Media articles and stats - Richmond break through in style

[one-eyed]

Richmond break through in style
10:22 PM Fri 22 June, 2007
By Luke Holmesby
for richmondfc.com.au

RICHMOND has secured its first win of the 2007 AFL season, with a 49-point defeat of Melbourne at the MCG.

The Tigers led all day and never looked like losing, despite a flurry of goals from Melbourne in the third quarter.

Richmond kicked 18.16 (124) to Melbourne’s 11.9 (75).

The first quarter was easily the highlight of what has been an otherwise grim year for Richmond with Nathan Brown having a dream start in his return to football.

Brown had seven touches and kicked a goal in the first quarter, before coming off for a hard-earned rest just before the quarter-time siren.

The Melbourne defence contained Brown after his opening burst, but he still finished the night with three goals and 13 touches in a performance that warmed the hearts of the Tiger faithful.

But Brown wasn’t the only highlight as Richmond had winners all over the ground.

Graham Polak was a nuisance for the Demons, cutting off plenty of forward thrusts.

He was ably assisted by Joel Bowden and Jake King rebounding out of defence, giving the Demons limited scoring opportunities early on.

A rampaging Richmond did not let up in the second term, with its senior players stepping up the intensity and leaving the Demons in their wake.

Daniel Jackson did a tremendous tagging job on dangerous Demon midfielder Cameron Bruce and Brett Deledio provided some exciting dash around the ground.

Nathan Foley and Shane Tuck worked well in heavy traffic all night while Matthew Richardson came into it in the second quarter, marking everything that came his way.

While his kicking for goal was wayward, Richo was a major worry for the Melbourne defence, finishing with 16 marks and 3.6.

Greg Tivendale grew in confidence as the game progressed, his hard running and raking left-foot kicks cutting Melbourne deep. He finished a busy night with 22 touches and three goals.

The Tigers kicked six goals in each of the first two terms, keeping the Demons to just 2.4 and went into the main break with a healthy 64-point lead.

The going was a bit tougher after the break with Melbourne kicking the first three goals.

Polak, who had done most of his early damage as a loose man in defence, had his hands full with Melbourne forward Paul Johnson. He was eventually called on to tame former Tiger Ben Holland, who came alive with three third-quarter goals.

Melbourne’s initial run was temporarily halted when Brown bobbed up again to snap his second but the Demons continued to come at Richmond, with six goals to two in the third term.

Any chance Melbourne might have had of a comeback quickly disappeared when Richardson dobbed a goal from 45 at the beginning of the last quarter, giving his side an insurmountable lead.

RICHMOND    6.3    12.8    14.12    18.16 (124)
MELBOURNE    2.2   2.4   8.6   11.9   (75)

GOALS - Richmond: N Brown 3, M Richardson 3, K Pettifer 3, G Tivendale 3, B Deledio 2, C Hyde 2, K Johnson, S Tuck. Melbourne: B Holland 3, A Davey 2, N Jones, B McLean, M Bate, P Johnson, R Petterd, R Robertson.

BEST - Richmond: S Tuck, N Foley, G Tivendale, J Bowden, M Richardson, G Polak. Melbourne: J White, A Davey, B Holland, B Green, C Sylvia, M Bate.

UMPIRES: C Donlon, M James, B Rosebury.

CROWD: 46,161 at the MCG.

INJURIES - Richmond: D Polo (shoulder - replaced in selected side by G Tivendale), A Krakouer (calf). Melbourne: D Neitz (finger - replaced in selected side by A Yze), A Yze (groin), B Holland (nose).

http://richmondfc.com.au/Season2007/News/NewsArticle/tabid/6301/Default.aspx?newsId=45846

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Team Stats

Kicks:        226 - 204
Handballs:  134 - 106
Disposals:  360 - 310
Marks:       120 - 103
Hitouts:        16 - 42
Tackles:       52 - 55
Frees:         24 - 28
Inside 50s:  61 - 51

