Media articles - Dream win for Tigers

[one-eyed]

Dream win for Tigers
10:19:41 PM Sat 6 May, 2006
Matt Burgan
Exclusive to afl.com.au

Richmond's two debutants Dean Polo and Jarrad Oakley-Nicholls have played crucial roles - albeit in contrasting ways - to give their side a thrilling two-point victory over Essendon in the second annual 'Dreamtime at the G' clash at the MCG on Saturday night.

In a match that had 11 lead changes, the Tigers 13.19 (97) held off the Bombers 13.17 (95), giving Richmond its third win of the season - and the yellow and black's third in succession - after it lost its opening three matches of the season.

But the story of the night was the remarkable debut of Richmond midfielder Dean Polo, who not only booted the goal to tie the scores at the 24-minute mark of the final term, but was officially named best-on-ground.

Polo was awarded the Yiooken Award for his performance. The word Yiooken is from the Woiwurrung language of the Wurundjeri people, which means 'dreaming'.

And Polo could not have dreamt of a better start to his AFL career as he finished with 29 disposals (11 kicks and 18 handballs), six marks and three goals.

 
Although fellow Tiger debutant Oakley-Nicholls did not reach the same lofty heights of Polo in his inaugural match for Richmond, he did kick the behind in the dying minutes to put the boys from Punt Rd in front.

An Andrew Krakouer behind followed shortly after and it was the Tigers by two points.

All of this came after Scott Lucas all but single-handedly won the match for the Bombers in the final term.

With Richmond leading by 16 points at the 10-minute mark of the final stanza - the biggest lead of the night - Essendon hit back with four-in-a-row which included three in three minutes from Lucas.

Essendon was soon up by 10 points, but when Richmond answered with two of its own from Greg Tivendale and man-of-the-moment Polo, the Tigers were on level terms.

But in a match marred by turnovers, poor decision-making and execution, it was no surprise that several skill errors were critical in the dying stages of the match.

With the scores tied, a dropped Tivendale mark inside 50 directly in front looked costly for the Tigers as the ball was swept to the other end of the field only for Jobe Watson, caught in two minds, opting to pass to Lucas rather than shoot for goal from 35 metres.

His chip missed everything and dribbled over the boundary line. Moments later a Mark McVeigh shot at goal from the pocket went on the full.

With the clock ticking down, the ball was locked in the Essendon forward line for several minutes as the desperate Tigers sought to stop the Bombers from scoring.

Eventually the Tigers cleared the ball forward for Oakley-Nicholls and Krakouer to score the decisive points.

Richmond had 10 players notch up 20 touches or more for the match, with dual Jack Dyer Medallist Joel Bowden gaining 31 disposals, while Shane Tuck and Andrew Raines both finished with 24 each.

It was the Bombers' fifth loss in-a-row. The last time the red and black lost five consecutive matches was when it dropped six-in-a-row from rounds five to 12 in 1997.

The Bombers entered the match having played three matches in 12 days and they have now lost their past four games by an average of 10 points.

Adding to their woes, veteran midfielder Scott Camporeale appears to have re-injured his hamstring after returning this match.

Lucas with four goals and 10 marks stood tall, while Nathan Lovett-Murray (29 disposals), Jason Johnson (28 possessions) and Watson (26 touches) were among the major ball-winners.

The opening term was a see-sawing encounter. Six lead changes occurred, yet it was Essendon that took a five-point advantage into the first break.

Returning for his first match of the season after battling knee and thigh problems, Essendon big man Jason Laycock made his impressions felt early with two goals, while Jason Johnson was also prominent with 11 disposals.

Polo got off to a flyer, claiming nine touches - the most by a Tiger for the quarter - while he also landed a fine goal on the run, although it was fortuitously aided by a ripping leg-break that enabled it to bounce through.

Yet the less said about the second term the better. It was ugly. Skill errors, but more to the point, woeful kicking - particularly at goal - was prevalent. As a consequence, a staggering 1.17 was recorded.

