Media articles and stats - Tigers have too much pluck for Pies

[one-eyed]

Tigers have too much pluck for Pies
10:21 PM Fri 10 August, 2007
By Russell Holmesby
for richmondfc.com.au

RICHMOND toppled Collingwood by 20 points in the season’s major upset at the MCG.

The Tigers ambushed Collingwood with a mighty first quarter and set the tone with two goals in the first two minutes.

The 18.8 (116) to 14.12 (96) scoreline was the result of remarkable evenness across the field, but the solo effort of Nathan Foley deserved to be singled out for special mention.

He cut a swathe through Collingwood at centre bounces and stoppages with nine clearances and the opposition could not contain him.

Joel Bowden did a superb job on Anthony Rocca and Shane Tuck and Kane Johnson were constantly productive.

The Tigers suffered a pre-game blow when Troy Simmonds and Jack Riewoldt withdrew from the side and were replaced by John Howat and Daniel Jackson.

Richmond started brilliantly from the first bounce with Nathan Foley finding Graham Polak who hauled down a brilliant mark near goal. From the next bounce Foley repeated the dose to set up Polak again. Two minutes and two goals to Richmond with no Magpie having touched the ball.

The Tigers’ forward structure featured Polak, Matthew Richardson and Brett Deledio in the goalsquare and Nathan Brown was stationed further afield at centre half-forward.

Lockyer’s snap opened the Collingwood account but Tuck quickly replied. Although Medhurst goaled it was only temporary relief and the Magpies had been jumped. Deledio’s mark on the goal line brought another goal.

Richmond looked quicker, displaying a level of confidence rarely seen this year, and should have been further ahead.

About the only thing that went Collingwood’s way was Kayne Pettifer’s terrible miss after a gift free kick that resulted from a gentle nudge to the side. It was alarming that the Tigers had shot at goal 10 times and produced just four goals with two out of bounds.

Collingwood fans screamed in disgust when Deledio was given a goalsquare free after O’Brien hooked a hand across his shoulder in a tackle. The teenager made no mistake to boot Richmond’s fifth.

Pettifer loped around the boundary for another and Collingwood looked to have been wrong-footed in the same manner they had been against Brisbane.

It was Richmond’s best quarter of the season and they deserved their 19-point quarter time lead.

Collingwood tried to get something going and goals to Rocca and Thomas looked like righting the ship, but then Richardson goaled when he was held in a contest and Brown brilliantly stole the ball as it dropped from Josh Fraser’s hand to his foot and charged in to goal. Richmond had a four-goal break and all the momentum as Tivendale drove home another.

Collingwood lifted its tempo and pressure, but Richmond was able to answer every challenge until Burns and Davis scored instant back to back goals to narrow the gap to 10 points.

To this stage the Tigers had some unlikely heroes in ruckman Adam Pattison and centre half-back Will Thursfield who had blanketed Travis Cloke. Both Cloke and Rocca had been well held, but it was a concern for Richmond that the Magpies had still managed to kick nine goals without their input.

Collingwood entered the third term with a full head of steam and suddenly it was the Tigers who were on the back foot as Rocca and Medhurst goaled in the opening three minutes to wrest the lead for the first time.

Richmond wasn’t running as hard and didn’t have the same smooth movement from half-back. The Tigers badly needed a goal, and Shane Edwards produced it by reading the ball off the pack and slamming it home from the square.

Scores were deadlocked for the next nine minutes and importantly it was Deledio who scored the next goal. Richmond was now re-energised and Cameron Howat and Richo each added goals in the next two minutes. Richmond had kicked nine goals straight since quarter time to Collingwood’s 9.7.

The Tigers’ self-belief had looked like wavering but now they started running again. Foley and Jackson were dominating the clearances, but Collingwood scored through Medhurst against the tide of play.

With a 13-point lead at the last change, the Tigers had the scent of a win. They had the upper hand in clearances and contested marks and possessions – normally two strong points of Collingwood’s game.

Jake King zoomed downfield and a strong pass found Deledio who calmly booted his fifth. The from the resultant bounce the irrepressible Foley took two bounces and hammered a goal to the delirious cheers of the Tiger crowd.

Foley was involved in the next move which ended with a goal to Pettifer. Collingwood was now 32 points down at the eight-minute mark and looked devoid of running power.

The Magpies looked a tired and flat combination and did not have enough players presenting for the contest. For a side with final-four ambitions it was a very meek effort, but that should not detract from a superb Richmond display.

