regained his feet, accepted a handball from Cotchin and snapped a goal. He immediately shot a kiss to the sky, no doubt in memory of his cousin Madeleine - the sister of Nick Riewoldt - who died recently at the age of 26.

Now working closer to goal, Riewoldt was a handful for Michael Jamison, at a time when the Blues needed more - and improved efficiency - from Gibbs, skipper Marc Murphy and Yarran, the latter complaining of a knock to the knee. The Blues would be goalless in the third term.

Errors by Yarran and Murphy in the forward half early in the final term ended hopes of Carlton revival, while at the other end Riewoldt and Lloyd continued to have the answers.

In terms of the bigger picture, this opening contest proved the Blues - without the departed Jarrad Waite - are likely to struggle for potency inside 50. Whether the Tigers are a legitimate top six, even top four, chance, only time will tell. But with the Western Bulldogs, Brisbane and Melbourne to come in the opening month, they have the chance to build the perfect platform.

http://www.theage.com.au/afl/afl-match-centre/finally-down-and-dirty-football-20150402-1mdwyl.html

[Smokey]

Here's a really good report complete with images and videos - well worth the time to have a read.

https://scottybarby.wordpress.com/2015/04/03/carlton-v-richmond-the-wash-up/