Forward Scout: Richmond v Sydney Swans
richmondfc.com.au
April 6, 2007
Assistant coach David King and utility Jay Schulz take a look at Richmond’s round two opponent: the Sydney Swans. David King kicks off with his assessment of the two sides:
Our backs: There are plenty of challenges there for us. Barry Hall poses a few dilemmas. Do you use a completely negating player like Darren Gaspar, or someone like Joel Bowden who can win some possession and certainly hurt the other way? Or do you try one of the kids on him like Luke McGuane?
Their forwards: They have got some real key players up forward. Adam Schneider will come back in and certainly play a fair bit of time on the half-forward flank. Then there is Michael O'Loughlin, Amon Buchanan and Ryan O’Keefe who’s improved enormously over the last 18 months.
Midfield battle: They love playing stoppage football. It’s a real strength for the Swans and we are aware of that. Fortunately it is a good area for us too, so we like to think it will be a good hard battle in there. They have got some real tough nuts in Brett Kirk and Jude Bolton who have been given good support by Peter Everitt and Darren Jolly in the rucks.
The ruck duel: It’s a real challenge for us to get through another week without Troy Simmonds in the ruck. Obviously Trent Knoble won’t be there so the younger kids will need to take the opportunity.
Our forwards: The forward line worked pretty well last week, the times we got it in. We only went inside 50 forty-odd times last week, so to kick 15 goals was a great result for us. Obviously we just need to get some more supply in there to give them a chance. That is one of the strengths of the Swans – they really shut you down in defence.
Their backs: When you look at the names individually they do not probably read as a star-studded back six, but as a unit they are certainly very strong and capable and possibly one of the top two or three defences in the comp.”
LESSONS FROM LAST WEEKJay Schulz: Knowing when to play our three phases. Knowing when to use our ‘surge ball’, our ‘slow play’ or our ‘flow footy’ is the major thing at the moment.
PLAYER WATCHJay Schulz: If Ryan O’Keefe has a bad patch and then really turns it on, he is a real focal point for them up forward. Obviously Adam Goodes is a fantastic player and can switch on if he is struggling, so you can never let him go. I also think Amon Buchanan goes under the radar a fair bit. He is an extremely good player.
FINAL THOUGHTSDavid King: We played some good footy last week. Basically if we can do that across all four quarters this week we’d be looking for a positive result at the end of the game.
Jay Schulz: Generally we go pretty well against Sydney. The main thing you need to do is beat them at their own game. They like a lot of ball ups and the ball in close. But if you can beat them through clearances it goes a long way to winning the game. Once you have won those clearances and if you can run and spread and get the game going on a ‘flow’ basis you go a long way to beating them.
A FEW STATSRichmond v Sydney –2006
RD 7: Sydney by 118 points
RD 16: Sydney by 48 points
Richmond Win Percentage
Against Sydney: 60.34%
@ MCG: 55.53%
A FINAL NOTE The last game between Richmond and Sydney at the MCG occurred in the Swans’ premiership year of 2005. The result? The Tigers, by one point.
http://richmondfc.com.au/Season2007/News/NewsArticle/tabid/6301/Default.aspx?newsId=40757
