Stats that matter: Rd 19afc.com.au
August 5, 2015 Adelaide and Richmond have met 32 times. The Crows hold the overall advantage 20-12.
The Tigers have won four of the past five clashes between the two sides including the most recent match at Adelaide Oval in Round 21 last season when Richmond prevailed by 10 points in a low-scoring affair.
On that night, 50,459 fans turned out – a record crowd for a game involving the Crows and Tigers. It remains the highest home attendance for an Adelaide game outside of Showdowns.
This week’s clash will be Adelaide’s one and only Friday night fixture of the home and away season.
The AFL will celebrate Multicultural Round this weekend. A citizenship ceremony will take place prior to the match between the Crows and Tigers, and also the GWS Giants and Essendon clash. The Sherrin official AFL match ball will be translated into Arabic, Hindi or Mandarin and will feature at all nine matches. The AFL field umpire shirts will feature the word umpire translated into one of the seven most spoken languages in Australia, other than English, as part of the celebrations.
The Tigers are one of the form teams of the competition, having won five of their past six games. They sit in sixth spot on the AFL ladder with 11 wins and six losses. Adelaide’s loss to Sydney last weekend saw the Club slip to ninth spot percentage behind the eighth-placed Geelong.
The Tigers have travelled well this season, recording wins at the GABBA, SCG, Domain Stadium and Adelaide Oval against the Power.
Crows defender Luke Brown will play his 50th straight game against Richmond on Friday night. Brown’s streak of consecutive matches started in Round 12, 2013.
Brown has conceded an average of only 0.8 goals to his direct opponents per game this season.
The Tigers retain possession of the ball by hitting-up short targets by foot. Richmond plays on from the mark just 27.6 per cent of the time – the second least in the AFL.
The Tigers rank fifth for short kicks (81.7) per game and have the third-highest kick-to-handball ratio (1.37) of any team. They also sit sixth in uncontested marks (81.9).
However, Richmond is also good inside the contest, winning 38 per cent of its ball in contested situations – ranked seventh in the League.
Brandon Ellis and Dustin Martin are keys to Richmond’s game style. Ellis (457) and Martin (455) both rank top-15 in the AFL for total disposals.
The Tigers like to get the ball in the hands of the neat-kicking Ellis, who ranks No.2 for uncontested possessions (330) and has also taken 108 uncontested marks – ranked fifth overall. Martin is also a prime mover, ranked second in the League for kicks (298) and sixth for handball receives (224).
Adelaide’s biggest score against Richmond was 29.11 (185) at Football Park in Round 17, 1997.
The Crows have scored more points than the Tigers this season, but Richmond has been stronger defensively. The Tigers are ranked 11th in points for, but have conceded 1,255 points – ranked behind only top-four teams Fremantle, West Coast and Hawthorn. The Crows are sixth in points for 1,511 but have conceded 1,478 points to be in the bottom seven defensively.
Richmond spearhead Jack Riewoldt is fourth in the Coleman Medal race with 43 goals – one more than Crow Eddie Betts, who has kicked 42 despite having played one fewer game than the other top 10 goalkickers in the League.
Riewoldt has been involved in 30 per cent of all his team’s scores – more than any other Tiger.
Riewoldt and Crows captain Taylor Walker are both strong on the lead. Walker has taken the second-most marks on a lead (46) of any player in the competition – one more than Riewoldt (45).
Tony Modra holds the record for most Crows goals in a game against Richmond. Modra booted 13.4 at Football Park in Round 16, 1993.
Riewoldt and Ellis are ranked equal-13th for marks (113) one more than Crow Tom Lynch (112).
Bachar Houli is a playmaker across Richmond’s half-back line. Houli is No.1 in the AFL for long kicks (97) and fifth for effective kicks (186). He’s also second for rebound 50ms (91).
Crow Scott Thompson has averaged 31 possessions and a goal in his past three games against Richmond. Thompson is also averaging 6.2 tackles per game to be equal-11th in the League.
All Australian defender Alex Rance turns his strong defence into attack. Rance is equal-second in the League for intercept possessions (gains) with 126. Rory Laird leads the way for Adelaide with 114.
The Tigers average 59 tackles per game – ranked 17th in the competition.
http://www.afc.com.au/news/2015-08-04/stats-that-matter-rd-19
