Prelim Final: Richmond vs Collingwood, Friday night, Sept. 21.

[Assange Tiger 😎]

Does he like WCE at all? If so, enjoy that prick, Demon fans....

[one-eyed]

Tom Browne on Ch 7 news just confirmed Razor Ray has got the Eagles/Demons prelim and not ours.

Then added Razor could get the GF  .

[Hard Roar Tiger]

I logged in on my computer at 8:50am and was greeted with the "please be patient ... you are in the queue".

At 9:03am, still in the queue so decided to try on my phone as well. And bingo, straight in. Entered barcodes x3 and got tickets in M5.

9:06am and I'm done. Look at computer and still in the queue. I had been told by someone that phone works better than computer, maybe it's true.

I did device at 8:50 which I was told was the best way in. Got tix at 9:40. It’s random but phone is better

[one-eyed]

Got a spare $90k for a ticket?   



Hoping to secure two tickets for Friday night's preliminary final?

Well, all you need is an extra $90,000.

Ticket prices continue to soar on eBay, sparking questions over the legitimacy of the sales, with some suspecting "troll bidders" were behind heavily inflated prices.

It comes as resales of AFL footy finals tickets are being pulled from eBay and classified site Gumtree as authorities launch almost 100 investigations into ticket scalping.

One theory circulating on Twitter is that the tickets are being put online by fake bidders to "clog up" listings put up by scalpers.

https://www.theage.com.au/national/victoria/want-two-tickets-to-the-pies-v-tigers-clash-that-ll-be-90k-20180918-p504jr.html

[one-eyed]

Buckley has said Darcy Moore isn't fit to play.

Source: SEN.

So it sounds like the Pies will go in unchanged.

[one-eyed]

The Richmond v Collingwood Preliminary Final at the MCG on Friday is sold out.

No further tickets will be released for sale.

https://twitter.com/AFL

[one-eyed]

Can the Pies go four quarters against the Tigers?

ESPN
19 Sep 2018

Twice this year, Collingwood have gone toe-to-toe with Richmond for three quarters before fading in the final stanza. Back in Round 6, the Tigers led by 11 points at the last break before an eight-goal-to-three avalanche buried the Pies' challenge. Round 19 was even tighter, with the Tigers up by just four points at the final change before booting five goals to one to run out (semi) convincing winners.

It's a pattern that has unfolded regularly at the MCG this season, with multiple teams (Carlton in Round 1, Melbourne in Round 5, St Kilda in Round 10, Geelong in Round 13, Sydney in Round 15, Adelaide in Round 16, Geelong in Round 20, Essendon in Round 22 and the Bulldogs in Round 23) getting within striking distance of the Tigers at three-quarter time before a final-term Richmond surge.

What confidence this Tigers outfit must have when it comes to finding a way to win when a game is there to be won. Collingwood, though, will enter this monster prelim with some degree of confidence too, with both of their losses to Richmond this year coming after the Pies lost key players during the contest, hindering their rotations.

If the injury gods finally smile at them on Friday night, they might be a decent shot of shocking the reigning premiers.

http://kwese.espn.com/afl/story/_/id/24694829/afl-finals-w2w4-preliminary-collingwood-magpies-pies-four-quarter-question

[one-eyed]

Pies embrace the hype, Tigers fenced in

Jennifer Phelan
afl.com.au
Sep 19, 2018 5:15PM

THE WEDNESDAY training sessions of Collingwood and Richmond couldn't have been more contrasting, with one club embracing all the hype associated with a preliminary final and the other going through their paces behind closed gates.

Around 1000 people crowded at the Holden Centre to watch the Magpies run through their main training session, with fans jamming the space around the fence and creating long lines for coffee, food and merchandise.

It was a long session with all eyes on Darcy Moore and Ben Reid as they unsuccessfully pressed for selection, and Jordan De Goey and Brayden Sier as they shook off the lingering effects of minor sore spots.

The wind was cool but the sun shone on Pies' fans who, starved of finals action since 2013, treated the occasion like it was Grand Final week given there are no guarantees of progression beyond Friday night.

Across Olympic Boulevard and the train line, the scene couldn't have been different at the Tigers, with a temporary cyclone fence surrounding the ground to minimise the foot traffic through the players' carpark.

The main session was held without their supporters, as they've done for most of the season, with their brief captain's run on Thursday their designated "open session" for the week.

Dustin Martin was convincing in the 15 minutes the media were allowed to watch with all 22 players from their qualifying final win over Hawthorn on the track; Kane Lambert and Daniel Rioli – who were also treated for minor ailments last week – included.

Richmond supporters will have to wait until Friday night for their big finals party with the club to run a "fan zone" at Punt Road from 5pm with live music, mascots, face painting, food trucks and kids' activities before a march to the MCG behind drummers to precede the big clash.

http://www.afl.com.au/news/2018-09-19/pies-embrace-the-hype-tigers-fenced-in

[one-eyed]

Tigers up for the Magpie challenge

AFL media
19 Sep 2018

Richmond coach Damien Hardwick is fully aware of the extent of the task that will confront his team in Friday night’s blockbuster preliminary final against Collingwood at the MCG.

