POSITIVES & NEGATIVES FOR ROUND 12Andrew Slevison
SEN
5 June 2023The Key Takeaway: Tigers win a close one!Richmond owned an unenviable record of nine losses and three draws from their last 12 matches decided by a goal or less.
It appeared as though that would increase when the Giants hit the front in the 24th minute of the final term when Giants sub Josh Fahey successfully bombed long.
That sinking feeling returned eight minutes later when ruckman Kieren Briggs conjured a goal out of nothing.
However, the Tigers were able to stand up in the big moments through Dion Prestia and Marlion Pickett to give Andrew McQualter his first win as an AFL coach.
The result has them hovering six points outside the eight and with some semblance of hope.
The Positive: Defence held up stronglyRichmond’s defence was under siege for extended periods on Sunday.
Noah Balta, Nathan Broad, Dylan Grimes, Jayden Short, Tylar Young and co. held up pretty well to barricade the back 50.
The Giants kept coming but the Tigers continued to shut them out, aside from the last quarter.
While the team ended up kicking 16 goals and looked menacing in attack, it was the defence which formed the bedrock of their win.
The Negative: Conceding 70 inside 50sOne the flip side of the positive, the Tigers conceded 70 inside 50s to a side that is now sitting in the bottom four.
Going -23 entries, against any opposition, is not a great sign when you look at it in isolation. Against a team that has won just four games for the season reads even more poorly.
They conceded seven goals in the final term having kept the Giants relatively under wraps for three quarters.
Thankfully, Richmond’s forward line, led by Riewoldt’s five goals, was able to double GWS’ marks inside 50 (18-9) to kick a winning score.
A much tighter overall performance will be necessary if they want to knock off Fremantle in Perth this weekend.
https://www.sen.com.au/news/2023/06/05/overreactions-positives-negatives-and-undroppables-for-all-18-afl-teams-in-12/