One-Eyed Richmond Forum
Football => Match reports and stats => Topic started by: mightytiges on July 10, 2005, 09:04:14 PM
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The crunch game should be next week. Win against the Saints and we'll make September given our draw contains Carlton and Hawthorn which would give us 12 wins. And we owe them still for Thomas' comment about "we're still the better team" even after we bet them 2 years ago and the few hidings we've copped since then.
Two 8 point games in the next 2 weeks given the Saints and Port are the only two sides outside the top 8 that can knock us out. We could lose both and fall outside the top 8 but still scrap into the finals but this way destiny is in our own hands to cement our spot if we're good enough.
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My view going into Saturday's game was if we beat Essendon we'll play finals. I am confident we will do that.
St Kilda had the luxury today of playing Carlton will hopefully will have them thinking they are in top form - which they aint
Going into this week beat St Kilda and my season will be complete ;D - can't stand 'em and they are one of only 3 teams every year I am desperate for the tiges to beat
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So who goes on Milne this time? Does Thirsty get first crack?
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So who goes on Milne this time? Does Thirsty get first crack?
Thirsty is 190cm tall so I don't think he'll match up on the much smaller Milne. I'm not sure who else other than Newman we've got to play that role with Hartigan copping concussion at Coburg :-\.
The other problem we have is how do we replace Kellaway? Not only defensively but he's been averaging 17 possessions a game in a rebounding role. That's a big hole to fill.
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So who goes on Milne this time? Does Thirsty get first crack?
Thirsty is 190cm tall so I don't think he'll match up on the much smaller Milne. I'm not sure who else other than Newman we've got to play that role with Hartigan copping concussion at Coburg :-\.
The other problem we have is how do we replace Kellaway? Not only defensively but he's been averaging 17 possessions a game in a rebounding role. That's a big hole to fill.
thursfield may just get the gig as milne carved newman up at th edome last time , but the g is a new ball game.
i am very confident we can beat them at the g! esp with st nick out. all we have to do is hold the g train.
jackson played really well in the 2nds and has pace so he may be given a task on milne next week who knows and as 4 chubba , morrison and shultz both cleaned up again 4 ciburg and one of them will be recalled.
foley is the question, he has to be rewarded 4 effort, its time tivendale was dropped and foley came in, 47 possessions means he has earned his spot imo
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Hopefully the gods smile on us again and give us another rainy day so the Saints can't expose us with their fast moving skilfull game.
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jackson played really well in the 2nds and has pace so he may be given a task on milne next week who knows and as 4 chubba , morrison and shultz both cleaned up again 4 ciburg and one of them will be recalled.
The poll on the RFC site askes who should replace injured Tiger Andrew Kellaway in the backline?
Jay Schulz 50%
Daniel Jackson 29%
Shane Morrison 9%
Kyle Archibald 2%
Kelvin Moore 11%
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Club doctors say it'll be 6-8 weeks for Kellaway. The operation he had went well with the wiring it up of the jaw and all. Chubba could be back earlier depending on when he feels comfortable. The Club are hoping he'll be no more than 6 weeks out.
Apparently the forecast is similar to last Saturday - wet. It's out of Morrison or Sarge to come in for Kellaway according to Paul Armstrong on club corner. He didn't mention any other changes.
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What about Mark Graham? Or rotating him with a less experienced player?
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What about Mark Graham? Or rotating him with a less experienced player?
I think your on the money Julz. Graham, Thursfield and either Schulz or Morrison taking the third/fourth talls in defence with Gas and Razor holding down the key positions.
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Saints are a test for Tigers
By Len Johnson
The Age
July 13, 2005
St Kilda provided a harsh reality check for Richmond when it thrashed the Tigers by 68 points in round five, and Terry Wallace reckons Saturday's return match at the MCG will be a measure of whether his side has improved.
Wallace said the Tigers learned "valuable lessons" from the loss, and applied some of them as they won the next four games. Now, the question is whether they can apply them against St Kilda on Saturday.
"They were just far more ready for a pressure-based game at that stage than what we were," Wallace said at his weekly news conference yesterday.
"This time round got a lot more games under our belt, gained a bit of confidence. Hopefully on the MCG, where we believe we play our best football, we can put up a better showing."
The first meeting between the clubs was at Docklands. St Kilda does not have anywhere near as good a record at the MCG in recent times. "The MCG is our home and we look forward to playing there as often as we can. It is our last home game there this year which, this far out, is probably a bit unusual,"" Wallace said.