Richmond managed 1.9 to Essendon's 0.8, yet it was enough for the Tigers to claim a two-point edge at half-time. Matthew Richardson was the lone goalkicker in the second quarter.

Kayne Pettifer was prominent, as he continually presented with his opportunistic ways, yet he played a key part in failing to capitalise on the scoreboard, registering four behinds for the term.

He entered the main change with 1.5 to his name and he also had several shots at goal that slewed off his boot. It was a pity, as there was no problem with his ability to find the pill, but it was his finishing that was his only downfall.

Brent Stanton put the Bombers back in front early in the second half, when he bagged two in two minutes, yet when the Tigers answered with three of the remaining four goals in the third quarter, the yellow and black held sway by eight points.

Although Essendon managed one more major in a nail-biting final term, it was not enough to gain its second win of the season. And while Richmond is yet to win a final term this season, it mattered little on Saturday night.

Terry Wallace was proud of the way his players fought back after being headed by the rampant Bombers in the final term.

"From being in a commanding position, all of a sudden we looked like we were going to struggle to get a result and I thought that (fight) was the most pleasing thing," he said.

"Two out of our last three games - we were in foreign territory up in Brisbane three weeks ago, they came at us really hard, we were able to steady and get back on top - and this time around obviously we got in a position where it was pretty tough in that last five or 10 minutes and we were able to wrestle back control of the game, so that was really pleasing.

"It's obviously a very, very pleasing victory - we worked hard for a long time to get the result."

Essendon coach Kevin Sheedy said his side "probably had two or three occasions to put the game away".

"They're (the players) disappointed naturally," Sheedy said.

"We've got to take stock and say to ourselves … this side has either got to keep lifting and play better footy than what we're doing, because the standard of the AFL is pretty close isn't it? It was another kick in it today over in Perth.

"So we've been involved in probably three losses with not much in it and probably the other two have been by less than three goals, so if you count how many negative scorelines we've had, it probably keeps our percentage in it and healthy, but it might or it might not get you to the finals."

ESSENDON: 5.2, 5.10, 8.13, 13.17 (95)
RICHMOND: 4.3, 5.12, 9.15, 13.19 (97)

GOALS – Essendon: Lucas 4, Stanton 2, Laycock 2, Lovett 2, Hird, Monfries, Watson
Richmond: Polo 3, Hughes 2, Richardson 2, Tivendale, Hartigan, Kellaway, Pettifer, Krakouer, Tuck

BEST – Essendon: Lucas, Lovett-Murray, Watson, J Johnson, Stanton, Welsh, Lovett
Richmond: Polo, Tuck, Newman, Pettifer, Tivendale, J Bowden, P Bowden

INJURIES – Essendon: Camporeale (hamstring)
Richmond: Nil

REPORTS - Nil
UMPIRES - McLaren, Nicholls, Jeffery
CROWD - 58,439 at the MCG

http://afl.com.au/default.asp?pg=news&spg=display&articleid=263695

[one-eyed]

Tigers take honours
By Emma Quayle
The Age
May 7, 2006

Essendon and Richmond had played for 20 minutes last night when Bombers teenager Angus Monfries led deep into a forward pocket, dived, and clutched the ball to his chest.

It was a little under a week ago that Monfries had found himself in a similar spot, in the opposite pocket, against Hawthorn. This time, Monfries chose not to play on, fire off a running banana shot, and miss everything. Then look on as the opposition pinched the four points.

Instead, Monfries played on and sent off a straighter shot, for the first of three Essendon goals that would push it to a five-point lead at the first break.

But rather than Monfries' goal paving the way for a night of precision, it set off a night of indecision, ill-decision and inaccuracy. It also failed to signal a better outcome for the Bombers.

Another young player, Richmond debutant Jarrad Oakley-Nicholls, decided the game by kicking a point on the run in the final 90 seconds. Fellow Richmond forward Andrew Krakouer missed a banana shot that made the final margin two behinds.

