‘Genuine chance’: Why the Tigers are in the premiership mixJon Pierik
The Age
June 25, 2022While Michael Voss was left to rue that his Blues had been “out-toughed”, for Tigers past and present, there may have been no better compliment after they had dug deep on a chilly Thursday night at the MCG.
“When it comes down to it, they brought a better hunt, a better appetite to the contest and we weren’t able to absorb that for long enough. So, if you are not winning contests and you are losing territory, it’s a hard day,” Voss said after the Blues were beaten by 15 points last week.
Toughness, appetite, hunt … now that’s something the Tigers of yesteryear under coach Tommy Hafey and powerbroker Graeme Richmond were renowned for, and traits the grand era under Damien Hardwick has also encapsulated.
The Tigers have been building in recent weeks, this coming not long after The Saturday Age in April posed the question: Dynasty debate: Can the Tigers roar back?
After the Tigers slipped to a 1-2 start, Brisbane great Jonathan Brown, recalling the end-of-the-era Lions of 2005, also posed the question: “Can you scrap and fight and hang in there when you know your best is past you?”
It was a fair question at the time, but it’s now dated. Six wins from their past seven matches — this would have been a clean sheet had they not squandered a five-goal lead to the Swans — has the Tigers arguably the form team of the competition heading into Saturday’s twilight blockbuster against fellow heavyweight Geelong at the MCG.
The Cats, too, have been in good touch, a lethargic victory over West Coast last weekend coming amid a heavy training program ahead of tapering for the run home.
They, however, were a favoured pre-season bet to again finish in the top four. The Tigers, premiers in 2017, 2019 and 2020, missed the finals last year, with debate over whether their dynasty was over. But the manner in which they scalped the reborn Blues confirmed they are again the real deal.
Richmond had 94 intercept possessions, the eighth most in club history, and had season highs in forward-half intercepts (44), inside 50s (76) and time in forward half (plus-17.03 minutes).
Then there’s the “game of inches” Hardwick craves, praising his men for the “Richmond-man behaviours” they have shown in tackling and reclaiming loose balls.
Tigers’ senior football advisor Neil Balme said the Tigers were in a good place.
“I think we have played reasonably well throughout the whole year without necessarily getting the results. To play Geelong is a really big game for us. If we can get up in that one, we are a genuine chance [of winning the flag], I think,” Balme said.
That bid has only strengthened with Dustin Martin returning from illness. It’s been a mixed year for the three-time Norm Smith medallist, having also missed six weeks after round one through personal leave, and he hasn’t enjoyed his best form. But if he can enjoy a strong run from here, the Tigers have the game-breaker they need.
There are, however, questions. Maurice Rioli jnr was used as the substitute against the Blues and provided immediate impact when injected into the game in the final term after Noah Balta was hurt. Does he deserve to be permanently in the starting 22? And what about Shane Edwards? He appeared tired against the Blues. Has time caught up with one of the team’s key heartbeats?
Former Kangaroo Robbie Tarrant, dealing with a surgically repaired hand, appears settled in defence, but the Tigers continue to debate whether they need a specialist ruck to back up co-captain Toby Nankervis, particularly if they feel the Demons, come September, could work him over with Max Gawn and Luke Jackson.
“I think you probably do, that’s what we are aiming for, but we go week by week,” Balme said.
That the Tigers had 76 inside-50 entries against the Blues but only 11 goals continued a theme that has frustrated Hardwick. On one hand, creating those opportunities reinforced how strong their robust work was upfield. On the other, there needs to be greater symmetry inside attacking 50.
“They do like to go long, but it can be hard not to when you have [Tom] Lynch and [Jack] Riewoldt there,” one rival football-department figure said.
Lynch has 34 goals while Riewoldt, showing all the signs of playing on next year, has 24. Add electrifying high half-forward Shai Bolton (23 goals for the season; nine score involvements against the Blues) into the mix, and it’s no wonder the Tigers are keen to go long as they have aerial and ground weapons.
Opponents also point out the game of chess they face at stoppages when the Tigers push extra numbers up to the ball, including Bolton and the athletic Lynch, who can then beat their man on the dash back to attacking 50 should the Tigers win possession.
Rivals can choose to hold numbers back, but that gives the Tigers the advantage up the field.
At the other end of the ground, rebounding half-back Nick Vlastuin (10 intercept marks against the Blues) is pivotal, generating the run that Cats’ veteran Zach Tuohy says his team must be careful to not be lulled into consistently copying. Then there’s Tigers’ co-captain and key defender Dylan Grimes, who has arguably the most important job on Saturday in attempting to curb Jeremy Cameron. The former Giant averages four goals in Cats’ wins, but only one in defeats.
Hardwick, forever digging into detail, said Richmond know the blueprint they need to adopt.
“We are doing a lot of things right, but our scoring profile is probably not where we need it to be. We are getting a lot more inside 50s than our opposition, in fairness that’s been a staple of when we have had success,” he said.
“So, we know what the game looks like if we want it to look like a certain way, but we just have to get better at generating more shots on goal.”
The Tigers will miss Balta and former skipper Trent Cotchin (broken collarbone) but it’s their system that while relatively simple to explain is still, as Tuohy says, so hard to stop.
Defeat in this latest “feline frenzy” should not mean their charge ends. West Coast, Gold Coast and North Melbourne await over the ensuing three weeks, so at least two wins through this period should almost be guaranteed.
The Tigers were confident over summer there was another run in their premiership core. There’s little to suggest, certainly right now, they weren’t on the money.
https://www.theage.com.au/sport/afl/genuine-chance-why-the-tigers-are-in-the-premiership-mix-20220621-p5avaj.html