Hardwick, however, believes the Tigers are well equipped to successfully deal with whatever the Magpies throw at them.

“Collingwood have been in terrific form . . . they’re a good side,” Hardwick said.

“We’re under no illusions that the game itself is going to throw a set of challenges to us, as coaches and as players.

“We’ve played them twice (this season), we’ve got a good understanding of how they play, but we’ve got to play our best to beat them.

“They had a couple of injuries in those games. We look at our KPI indicators and they were very strong in both those games . . .

 “We’re both very much system-based sides. We’re really confident that our system versus their system stands up. And they’ll be the same with ours.

“These are brutal games, prelims, and we’re looking forward to the challenge.”

Hardwick has dismissed any concerns about the Tigers carrying a hefty weight of expectation into the match, as the 2017 premiers and 2018 minor premiers.

“The expectation can weigh you down if you acknowledge it. We don’t, we just go about and do what we do,” Hardwick said.

“We’re very process-orientated here and we’ve got a good understanding of what makes us play our best football.

“If you start worrying about the outcome, you’re not going to get the result you’re after.

“So we just worry about what we can control, we stay in the moment, and we get the job done.”

http://www.richmondfc.com.au/news/2018-09-19/tigers-up-for-the-magpie-challenge

[one-eyed]

Let's get ready to rumble: Joffa and Trout prepare to lead Magpie and Tigers to battle

Tom Cowie
The Age
20 Sep 2018

For now, Joffa and Trout sound more like coaches giving a pre-match press conference rather than the impassioned generals of Collingwood and Richmond's rabid cheer squads.

"Calm" and "relaxed" are not the expected responses when the superfans are asked about their nerves before this week's do-or-die preliminary final between the Magpies and Tigers — the clubs' first finals match-up since 1980.

But come 7.50pm on Friday night, when Joffa and Trout are stationed 200 metres apart in the Punt Road and Ponsford Stand ends, that tranquillity will vanish as 100,000 screaming fans erupt to urge on their team to a grand final.

"Isn't it great to see two powerhouse Victorian clubs in a prelim? It can't get any bigger," says Joffa Corfe, the fan best known for donning a gold jacket in the stands when Collingwood is certain for victory.

"The noise will be massive, you've got two lots of supporters that will be very passionate and very proud. This is the last roll of the dice."

All the pressure is on the hot favourites Richmond to make another grand final, Joffa says, which has contributed to his sense of calm in the lead-up.

"We all know all know Richmond is the heavyweight of the comp but funny things have happened," he says.

"How would it be if we knock off Goliath? It will just go ape droppings if that happens."

Trout Beattie, who will be among the throng of yellow and black behind the goals, says he is feeling more relaxed than he was last year when Richmond was on its drought-breaking run for the flag.

But there's still something special about playing Collingwood in such a big game. The streets in the neighbouring suburbs will be buzzing before and after the game, he says.

"There's more at stake here than the win, there's bragging rights all through summer," he says.

"You've got the biggest club and the second biggest club all squeezed into a stadium that's not big enough. You'll feel the atmosphere, it's just incredible in finals."

For the record, Trout means Richmond when he is talking about the AFL's biggest club. A sign of arrogance, perhaps? Or just the confidence that comes from winning a fairytale premiership?

"I've got a lot of respect for Collingwood, you've got a massive club that's been the benchmark," he says.

"But they've been pipped off by the top tier by us now."

As for Joffa's famous gold jacket, Trout says he hopes it's been "dry-cleaned and pressed but stays in the bag so he has to take it home". He's predicting Richmond to win by 17 points.

In response, Joffa says the jacket will be off to the dry cleaners next week after a 27-point Collingwood victory: "I've booked it in."

https://www.theage.com.au/sport/afl/let-s-get-ready-to-rumble-joffa-and-trout-prepare-to-lead-magpie-and-tigers-to-battle-20180919-p504px.html

[one-eyed]

Tigers wary of Pies’ noise

3BA
20 Sep 2018

HAVING done it all in the past 12 months, Richmond is readying themselves to climb their last AFL mountain in their preliminary final against Collingwood.

An army of opposition support.

Damien Hardwick’s side roared to last year’s flag off the back of ferocious fandom from the Tiger Army.

Richmond defeated Geelong, GWS Giants and Adelaide at the MCG, the venue where they’ve now won 22 times in a row.

Each time, they’ve been loudest.

On Friday night at the MCG, it might not be the case.

The Tigers’ only equal for support awaits in Collingwood, giving Richmond a new adversary – one that veteran Shane Edwards is eagerly anticipating.

“It’s going to be a tough challenge. We haven’t faced a 50-50 crowd in finals,” he said.

“(Crowd support) is huge. They keep the momentum going and they give you that little bit of adrenaline you might not have had.

“It’s an even home ground kind of game.

“We’ve just got to make sure we focus on our process, we don’t think about anything else … we have to stick to our structure and that’s it.”