The ball had been stuck in the Bombers' forward pocket for the minute before Oakley-Nicholls' shot, before Mark McVeigh's snap shot went out of bounds on the full. Richmond then cleared the ball and sealed victory.

An errant kick from Jobe Watson at the 28-minute mark of the final quarter, which was either a pass to Scott Lucas or a shot at goal, summed up the indecision that had underpinned the match from the second quarter, during which the teams scored a combined tally of one goal and 16 behinds. The ball moved from end to end for almost the entire 25 minutes, with decisions in front of goal more dubious as the quarter wore on.

Essendon kicked no goals and five of the behinds, with Brent Stanton keeping up the theme of the quarter by missing a shot after the siren.

Richmond kicked one goal and nine behinds. Kayne Pettifer contributed four of those behinds, and had two shots that fell short. The first of those, though, made its way to Matthew Richardson, who was able to trap the ball, turn into goal, and snap the quarter's only six-point score.

The Bombers trailed by two points at the big break, and fell further behind in the first two minutes of the third term when Cleve Hughes, playing in his second game, kicked his first goal for Richmond.

Hughes snapped his second goal 20 minutes into the quarter, after two Stanton shots had given Essendon the lead. The Tigers seemed, then, to be playing in more space, with stickier fingers, and making slightly less nonsensical decisions.

After Essendon forward Andrew Lovett had made sure of an unmissable shot by walking the ball to the goal-line, Richmond pushed ahead again when a defender, Andrew Kellaway, finished off an influential quarter by wobbling through a set shot.

The Tigers' lead was stretched to three goals after Richardson, well held by Adam McPhee during the first half, kicked his second goal, but that was when the game turned again.

Lovett neatly swooped on the ball as it fell from a pack, and then Lucas took two marks and kicked two goals to restore the lead for the Bombers.

Another Lucas goal, from another quick centre clearance, took the Bombers' break to eight points. David Hille missed a standing snap from right in front, before Mark McVeigh's set shot swung too far right. Dean Polo levelled the score on a turnover.

Much of Richmond's space, particularly early, was carved by Brent Hartigan, running off a wing or from half-back.

Polo had 15 of his 26 possessions to half-time in his debut match, and though Oakley-Nicholls sent his first shot on goal in AFL football out on the full, he had been there to take the mark.

Essendon defenders Dustin Fletcher and McPhee were resilient, with McPhee dulling Richardson before being sent forward late. Fellow defender Nathan Lovett-Murray rebounded well, especially early.

Lovett was one of the cleaner Bombers, and Stanton ran yet another midfield marathon, but it was in deciding where to put the ball when they got it to the other end that Essendon got most confused.

http://www.realfooty.theage.com.au/realfooty/articles/2006/05/06/1146335972316.html

[one-eyed]

Nightmare continues for hapless Dons
By Chloe Saltau
The Age
May 7, 2006

Admitting he has not faced a bigger challenge in his quarter of a century as Essendon coach and suggesting Dean Rioli might retire midseason, Kevin Sheedy last night said his players may have choked for the second week running when the game was in the balance after Dreamtime at the 'G turned into a nightmare for the Bombers.

Late points to Richmond first-gamer Jarrad Oakley-Nicholls and Andrew Krakouer - and a best-afield performance from another, Dean Polo - sealed a dramatic, two-point victory for the Tigers last night .

Former Essendon hero Michael Long, who earlier led a procession onto the MCG in the spirit of reconciliation, presented Polo with the Yiooken award, a glass boomerang for the best player in the dreamtime match.

Richmond coach Terry Wallace said he had thrown his "pawns" around just enough in the last few minutes to try and halt Essendon's momentum, which stemmed from the centre square. "Our guys handled themselves reasonably well. We just tried to slow it up a little bit, tried to gain a bit of momentum back at that stage of the game when it was out of control," he said.

http://www.realfooty.theage.com.au/realfooty/articles/2006/05/06/1146335972367.html

[one-eyed]

Kicking nightmare masks dream debuts
The Age
May 7, 2006

They say bad kicking is bad football and last night the Tigers and the Bombers showed why.

