Media articles and stats - Tigers, Lions draw at the Dome

[one-eyed]

Tigers, Lions draw at the Dome
9:51 PM Sat 2 June, 2007
By Tom Nightingale
for richmondfc.com.au

RICHMOND has drawn with the Brisbane Lions in their clash at Telstra Dome on Saturday night.

The Tigers had all the momentum in the final quarter, but scores ended up level, 10.13 (73) apiece.

In a thrilling final quarter, the Tigers missed many chances on goal before a mark and goal to Kane Pettifer leveled the scores with under two minutes remaining.

The Tigers were in front for most of the first half, but four goals late in the second quarter gave the Lions a seven point lead at the main break.

Jay Schulz had a chance at goal from 45 metres out with a minute to go, but was tackled by the Lions’ Troy Selwood.

The Tigers had a final chance to score when Greg Tivendale had a kick into the forward line with twenty seconds remaining, but the kick was marked by the Lions’ Josh Drummond.

Matthew Richardson and Richard Tambling each kicked two goals for the Tigers, while Jake King and Nathan Foley both battled hard in the midfield. For the Lions, Joel Patfull kicked three goals, and the dangerous Jonathan Brown kicked two after having a fascinating battle with Joel Bowden all night.

Although both teams were sometimes sloppy with their disposal, the match included two contenders for goal of the year. Richardson’s second goal came from a snap in the forward pocket, while Nigel Lappin followed soon after with an even more improbable goal from the boundary line. It came on the three-quarter time siren, and gave the Lions a 13-point lead at the final change.

The Tigers launched a passionate attack early in the final quarter, but wasteful disposal prevented them from grabbing the lead. Meanwhile, poor kicking for goal from the Lions kept Richmond in the game.

Richardson’s first goal came in the second minute, and gave an early lead to the Tigers.

However, the Lions started to move the ball well through the midfield and hit the front. Brown kicked their first goal from the boundary line after a strong mark, and they had several other chances but failed to convert accurately.

The Tigers were able to regain the lead when Schulz goaled in the sixteenth minute, after a series of short passes from Daniel Jackson and Kingsley.

Dean Polo was moved onto Nigel Lappin, who had been damaging on the wing, and the Tigers finished the first term in front, 2.4 (16) to 1.5 (11). 

After kicking three goals last week, Daniel Jackson slotted through his first from a set shot, right on the boundary line early in the second quarter. Jackson manned up on the Lions’ Simon Black, and was drifting forward into attack to try and force Black away from the midfield.

Kingsley kicked a goal on the run after a Richardson free kick was paid advantage, but when Shane Edwards and Richardson missed gettable goal chances, the Lions were able to capitalise with goals to Lappin, Colm Begley, and Patfull before half-time.

The goals started to flow a little more in the third term, but it was to the Lions more so than Richmond. Brown kicked his second, and Patfull kicked two more while Mitch Clark also kicked his first after missing earlier chances. Edwards snapped a good goal on the run for the Tigers, and when Tambling, Richardson and Brett Deledio kicked goals, Richmond were back in the hunt. Lappin’s goal pushed the margin out to 13 points.

With weary players making skill errors in the final quarter, Tambling provided a consistent target across half-forward, but the Tigers were unable to convert their chances. Tambling kicked his second goal, but other chances went begging. In the end, both teams failed to take their chances to win, with the result a thrilling draw.

RICHMOND 2.4 4.7 8.9 10.13 (73)
BRISBANE LIONS 1.5 5.8 10.10 10.13 (73)

GOALS

Richmond: Richardson 2, Tambling 2, Schulz, Jackson, Kingsley, Edwards, Deledio, Pettifer
Brisbane Lions: Patfull 3, Brown 2, Adcock, Lappin, Begley, Clark, Lappin

BEST

Richmond: Bowden, Foley, Richardson, Jackson, Johnson, Tambling
Brisbane Lions: Drummond, Adcock, Lappin, Patfull, Brown, Stiller, Clark, Black

INJURIES

Richmond: Nil
Brisbane Lions: Power (thigh) out, replaced in selected side by Harding, Johnson (foot)

Reports: Nil

Umpires: Sully, Grun, McInerney

Official crowd: 28,093 at Telstra Dome

[one-eyed]