Of the round-five encounter, Wallace said St Kilda "out-muscled us, outplayed us and blew us out of the water early". The Saints kicked eight goals to three in the first quarter, five to two in the second, five to three in the third and four to three in the last term.
It was one of two heavy losses to credentialled sides (the other to Geelong in round one) that caused many to wonder how real was Richmond's improvement under Wallace. Four more consecutive losses going into the mid-season break added to the queries, but the Tigers have beaten Sydney and Essendon since to stabilise their season.
Wallace pointed out that the four losses - to Melbourne, West Coast, the Kangaroos and Adelaide - were to sides that, on form at the time, were close to the best four in the competition.
Wallace talked up the challenge facing Richmond before some of the earlier big games, but is adopting a more softly-softly approach this time.
The coach said he had talked of last weekend's match against Essendon as a "crunch game" precisely because winning it would set up the Tigers for a series of games that would determine whether they ultimately reached the top eight.
"Why did I do that earlier in the season," asked Wallace, "because I wanted to see what the group had to offer. We set the bar very high, very early, just to raise the expectation of the group."
Now it was up to the players to recognise they faced a challenge.
"I think now that we've come through that and we're at the next stage," said Wallace.
Richmond has lost Andrew Kellaway with a broken jaw - the Tigers' latest victim of a broken bone - and Wallace said he was "not confident at all" that skipper Kane Johnson would return from a jarred knee.
"He's confident. He's making all the right noises," Wallace said. "Most of his running has been in a straight line. He needs to show us he can do normal match running."
On the plus side, key forward Matthew Richardson has responded to a virtual three weeks' rest either side of the mid-season break and his knee is as good as it has been all season, said Wallace.
Jay Schulz and Shane Morrison were in line to replace Kellaway, said Wallace. Either would fit in without a major change to the team structure. Nathan Foley, who had over 40 possessions in the VFL last week, was another who could come under consideration.
Richmond will have its main training session at Arden Street this morning [11am].
http://www.realfooty.theage.com.au/realfooty/articles/2005/07/12/1120934240737.html
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Kane not able for big game: Wallace
Malcolm Conn
The Australian
July 13, 2005
RICHMOND captain Kane Johnson remains confident he will be fit for Saturday's finals shaping game against St Kilda, but his coach Terry Wallace is equally adamant his prolific midfielder will not.
Johnson missed last weekend's important win over Essendon with a knee problem and must convince a sceptical coach at training tonight that he has overcome the problem.
"I'm not confident at all," Wallace said. "He has to prove that he's fit to play rather than the other way around.
"He makes all the right noises but until you get out and actually do it, it's still a bit of the unknown."
The Tigers must also find a replacement for reliable key defender Andy Kellaway, who sustained a broken jaw in two places against the Bombers and will miss six weeks.
"It's difficult. He's been a real value player for us all year," said Wallace, lamenting the loss of Kellaway a month after brilliant small forward Nathan Brown was ruled out for the season with a badly broken leg.
"They're very experienced senior players within the core of the group, so that will be a difficulty, but it probably sets up an opportunity for somebody else."
Wallace named peripheral key forwards Shane Morrison and Jay Schulz, who has had a year interrupted by injury and controversy, as likely candidates to be promoted from the VFL.
The Tigers had virtually a full side when they met St Kilda in round five after three successive wins, yet were blown away when the Saints made one of their rare but dynamic explosive starts this season.
Saturday's match is vital for Richmond, not only to overcome another credibility hurdle but to put a gap between it and the dangerous Saints, who are out of the eight on percentage.
St Kilda is a game behind the sixth-placed Tigers but has a better percentage. If Richmond loses it will fall below the Saints and possibly out of the eight for the first time since mid-April.
Wallace said the Tigers were out-muscled as much as out-played in the previous encounter between the sides.
"That game taught us a little bit about ourselves we actually used in the following games," Wallace said, pointing out that the Tigers won their following four matches. "I'm hoping that it teaches us a few lessons this time around."
This will be Richmond's last match at the MCG this season unless it makes the finals.
While Wallace did not touch on St Kilda's relatively modest record away from Telstra Dome, he made no secret the MCG is the Tigers' favourite ground. They have won six of eight matches there this season.
http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,5744,15911414%255E36035,00.html
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RICHMOND captain Kane Johnson remains confident he will be fit for Saturday's finals shaping game against St Kilda, but his coach Terry Wallace is equally adamant his prolific midfielder will not.
Johnson in the SEN lockeroom last night said he was 40/60 :-\ but he wants to get right and play as this week's a big game and a win could set up our season.
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Hopefully the gods smile on us again and give us another rainy day so the Saints can't expose us with their fast moving skilfull game.