There's poor conversion. There's simple bad kicking. And then there's just plain farce. Which is about the level to which the second quarter of last night's Essendon-Richmond clash was reduced.

One incredible figure said it all. One goal, 17 behinds. Yes, you read correctly. No goals, eight behinds for the Bombers; one goal, nine behinds to the Tigers. And that resulting to Matthew Richardson, mind you, after a set shot by Kane Pettifer that failed to make the distance from 45-odd metres.

But that was hardly surprising. By then, Pettifer's kicking confidence hadn't just taken a battering, but been belted repeatedly, tortured and put to the stake for good measure. The handy Tiger forward had kicked the first behind of the match, then his team's first goal. But if this was the Dreamtime game, Pettifer's was one of those dreams that have you waking, screaming in horror in the middle of the night.

He kicked the first behind of the second term, too. Then hit the post. Then kicked another. Then came the mis-kick that ended in the quarter's only goal. Then another. Barely 40 minutes into the game, Pettifer could have had half-a-dozen on the board and the game shot to bits. Instead, he had 1.5.

Not that Essendon didn't seem keen to repay Richmond's largesse. Scott Lucas hit the post, Jason Laycock, who'd kicked two opening-term goals in his first game of the season, followed suit. As did Andy Lovett. David Hille. And so on and so on. Right up until Brent Stanton missed a shot on goal after the siren. No prizes for guessing the result.

Despite all that, this remained a game entirely gripping, even though it finished pretty much the way it started. This time, though, the stakes were even higher, Essendon's crucial misses at the end costing it victory, Richmond's final two misses, ironically, as good as goals, and giving it a treasured win.

For a second week in a row, the Bombers basically blew it. Eight points up after Scott Lucas kicked his third goal in an amazing three-minute final-quarter burst, two more behinds stretched the lead to 10. Hille and Mark McVeigh missed again after a goal to Richmond's Greg Tivendale, before Tiger debutant Dean Polo levelled the scores.

But football is a cruel game. For all Pettifer's misses, it was one from Essendon's Jobe Watson that will probably linger longest in the memory. Watson had been magnificent in the final term, winning 11 possessions and several critical clearances, but it was his last touch of the night that might haunt him.

Sprinting into an open goal to win the game, 30 metres out and in the clear, Watson froze between shooting and passing over the top to an unguarded Lucas. Struck by indecision, he ended up doing neither, the ball dribbling out of bounds. McVeigh, too, will replay over and over his more difficult shot moments later, which went out on the full.

The ball rebounded, and another debutant, Jarrad Oakley-Nicholls, kicked a behind and celebrated wildly. Then, the final crowning "clanger", Bomber Dean Solomon too hasty to kick out, finding Tiger Ray Hall, his kick towards the goalfront ending up with Andrew Krakouer, who made it two points the difference. Cue siren, wild Richmond celebration, and Essendon despair.

Mind you, the Tigers might have had more to celebrate morally than their desolate opponent even had they not got over the line. There have not been many better debuts than Polo's in recent times, if any. The super-fit wingman got off to a flyer with nine first-quarter possessions, and just kept going. He finished with 29 disposals and three goals, including the most critical of the night. The other first-gamer, Oakley-Nicholls, won't kick many more valuable behinds than that which gave his team the lead one final time.

They are the sort of talent to which Tiger fans can look with genuine hope for the near future, along, of course, with Brett Deledio, Richard Tambling, Andrew Raines and co. Yes, Richmond's skills still need some work, but these are names that you can be pretty confident won't be the cause of much angst to the yellow-and-black hordes over the next few years.

The Bombers, in contrast, will, and should be gutted. Matthew Lloyd's loss looms larger by the week, but Essendon's most senior players continue to make its costliest mistakes. Two losses by an aggregate three points offer plenty of "what ifs", but the bottom line remains 1-5, the finals widely tipped for the Dons looking more like a pipedream.

