Richmond vs West Coast

[mightytiges]

Playing the Eagles in Perth will most likely be a reality check after Friday night's party but they won't have Embley who did his hammy today and Lynch is on report for charging and going by the vision he could be in trouble.

[one-eyed]

Judd is still under a injury cloud too.

[Tigermonk]

Embley out hamstring
Judd out groin
Lynch out suspended

[tigersalive]

Cousins on crutches upon arrival in Perth I read somewhere I'm pretty sure. 

[one-eyed]

Lynch got off his charging report. The tribunal said contact was unavoidable.

Jacko didn't need to answer his wrestling charge with Ben Johnson but Ben Johnson got a reprimand and points towards his future record  .

[WilliamPowell]

Alas I am not making this trip - they'll probably win now 

[Mopsy]

Lynch got off his charging report. The tribunal said contact was unavoidable.

Jacko didn't need to answer his wrestling charge with Ben Johnson but Ben Johnson got a reprimand and points towards his future record  .

Jacko is a good boy

[mightytiges]

Lynch got off his charging report. The tribunal said contact was unavoidable.

Yep the knee in the back was unavoidable  ???.

[one-eyed]

Plough confirms Tucky will need share the ruck duties along with Patto, Polak and Richo:
 

With three of the club's ruckmen out for the rest of the season, the situation is not likely to improve for Foley or the Tigers, with Wallace suggesting yesterday he might have to draft Shane Tuck, who stands only 189 centimetres, into the ruck this week as a support to Pattison.

Tuck played in the ruck during the pre-season and has enough strength and leap to compete well enough to often halve the contest. Matthew Richardson and Graham Polak, who have both played in the ruck at times this year, also will be options.

"Tucky's strong enough to be able to compete physically with them but obviously nowhere near tall enough to do the other side of things and Graham's not a huge man in himself," Wallace said.

http://www.realfooty.com.au/news/news/foley-deserves-to-be-allaustralian-wallace/2007/08/14/1186857513235.html

[one-eyed]

Forward scout: West Coast Eagles
2:48 PM Thu 16 August, 2007
By Greg Lange,
for richmondfc.com.au

LAST WEEK

The month prior to the game against the Magpies had been inconsistent. We played some okay quarters but when the other team got momentum we cracked and had a 10-goal loss. So the win against Collingwood was important. We played well for the whole night and it has given everyone a bit of faith that the direction we are taking is the right one.
 
THIS WEEK

There is no doubt West Coast has been a mixed bag of late; they won some games away, were beaten against Fremantle two weeks ago and have had the odd injury concern. However, they have still held together and are still playing a high-quality brand of footy.

I suppose everyone has the fear when you go interstate it is always challenge to see how you stack up against a good side. We are pleased with where our boys are at and are just hoping we can give a similar output like we did last Friday night.

THIS WEEK’S FORWARD LINE STRUCTURE

At times we have had three genuine talls up there. Last week we had two, and we consider Brett Deledio in between – he is very good at ground level, tackles very hard and marked well last week.

We have Kayne Pettifer, Nathan Brown and Shane Edwards as well, so, we are pretty happy with the mix and unlikely to change too much. There might be a slight personnel change through there but as far as the set up of tall to small and mid range it will be fairly similar.

YOUNG TIGERS ON THE PROWL

Will Thursfield has been fantastic this year since he has come off the back of a major knee injury. He will get a big job on whoever he plays on this weekend. Luke McGuane is in the same boat, Nathan Foley is going to cop a bit of attention, as a result of how well he has played, and Adam Pattison is also going to have a tough task against two quality ruckman. This week we will see how they can stack up against quality players in a fairly hostile environment.

GRAHAM POLAK – RECRUIT OF THE YEAR

He has been a real win for us. He probably stalled just a little bit prior to last week, having as couple of down weeks where the year got hold of him a little bit. In saying that, he has played a high percentage of game time and has not missed a game.

Last week he went forward and started like a bomb and got us off to flyer. Then he was able to play a good forward role for the rest of the night – even though he did not hit the scoreboard again. It could be something similar for Graham this week but he is very versatile, which is very pleasing for us.

GAME STYLE

I imagine, with the way the Eagles have played of late, it will definitely be a hard-running one-on-one game. There is no doubt, with the size of the ground and the way they run and the way we are capable of running, the game will be decided by who gains control of the midfield. Hopefully this weekend it will be by us. 

WHEN LAST WE MET

Richmond v West Coast at the MCG, round five, 2007: West Coast 14.15 (99) d Richmond 11.10 (76).