Forecast 12 (Not showers) Rain :thumbsup
Back out with the plastic bags again for everyone who is going this week. Last week especially at Punt road before the game is the coldest it's been for a few years. "Just like the good old days" :lol
Oh on the CRUNCH game - bit of a joke really against the fumbly bumblers - This is the CRUNCH game this w/end. Dont really mind the saints too much but would love to stick it to Thomarse and their supporters.
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Every game really should be a crunch game. Can't afford complacency.
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The wet should be to our advantage this week as the saints are used to playing indoors and out of the weather and don't have a great record at the 'G' if we can create a scrap we might just get away with this one.
If we do I feel we still need to win 3 of the last 6 to cement a place in the 8 Hawks, Blues & Dogs who we seem to have the wood over but are playing good footy look to be the games we can most expect to win.
With Freo you don't know what you are going to get so they must be a possiibility too, if we can't beat St.Kilda this will be another crunch game.
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ROUND 16 - RICHMOND vs ST KILDA - M.C.G. (Home)
SUMMARY:
Richmond heads back to the home of football this Saturday afternoon to face St Kilda in a crucial "8 pointer" clash with a spot in finals on the line. A win to the Tigers would see them virtually cement a spot in September given their draw as well as establishing a 2 game break over the Saints who sit just outside the top 8; a loss would see St Kilda leapfrog Richmond by percentage. The Tigers did what they had to do last week against Essendon to win comfortably but a higher standard will be required on Saturday to overcome the Saints who walked all over us back in round 5. Mind you 3 months is a long time in footy and St Kilda have been a shadow of the side that demolished us back in April. One extra piece of motivation for the Tigers is Grant Thomas' remarks after Richmond's last win over the Saints back in 2003 of "we're still the better side". We shall see!
Both sides will be far from their best 22. Richmond of course won't have Brown, Stafford or Kellaway while the Saints will have Riewoldt, Hamill, Harvey and Penny on the sidelines. The Tigers have made two changes this week with Shane Morrison coming in for the injured Kellaway and captain Kane Johnson named in place of young Raines despite being extremely doubtful. The Saints have also made two changes - Guerra and Peckett in for McGough and McQualter.
PAST ENCOUNTERS:
Overall: 102-59 (2 draws)
In the 00's: 4-5
At the M.C.G.: 19-5 (2 draws)
Last Time:
Round 5, 24.04.05. "Away" at Docklands.
Richmond 3.4 5.8 8.10 11.13-79
St Kilda 8.2 13.5 18.11 22.15-147
Multiple Goalkickers: Richmond - Stafford 4, N.G.Brown 2; St Kilda - Milne 5, Gehrig 4, Fiora 2, Hamill 2.
Attendance: 49,580.
KEY STATS AND MATCH-UPS:
DEFENCE: The loss of Andrew Kellaway is a big blow to our backline in terms of structure. "Chubba" has had arguably his best season so far not only in terms of his usual second/third defender role but he's added a new dimension under Wallace with his rebounding efforts averaging between 15-16 possessions per game. Morrison has been brought in to replace him as he does a similar role at VFL level for Coburg. Whether he can do it in the faster pace of AFL footy is a worry. Graham and the impressive young Thursfield will also have to take on more responsibility in Kellaway's absence while Joel Bowden's excellent year (avg 22 possessions) rebounding off half-back will be even more vital to generate a running game that was absent last time we played St Kilda. Apart from absentees the match-ups won't change all that much from last time IMO. Gas will have Gehrig (4 goals in round 5 and 52 for the year),Razor gets Koschitzke (4 goals last week) and Morrison the resting ruckman in Ackland or Blake.
At ground level Milne (38 goals) poses the greatest threat based on past meetings between us and the Saints. Last time was no exception as he was too pacy for Chris Newman bagging a lazy five goals. So it'll be interesting whether Wallace makes a change this time or puts the challenge to Newman to make up for his poor effort. The way to take Milne out of the game is to force him wide so he is jammed in against the boundary line. It is when he is allowed space "front and square" that he becomes dangerous with his quick snaps at goal. As with any footy game these days pressure from the midfield denies easy ball for opposition forwards.