Yes, Richmond can't kick straight, an aggregate of 25.39 in the past fortnight. But it also has eight match points. And one thing's for sure, Pettifer will have gone to sleep a lot more peacefully last night than he might have.

http://www.realfooty.theage.com.au/realfooty/articles/2006/05/06/1146335972328.html

[one-eyed]

Dreamtime for Polo
07 May 2006   
Sunday Herald Sun
Mark Harding

IT was Dreamtime at the 'G last night and hopefully someone pinched Tiger teenager Dean Polo, so he knew he was awake after a match-winning debut which came straight from dreamland.

The kid from Wy Yung had 29 possessions on the wing and kicked three goals to win the Dreamtime Boomerang for best on ground in Richmond's two-point victory against Essendon.

Polo, 19, kicked the final goal of the match at the 24-minute mark to level the scores and it was another debutant in Jarrad Oakley-Nicholls who kicked a point to put the Tigers in front at the 30-minute mark.

Bombers coach Kevin Sheedy was one of the instigators of the Dreamtime match, but this season is rapidly turning into a nightmare for him.

For the second week in a row the Bombers lost a thriller in the final minute and they sit 1-5 – their worst start to a season since Sheedy's first as coach in 1981.

Again it was a young player's error which will be examined in the post mortem, with Jobe Watson running into an open goal from 25m, only to shank it out of bounds.

Watson had been a fine player all night and was one of the main reasons why the Dons had regained the lead in the final term, winning 11 possessions for the quarter. Another of their best players, Nathan Lovett-Murray, also missed an easy shot late in the game.

Despite the mighty finish and outstanding last-quarter theatrics, the game was marked by inept goalkicking attempts from both sides.

At least when the match was up for grabs, the standard lifted and Bomber forward Scott Lucas almost won the match off his boot with three goals in three minutes.

The opening term was marked by a spectacular start to the career of Polo. Playing on the wing against Brent Stanton, he had nine possessions and kicked a goal.

If there were mistakes galore in the first term, then it is hard to find the words to describe the terrible play which marked the second term.

Between them, the two teams kicked an astonishing 1.17. – and only one of those behinds was rushed and all, but a handful, were shots that should have been converted at this level.

The Tigers took a two-point lead into the long break after kicking 1.9 to eight straight behinds.


The third term began more promisingly, with Cleve Hughes snapping a goal to ironical cheers. Stanton, whose colours were lowered on the wing against Polo early, went forward and exploited the young man's inexperience with two goals.

But the match soon degenerated again into a miss-fest. Brett Deledio, who had been well held by Mark McVeigh, missed two shots he should have slotted, especially the second which was a set shot from a soft free directly in front. It took the notoriously awkward kicker Andrew Kellaway to show everyone how it was done late in the term, marking on an angle and nailing the goal to give the Tigers an eight-point lead.

When Matthew Richardson marked on an angle and, against the pattern of the night, kicked truly at the 10-minute mark of the final term, it was the biggest margin of the night at 16 points.

Suddenly the match sprung to life. David Hille and Watson had a huge influence in the centre and the Bombers won a succession of clearances and kicked four goals in five minutes – a snap from Andrew Lovett and three to Lucas.

Still the game had more twists – Greg Tivendale goaled, but four misses in a row by the Dons left them six points ahead. Enter again Polo who levelled it with his third goal.

In the next few minutes there were more errors, none bigger than Watson's at the 28-minute mark. McVeigh had a tougher shot, which also went out on the full and from the free kick the Tigers got the ball to Oakley-Nicholls, who kicked a point. It was fitting that a miss won a match which was a miss-fest.

Both teams fought hard and it was a tense tight struggle played at breakneck speed. But if anyone tries to suggest either side is a contender this year tell 'em they are dreaming.
 
http://www.heraldsun.news.com.au/footy/common/story_page/0,8033,19052570%255E19742,00.html