Laidley having the last laugh
09 July 2007 Herald Sun
Mark Stevens
KANGAROOS coach Dean Laidley is always quick to notice the non-believers among the tipsters, and he may have had a quiet chuckle again this week.
Going in, the Roos had won eight of the past 10. Richmond had one win from 13.
Yet there was a popular view that this was the old-fashioned "danger game" of the round.
The doubters were everywhere, raising the same fears.
Surely there would be a letdown after Glenn Archer's big day. There was no way Drew Petrie could kick another bag. Are the Kangas that good anyway?
How wrong could the cynics be?
The Roos never reached the heights of that electrifying first quarter against the Bulldogs, but this was about as regulation as a 25-point win gets.
Sure, there was a scare here, and a fright there, but there was never really any danger.
The Roos were not headed, setting the tone by kicking the first three goals of the game. So much for not coming to play for Archer's 301st.
Richmond kicked three goals in four minutes to draw within four points 17 minutes into the second term, but lacked the poise and polish to make it really interesting.
Shane Edwards and Jack Riewoldt missed chances late in the second to keep the Tigers in touch at the long break, and they paid a painful price early in the third.
The Roos kicked the first five goals of the third term in a 17-minute burst and, at one stage, had a 37-point lead.
Full credit to the Tigers for refusing to roll over. Inspired by the workrate of Matthew Richardson, they even edged to within 14 points early in the last term.
But, in reality, it was nothing but a big tease for the long-suffering Tigers fans. Close, but not good enough. Again.
It was fitting that Petrie delivered the killer blow with a set shot eight minutes into the final term.
Petrie, who kicked seven against the Dogs last week, now has 13 in two matches after adding another six. And that's 13.0, if you don't mind.
The key forward later said he felt pressure going into the game, going as far as trying to mirror his preparation for the Archer game.
Whatever he did worked.
It wasn't as spectacular as the six-goals-in-a-quarter explosion against the Dogs, but so often his safe hands were on the end of pinpoint passes from teammates.
The Kangaroos have become a reliable, well-organised unit. Some may refuse to put them in the elite class, but their ball-use and decision-making is pushing in to the top flight.
Richmond is last because too often it has players making the wrong decisions.
Shane Tuck did it at least twice, turning it over by foot as teammates surged forward.
Even the ultra-reliable Joel Bowden threw in five clanger kicks from 11 kicks.
The kick clanger tally at the end of the game said plenty. The Tigers committed 24; the Kangaroos only seven.
With Nathan Foley shut down by Brady Rawlings and Brett Deledio off early in the third term with a broken hand, the Tigers sadly lacked class through the middle.
Roo Brent Harvey, in career-best form, had 32 possessions and ran tagger Daniel Jackson into submission.
Corey Jones, one of the most underrated players in the competition, kicked three and was always dangerous.
And the Kangas have found a player in 21-year-old former rookie Scott McMahon, who kicked two goals and had 18 disposals. He looks like he has been playing for five years, not five games.
Daniel Pratt did the job on Nathan Brown, Adam Simpson was dogged around the stoppages, and Shannon Grant won plenty of it and should have kicked at least four goals.
Again, Tiger veteran Richardson was deserving of special praise in a losing side.
There were the usual mistakes - including a simple miss in the last minute - but he finished with 4.3 and unselfishly gave opportunities to others.
Richardson took 12 marks, including three contested. By the end, he was out of gas.
But without the support of others, not even a rampant Richo could create enough danger to get Laidley and the Roos hopping.
http://www.heraldsun.news.com.au/footy/common/story_page/0,8033,22040148%255E19771,00.html