Individual Stats

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

BOWDEN,Joel              5 3 4 6 18 4 3 2 6 15 1 1 3 4 9 0 4 0 0 0
POLAK,Graham            3 3 7 1 14 4 4 3 3 14 3 3 3 2 11 1 1 4 0 0
TUCK,Shane                4 4 4 2 14 4 1 4 2 11 1 1 3 0 5 1 1 3 1 0
RICHARDSON,Matthew 4 7 4 6 21 0 0 0 2 2 3 3 2 8 16 4 5 0 3 6
DELEDIO,Brett             5 2 1 5 13 1 2 4 3 10 2 2 0 3 7 1 1 1 2 1
FOLEY,Nathan              4 5 3 0 12 3 1 3 4 11 1 0 1 0 2 1 1 4 0 0
TIVENDALE,Greg          5 5 4 4 18 1 1 1 1 4 3 3 2 3 11 0 0 1 3 1
KING,Jake                   3 5 2 6 16 1 2 1 1 5 0 2 1 1 4 5 3 6 0 0
RAINES,Andrew           4 2 6 1 13 1 1 2 2 6 1 0 3 1 5 0 0 1 0 0
HYDE,Chris                  2 6 0 2 10 3 1 3 1 8 1 2 0 1 4 1 0 4 2 0
PETTIFER,Kayne          6 4 1 4 15 1 1 0 0 2 3 2 1 2 8 2 1 3 3 0
JACKSON,Daniel          6 2 0 5 13 2 1 1 0 4 3 2 0 3 8 1 4 1 0 1
TAMBLING,Richard      2 3 4 1 10 0 2 2 3 7 1 1 2 0 4 1 0 2 0 0
JOHNSON,Kane           3 2 0 2 7 0 4 2 1 7 1 1 0 2 4 1 1 2 1 0
PATTISON,Adam         0 3 0 1 4 3 5 1 1 10 1 2 0 1 4 1 3 2 0 0
BROWN,Nathan G.      6 1 1 3 11 1 0 0 0 1 4 0 1 2 7 1 0 3 3 1
KRAKOUER,Andrew     3 1 0 0 4 2 1 2 0 5 0 1 1 0 2 0 0 1 0 0
NEWMAN,Chris           1 0 1 4 6 0 2 0 0 2 1 0 1 2 4 1 0 3 0 0
THURSFIELD,Will        0 0 1 1 2 2 1 2 0 5 1 0 1 1 3 1 1 1 0 0
HOWAT,Cameron        0 0 1 2 3 1 0 0 1 2 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 2 0 0
WHITE,Matt                0 1 0 1 2 0 1 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 1 1 1 5 0 0
HUGHES,Cleve            0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 3 0 0
 Rushed  6
TOTAL 66 59 44 57 226 34 34 34 32 134 31 26 25 38 120 24 28 52 18 16
 
50m PENALTIES: 1
GOALS: Free 4; Play 4; Mark 10
DISTANCE OF GOALS: 0-15m 4; 15-30m 1; 30-40m 6; 40+m 7

Top 5's

Contested Possessions

Polak               13
Foley               11
Tuck                11
Bate                10
Green              10

Uncontested Possessions

J.Bowden        27
Tivendale         20
Godfrey           17
Bell                 16
Wheatley        16

Effective Kicks

J.Bowden       16
Tivendale        16
Richo             14
Deledio          12
King               12

Inside 50

Tivendale        6
Pettifer           6
Tuck              5
Jackson         5
Bate              5

Rebound 50

J.Bowden       8
Bell                7
Polak             7
King              7
Green            6

[one-eyed]

Tigers romp to first victory
Len Johnson | June 23, 2007 | The Age

IT'S getting tight at both ends of the AFL ladder. Richmond notched its first win for the season and reignited the battle for the wooden spoon with a 49-point win over Melbourne at the MCG last night.

The Tigers put a flutter in supporters' hearts with a so-so third quarter, but steadied in the last. They now trail the Demons by only two points. And if momentum counts for anything, the Tigers now have it.

Some characteristically wayward finishing from Matthew Richardson aside — three goals from nine scoring shots — the Tigers came out of the game with a lot to like. Following on from their fighting effort against Fremantle the week before their break, they played with purpose all night. Six goals in each of the first two quarters gave Richmond an insurmountable 64-point lead at half-time.

You can't start a fire without a spark, and Nathan Brown provided it. Playing for the first time since round 17 last year, Brown started on the ground and was everywhere. He gave one goal to Kayne Pettifer, scored one himself and had seven possessions by the time he was rested halfway into the term.

When Melbourne closed the gap in the third term, Brown marked centimetres inside the goal line and steered a shot through from a tight angle to stem the tide. In the last term, it was his goal from deep in the pocket that turned the knife in Melbourne backs.

Melbourne was better in the second half — it had to be, worse was not an option — but the momentum it had built with wins over Adelaide and Collingwood has stalled again.