RICHMOND     6.4  11.4  15.5   18.8  (116)
COLLINGWOOD  3.3   9.8  12.10  14.12  (96)

GOALS

Richmond: B Deledio 5 G Polak 2 M Richardson 2 K Pettifer 2 S Tuck N Brown G Tivendale A Pattison S Edwards C Howat N Foley.
Collingwood: P Medhurst 3 A Rocca 3 D Thomas 2 L Davis 2 T Lockyer D Swan S Burns R Shaw.

BEST

Richmond: N Foley B Deledio J Bowden J King D Jackson S Tuck C Newman M Richardson.
Collingwood: T Lockyer S Burns D Thomas R Shaw.

Umpires: H Kennedy S Ryan D Woodcock.

Crowd: 49,550 at MCG.

[one-eyed]

Team Stats

Kicks:         221 - 157
Handballs:  164 - 109
Disposals:   385 - 266
Marks:        116 - 64
Hitouts:        21 - 34
Tackles:        55 - 67
Frees:           20 - 17

Inside 50s:   56 - 50
Clearances:   39 - 26
Errors:          51 - 50

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             7 5 4 3 19 2 3 2 5 12 5 1 1 1 8 1 0 2 0 0
FOLEY,Nathan             3 5 4 4 16 5 1 4 1 11 0 0 1 0 1 0 0 5 1 0
KING,Jake                  5 2 3 7 17 4 1 0 4 9 1 1 1 2 5 2 2 3 0 0
JOHNSON,Kane           2 6 3 4 15 1 3 5 2 11 2 3 1 4 10 1 0 6 0 0
TUCK,Shane                3 2 0 3 8 2 4 5 6 17 0 1 0 1 2 2 1 3 1 0
JACKSON,Daniel          0 5 7 2 14 2 1 6 1 10 1 4 5 0 10 1 0 1 0 0
PETTIFER,Kayne          4 0 6 6 16 1 1 1 1 4 1 0 5 0 6 3 0 1 2 2
RICHARDSON,Matthew 2 2 2 5 11 4 0 0 4 8 3 1 2 3 9 1 1 1 2 0
TIVENDALE,Greg          2 2 3 3 10 0 3 5 0 8 0 2 2 1 5 0 2 0 1 0
PATTISON,Adam          3 2 2 1 8 3 1 3 3 10 2 1 2 2 7 1 1 3 1 0
THURSFIELD,Will         1 1 3 1 6 6 3 0 3 12 0 2 1 1 4 0 1 1 0 0
MCGUANE,Luke           4 3 3 2 12 2 1 0 2 5 1 1 1 3 6 1 0 4 0 0
RAINES,Andrew          2 4 1 2 9 2 2 3 1 8 0 1 2 1 4 2 0 6 0 0
NEWMAN,Chris           2 4 4 2 12 0 1 0 3 4 0 1 3 2 6 0 0 1 0 1
DELEDIO,Brett            5 3 1 1 10 0 2 0 3 5 2 1 1 1 5 2 0 6 5 2
TAMBLING,Richard      2 2 0 1 5 4 2 2 2 10 2 2 0 1 5 1 0 3 0 0
POLAK,Graham           5 0 3 4 12 0 0 1 1 2 3 0 3 2 8 0 1 2 2 1
BROWN,Nathan G.      1 2 3 1 7 3 0 0 1 4 0 1 1 1 3 1 0 2 1 0
HOWAT,Cameron        1 0 4 3 8 2 0 0 0 2 0 0 2 2 4 0 1 1 1 0
CONNORS,Daniel        1 1 0 1 3 2 0 1 2 5 1 1 0 2 4 0 2 0 0 0
EDWARDS,Shane        0 0 1 1 2 2 2 1 0 5 1 1 0 0 2 0 2 3 1 1
GRAHAM,Angus          0 0 1 0 1 0 2 0 0 2 0 2 0 0 2 1 3 1 0 0
 Rushed  1
TOTAL 55 51 58 57 221 47 33 39 45 164 25 27 34 30 116 20 17 55 18 8
 
50m PENALTIES: 0
GOALS: Free 2; Play 7; Mark 9
DISTANCE OF GOALS: 0-15m 4; 15-30m 2; 30-40m 4; 40+m 8

Top 5's

Contested Possessions

Tuck            12
Deledio        11
Foley           11
Richardson   10
Jackson         8

Uncontested Possessions

J.Bowden      22
K.Johnson     21
King             18
Pettifer         17
Jackson        16

Effective Kicks

J.Bowden      19
King             13
K.Johnson     12
Jackson        12
Foley            12

Inside 50

Pettifer         7
Foley            6
Lockyer         6
Thomas        6
Cloke           5

Rebound 50

J.Bowden      6
Lockyer         4
Foley            3
Clement        3
K.Johnson     3

[one-eyed]

Tigers dent Magpies' top-four chances
AAP
10 August 2007   

RICHMOND won for only the second time this AFL season and dealt Collingwood's top-four aspirations a huge blow with a stirring 20-point victory tonight at the MCG.