MIDFIELD: In round 5 we got totally smashed in the midfield particularly at the clearances. Apart from Cogs who was the only Tiger who had the better of his opponent Luke Ball and both Ball and Hayes having "quiet" games by their standards, the likes Dal Santo, Harvey (missing this time around) and Aussie Jones rebounding off half back tore us to ribbons with their pinpoint disposal. Even lesser likes such as the Clarke brothers, Goddard, Peckett and lo and behold ex-Tiger Aaron Fiora (out) joined in on the party. Once the play got out into open spaces we simply didn't get our hands on the footy. Half the side were kept to ten or less possessions compare to only three for the Saints. A simple case for the Tigers of too much being left to too few. When we did get the ball forward our disposal was so poor and predictable it played straight into the hands of Saint key defenders Maguire and Hudghton who kept both Richo and Simmonds goalless while Browny (out) was contained. Only Stafford (who is out) in the third quarter posed any scoreboard threat to the Saints but by then the game was gone.
Saturday's match will all be about playing the ball and getting in first and hard at the footy. Even moreso given it'll be wet, windy and a cold 12 degrees just as it was last week when we played good wet weather footy against the Bombers keeping things simply and direct most of the time. The Saints however won't be as stupid as a number of Essendon players were giving away free kicks to us. Although Johnson (avg 23 possies) will most likely miss again, since the midseason break Cambo (19) has stood up in his place along with Krakouer to take some of midfield workload off Cogs (22) and Tuck (22) while Hyde (15) looked a bit more like his old self from earlier in the year before ironically copping a fractured skull against the Saints.
St Kilda's up and down season has resulted from opposition sides spotting that while the Saints love an open free flowing game where they can run into open space especially in the protected environment of Telstra Dome, a number of their second and third tier players go missing and are "downhill skiers" when the game is turned into a scrap and the hard ball needs to be continually won in one-on-one contests. The return of Peckett and Guerra is a sign of Grant Thomas trying to add some hardness at ground level to his team for a wet day. Looking at their strengths the Saints clearly lead the rest of the competition in scoring from ball-up situations (the Tiges are next best) and are equal first in winning clearances (Tiges 4th best). Both stats showing the main threat to us comes from the trio Lenny Hayes (25) who has been in top form in recent weeks, Ball (21) and Dal Santo (22). In terms of match-ups Cogs will probably to take on Ball again, Tucky up against Hayes and Chaffey to get the job tagging Dal Santo.
FORWARDS: Richmond has restructured their forward line since the break with Richo spending a fair amount of time about 30 metres out from goal while the likes of Cambo, Hilton, Deledio and Tambling lead from the goalsquare. This has at least partly covered the loss of Nathan Brown while making us not so reliant on Richo kicking a bag for us to win. Last week we had a good spread of goalkickers as a result. The key to this week is our disposal and decision making going inside 50 which was deplorable last time around. Follow the K.I.S.S. philosophy in the wet and windy conditions and Richo won't be kept goalless this time around. Nor will Aussie Jones or Maguire pick off cheap footy and set up simple rebounding goals. Hyde has done run-with roles before and has pace so he may get the job on Aussie Jones. Mind you Jones has been off his best form since he blitzed against us in April.
When Knobel is in ruck Richo will have Hudghton at FF and Simmonds will have Maguire at CHF. When Simmonds takes over from Knobel we'll push Richo out to that 30 metre mark from goal again to drag Hudghton away from familiar territory. Hudghton by the way has been bragging all week he wants the job on Richo. Hopefully Richo will make him regret it ;). Maguire may take over if Richo gets on top. Either way when we go small close to goal the Saints will have a tall having to pick up a swifter small whether that be Deledio, Pettifer or Hilton. On a wet day when the ball is more likely to be on the ground than in the air that will be a match-up in our favour.
OVERALL: St Kilda will go into this game rightly as favourites based on recent clashes but it's hard to judge their true form with wins against both the Dogs minus their best talls and the poor ol' bluebaggers and a loss to the struggling Bombers since the break. It's also difficult to determine how much influence playing the match at the 'G will have especially when it's going to be a wet day. The Saints have spanked us the last four meetings but those have all been at the Dome. At the M.C.G. prior to this year St Kilda has struggled but they have won all 3 games there in 2005 albeit against weak opposition (Pies, Hawks and Dogs). Interesting to note that the Saints have only recorded five victories against Richmond at the M.C.G. The last being 13 years ago. As each other's forward lines are probably superior than the opposing defenses IMO the side that will win will be the team who is willing to put their head over ball on a cold wet windy day and who wants the footy more than their opponent. Whichever side does that will win the midfield battle and the game.