Melbourne outscored the Tigers by six goals to two in the third quarter, reducing the deficit at the final change to 42 points. It was hardly enough to make any team nervous, except perhaps a side still looking for its first win in round 12.

Ben Holland, who had endured a horror first half, turned his night around with three goals for the term as Melbourne at last started to attack with some shape. Aaron Davey got one with a goal-square snap and Paul Johnson and Matthew Bate got the others.

Richmond suddenly needed something to calm the nerves. Brown's goal provided it, another from Greg Tivendale made the game safe again. Barring disaster, that is, of which Richmond has known a little in 2007.

The game appeared over at half-time when Richmond led by 64 points. Six goals and five behinds to two behinds meant a lopsided quarter-time score became a landslide.

Shane Tuck, who had been one of those who kick-started the Tigers in the first quarter, got Richmond's 12th when he took possession in the centre, ran left, ran right, thought about a handball, didn't, and kicked truly from about 40 metres.

That no Melbourne player laid a glove on Tuck, and he ran about 30 metres without a bounce, just about summed up the way the first half went. The Demons had been reduced to so many cones in a training drill.

The first three Richmond goals for the second quarter came from free kicks — none contentious — before it got three more under its own steam.

Melbourne had begun the quarter four goals down and already needing something to spark it to life. It might have come when Russell Robertson twisted and soared to mark over Andrew Raines, but he pulled his shot wide for a behind.

The Tigers dominated the first five minutes of the game, and the fact that their first four scoring shots produced only one goal kept Melbourne in it.

Chris Hyde got two goals in a minute, the second set to feature on Melbourne tapes this week. After his first, he was unmarked at centre half-forward. Everyone but the Demons had seen him. Had it been a pantomime, someone would have yelled, "He's over there". Graham Polak slipped ball to boot to find Hyde, who slammed it through.

http://realfooty.com.au/news/rfmatchreport/tigers-celebrate-at-last/2007/06/22/1182019377543.html?page=fullpage#contentSwap1

[one-eyed]

Tigers notch 49-point win over Demons
June 22, 2007 - 10:35PM
The Age

Richmond's first win of the AFL season has come surprisingly easy, a Tigers side buoyed by the return of star forward Nathan Brown thrashing a dismal Melbourne 18.16 (124) to 11.9 (75) at the MCG.

Richmond remained on the bottom of the ladder despite the 49-point victory, but moved to within two premiership points of 15th-placed Melbourne to tighten what appears to be a two-team battle for the wooden spoon.

Given their performance, the Demons would be deserved recipients of the award, showing nothing of the form that helped them notch consecutive victories in the past two rounds.

The Tigers' supporters greeted the victory they had waited half a season for with several resounding renditions of the club song after the match.

The victory margin could easily have been greater, with Tiger spearhead Matthew Richardson proving a handful for the Melbourne defence, finishing with 16 marks and 23 possessions.

Only wayward kicking in front of goal dampened his night, finishing with 3.6.

The Tigers had winners all over the ground, and were well-served by a dominant midfield, with Shane Tuck, Greg Tivendale and Brett Deledio prominent.

The first half was one-way traffic, as the Tigers kicked 12 goals to two, including the last nine goals of the half as the Demons offered virtually no resistance, to set up a 64-point lead by the main break.

From there, the result was beyond doubt, despite the Demons finally showing something in the third quarter, when they outscored Richmond 6.2 to 2.4 to narrow the gap to 42 points at the last change.

They were helped by makeshift forward Ben Holland, who kicked three goals in the third term, after struggling against Richardson in the first half.

But any chance of that minor comeback amounting to something greater was quickly snuffed out by the Tigers early in the final quarter, when they kicked two of the first three goals.

Brown locked the gate with the second of them six minutes into the quarter, his third goal for the night, after marking on the lead 40m out.

It capped a highly promising return for the former All Australian, who was playing his first match since round 17 last year, after a stress reaction in the leg he broke against the Demons two years ago kept him out for the first half of this season.

He started the match in sensational fashion, spending the first 21 minutes on the ground, gathering seven disposals in that time, including kicking one goal and setting up several others as Richmond made a flying start.

They controlled the centre square, where Shane Tuck and Nathan Foley were superb, repeatedly ripped the ball away from clearances, helping the Tigers to dominate possession in the first half.

That allowed running players such as Greg Tivendale, Brett Deledio, Richard Tambling and Chris Hyde to have an easy time gathering possessions, although they were helped by the limited pressure put on by a listless Melbourne.