The Tigers defied their bottom place status to produce an inspired first half and then prevented any late Collingwood challenge to win 18.8 (116) to 14.12 (96), sparking jubilation for a club which has endured a wretched season.

Brett Deledio produced a mighty game across half-forward for five goals, while Nathan Foley was already the clearance king before he charged out of the centre early in the last quarter and dobbed what proved the sealing goal.

Richmond's willingness to get the hard ball and run was so telling they racked up an extra 119 disposals - a quarter's worth - over the Magpies.

A malfunctioning PA system was the only thing to sour the night, as it prevented MCG officials playing Richmond's theme song after the final siren.

The fans made up for it at least, singing in full voice.

Collingwood will stay in the eight by the completion of round 19, but coach Mick Malthouse would have banked on this as a win amid a tight race for the finals.

Malthouse was instead nursing a big headache as the massive result will leave his side a game and percentage out of the top four.

The Tigers were rewarded for their thrilling attack in the first half with an 11-goal first half and answered every Magpie challenge.

The Pies hit the front early in the third quarter through Paul Medhurst's snap, and it looked like Collingwood would lift, but instead it was Richmond who played like they had more at stake.

The Tigers kicked the next four goals to open a buffer by the last change and then snuffed out the contest with the first three goals of the last, as fans at the Punt Road end lapped it up.

Besides dominating possession, Richmond had winners everywhere.

Shane Tuck was also effective in heavy traffic, Joel Bowden continually ran off Anthony Rocca, Chris Newman mopped up everything across half-back and Graham Polak fired the Tigers pinch-hitting in attack with the first two goals.

Medhurst and Rocca both finished with three goals for Collingwood, whose best was again Tarkyn Lockyer.

Collingwood was banking on a good run home to cement a top-four spot and earn a double chance and would have eyed this fixture off as a percentage booster instead of an embarrassing loss.

The Magpies could still yet finish top four with winnable games against Melbourne, Adelaide and Sydney to come, all in Melbourne, but not on tonight's poor showing.

http://www.heraldsun.news.com.au/footy/common/story_page/0,8033,22224895%5E20322,00.html

[one-eyed]

Tigers give Pies' push a towelling
Len Johnson | August 11, 2007

RICHMOND stunned Collingwood with two goals in the first two minutes of the game, then kept on stunning the Magpies all night, taking its second win of the season by 20 points.

With a swirling wind making life difficult for tall forwards, the Tigers were led brilliantly by Brett Deledio, who kicked five goals in a magnificent display as a small marking forward. Paul Medhurst kicked three at the other end, matching Anthony Rocca as the Pies' leading scoreboard contributor.

A sound-system malfunction meant that the Richmond theme song could not be played. So after waiting that long for a win, Tiger fans had to carry the tune on their own. It scarcely mattered. After a hesitant start, We're from Tigerland rang around the ground.

Although playing a higher-possession game than Collingwood, Richmond had the ball more than 100 times more than the Magpies — as significant as any other measure of Collingwood's misery on the night.

The win means Richmond may avoid the wooden spoon, but the implications for Collingwood are stark. Still at least one win short of ensuring a place in the top eight, the Pies' percentage dropped to right on 100. They play Sydney and Adelaide in the last two rounds after they meet Melbourne at the MCG next Friday.

That game should be a "gimme", but this one looked that way in prospect, too.

Richmond led by 13 points at three-quarter-time, the siren robbing Matthew Richardson of a shot to put it further ahead. The talismanic Tiger forward had run around the man on the mark but then had two more defenders to beat when the siren sounded.

With the game in the balance, Richmond got the first three goals of the final term to rocket to a 32-point lead. Collingwood needed everything to go right from there, but several attacks fell down before Rocca got its first of the term 14 minutes in. By then, Richmond was not going to fall prey to nerves.

Collingwood led, and then only briefly, for the first time 10 minutes into the third term after Rocca and Medhurst got the first goals of the half.

Shane Edwards levelled the scores when he ran into an open goal for the Tigers' 12th. Then followed a 10-minute period of stalemate, broken by successive Richmond goals to Deledio, Cameron Howat and Richardson that put the Tigers 18 points up.