THIS WEEK'S TEAMS:
RICHMOND
B: Newman, Gaspar, Bowden
HB: Thursfield, Hall, Chaffey
C: Tivendale, Coughlan, Deledio
HF: Pettifer, Simmonds, Tambling
F: Krakouer, Richardson, Hilton
R: Knobel, Tuck, Johnson
Int: Graham, Morrison, Hyde, Campbell
IN: Johnson, Morrison
OUT: Kellaway (broken jaw), Raines
ST KILDA
B: Fisher, Hudghton, Voss
HB: Goddard, Maguire, Jones
C: Schwarze, Ball, X.Clarke
HF: Dal Santo, Ackland, Milne
F: Powell, Gehrig, Koschitzke
R: Blake, Hayes, Thompson
Int: Guerra, Baker, Peckett, R.Clarke
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Once again the "experts" have written us off and tipped against us ::). 33 to 3 in favour of the Saints from the Hun and Age journos combined.
Anyway who do you guys think will go against Hayes, Ball and Dal Santo?
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Once again the "experts" have written us off and tipped against us ::). 33 to 3 in favour of the Saints from the Hun and Age journos combined.
Anyway who do you guys think will go against Hayes, Ball and Dal Santo?
How about Thirsty on Dal Santo, Newman on Ball and Cogs on Hayes.
I'm more concerned about Gehrig and Milne. If these blokes fire, they lift their whole team. I'd put Gas on Gehrig and maybe throw Chaffey on Milne. Both Gehrig and Milne base a lot of their game on emotion and can be put off their games quite easily if closely marked to the point of irritation. If we're in front or thereabouts at quarter time we should take this one out.
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Love the new avatar tiga :rollin :rollin :rollin
I'm not sure Thirsty has the endurance for a midfield roll.
Yeah your right about Gehrig. It's all upstairs in terms of how he plays on the day. If he's in the mood and gets on a roll the Saint midfielders will just pump it in his direction and they'll kick a few in a row. However if you keep him disinterested in the game he can be kept quiet. We need blokes to bravely stand in the hole in fron of him. That's worked for other sides against the Saints. I wonder too if Gas will test out Gehrig's hand.
Milne thinks he's a hero. A hog in a team game ::).
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Johnson to have late test on knee injury
By Lyall Johnson
The Age
July 16, 2005
Tiger skipper Kane Johnson is no certainty to play today against St Kilda, according to coach Terry Wallace, despite training solidly yesterday.
Johnson is still recovering from a medial ligament strain received against Sydney two weeks ago that made him miss last week's win over Essendon but he has put in two solid training sessions this week.
While there was no structural damage to the knee, it was just a matter of how the knee settled overnight.
"It is whether there's any swelling or inflammation there or how it sort of settles over the next 24 hours," Wallace said yesterday after the team trained at Punt Road Oval.
"I wouldn't say he is absolutely rubber-stamped at this stage. At the moment, we've selected him, he got through training but he needs to pull up now."
After a strong win in damp conditions last week, Wallace suggested his side was well suited to playing in the wet but also conceded that the Saints' line-up would cope well with the likes of Stephen Powell, Andrew Thompson and Brent Guerra - good ground-level players - returning.
Richmond has had a poor recent record against the Saints but at least one thing is different today in that it will be playing St Kilda at the MCG, where the Tigers prefer to play and seem to play better football.
The sides have not met at the MCG since round 20, 2000, when Richmond won by 40 points.
Last week, Richmond nominated the game against Essendon as a crunch match that could set it up for a strong run to the finals, but Wallace said today's game would be "a great opportunity" and the fact the side was playing as an equal partner in "Super Saturday" and not just making up the numbers was a credit to the players.
"You have a look at every other side running around in the 'Super Saturday' eight teams and I think you would have suggested at the start of the year that each and every one of them would have been there," he said.
"I don't think anyone would have expected the Tigers to be there, so that's a credit to our boys. I'm just hoping they can live up to that and put on a really good showing."
The last time the sides met St Kilda was a street ahead of the Tigers, smashing them by 11 goals at Telstra Dome, but Wallace hoped the players had gleaned a lesson about St Kilda as well as themselves from the match.
"I think we learnt a lot. The last time around, they just blew us out of the water early, they had the ability to put enough pressure on us that we'd cough the ball up," he said. "Certainly, they learnt a fair bit after the game from a review point of view, we learnt a lot about ourselves and a lot about what we needed to improve on . . ."
Injured onballer David Rodan completed a limited training session yesterday and appeared to move without restriction from the knee reconstruction he had early in the year but Wallace said he would prefer for Rodan not to play this season. ". . . I wouldn't want him to play. I think that giving him his time and having him go through a full summer would be the right pathway for him to come back and that's the pathway I'm hoping we all take," he said.
http://www.realfooty.theage.com.au/realfooty/articles/2005/07/15/1121429356906.html