Rankings

1. Drummond     227
2. J.Bowden      168
3. Adcock         149
4. Foley            121
5. King             112
5. K.Johnson    112
7. Richardson   111
8. Lappin          109
9. Tivendale      103
10. Clark           99
11. Notting         94
12. Charman     90
13. Patfull          89
14. T.Selwood    88
15. J.Brown       87
16. Polak           85
16. Pettifer        85
18. Stiller           82
19. Tambling      80
20. Brennan      79
21. Deledio       76
22. Jackson      73
23. Newman      72
24. Hadley        71
25. White          64
26. Tuck           63
27. Black          61
28. Hooper       57
29. Sherman     51
30. Pattison      50
31. Thursfield   49
32. Edwards     45
33. Howat         44
34. Polo           42
34. Merrett       42
36. Rischitelli    41
36. Begley        41
38. Kingsley     40
39. Raines       38
40. Schulz       37
41. Schmidt     28
42. Copeland   26
43. C.Johnson 12
44. Harding       9

[one-eyed]

Team Stats

Kicks:       192 - 192
Handballs: 124 - 108
Disposals: 316 - 300
Marks:      122 - 112
Hitouts:       22 - 29     
Tackles:      56 - 55
Frees:        17 - 21

Individual Stats

Code: [Select]

Player                           Kicks     Handballs     Marks     Frees       Tackles     Score   
                                   1 2 3 4 T  1 2 3 4 T  1 2 3 4 T      For Ag                     G B

FOLEY,Nathan             4 0 3 5 12 2 6 4 2 14 2 1 0 2 5 1 2 6 0 0
BOWDEN,Joel             5 3 2 5 15 2 4 1 3 10 2 3 1 2 8 1 0 5 0 0
JOHNSON,Kane           1 7 3 5 16 0 1 1 4 6 1 4 2 4 11 2 0 7 0 0
KING,Jake                   7 3 2 3 15 1 2 0 2 5 5 1 2 2 10 0 0 1 0 0
TIVENDALE,Greg         1 0 2 7 10 1 4 2 2 9 1 0 0 4 5 0 1 4 0 0
RAINES,Andrew            4 1 1 2 8 1 4 1 4 10 4 1 1 2 8 0 1 2 0 0
PETTIFER,Kayne          3 2 5 2 12 1 1 2 1 5 0 1 3 2 6 2 1 2 1 0
TUCK,Shane                 2 7 0 2 11 1 3 0 1 5 2 3 0 2 7 1 0 3 0 0
PATTISON,Adam           2 1 2 2 7 3 3 1 2 9 0 1 1 3 5 1 4 1 0 2
JACKSON,Daniel          3 4 2 2 11 2 1 1 0 4 1 3 1 1 6 0 1 3 1 0
WHITE,Matt                  5 2 1 3 11 1 3 0 0 4 4 2 1 1 8 0 2 1 0 0
RICHARDSON,Matthew 4 4 2 2 12 0 1 1 0 2 3 1 1 2 7 2 0 1 2 2
HOWAT,Cameron         1 2 3 2 8 1 2 2 1 6 0 1 2 1 4 0 1 3 0 0
NEWMAN,Chris            1 2 1 5 9 1 1 0 2 4 1 0 0 3 4 1 0 3 0 0
POLAK,Graham            0 0 1 3 4 1 2 1 3 7 0 1 0 2 3 1 1 2 0 0
TAMBLING,Richard       2 1 1 4 8 2 0 0 0 2 1 0 1 2 4 1 0 3 2 1
KINGSLEY,Kent            2 2 1 1 6 0 1 2 1 4 2 1 2 1 6 0 2 1 1 0
DELEDIO,Brett              1 1 2 1 5 2 1 1 0 4 2 0 1 1 4 2 2 3 1 2
EDWARDS,Shane         0 2 2 0 4 0 1 3 1 5 0 1 1 0 2 1 2 3 1 1
POLO,Dean                   2 1 0 1 4 1 2 0 0 3 2 1 0 0 3 1 0 0 0 0
SCHULZ,Jay                  3 0 0 0 3 0 0 0 3 3 3 0 0 1 4 0 0 0 1 0
THURSFIELD,Will          0 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 3 3 0 0 0 2 2 0 1 2 0 0
 Rushed  5
TOTAL 53 45 36 58 192 23 43 23 35 124 36 26 20 40 122 17 21 56 10 13
 