The Tigers led by eight points at half-time as Collingwood chalked up a six-goal second term. Ironically for a team whose kicking skills have often been lamentable, Richmond's accuracy in front of goal was the difference. From five scoring shots, it scored five goals straight, while Collingwood, with six more shots, scored one more goal.

Deledio was everywhere for Richmond, with three goals in the first half and involvement in a couple more. For Collingwood, Leon Davis and Dale Thomas had two each.

The Magpies crept to within a goal early in the second term with goals to Rocca and Davis. Richardson answered for the Tigers when he goaled from a free and then Nathan Brown restored all but a point of the quarter-time lead with the goal of the night.

It was a case of double larceny. Josh Fraser looked pretty good as he stole the ball out of the air in a ruck contest, but Brown trumped him with a smother off the boot and steal of the ball, which he dribbled through from 15 minutes out.

Deledio found Greg Tivendale in traffic a minute or so later and his goal put the Tigers 24 points ahead, their biggest lead of the half. But Collingwood surged back to reduced the half-time margin to only eight points.

Richmond got two goals in the first two minutes of the game. The brace were bagged in identical fashion, a Nathan Foley centre-square clearance straight down to Graham Polak.

James Clement, playing on Polak, must have thought he still had double vision.

At the end of the quarter, the Tigers led by 19 points. The scoreboard for most of the quarter had not reflected their dominance.

http://realfooty.com.au/news/rfmatchreport/tigers-triumph-rocks-pies/2007/08/10/1186530625659.html?page=fullpage#contentSwap1

[one-eyed]

Tiger whispers with deafening roar
11 August 2007   Herald Sun
Mark Stevens

ALL week, the jungle drums were beating. The Tigers had set themselves.

There were whispers about bruising training sessions, player pacts and a resolve to make a statement on the Friday night stage.

Inside two minutes at the MCG last night, it was obvious the scuttlebutt was spot-on.

Richmond coach Terry Wallace made his intentions clear, signalling all-out attack by throwing defender Graham Polak forward as a marking target.

Nathan Foley won the first clearance, Polak marked 30m out and threaded the goal.

A minute later, Polak marked again. As untidy as the set shot looked, it sailed through from 40m.

Richmond 2.0, Collingwood 0.0. Wallace, under the pump for weeks, would not have dreamed of a sharper start.

And from that moment on, the Magpies found themselves in a dangerous game of catch-up.

The Tigers set the tempo, won much more of the ball and dominated, for all but a wobbly patch either side of the halftime break.

After opening up a 19-point break at quarter-time, Richmond led by 22 as the clock ticked past 24 minutes in the second term.

Then came the only burst from a generally flat Collingwood outfit.

Goals to Scott Burns and Leon Davis cut the deficit to just eight points at the long break.

Understandably, the doubters began to predict the brave Tigers would fall over.

And 12 minutes into the third term, the Pies were a goal up after slotting the first two of the third term.

But that is where Collingwood's fight ended.

The Pies, who started as short as a $1.11 favourites, looked second-rate from then on.

The Tigers kicked three of the last four goals of the term, taking a 13-point lead into the three-quarter time break.

From there, the kill was quick.

Brett Deledio, a constant threat all night, beat James Clement on the lead and kicked truly from 45m four minutes into the final term.

A minute later, Foley accepted a handball from Shane Tuck in the middle, took two bounces and drilled it at full-tilt from 40m.

When Kayne Pettifer snapped a goal on his left seven minutes in, the Tigers led by 32. Game over.

Given Pettifer celebrated with an audacious high-step run, it must have been.

The Magpies managed the last two goals of the match and were flattered by the 20-point margin.

For a side once talked about as a premiership threat, it was a horrible performance.

Apart from the dash of Dale Thomas and moments of brilliance from Davis, there was little to excite Magpies supporters.

Again, the Pies looked slow in the midfield. And with the Tigers loading up with Matthew Richardson and Polak in the forward half, they struggled to defend in the air.

At the other end, Anthony Rocca and Travis Cloke had nights to forget.

Collingwood needs two wins from its last three to book a certain finals berth. On last night's form, that looks a monumental task.

But as much as the serious news story was the ramifications of the Pies' stumble, Richmond was magnificent.

Not only did every Tiger go to the boundary to hand out balls, but they also gathered as a group to thank the cheer squad.

Extraordinary celebration

IT WAS probably the longest on-field celebration for a side with two wins after 19 rounds, but why not?

