Richmond desperately seeking credibility
The Age
May 31, 2008 - 3:24PM
Richmond are determined not to allow Sydney to smash them in the stoppages on Sunday when they strive to boost credibility by finally collecting a leading AFL scalp.
While the Tigers have run several of the leading sides close and drawn with the Bulldogs, their three victories have all been registered against teams in the bottom eight.
Sydney coach Paul Roos showered the Tigers with plaudits this week, but his Richmond counterpart Terry Wallace conceded his team were still striving for credibility, despite being adamant they were improving.
"We played all the sides in the eight in the early part of the season and we believe we're going better against the better sides in the competition than we have in the past," Wallace said at the SCG on Saturday.
"For us, this is another opportunity to show where we are at.
"You only get respect from what you do on the park. We have improved. This time last year we had a 70 per cent ratio and we're on 100 at the moment and that definitely shows we've improved a lot."
Wallace stressed the importance of Richmond not getting bogged down in a stoppage-dominated contest.
"We've got to be able to get hold of the footy and be able to break out of stoppages, that's probably our major area that we need to concentrate on," Wallace said.
"If we do that, we believe we've got the speed and run and carry in our side, but you've just got to be able to break out and break away from that stoppage style of play (Sydney) are good at."
While the Tigers' improvement hasn't necessarily been reflected in their win-loss record (3-5 with one draw), Roos and Sydney midfielder Luke Ablett were wary of the challenge Richmond posed at the SCG on Sunday.
"I certainly like the way they are going about their footy and they are starting to get some results from their efforts, they've played some good footy against some of the better teams," Roos said.
"They are a very, very capable side, they are a hard side ... it's going to be a very, very hard game."
Ablett was impressed by the pressure Richmond were applying on teams this season.
"It's made a huge difference, we saw some footage and the pressure they put on Essendon was as good as anyone," Ablett said.
While Sydney are nudging the top four and coming off successive victories against Essendon and Port Adelaide, Roos was certain his side were capable of delivering better football.
"There's no question we think our best footy is to come and we think we can keep getting better," Roos said.
A win at the SCG on Sunday would represent the 1,000th in the history of the South Melbourne-Sydney club.
Richmond named an unchanged side, while Sydney recalled defender Tadhg Kennelly in place of youngster Tim Schmidt.
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