Richo leads Tigers to super win

[mightytiges]

4:01:59 PM Sun 9 May, 2004
David Wiseman
Sportal/Exclusive to afl.com.au

The Tigers have followed-up their one point win over Hawthorn with a gusty, fighting 13-point win over the Swans at the SCG on Sunday.

The premiership hopes of Sydney took a body blow as the Tigers prevailed 10.7 (67) to 8.6 (54).

After starting the season 3-1, three straight losses have seen them slide down the ladder.
 
The Tigers may have salvaged their season after two consecutive victories and their first interstate win in 13 attempts.

Matthew Richardson was the star. With seven of Richmond's 10 goals, his return from a three week layoff due to a hamstring injury was a welcome one.

Prized recruit Nathan Brown justified his transfer with a game-high 28 possessions.

After the match, Richmond coach Danny Frawley said the club's low-key build-up had been a blessing.

"It’s been a huge month mentally and physically with more written about us than any other side and we were rapt not to have anything about us in the papers this week and to come up without too much fanfare," Frawley said..

"It was a really important win for us. We came up with a helluva lot of confidence. We turned the corner last week, somewhat. If you look across the board we had a lot of winners."

In wet, windy conditions it was a scrappy affair with nine goals kicked in the first quarter and just nine thereafter.

The Swans will be most disappointed by their forward structure which was only able to generate three goals in the final three quarters of football.

A propensity to avoid the corridor saw them come undone as Richmond capitalised on numerous turnovers.

Despite playing into a stiff breeze the Tigers got away to a quick start with Matthew Richardson goaling after 29 seconds.

Jason Saddington responded with two goals of his own only for Richardson to kick two more.

The Swans found some momentum and kicked the next three goals thanks to Jude Bolton, Barry Hall and Ryan O'Keefe.

Threatening to get away to a sizeable lead, Richardson kicked his fourth goal of the quarter to restrict the deficit at the first change to nine points.

The second quarter became an arm wrestle. It took 12 minutes for the first score of the quarter – a goal to Adam Goodes who wasn't having the best of days.

Shortly after, ex-Swan Greg Stafford became the Tigers second goal kicker and the Swans went to the long break with an eight point lead.

Richardson and Hall traded goals and shortly after Richardson kicked his sixth of the day when he goalled on the run from 55-metres out.

When Richardson dished off to Darren Gaspar, at the 25 minute mark of the third quarter the Tigers had the lead for the first time of the day. They took this three point lead into three quarter time.

Barry Hall got the lead back for the Swans, but final term goals to Nathan Brown and Richardson secured the Tigers a tenacious and famous victory.

The Tigers were just too committed and too dedicated.

Sydney coach Paul Roos paid tribute to Richo, conceding the enigmatic Tiger was the difference.

“He is an elite athlete in terms of fitness levels, but now he is a full-forward he doesn’t need to run as much coming back from a hamstring," Roos said.

“I mean, seven goals is obviously a match-winning game. It’s a super game and just shows what a quality player he is.

“Every loss is tough. It was a pretty scrappy game, the conditions were not great, so I don’t think anyone expected great footy, but we were beaten in the end by a better team.

Next week the Swans travel to Subiaco to take on the West Coast Eagles next Saturday afternoon while the Tigers host the Western Bulldogs at the MCG on Saturday afternoon.

Sydney: 5.4 6.5 7.6 8.6 (54)
Richmond: 4.1 5.3 8.3 10.7 (67)

Goals: Sydney: Hall 3, Saddington 2, J Bolton, O'Keefe, Goodes
Richmond: Richardson 7, Stafford, Gaspar, Brown,
Best: Sydney: Williams, Mathews, O'Keefe, Hall.
Richmond: Richardson, Brown, Campbell, Johnson, Tivendale.
Injuries: Sydney: O'Loughlin (hamstring), replaced in selected side by M Powell
Richmond: Fleming replaced in selected side by J Bowden
Umpires: Stevic, Schmitt, Wenn
Crowd: 23014 at SCG

http://afl.com.au/default.asp?pg=news&spg=display&articleid=147821

[Ox]

My hat goes off to Richo.

