Damien Hardwick is poised to stick with a three tall forward set-up for Richmond’s clash against Port AdelaideBruce Matthews
Herald-Sun
May 21, 2015 12:10PMRICHMOND is poised to field a full-strength forward line for just the second time this season against Port Adelaide on Sunday and coach Damien Hardwick is excited by the prospect.
Hardwick indicated on Thursday he was prepared to use Jack Riewoldt, Ty Vickery and Ben Griffiths against the Power after the success of playing debutant Liam McBean alongside Riewoldt and Vickery last week.
The plan is dependent on Griffiths, recovered from concussion, satisfactorily completing a training session with the group at Punt Road Oval today.
And Shane Edwards (calf) is ready to slot back into the Tigers forward set-up at the Adelaide Oval.
Hardwick can keep the Power guessing until 90 minutes before the Sunday twilight game before deciding whether to throw the three tall forwards challenge to the home team.
“They really haven’t played together this year, so this is probably our second look at it going forward. We’re excited, but we have to make a decision on ‘Griff’ whether we think he’s ready to go,’’ the coach said.
“Shane has been in outstanding form, as has Griff. Griff will be an interesting one, he has played one game in four weeks, so we’ve got to make sure we make an informed decision with that.
“It’s going to be interesting to see how it (three key forwards) goes this week and we’re looking forward to it.’’
Hardwick said Vickery provides valuable back-up for main ruckman Ivan Maric and can play higher in the forward half.
“Ty was terrific last week, he kicked three crucial goals, presented really well and created opportunities for others,’’ he said.
“I think Ty is more suited to the ruck role than Ben. We probably feel more confident with Ty in there (team). It gives us a better balance with Ty in the side and spreads the load and creates the three different types of forwards that we’re looking for.’’
Defender Reece Conca will play a second game in the VFL and veteran Chris Newman is still a week away from returning. And Hardwick again defended his experiment using Steven Morris in a defensive-forward role this season.
“We speak about the way we want our players to play. If I had more Steve Morris’ in my side, I know I’m going to get a contest at every opportunity. I’m going to get pressure on the opposition at every opportunity and I’m going to get a player that our guys love playing with,’’ he said.
Richmond invited 1980 premiership ruckman Emmett Dunne to present jumpers to the first-gamers before last Sunday’s win against Collingwood.
“The players enjoy having players come in and earn the jumper. We had a bit of a presentation and Emmett spoke about what the jumper meant to him,’’ Hardwick said.
“But probably the big thing for us was our leaders played incredibly well. Make no mistake, those younger players are important, but we know if our good players play well, we’re going to win the majority of games.
“There’s no doubt it was a quality win, for us to play a good style of footy with effectively five first-year players was a great result.
“It’s something you want to build on, but the proof will be in the pudding this week with another huge challenge versus Port Adelaide. Their form, like us, has been inconsistent over patches of games, but we know what they’re capable of.
“We’ve always known where we’re at and, more important, where we’re going. We just concentrate on our four-week block that we’ve spoken about previously. It’s at a ground where we’ve played well at various stages, we’re a good travelling side and we’re looking forward to the challenge.
“We still had a bad period in the first quarter, we gave up eight scoring shots and initially had a couple of defensive breakdowns. After the players rectified that, the consistency was pretty good on the day. We controlled the ball a bit better than we have, it’s something we’ve been working on.
“Look, I’ve got no doubt when we play our best footy, our offence is up and going and we saw that kicking 16 goals for the first or second time this year.’’
Hardwick was nearing the end of his playing career at Port Adelaide when a young Kane Cornes started on the AFL journey that culminates with his 300th and final game on Sunday.
“He has been an outstanding player. I don’t think I’ve seen a player who has driven himself further to where he needed to go. He’s an incredible athlete and his preparation is second to none. He’s a quality person I know as well,’’ the Tigers coach said.
http://www.news.com.au/sport/afl/damien-hardwick-is-poised-to-stick-with-a-three-tall-forward-set-up-for-richmonds-clash-against-port-adelaide/story-fndv8t7m-1227362603110