Fans were still singing the song half an hour after the game and no doubt revelling in Foley's heroics.

Foley not only kicked a telling goal, but won the ball 27 times. Throw in nine clearances (including six of the golden centre variety) and you have a clear winner for best-on-ground honours.

Deledio kicked five goals on five different opponents – Tyson Goldsack, Harry O'Brien, Alan Toovey, Clement and Nick Maxwell.

Give Brett a hand

IT WAS just Deledio's second game back from a broken hand, yet it was arguably his best performance since being taken at No. 1 in the 2005 national draft.

Joel Bowden stitched up Rocca and set up attacks, Richardson presented all night up forward and Jake King provided grunt and run down back.

The Tigers finished with a whopping 119 more disposals.

Sure, they made mistakes, but at least they dared to win.

The jungle drums are still ringing.

http://www.heraldsun.news.com.au/footy/common/story_page/0,8033,22225602%255E20322,00.html

[one-eyed]

Richmond stands up and Woods wobble
11 August 2007   Herald Sun
Mark Robinson

IF THE legendary Lou Richards was still calling footy, he'd say the wobble was back in Collingwood.

You may smile, but the Magpies have the staggers.

A 15-goal loss at the hands of Brisbane, limped home over Carlton and then last night, an inglorious 20-point defeat against a team that had managed only one win and a draw in 18 matches.

By the end of the weekend the Pies could be seventh and by the end of August out of the eight altogether.

They have Melbourne, Sydney and Adelaide to come and if they lose all three, their 11 wins won't be enough.

Suddenly, next week's game against the Demons is a must-win. It is David Neitz's 300th game - he's the first Melbourne player to achieve the milestone - and if Collingwood thinks Richmond came out with attitude last night, then it should be very wary of the Demons.

Melbourne must be every show because Collingwood last night could not compete against a hyped-up Richmond and, hyped-up or not, the Tigers have been an embarrassment over the past month.

It was an amazingly bad night for Collingwood. Its highest possession-winner was Shane O'Bree with 18. Paul Licuria was next with 17. It was outrun, smashed in marks and clearances - Tigers Nathan Foley had nine and Shane Tuck 10 - and kicked the last two goals of the game to make it closer than it really was.

If that is finals-bound football, then Mick Molloy is funny.

Last night Anthony Rocca kicked three goals but was closer to bad than good, Travis Cloke managed just one behind, leaving Paul Medhurst and Leon Davis to scrounge five between them.

The team's ability to find the ball is again in question.

Dane Swan (13 touches), Dale Thomas (14), Ben Johnson (13), Rhyce Shaw (13) and Josh Fraser (11) is poor maths.

Richmond had six players with more than 24 and, let's be honest, the Tigers' midfield is no Bourke, Barrott and Clay, although Foley will leave the club in a decade's time with an outstanding reputation. He has one already.

His goal five minutes into the final quarter, when he took the ball from the centre bounce and took two bounces galloping through centre half-forward, brought the Tiger hordes to their feet.

Richmond deserved this one, plain and simple.

Graham Polak started forward and had two goals in two minutes on James Clement.

It was attacking football from coach Terry Wallace. Indeed, with Polak as the second target, the Tigers' forward line which had appeared so limp, suddenly had pump: Matthew Richardson, Polak, Nathan Brown, Kayne Pettifer and Brett Deledio are plenty of weapons.

Usually a line-breaker and ball carrier through the back half, Deledio started deep forward and kicked five goals from 10 kicks. His 15 touches included 11 contested winners which shows, after three years, Deledio has the tricks to go one-on-one.

The best part about this win was how the Tigers stood up when challenged early in the third quarter. They found a spirit that was long dormant and its emergence was almost orgasmic for the tortured souls in their yellow-and-black bomber jackets.

So impressed were Tigers fans that they gave their players a standing ovation at quarter-time. They did it again at three-quarter time.

As they swamped the disappointing Magpies in the final term, the Tigers faithful cheered and clapped and acted like they were at their best New Year's Eve party - ever. For example. Luke McGuane spoils in the last quarter - standing ovation. Hands in the back free kick to Daniel Jackson - standing ovation. Rocca hits the post with 20 seconds to play - an enormous ovation. Final siren - delirium.

The only problem was the failure of the PA system to belt out the theme song. But that didn't matter. They were dancing in the aisles, anyway.

http://www.heraldsun.news.com.au/footy/common/story_page/0,8033,22225782%255E20322,00.html

[bluey_21]

deledio 11 contested possies playing up forward. 

anyone calling him soft has NFI

[one-eyed]

Win makes life easier: Tuck
12:10 PM Sat 11 August, 2007
By Russell Holmesby
for richmondfc.com.au

SHANE Tuck admits he stopped reading newspapers several weeks ago as criticism of Richmond mounted.