Love it when he proves his detractors(me) wrong

[julzqld]

Yeah baby!

[sante2004]

YEHHHHHHH TIGERS!!! U BEAUTY :D

[WilliamPowell]

My hat goes off to Richo.

Love it when he proves his detractors(me) wrong

I thought if he played today he'd have a good game for 2 reasons.

1/ Richo always has a great first game back after an injury. Remember against Melb last year on the Saturday night what was it 16 or 17 marks.

2/ his first goal - when he played on and actually kicked it. Normally he somehow manages to miss those!

It was pleasing to see we tried too really expose the lack of height in the Sydney backline.

Also - did someone forget to tell the Swans it was raining - chipping around in the wet is not the smartest way to play footy.

[2JD]

Well done Tiges!!!!!!

[Tiger Spirit]

Monday 10 May 2004
Paul Gough
Sportal/exclusive to afl.com.au

THINGS TO PONDER FROM ROUND SEVEN

4. Matthew Richardson – what a performance.

He was first-up after a month out with a hamstring injury, the conditions were wet and slippery and hardly conducive to a tall, marking forward and the game was being played at the SCG where there is so often a lack of space for forwards due to the tight confines of the ground. In that context Matthew Richardson’s seven goal performance for the Tigers against Sydney on Sunday must rank as one of the greatest performances in his long career.

It was his first full game since round two but Richardson burst out of the blocks with four goals in the first term through a combination of strong marking, great leading and his general athleticism. And while he is often criticised for his kicking at goal, Richardson hardly missed against the Swans and even kicked one goal on his left foot, while running around from a tight angle on the boundary line. By day’s end he had kicked seven goals – out of a team total of 10 and a match total of 18 – to virtually single-handedly guide Richmond to one of the upsets of the season. It was the equal second best goal haul of his career – behind the eight he kicked in round one, 1994 against Footscray – and suddenly just a fortnight after the club was perceived to be in crisis, the Tigers are now outside the top eight on percentage only.

And while the criticism directed at the Tigers for their insipid efforts against Geelong and Adelaide in rounds four and five was justified, it is worth remembering that Richardson did not play in either game and if the big man stays fit for the rest of the year the Tigers could yet salvage plenty out of a season in which they had been all but written off just a fortnight ago.

http://afl.com.au/default.asp?pg=comments&spg=display&articleid=147959

[Tiger Spirit]

How good was Richo?
10 May, 2004
Matt Burgan
Sportal

Richmond captain Wayne Campbell believes superstar forward Matthew Richardson’s kicking for goal on Sunday was as good as it’s ever been in an AFL game.

Speaking at the Tigers’ recovery session at the St Kilda Sea Baths on Monday, Campbell said Richardson’s seven-goal performance against Sydney at the SCG was right up there with one of his best efforts.

“He was certainly very good after three weeks out – there’s no doubt about that – and probably his kicking at goal was as good as I’ve seen,” Campbell said.

“Even the one that he missed I think he kicked it pretty well, but it’s just that it slid across the face of the goal, so it was just a great return.

“I think he’d be pretty sore, like most players, but he’s pulled up well as far as I know.”

On the Tigers’ 13-point victory over the Swans, Campbell said the team was quietly confident heading into Sunday’s clash.

“We thought we were a chance and we’ve just got to continue on with that now,” Campbell said.

“I thought we were having a go during the period that we weren’t winning as well, but we certainly, as everyone saw, weren’t using the footy very well, so I thought our attack and everything like that was OK.

“But we just needed to use the footy better and when you combine the both of those – that’s when you get wins and that’s what we’ve had the last two weeks.”

http://afl.com.au/default.asp?pg=news&spg=display&articleid=148068