Richmond also had some stars in defence, with Joel Bowden and Graham Polak racking up a heap of touches as they combined to block space for Melbourne's attacking moves.

The lack of pressure applied by Melbourne was staggering at times in the first half, as Richmond regularly carried the ball from deep in defence into scoring positions without trouble.

One of the worst moments came 21 minutes into the match, when Hyde kicked the easiest of goals imaginable.

With Hyde standing unmanned at centre half-forward for about 30 seconds while a centre ball-up was occurring, Polak grabbed the ball out of the ruck and kicked it to Hyde, who gathered it unopposed, wheeled around and slotted it through.

There were few positives for the Demons, whose skipper David Neitz was an unsurprising pre-game withdrawal, after his recent finger surgery.

Jeff White gave them something in the ruck and around the ground in perhaps the one area in which Melbourne had any ascendancy.

http://news.realfooty.com.au/tigers-notch-49point-win-over-demons/20075422-jy3.html

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Grand old flog by yellow and black
23 June 2007   Herald-Sun
Mark Stevens

LIKE a little league kid left alone in the goalsquare, Chris Hyde couldn't believe his luck.

Hyde stood at centre half-forward, arms flapping, and yelled "kick it to me". At a centre bounce, this was danger with a capital D.

Yet Melbourne took what seemed like an eternity to wake up.

Finally, Paul Wheatley did something. Sensing embarrassment from out on the southern wing, he sprinted around the square hoping like hell the Demons won the centre clearance.

Welcome to Wheatley's worst nightmare.

Richmond's Graham Polak won a hurried clearance, sending it 30m forward to you know who.

With Wheatley desperately bearing down, Hyde pounced on it, turned and drilled it on his left from 50m.

It happened early – 21 minutes into the first term – but those mad moments said much about where this game was headed.

There is no excuse for a team at any level to leave someone alone for so long in such a key spot.

The fact the Demons let it happen said a lot about their intensity and application.

And the fact Richmond managed to make the most of that bizarre, golden opportunity told you plenty about its big night out.

Just about everything that could go right for the Tigers did.

Melbourne, horrible at times in a 0-9 start to the year, sank to a whole new level of ineptitude.

Richmond, helped by Hyde's team-lifter, led by 25 points at quarter-time.

Brown leads onslaught

NATHAN Brown, back from nagging leg soreness, set the tone early by dominating the first 15 minutes.

But the real pain for Melbourne came in a woeful second quarter.

Richmond, a team without a win in the first three months of the season piled on another 6.2. The Demons could manage just two behinds.

Two Tiger goals in the last minute by Kayne Pettifer and Shane Tuck blew the halftime lead out to 64 points.

Tuck kept Melbourne's midfield star Brock McLean to just three disposals in the first half and helped himself to 13 – including six clearances.

Dees in holiday mode

THE mid-season break obviously came at the wrong time for Melbourne. The momentum gained from wins against Adelaide and Collingwood evaporated in insipid fashion. The Demons fumbled, made poor decisions and were sloppy by foot when the game was on the line. They didn't come to play.

Sure, Melbourne managed to reel the margin back to 49 points on the final siren – mainly thanks to a six-goals-to-two third term – but that is irrelevant.

Richo man on fire

RICHMOND, with Matthew Richardson too good for Ben Holland and then Nathan Carroll, never really looked like letting it slip after the long break.

Richardson finished with 16 marks, including three contested, but sprayed 3.6 in front of goal.

He hit the post three times and should have kicked eight.

But what the basic scoreboard doesn't tell you is the fact "Richo" had three goal assists and was unselfish to the end. He was best-on-ground.

Brown finished with three and Pettifer, freed up by his famous forward partner's return, also helped himself to three goals.

For a team sitting stone cold last on the ladder, Richmond's forward line always looked dangerous.

Much of the supply came from Tuck, Brett Deledio and Nathan Foley.

Foley had 25 disposals and a mighty five goal assists, Deledio was dashing and the Tigers always looked better around the packs.

Hitouts deceptive

THE Demons dominated the centre hitouts – an amazing 23 to three – yet the Tigers only lost the clearances in the middle 14-17.

Around the ground, the Tigers won the all-important clearances 34-26, despite its depleted ruck stocks struggling to match it with Jeff White and Paul Johnson in the hitouts.

Joel Bowden was as steady and creative as ever down back and Graham Polak had 28 disposals and helped himself to 11 marks.

For Melbourne, there was barely a positive.