“Half way through the year I stopped reading the papers and listening to people. The only people I listen to now is the coach and fellow players. It makes life a lot easier.”

Richmond players and fans have every reason to be chirpy this weekend after the Tigers created one of the biggest upsets of season 2007 in beating Collingwood on Friday night at the MCG.

For Tuck it was all about pride in the club.

“Obviously everybody watches Friday night footy so we wanted to make a good impression with Kayne Pettifers’s 100th and Richard Tambling’s 50th.

“We’ve had a pretty ordinary year so far and just wanted to finish off with a few wins.”

He praised the performance of fellow midfielder Nathan Foley, who played a stunning game, continuing the form which has some Tiger fans talking of All-Australian selection.

“He’s having a great year and I hope he goes on with it. He’d be leading our best and fairest for sure. He works his arse off, so it’s great to see him going like that.”

It was Foley who combined with Graham Polak to give the Tigers a perfect start – two goals in two minutes, without a Magpie touching the ball.

“He’s been having a fantastic year out of the centre and Polly [Graham Polak] down forward taking a couple of marks was a great start.

The stunning opening was just what the doctor ordered, but Tuck says Richmond’s main priority was to maintain their output in the second half.

“Our emphasis was that we had been starting well and keeping with sides in the first half then tapering off.

“There was a couple of times where we might have switched off for 10 minutes, and an emphasis was on the second half, just to keep going through and on with it.

“Our first 40 minutes was fantastic. We dropped off a bit at the end of the second quarter but it worked out well in the end.”

Regarding his own form, Tuck has only been partly satisfied this season.

“It’s an improvement on last year and I still think there is a lot more improvement for me to do.

“I try and teach the young kids a little bit through the midfield, although Nathan [Foley] teaches himself. I’m just trying to get a kick and front up every week.”

As Tuck chatted following the win, Richmond fans ensured the club song continued to ring around the MCG.

“Tiger fans are amazing. They’ve backed us all year when we’ve been down. It’s been a long time coming and they really enjoyed it tonight.”

Tuck paid credit to coach Terry Wallace for maintaining the club’s enthusiasm over the tough recent weeks.

“Terry’s done a fantastic job and tried to keep it upbeat.

“Sometimes the media take some things and say this and that. I just try to listen to the coach and listen to Kane Johnson.”

http://richmondfc.com.au/Season2007/News/NewsArticle/tabid/6301/Default.aspx?newsId=48962

[one-eyed]

Relaxed Tigers unstoppable against Pies
Emma Quayle | August 12, 2007 | The Age

AFTER Richmond lost to Fremantle eight rounds ago, Chris Newman went to a Perth hospital with two broken ribs, a punctured lung and yet another loss on his mind.

So determined was the defender not only to travel home with his teammates but to play in their next game that he had a tube pushed into his chest to help him breathe on the plane.

"I had it inserted just under my armpit. It just helped release the air up there. If I didn't have it done, I would have had to drive home, so I was pretty keen on doing it," he said.

"I was a bit worried about coming back and playing. I wasn't sure how I'd go, but I had a good feeling that we'd win and I wanted to try and contribute any way I could. That was our only win for the year, so I'm glad I did."

The Tigers beat Melbourne that week, and Newman had a similarly good feeling in the days leading up to their Friday night match against Collingwood. He thought the players understood exactly what they wanted to do, which gave them confidence, and that all pressure was now off.

"We've got nothing to lose now," he said. "That's the case for the rest of the year. We just have to play and take risks. We did that tonight and it was good."

Richmond started fast, and had a 19-point lead at quarter-time. Graham Polak's surprise appearance in the forward line snared two early goals, and Brett Deledio brought more star power to the front half. He kicked two of his five goals in the first term.

Collingwood sneaked back in the second term, getting within a kick when Dale Thomas burst into an open goal, but two quick goals gave the Tigers some space and they were 22 points up before goals to Leon Davis and Scott Burns reduced the half-time margin to 10.

The Magpies hit their first, small lead with consecutive goals in the first 12 minutes of the third term, but Richmond wasn't worried. Speed machine Shane Edwards zoomed into goal to snatch the lead back, Deledio scored again and a long, running goal to Cam Howat made more space.