HITOUTS: 22
50m PENALTIES: 1
GOALS: Free 1; Play 3; Mark 6
DISTANCE OF GOALS: 0-15m 2; 15-30m 3; 30-40m 3; 40+m 2
[/color]

Top 5's

Contested possessions

Foley             10
Clark               9
Richardson      9
Jackson          8
Adcock           7

Uncontested possessions

Lappin          22
Notting          22
Drummond    21
K.Johnson    19
Raines          18

Effective Kicks

Drummond     25
J.Bowden       14
Notting            13
K.Johnson      12
Foley             11

Inside 50

Pettifer          7
Notting          6
Lappin          6
K.Johnson    5
Jackson       5

Rebound 50

Drummond   10
King              5
Raines           5
White            4
J.Bowden      4

[one-eyed]

Tortured Tigers cop roar draw
03 June 2007   Sunday Herald Sun
Jon Ralph

RICHMOND continues to find cruel and unusual ways to torture its supporters.

The Tigers last night broke a nine-match losing streak, but it was not with an ecstatic victory, but rather the numbing sensation of a draw.

In a game where Richmond never looked likely to head the Brisbane Lions, it found the desire for a late rally, then missed key chances to grab the lead in the dying minutes.

Down by 13 points with five minutes left, the Tigers squared a terrible contest with 130 seconds left when Kayne Pettifer goaled from 45m. Then, somehow, the Lions held off a Tigers win with a desperate rearguard action.

Richard Tambling failed to grab a ball close to goal and Greg Tivendale was run down by Troy Selwood as he ran into the forward 50.

Richmond still had one last chance courtesy of captain Kane Johnson.

His diving one-handed mark put him 70m out, but his pass to Matthew Richardson was intercepted by best-on-ground Josh Drummond, and the siren sounded seconds later.

It was a typically comical end to a shocking spectacle of a game.

So full of vigour and fight against Essendon last week, the Tigers ran into a Brisbane Lions team not vastly superior, but at least with enough polish to hold a comfortable lead for much of the second half.

Then came the dramatic last minutes in a game hard to watch and with a host of poor performances from players capable of much more.

It was the kind of game where the radio commentators started making silly puns of players' names and kids start asking their parents to go home early in the second quarter.

Without Luke Power's class, Lions Jed Adcock and Selwood tried to pick up the slack, but it would be wrong to throw around too much praise.

Richmond will again point to the kids because the senior players are having a shocking season.

Jake King has real toe and strung together his fourth excellent game, Matt White loves to run and carry, Daniel Jackson was excellent, and the spindly Shane Edwards kicked a lovely left-foot snap.

But beyond that Richmond's only real positive was Nathan Brown's VFL return.

Brett Deledio can't handle a heavy tag, Tambling was ordinary despite two cheap goals and Graham Polak had no impact in defence.

Young ruckman Adam Pattison is representative of Richmond's woes. Only playing because of Richmond's injury woes, he mixes moments of brilliance with the most elementary mistakes which cost his team goals.

It seemed there was potential for a classic Richo-Brown shootout early when Richardson surged back with the flight to mark and goal only three minutes into the match.

The Tiger fans responded with a "Richo, Richo" chant and it seemed the Tigers were up and about.

Brown responded with a classic mark sandwiched between Joel Bowden and Pattison, and converted from a tight angle.

What looked to be a game of so much potential instead descended into a first half of junk-time football.

The sides managed only 3.9 for the first quarter, and the intensity and atmosphere matched the accuracy.

Time and again the Tigers and Lions would butcher a promising build-up with a misplaced pass under no pressure or an errant handball to a stationary target.

Deledio was being tagged hard by Justin Sherman and could not lift the mood, Simon Black was being kept quiet by Jackson and Brown was being kept honest by Bowden.

Still, Richmond led by 10 points half-way through the second term after Kent Kingsley's first goal from a handball in the goalsquare.

Finally Brisbane woke from its slumber. Brown hauled down a ripping contested mark for an assist to Nigel Lappin, Colm Begley ran into space to goal from a set shot, and Joel Patfull was superbly set up by Tim Notting.

In five minutes it turned a deficit into a seven-point half time lead.

The goal-scoring drought finally broke after half time with the game breaking open, and when Patfull kicked his third goal the Tigers were 18 points down.