WIN PERCENTAGE

Richmond v West Coast: 36.67 per cent

Richmond at Subiaco Oval: 20.00 per cent

West Coast at Subiaco Oval: 63.72 per cent

Richmond v West Coast at Subiaco Oval: 90.91 per cent (Eagles)

http://richmondfc.com.au/Season2007/News/NewsArticle/tabid/6301/Default.aspx?newsId=49212

[one-eyed]

Bookies' odds:

Head to Head
West Coast   $1.09 
Richmond      $6.50

Line
WCE   -39.5 Pts    $1.90 
Rich    +39.5 Pts   $1.90

Margin
West Coast Under 39.5 Pts   $2.25 
West Coast Over 39.5 Pts     $1.90 
Draw  $51.00 
Richmond Under 39.5 Pts    $7.25 
Richmond Over 39.5 Pts     $30.00 

[one-eyed]

A Eagles supporter on BF is saying Cousins is out with hammy tightness?

http://www.bigfooty.com/forum/showthread.php?t=360013

[one-eyed]

Eagles sweat on Judd
Breaking News - The Age
August 17, 2007 - 5:24PM

West Coast will give star midfielder Chris Judd until the last minute to prove his fitness for the clash with lowly Richmond at Subiaco Oval, as injury concerns mount over several key Eagles.

There has been speculation Judd's ongoing groin problems would see him rested for the home clash against the last-placed Tigers.

But West Coast assistant coach Tony Micale said the Eagles were committed to playing the Brownlow Medallist if he was able to contribute.

Judd again played little part in training and has been noticeably restricted in recent weeks, gathering just 11 possessions in last weekend's win over the Kangaroos.

He had just 14 a week earlier in the loss to Fremantle.

With every match crucial as the Eagles eye a top-two finish, Micale said the final decision on Judd would be left until Saturday morning.

"He'll go through his usual procedure and we'll make a decision on him tomorrow morning," he said.

"He's no worse (than in previous weeks) and probably no better.

"He's pretty happy with where he is at, at the moment.

"With a player of Judd's calibre, if he is anywhere near right we would want to play him."

While Judd's availability remains in doubt, there were further concerns for the Eagles when Ben Cousins, Daniel Kerr and Chad Fletcher, who was recalled for his first game since round 14, all left the training track early.

Cousins pulled up sore after hurting his ankle in the win over the Kangaroos, but the Eagles are confident he will play.

Fletcher has played just six games this season, but gathered more than 30 possessions in the WAFL last weekend to earn a recall, despite himself battling a nagging groin injury.

Micale said he was confident the left-footer would perform to the required level despite his recent injury concerns.

"Hopefully, he can find some of that (WAFL) form for us tomorrow," Micale said.

"When you look at those figures from the weekend, you would think he is travelling pretty well."

Premiership utility Rowan Jones was named as an emergency and is on stand-by should the Eagles make a late change.

Micale said there was no way the Eagles would underestimate Richmond after their shock win over Collingwood.

"The great thing that came out of it was Richmond doing what they did last Friday night," he said.

"Not that we would go in underprepared, but it certainly should make our players aware that there are no easy games in the AFL."

Micale said the Eagles would use their hard run and ball carrying ability to beat the Tigers.

Eagles ruckman Dean Cox shapes as a key factor in the match, with Troy Simmonds and young big man Angus Graham both missing from the Richmond side.

Graham, who underwent season-ending injury during the week, was replaced in Richmond's side by young key forward Jack Riewoldt.

http://www.theage.com.au/news/Sport/Eagles-sweat-on-Judd/2007/08/17/1186857758212.html

[one-eyed]

Cousins, Judd may miss Tiger clash
Craig O'Donoghue | August 18, 2007 | The Age

WEST Coast's match committee faces a crunch call this morning when it decides whether to risk key midfielders Ben Cousins and Chris Judd for tonight's game against Richmond at Subiaco Oval.

Judd has continued his weekly battle to manage a serious groin injury that forced him to play as a forward pocket against the Kangaroos last weekend, and he spent yesterday walking laps while the rest of the team trained. The premiership captain has barely trained for weeks and appeared in pain when he kicked the ball last week.

While Judd has been in doubt for weeks, Cousins' injury is a fresh drama. The former captain has carried hamstring soreness since injuring the muscle five weeks ago and failed to complete the warm-up yesterday before feeling for his leg and leaving the field.

West Coast football manager Steve Woodhouse denied the Brownlow medallist had strained the muscle but said the match committee would wait until just hours before the game before deciding whether he would play. Adding to the drama, Cousins is also battling an ankle injury.

Richmond assistant coach David King and director of coaching Brian Royal kept a close eye on the star duo at training and Tigers' coach Terry Wallace said the club felt Judd was more likely to play than Cousins.

"He didn't look too upbeat so we would be more likely to think that Juddy will play and that Ben looks a little bit doubtful," Wallace said. "You always plan for them to play, so we'll go in with all our plans the same as they've been all week."

http://www.realfooty.com.au/news/news/cousins-judd-may-miss-tiger-clash/2007/08/17/1186857775936.html

[julzqld]