If the game wasn't over then, it was after Nathan Foley tore out of the centre square five minutes into the last term, with absolutely nothing on his mind but scoring. His goal, and another to Kayne Pettifer, put Richmond 32 points clear, before two late Magpie goals meant the final margin was 20 points.

Foley was exceptional, and Deledio excellent. Daniel Jackson and Jake King continue to improve, while Collingwood's good players were harder to find. Paul Medhurst and Anthony Rocca scored three goals each, with Thomas providing the only genuine energy to a lacklustre midfield.

For Newman, the move of Polak to the forward half was an important one. Partly because it brought that quick start, but also because it gave young defenders Luke McGuane and Will Thursfield the chance to speed up their learning without him around to help.

"They were terrific. We knew that Collingwood's silk is down forward, and we thought it was going to be a tough game. It was, and those boys did really well," he said.

"Joel Bowden held his own, which helped, and Luke and Will are starting to find some consistent form. I think the more roles they do, the more confidence they'll get. Hopefully, they can finish off the year well and take it into the pre-season, knowing that they can play."

Newman's lung and ribs are fine now, as is the leg he broke last season. Unlike Nathan Brown, the defender has had no trouble with the metal rod that has allowed him to play on it, and that he hopes to have removed in the next month or two.

"It just keeps surprising me. It's been pulling up really well," he said. "I've had no problems whatsoever with it this year. Hopefully, it can stay that way and I can take the rod out at the end of the year and focus on having a full pre-season."

http://www.realfooty.com.au/news/news/relaxed-tiges-unstoppable-against-pies/2007/08/11/1186530678465.html?page=fullpage#contentSwap1

[one-eyed]

A roaring success
12 August 2007   Sunday Herald Sun
Jon Ralph

TOO often this year at Tigerland, responsibility has been a phrase absent from the lexicon.

The kids' poor showing was the recruiters' fault; the performances of senior players was because of gaps on the list; the coaches couldn't be blamed for everything.

What it adds up to is finger-pointing, indecision and a general malaise that results in timid football.

All that changed for Richmond on Friday night.

Witness the performances of a host of match-winners thrust into the limelight:

Undersized Joel Bowden is given the job on Anthony Rocca and finishes well on top with a miserly defence to add to his 31 touches.

Graham Polak starting forward is a match-winner rather than a loose defender and kicks two goals in as many minutes to kick-start Richmond's momentum.

Will Thursfield is given the perfect match-up on in-form centre half-forward Travis Cloke and gives him a belting.

Brett Deledio goes forward to become a leading target after a year of going backwards and becomes the player the football community expects of him.

Adam Pattison, in and out of the side all year, finally lifts with an 18-possession, 16-hitout game that eclipsed highly rated Josh Fraser.

We can wonder why it took as long as it did, or give Richmond its dues for a sensational one-off win.

And it is amazing how the performances of a host of lesser-lights come to the fore when a team is on the run rather than frantically back-tracking on its way to a 10-goal loss.

Shane Tuck turns from a hard-at-it plodder who wastes the ball into a 10-clearance ball magnet, whose occasional helicopters can be forgiven.

Kayne Pettifer goes from a glory-seeker intent on boosting his goal tally above all else to a match-winner who can amass 14 second-half possessions and kick two critical goals.

And the kids overlooked in assessing Richmond's season - Jake King, Luke McGuane, Daniel Jackson, Shane Edwards - begin to develop some added lustre.

None of it guarantees anything next year, but finally there is love in the air, even if it may only last until the clash against West Coast.

http://www.heraldsun.news.com.au/footy/common/story_page/0,8033,22227094%255E19771,00.html

[{X}]

deledio 11 contested possies playing up forward. 

anyone calling him soft has NFI

early on in the season he was playing soft, but he surely heard that the X man wasnt happy and since i gave him a pasting on here , he has definatley lifted in contested footy.

11 during the game was great, many of those were marks 

when is the last time buddy won 11 contested balls in the fwd line


as i said yesterday, lids is a fwd, not an onballer. keep him up fwd and let blingers run in the middle!

[julzqld]

flip flop

[one-eyed]

Finally, movement in the cellar
Tim Lane | August 13, 2007

WHILE the failure of Collingwood and the Western Bulldogs to grasp opportunity was the headline, the weekend victories of Richmond and Melbourne were a good story. The two bottom teams have impacted on the make-up of the eight, as well as the discussion about who should be coaching them. They have also won back some respect.

The competition's lower echelon has had a bad reputation recently. The bottom three had won one of 15 games between them over five weeks, two coaches had been dumped, and there was even talk of "tanking". The cellar has lately been a seedy part of the world.