The Tigers rally came from a curling Richardson snap and a holding free in the goalsquare to Deledio, but as the three-quarter time siren sounded, Lappin was snapping an incredible goal from deep in the pocket.

The Lions looked to have held off Richmond, until the contest took its remarkable late turn.

http://www.heraldsun.news.com.au/footy/common/story_page/0,8033,21840345%255E19771,00.html

[one-eyed]

Pettifer's leveller no consolation
03 June 2007   Sunday Herald Sun
Ken Piesse

KICKING the goal which tied the scores was a cheap consolation for Kayne Pettifer last night.

"We wanted the four points not just two," Pettifer said after Richmond's spirited final quarter.

"We were pretty confident going in and really built the pressure.

"It would have been nice to have had a kick (for goal) after the siren, but they cut that last kick off."

Pettifer was charging forward when captain Kane Johnson's pass was intercepted by the Brisbane Lions' Josh Drummond.

"It only needed to be another foot or so higher and it was on my chest," he said.

"I thought we had the momentum especially after that first goal."

Pettifer said the Tigers had been close in each of the past three games and the mood last night reflected the overall disappointment at another lost opportunity.

"We have so many good young kids, but it's an experience thing. They need games and they'll be better for it. It has been disappointing not to have won so far. We want to finish the year off (well) and really hit next year running," he said.

Pettifer said the performances of several young players, particularly Daniel Jackson, encouraged much for the future - Jackson blanketing Brownlow medallist Simon Black in one of the games of his career.

The Tigers' best yesterday, midfielder Nathan Foley, said the feeling of disappointment was heightened by the expectations that Richmond could break its drought.

"We were so close, but just couldn't get over the line. It's hard to take but all you can do is get on with it," Foley said.

Better news for the Tigers is that No. 1 ruckman Troy Simmonds has declared himself fit to play the round after next against Fremantle at Subiaco.

Richmond has never started a season as poorly, but did lose 15 matches in a row in 2004.

The last time Richmond journeyed to Telstra Dome it lost by 157 points.

In 100 years, the Tigers had never been as humiliated, yet the yellow and black army numbered almost 30,000 last night, ever-hopeful of a drought-breaking win.

When Pettifer marked uncontested within 50m and levelled the scores with 90 seconds left, he almost touched the roof with his jump of delight.

But it was to be the last score of the match.

Coach Terry Wallace was ashen-faced as he walked off.

Richmond led for only 37 of the 101 minutes. In reality, given its errors, it was probably lucky to come away with a draw.

http://www.heraldsun.news.com.au/footy/common/story_page/0,8033,21840347%255E19771,00.html

[one-eyed]

Tigers snap losing streak, but remain winless
Len Johnson | June 3, 2007 | The Age

For the 10th game in a row, Richmond has failed to win. But at least it has stopped losing, the Tigers coming from 13 points down at three-quarter-time to snatch a draw against the Brisbane Lions last night.

The difference between a draw and a win was the lack of penetration in Kane Johnson's kick inside the 50-metre arc to Kayne Pettifer. Josh Drummond, whom Johnson hardly could have been expected to spot in the crowded forward 50, chopped it off agonising metres short of its intended target.

Johnson had taken a one-handed mark on the wing to set up the final attack as both teams wrestled for the upper hand. There were half-chances everywhere, but no one could grab one decisive opportunity to seal the game. Balls won with daring were turned over with timid disposals.

Brisbane could argue it had lost two points. The Lions led by 13 points at the start of the final term and missed several red-hot chances to consolidate that lead when Jonathan Brown, of all people, failed to punish an Andrew Raines turnover and Rhan Hooper missed a running shot at an open goal.

Three behinds for the final term was a poor follow-up to what had looked a matchwinning five goals for the Lions in the third.

Richmond equally could bemoan squandered chances. Perhaps too many balls being bombed long in the Matthew Richardson direction, giving Daniel Merrett the chance to spoil. Perhaps Greg Tivendale being run down in the last minute by Troy Selwood. Perhaps Johnson's kick.

Perhaps it has forgotten how to win. At least the nature of this game meant both sides had to give everything to the final siren in contrast to last week, when Richmond's inept attempt to close the game down allowed Essendon to steamroll it in the dying minutes.

A handball from Brown and a high snap shot across his body by Nigel Lappin gave Brisbane a 13-point lead at three-quarter-time.