Byron Pickett's comeback was a flop, Russell Robertson's accuracy vanished and the usually ultra-consistent McLean had arguably his worst game for the club.

Wheatley at least tried to make a difference, but that first-quarter effort was a "case of too little too late".

A bit like Melbourne in general.

http://www.heraldsun.news.com.au/footy/common/story_page/0,8033,21953667%255E19742,00.html

[one-eyed]

Gardner has weeding to do
23 June 2007   Herald-Sun
Mark Robinson

IF, BEFORE last night, Melbourne president Paul Gardner was thinking about terminating Neale Daniher's contract at the end of the year, Daniher is now a dead man coaching.

If Gardner wasn't, he certainly is now.

Melbourne was smacked by Richmond which, on any other occasion, would see the Tigers the sole talk of the town, rejoicing in that very rare commodity at Punt Rd – success.

We would write about Nathan Brown's sensational return and, of course, Matthew Richardson, who remains the single most watchable player in the competition.

Richo took 16 marks, hit the post three times, booted 3.6 and, for the first time in a while, we laughed with him and not at him.

Yet, Daniher and his inept Demons have taken precedence.

They were embarrassing, wimpish and, to be honest, a disgrace to the Melbourne Football Club.

It's meant the spotlight is firmly on Daniher, his message and whether the players are hearing it.

Thankfully for him, Melbourne is not 3AW, because he might well have his contract terminated this morning.

Agreed, it was just one loss, but it was the type of loss that has big consequences. You simply can't turn up for a game between 16th and 15th without the necessary application.

By halftime the Dees had just two goals against Richmond's 12 and, I don't care what you say, the Tigers aren't a 10-goal better team than Melbourne over two quarters.

At that point, the finger pointing began.

During the break, Channel 7 interviewed injured Demons skipper David Neitz. It was outside the rooms, it was purely about football and Seven should be congratulated for its initiative. Neitz should not.

He lamented his side's lack of endeavour and said his teammates had to play "one-on-one football and make it a contest". He was right.'

But asked about the pressure on Daniher, Neitz said it was too early to speculate.

It was sloppy from the skipper. He should've told Seven to bugger off and concentrate on the game, but did neither.

We're not suggesting the skipper is gunning for the coach, far from it, but it's further evidence the players can't escape the reality of the decision facing Gardner and his board.

The players must, however, try to avoid emotional outpourings.

Two weeks ago Russell Robertson said the players wanted Daniher to coach in 2008. They had beaten Collingwood on the Queen's Birthday and Robbo was flying. He said it and we believed him, and two weeks later they dish up this tripe against a team with one draw from 11 games.

Questions need to be asked.

That the Demons played tempo football in the last minutes of the third quarter when trailing by 42 points was a bad decision by the players and, by extension, Daniher.

Surely if you are to kick goals you must kick the ball towards your goal.

Too many Demons went missing: Adem Yze is near-enough finished, Byron Pickett was underdone, Ben Holland continued his Jekyll and Hyde impersonation, Brock McLean was beaten badly and Colin Sylvia and Paul Wheatley sit just behind Holland when it comes to consistency. Others had no impact.

Not so the Tigers. There are some wonderful sights in this sport and one is seeing men and women, with their children, belting out the Richmond theme song. After 11 weeks without a rendition it was sung long and loud.

It reminds us, too, that those yellow-and-black bomber jackets are still not out of fashion.

And that's got to be good for football.

http://www.heraldsun.news.com.au/footy/common/story_page/0,8033,21953665%255E19771,00.html

[one-eyed]

 

'It feels like a premiership': Deledio
1:39 PM Sat 23 June, 2007
By Luke Holmesby
richmondfc.com.au

AFTER a barren start to Richmond's 2007 campaign, Richmond midfielder Brett Deledio was in no doubt as to how he felt after the team notched its first win of the season.

"It feels like we've won a premiership, to be honest," Deledio said.

"We've only got our first win on the board and it's been so long so we're really enjoying it."

Deledio said having Nathan Brown back in the side gave the Tigers a tremendous spark.

"He adds that bit of flair and class and obviously the crowd loves him as well," he said.

"I don't know if him coming back lightens the load for myself but it might help out someone like Joel Bowden or Kane Johnson and the guys in the leadership group," Deledio said.

"He does lead the way down forward, Browny."

Deledio, finished the game with 23 possessions and two goals, and was instrumental in helping set up the Tigers' win. Both of his goal came in a blistering first half, and helped his team on the way to an unassailable 64-point lead at the long break.

