But wait there's more.
Who would've thought, the Perth media are tipping the Eagles to win
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Richmond and West Coast battle a test of winning formulaMark Duffield
West Australian
19 May 2018In the AFL, as in physics, every elite action will eventually create an equal and opposite reaction.
The dominance of a great offensive team will eventually lead to the creation of a great defensive one and vice versa.
So tomorrow’s blockbuster between top side Richmond and second-placed home team West Coast at Optus Stadium is not just a test of 1 v 2, it is also a test of two very different theories on what produces a winning formula.
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When Richmond snared the 2017 flag, they did it with one key forward — Jack Riewoldt — and an army of small, quick tacklers.
Riewoldt, 193cm and one of the great contested marks in the competition, was not so much a marking target as a means of bringing the ball to the ground.
In his weekly appearance on Fox Footy, Riewoldt recently said he got more joy from a great contest than a great mark these days.
We would like to strap him into a lie detector to test that claim, but you get the point. The Tigers are small, quick and the best tackle-pressure team in the AFL. A loose ball hitting the ground is a nightmare for a side trying to defend them.
They are small on ball as well. Unless they depart from their tried and true formula to play back-up ruckman Ivan Soldo, Toby Nankervis will take on Nic Naitanui and Scott Lycett virtually on his own.
Teams often copy reigning premiers, which made people nervous about the future of ruckmen and tall forwards.
West Coast represent the reaction to Richmond’s action and are proof that you make the most of what you have got, rather than follow successful trends.
The Eagles will play two ruckmen against the Tigers and two marking forwards — Jack Darling and Josh Kennedy.
And just as Richmond’s ability to win with an army of crumbers and a midfielder playing second ruck was a key to their 2017 success, West Coast’s ruck ascendancy and the form of their tall forwards — Darling in particular — have been key to their strong start to the season.
Here are the key questions for coaches Adam Simpson and Damien Hardwick leading into tomorrow’s mouth-watering contest:
Question one: Does Simpson tag Dustin Martin and if so, who gets the job?
He has four options: Don’t tag at all or use one or more of Mark Hutchings, Jack Redden or Elliot Yeo.
Don’t be surprised if it is no one to start with. Simpson’s track record has been to see how the game is playing out before committing to a tag. In the round six western derby it took a monster Nat Fyfe first quarter to get Simpson to send Yeo to him.
It may also be that he has a different player in mind for Martin depending on where he is. Either Redden or Hutchings if he is midfield, but Yeo to take him if he goes forward.
North Melbourne’s Ben Jacobs successfully tagged Martin midfield for three quarters last Sunday, often playing him from behind to make it harder for Martin to “don’t-argue” him away. But Martin had an impact and a role in two vital goals when sent forward in the last term.
Fyfe went forward late in the derby, but Yeo was able to halve almost every contest. Simpson later observed there was no player in the AFL he would rather have to go with a player like Fyfe forward than Yeo.
Martin is different to Fyfe, more ground level than aerial, but Simpson would be happiest if Yeo is with him when he is forward.
Question two: Does Hardwick hold his nerve and play one ruckman or does Soldo have to play?
The second ruckman was named in the extended squad, but that is almost standard procedure for all clubs to guard against late injury or illness. On one hand, playing the second big man would be a departure from Richmond’s method, and no club has greater belief in its method than the Tigers right now.
On the other hand, no other club can throw two genuine ruckmen at you like West Coast. One of them, Naitanui, is a superstar who has declared the Eagles will set themselves to work Nankervis over. The other, Lycett, is no slouch and is in career-best form.
Recent evidence says taking one ruckman in against West Coast, even a good one, is risky.
Fremantle’s Aaron Sandilands won more hit-outs than any player on the ground in round six, but Naitanui and Lycett won the hit-outs 52-34 and the Eagles won the clearances 44-31. Port Adelaide’s Paddy Ryder was outgunned 56-26 in the air and the Power were dominated 45-31 around stoppages in round seven.
Finally, these are the two top teams this year for a reason, but equally they call it home-ground advantage for a reason. The Eagles have been beaten just once at Optus Stadium this year, and that was a credible performance given the stunning eight-goal haul from Sydney champion Lance Franklin.
Richmond have won their last 11 matches at the MCG and their last 12 in Victoria. But they have lost two of their past three on the road — against Geelong last year and against Adelaide by 36 points in round two this year.
So we can be as intrigued as we like about how this game will be played, but where it will be played is just as likely to be the decisive factor in the outcome.
My verdict: West Coast by 15 points
https://thewest.com.au/sport/afl/richmond-and-west-coast-battle-a-test-of-winning-formula-ng-b88840563z