The Lions had been the first team to break the shackles of a tedious first half, with two goals late in the second term. Hooper, playing his first game of the season after walking out of the club earlier in the year, sent a long, spearing pass to Colm Begley for one and then Tim Notting put an intelligent centring kick on Joel Patfull's chest for another.

That paved the way for a much better third quarter in which Brisbane kicked five goals to Richmond's four.

When Brown got the first goal of the second half, Brisbane had kicked four in a row, and four straight, after being 2.8 in the second term.

Patfull, who proved surprisingly effective as a second marking target, got two more in the quarter to give him three for the game. Mitchell Clark, after two simple misses in the first half, got one from the boundary and Lappin's goal on the siren was his second in a fine game by the veteran.

But Richmond would not give in. Shane Edwards found space in the forward 50 to score one goal, Richard Tambling waited courageously under a high ball to mark and goal in the forward pocket, Richardson shimmied his way into a bit of space and snapped a third and Brett Deledio goaled from a free kick.

Richardson worked hard for the Tigers as the major forward target, but Merrett tightened up on him in the second half after things looked like getting out of control in the first.

Joel Bowden worked hard on Brown, stopping pretty well everything he could have been expected to and contesting hard.

Brown, too, could have been a game-breaker, and he was not, for which the Richmond man deserves credit.

Lappin, missing for Brisbane for all of last year, continued to build slowly back to his previous high standards. Patfull was a valuable asset on the forward line and Notting good around the middle of the ground and the forward line.

In the end, though, neither team had enough to win, or lose, the game.

http://realfooty.com.au/news/rfmatchreport/tigers-remain-winless/2007/06/03/1180205592584.html?page=fullpage#contentSwap1

[one-eyed]

Plan falls short
04 June 2007   Herald-Sun
Russell Gould

WHEN Richmond's Nathan Foley had the ball at half-back with 45 seconds left on Saturday night, the obvious move was to head straight for goal.

Instead, he did as the Tigers had all night: he went short, to an unmanned teammate.

At least he didn't turn it over. But the cough-up came soon enough, after skipper Kane Johnson took an acrobatic one-handed mark on the wing, then tried to spear a pass inside 50.

A loose Kayne Pettifer, who had levelled the scores moments earlier, could only watch as Johnson's kick was picked off by the Brisbane Lions' Josh Drummond.

It would be unfair to blame a backwards kick and one missed pass for the draw that left a numb feeling throughout Telstra Dome, and Tigers coach Terry Wallace was well aware of that.

"We had a player on. We just didn't hit our target. That's one, and there were another 26 in the final quarter," Wallace said. "I can give you those as well."

"In the end we had enough footy in the last quarter certainly to kick more than two goals, and we turned the ball over and didn't make the most of our opportunities for how much ball we had," Wallace said.

He wasn't exaggerating. Targets were missed more often that they were hit. Kicks from normally skilful players grubbed along the ground or floated like a deflating balloon, and handballs were sent to players in the middle of heavy traffic.

"It was a bit dewy, but I don't think that mattered for the skills. It was just one of those games," said Foley, who had a team-high 26 touches.

"We were trying to win the game, to attack. We wanted to win and everyone is hurting. I don't know what to say, don't know what went wrong."

Normally sure Lions such as Michael Rischitelli ran around in circles when he had the ball, as if it was a package with no address and he wasn't sure where to send it.

Simon Black, well held all night, sent speculative handballs from the bottom of packs, putting it in space and hoping it went to someone he knew.

There were more cries of "He's behind you" than at a pantomime as unsure players were run down with scary regularity.

The stats say the Lions hit the target only 64 per cent of the time in the first term. That was when they were fresh.

But for all the analysis that will be done, the result remains the same. For Richmond, it means it is still anchored to the bottom of the ladder.

Ten weeks without a win could do awful things to a group of young players. But Foley said the Tigers wouldn't let another loss get in the way of the bigger picture.

"It hurts each week to lose, but as a group we know we are going in the right direction. We have to stick together," he said.

"We can see the path, and we have to stay on it. It's what we have to do."

Tigers fans should hope there is only one arrow on that path, and it's pointing forward, not back.

http://www.heraldsun.news.com.au/footy/common/story_page/0,8033,21841606%255E19742,00.html