Well, its image has had an upgrade. Not only did the Tigers and Demons win, but Carlton again performed boldly. If the one club that could gain a priority draft pick is trying to lose, it is disguising it brilliantly. Suddenly, the bottom three look capable of doing what is the lower bracket's time-honoured right: shaping the destinies of some of the teams above them.

At the least, Richmond has upset Collingwood's plans, which, in the eyes of football folk of all persuasions, is a meaningful contribution. At the best, Terry Wallace's men have shown there might be better times not too far ahead.

In Nathan Foley they appear to have found a player with all the best qualities. Described by Matthew Richardson as the hardest worker at the club, and by Wallace as "our best role model", Foley sets the right tone for a team striving for respect.

So does Will Thursfield, who, along with Foley, comprised impecunious Richmond's two-man rookie list in 2005, a year in which both played their first few senior games. After round two last year, though, Foley was dropped and Thursfield's season was over due to a knee injury. Foley missed one game and hasn't looked back, while Thursfield returned in this year's opening round and has played every game. At a club where hard work and tough times have to be confronted before respect can be won, two 21-year-olds are delivering the perfect message.

That will be most appreciated by Wallace, as the pressure on him has been growing since the announcement of Kevin Sheedy's imminent departure from Windy Hill. Friday night spoke of hope through youth, just the look Wallace needs to project.

http://www.realfooty.com.au/news/news/finally-movement-in-the-cellar/2007/08/12/1186857347007.html

[one-eyed]

A win over Collingwood will do
Waleed Aly | August 13, 2007 | The Age

Long, hard, tough seasons build character. The relentless disappointment, the sheer endurance of watching ritual floggings in the biting winter cold, the constant humiliation from peers — I am convinced that those who survive these experiences emerge as better people.

By this theory, then, my fellow Richmond supporters and I must be among the most virtuous on the planet. Those of us too young to remember when the Tigers wore woollen jumpers and were sponsored by Tetley's have been building character our whole lives. By now, we are spectacularly over-endowed with it. We do not have conversations reminiscing about glory days. We have sophisticated debates about which season was worst. Take your pick.

Non-Richmond people might quickly nominate 2007. Recent weeks have produced that most damning of football comparisons: Fitzroy. Frightening stuff, really, given the Roys were reduced almost to amateur status by the time of their collapse in 1996.

No doubt, Richmond's 2007 has appeared impossibly barren. One win in 18 weeks is difficult to do. You'd think at least three victories would arise simply by accident. But as a Tigers man, it is my parochial duty to place the season in perspective. Viewed properly, 2007 now may be deemed successful.

I don't mean this in any sort of we're-building-for-the-future-and-playing-the-kids-who'll-win-our-next-premiership kind of way. Frankly, I'm worried about our kids. Our forward line post-Richo looks brittle. Our young key-position hopefuls seem stalled in the twos. No, I mean our season, as an isolated event, on its own terms, is a success.

No doubt you will point to round six, when Geelong thumped us by 157 points. At least we're setting records, I say. And we can, and do, take credit for kick-starting the Cats' year. They were rubbish before that game. A club as great as ours is always shaping the finals in profound ways.

But take that game out, and we've been consistently in the hunt. We easily could have been in the top four with a few well-placed goals here and there. Since about round eight, I've been telling anyone who'll listen that the 2007 Tigers are the best worst side in league history. I stand by that.

You might not consider this sufficient basis on which to declare a season successful. And I'd agree. All year, something had been missing. But hereabouts, definitions are important. And, as any Richmond fan can tell you, the definition of a successful season is not one in which you make the finals. It is a season in which you beat Collingwood. To beat Carlton and Essendon as well constitutes a super season. The rest, premierships included, are details.

Those who have wondered aloud why Terry Wallace has escaped scrutiny in a year when other coaches have fallen fail to understand this. Now, Terry is a genius again. The Pies are struggling. Life is sweet. It might be true that Richmond fans haven't heard much of their song this year. Even on Friday night, we were robbed — some technical malfunction meant the song couldn't be played. It matters little. As of Friday night, our season is complete.

http://realfooty.com.au/news/news/beating-pies-will-do/2007/08/12/1186857347010.html

[wayne]

Richmond stands up and Woods wobble
11 August 2007   Herald Sun
Mark Robinson

If that is finals-bound football, then Mick Molloy is funny.
http://www.heraldsun.news.com.au/footy/common/story_page/0,8033,22225782%255E20322,00.html

 
lol - it's funny 'cos it's true