He said that the group was buoyed by the fact that it had played some good football at times this year despite their losing streak and that they never lost faith in their ability to notch that all-important drought-breaker for their fans.

 "We've always had a strong belief in each other and I guess it showed tonight that we played together and we can run and carry and play some pretty exciting football."

http://richmondfc.com.au/Season2007/News/NewsArticle/tabid/6301/Default.aspx?newsId=45855

[one-eyed]

Brown lifts Tigers to huge win
Emma Quayle | June 24, 2007 | The Age

NATHAN Brown had no doubt he could contribute something good against Melbourne on Friday night. But he needed help from his Richmond teammates.

"I've always had confidence in my own ability, but after a while when you're injured and haven't been playing for a while, you do have doubts on whether you can be as good as you used to be," he said.

"But the teamwork was fantastic. They tried to get me into the game early. A few blokes hit me up when they could have gone long, so it was fantastic to get into the game that way."

The Tigers would not have won their first match for the year on Friday night had they not had, via Brett Deledio, Shane Tuck, Nathan Foley and others, quick relentless run through the middle of the MCG.

They would not have won had Matthew Richardson not been in such a mood to entertain, kicking three goals that could have been much more had goal posts not kept getting in the way (he hit them three times). Graham Polak's busy but unfussed defensive game was important, too.

They would not have won — or would not have won by 49 points — had the Demons let so many Tigers wander free in the first half and resisted the loss only after the half-time break, when they already trailed by 10 goals.

But coach Terry Wallace was certain the presence of Brown, playing his first match for the season, mattered as much as anything. Not only for the three goals he kicked, but for how he made his younger teammates feel. "He's someone they've wanted to play football with for a while," Wallace said.

"I think they walk a little bit taller when that's the case. A couple of times throughout the game, when a goal needed to be kicked, Nathan kicked the goal. I think that just lifts the spirit of the younger group as well."

This was a very, very bad match for Melbourne, and one of the most awful moments came early. Having kicked his first goal midway through the first quarter, Chris Hyde was left all on his own at half-forward after the players ran back to position.

Polak grabbed the ball at the centre bounce, threw it onto his boot, and it went straight to Hyde on the 50-metre line. By this time, Paul Wheatley was sprinting towards him, but he got there too late, and Hyde scored his second goal in a row.

Were the Tigers not the clearly better side by the first break, they certainly were by half-time, after keeping the ball in their quarter for almost the entire half-hour and kicking six goals to none.

Melbourne kicked the first two goals of the third term, after switching Ben Holland from Richardson to the forward line, but that was as close as the Demons got until later, with Richmond well in control again by the middle part of the third term.

Brown's plan for the second half of the season is much like that of his team: to pretend it's all starting over, to get better each week and to start preparing for next year. He also intends to return his teammates' favour, and start helping them out. "I'm just looking forward to playing some football, and having continuity of performance, and playing all of the 11 games," he said. "But more importantly for the team, we need to look at the second half of the season like it's a totally different season, and base our season on that.

"The first half is over and done with. We didn't win a game. We can't do anything about that now, but what we can do is have a good lead-in towards a good pre-season.

"Having so many young guys and excited young teenagers in the team, it's about setting the example for them going into next year."

http://www.realfooty.com.au/news/news/brown-lifts-tigers-to-huge-win/2007/06/23/1182019429550.html

[one-eyed]

From the Age:

Wallace said the Tigers, who spent two days together in Perth before splitting for their mid-season break last week, wanted to prove in the second half of the season that their long-term plan was the right one. "There's a couple of points we feel we need to improve on in the second half of the year like every other side," he said. "It's about playing some really solid footy and doing what we wanted to do in the first half of the year, and earning a little bit of respect about the direction we've set and the pathways we've set."

Andrew Krakouer finished with a calf injury that will be assessed this week, but told the club yesterday morning he had pulled up well.

Richmond's rucking woes were given some good news yesterday when Troy Simmonds played almost 70 minutes in the VFL for Coburg in its loss to North Ballarat.

Armstrong said Simmonds got through the match without issue and his fitness would be assessed.

"His form was quite good in the first half and then he was rested for the majority of the second half," Armstrong said.

Armstrong refused to say whether Simmonds would return for next Saturday night's clash against St Kilda.

http://www.realfooty.com.au/news/news/punctured-lung-broken-ribs-151-no-problem/2007/06/23/1182019435699.html