Richmond and Collingwood have been competing with various levels of viciousness for more than 100 years and meet in September for the first time since the 1980 grand final.

There’s no shortage of historic motivators that the team could drawn upon but Edwards said the Tigers hadn’t chosen to go down that route in preparing for the preliminary final.

He said Hardwick had kept the focus firmly on systems and game plans.

“It’s who sticks to their structure the longest and who keeps the intensity up for the longest,” Edwards said.

“They can be stronger in some areas but whoever is stronger for the longest amount of time will win.

The All Australian said the great edge his side boasts is the trophy at Punt Road.

“It’d be hard not to look back on last year,” he said.

“It’s an advantage we have over Collingwood, that we were there last year.

“Last year we didn’t really know what to expect.

“This year we can reflect back on some of the evidence that we had last year.

“The feelings, the butterflies are there.

“We know what the moment is going to be like.”

https://www.3ba.com.au/news/afl-news/81412-tigers-wary-of-pies-noise

[one-eyed]

Where can Collingwood Magpies gain an advantage over Richmond Tigers?

By SEN
20 Sep 2018

Daisy Pearce has wondered where Collingwood will gain an advantage over Richmond in tomorrow night’s Preliminary Final.

“Even when you look at what has been a real weapon for Collingwood, their midfield, the dominance they’ve been able to have with Brodie Grundy as almost an extra midfielder at times,” she told SEN’s Whateley.

“Even if they get on top in that area, Richmond are so often happy to concede clearances then they win the ball back off you and punish you off turnover.

“It’s a matter of can they control it and be really effective going forward so they don’t turn the ball over.

“Their pressure game has been the other good thing about Collingwood’s season, speed and harassment, you look at that, and you think how long can they keep it up against the team that has done that the best over the last couple of years.

“Where does the advantage come from for the Pies is my question?”

AFL legend Malcolm Blight says Collingwood needs to perform at a level which is “four goals better” than Richmond to win tomorrow night’s Preliminary Final.

“They are playing an exciting brand of footy,” Blight said of the Magpies on SEN’s Whateley.

“They’re going to have to play at their super best.

“Collingwood, this sounds silly, but they’re going to have to play four goals better (than Richmond).”

https://www.sen.com.au/news/2018/09/20/where-can-collingwood-gain-an-advantage-over-richmond/

[one-eyed]

Shane Edwards denied Richmond headed into the game feeling as though they’re unbeatable and he was unsure if too much could be taken from the two meetings between the clubs this year, which the Tigers won.

“We go in with the feeling of if we do every single thing right, then they still might be able to beat us because you can’t stop some things,” Edwards said.

“But at the same time we just need to play at a standard that can put us in good stead come later in the game.

“They’re a familiar team given we’ve played them twice, they’ve been really competitive games, but they’ve improved a lot since then and we’ve improved in some areas as well so it’s going to be a new challenge coming up against them this time.”

https://www.smh.com.au/sport/afl/we-have-the-advantage-over-collingwood-edwards-20180920-p504zr.html

[mightytiges]

We need to start well and not turn up half asleep. At least match them on the scoreboard in the first quarter as the Pies like to burst from the blocks playing on at all costs as they did last week against the Giants. If we pressure them from the start then we can force and pick off turnovers.

[one-eyed]

Heath Shaw predicts Tigers to eat cold Pies

David Polkinghorne
The Age
21 Sep 2018

Heath Shaw was on the wrong side of a Dustin Martin masterclass, which is why he predicts the Pies will turn cold on Friday night.

The former Collingwood defender saw first hand exactly what Martin was capable of in last year's AFL preliminary when the Richmond superstar kicked three goals in a 36-point victory over the GWS Giants.

He's expecting the Tigers will again progress to the grand final, this time beating the Magpies at the MCG on Friday.

When asked if his old club could win their first premiership since he played in their 2010 triumph, a cheeky Shaw laughed: "No, I hope not."

"Richmond have been flying, they've been the best team all year, and Collingwood the surprise packet of the year," Shaw said.

"You never know on the day, but I think Richmond have that edge. They've been so consistent throughout the year and Collingwood have had back-to-back six-day breaks and travelling.

"No doubt they'll have some guys who are a bit sore and eventually it gets a hold of you."

With Martin set to play after getting over a cork he suffered in Richmond's victory over Hawthorn two weeks ago, Shaw thought that was bad news for the Magpies.

The reigning Brownlow Medallist kicked three straight goals on either side of three-quarter-time, including one on Shaw, to take the game away from the Giants.

It's a memory that's still with Shaw a year later.

"I've been front and centre of him putting on a show against us in the prelim, so he's a valuable player, probably the best player in the league," he said.

"So dangerous in the midfield or playing forward. Whoever matches up on him he needs help. It can't just be one person that's going to do the job on him.

"It'll take a team effort if the Pies are going to get over the line and if you nullify him a little bit then it goes a long way towards actually winning."

https://www.theage.com.au/sport/afl/shaw-predicts-tigers-to-eat-cold-pies-20180920-p504ze.html