Richmond coach Terry Wallace will field his strongest side against Port Adelaide
By Jesper Fjeldstad
May 17, 2009
Richmond coach Terry Wallace says the true worth of his team will be judged as the Tigers seek to emulate last year's round 13 upset of Port Adelaide.
At the top of the list of important inclusions for Richmond are Nathan Brown and Andrew Raines, who will add class to a side that has had no problems in getting its hands on the ball but butchered it on its way to a 1-6 record.
Add to that Ben Cousins, who is playing himself into the form that tempted the Tigers to sign him in spite of a year out of the game.
AAMI Stadium holds few fears for the Tigers, who have won there against Port in two of their past three matches and named their strongest side on paper for the season.
"It probably is (our strongest team for the year) from an experience point of view," Wallace said during a light training session on Saturday afternoon.
"We've had a few inexperienced sides in for the first five or six rounds.
"This is a lot closer to what we expect to be fielding as a team.
"Obviously a couple of guys are underdone, so we're probably three or four weeks away from exactly where we want to be. But certainly, from a personnel point of view, it's our strongest side."
Wallace talked up the beleaguered ground, but his view will be countered by critics as being coloured by Richmond's recent wins there.
"It's a great venue and I think from a pure footy perspective - the ground and the size of the ground - most teams would like to play at the venue," he said.
"Against Port Adelaide, two out of the last three we've managed to come away with the points.
"But it's not a history lesson. Every circumstance is different."
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