Media articles and Stats: Tigers down Giants and enter finals calculations

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Tigers down Giants and enter finals calculations

Jennifer Phelan 
afl.com.au
August 2, 2014 7:10 PM


RICHMOND                           3.2  8.5  10.10  13.11 (89)
GREATER WESTERN SYDNEY    2.3  2.7  6.10    8.14 (62)
 
GOALS
Richmond: Petterd 2, Deledio 2, Martin 2, Cotchin, Thomas, Edwards, Griffiths, Ellis, Riewoldt, Houli
Greater Western Sydney: Boyd 2, Patton 2, Hoskin-Elliott, Ward, Treloar, Palmer
 
BEST
Richmond: Deledio, Ellis, Rance, Petterd, Cotchin, Edwards,
Greater Western Sydney: Ward, Greene, Davis, Treloar, Patton, Kennedy
 
INJURIES
Richmond: Nil
Greater Western Sydney: Hunt (quad)
 
SUBSTITUTES
Richmond: Nathan Gordon replaced Sam Lloyd in the third quarter
Greater Western Sydney: Tim Golds replaced Josh Hunt in the third quarter
 
Reports: Reece Conca (Richmond) for striking Devon Smith (Greater Western Sydney) in the second quarter.
 
Umpires: Hay, Foot, Mollison
 
Official crowd: 23,093 at the MCG

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RICHMOND remains a mathematical chance to play finals after outlasting Greater Western Sydney by 27 points at the MCG for a fifth consecutive victory.

The Tigers' 13.11 (89) to 8.14 (62) win on Saturday evening, combined with Adelaide's loss to West Coast, leaves them a possibility to appear in September after their season looked done six weeks ago.

The Crows' loss leaves the Tigers a game off eighth spot, although Collingwood and Gold Coast could make it two with wins later this round.

The Tigers' past month and a half has set up a massive clash against Essendon on Friday night with both sides in the frame for a top-eight finish.

However, Richmond coach Damien Hardwick said he felt as though the Tigers still needed to improve.

"It was probably a frustrating game. I thought we moved the ball reasonably well at various stages, we just couldn't quite get that finishing touch inside 50," Hardwick said.
 
"They've got elite running capacity. They get numbers back and then they charge out so they're going to be a really impressive side.

"We're still not playing to the level that we'd like. We get away with the win today but I thought GWS showed us how good they were going to be."

The Tigers powered away from the Giants in the second quarter; ironically, the same term two of the six MCG light towers plunged into darkness because of an external power problem.

From the 16-minute mark until halftime, play continued in dim lighting as dusk fell around Melbourne and light towers three and five featured one illuminated globe.

By the main break all globes had been restored, but the Giants' hopes of their fifth win for the season had darkened.

After trailing by five points at quarter time, the margin blew to 34 points with Brandon Ellis and Trent Cotchin running rampant through the midfield.

The first quarter had been competitive but largely uncontested – the ball ricocheted from end to end with just 15 tackles laid.

It remained low-scoring with neither side capitalising early on, although Jonathon Patton and Tom Boyd – opposed to Alex Rance and Troy Chaplin – looked dangerous.

However, Rance got the better of Patton as the game wore on and was one of the Tigers' best with 22 touches and 12 marks.

Cotchin exploded out of the blocks for six touches in the first five minutes after starting in the forward line against Josh Hunt. 

He ended with 30 disposals, Ellis with 34 and Brett Deledio an impressive 31 with 10 marks.

Five goals to four points in the second term hurt the Giants as their attack off half-back dropped off. 

Giants coach Leon Cameron later rued the quarter and the way his players dropped away at the contest.

"Our boys probably lost their confidence a little bit and for them to kick five [goals] for the quarter was disappointing," Cameron said.

"But to their credit, I thought our third quarter was terrific and the majority of our last - we just couldn't have that real good connection inside 50 or kick the goals when we needed to."

The Tigers' form would have pleased Hardwick but he would have seen red when Reece Conca had one of the brain fades of the season.

After Devon Smith pulled his jumper over his head, Conca chased the young Giant to the interchange gate and threw a forearm to the back of his head.

Conca was reported as Smith gathered his thoughts on the bench.

The Giants benefitted from the return of Heath Shaw, who had 23 touches despite the attention of Ricky Petterd, while Tomas Bugg did a solid job on Dustin Martin (15 disposals).

Phil Davis was enormous on Jack Riewoldt, who kicked one last-term goal and had limited influence after booting 11 goals against them in round 10.

Adam Treloar and Dylan Shiel kept the Giants in it in the third quarter. They had 14 and 12 disposals respectively as the side kicked the first three goals to inch within 16 points.

But Ellis' opening goal of the fourth quarter and Riewoldt's first of the night a minute later toughened the task yet didn't dampen their spirits.

They didn't let the Tigers claw back some much-needed percentage, which could prove crucial given the logjam beginning to form just outside the top eight.

Tom Scully joined Jeremy Cameron, Stephen Coniglio, Lachie Whitfield, Nick Haynes and Tim Mohr on the sidelines for the rest of the season in the lead up to the game.

The ex-Demon is set for surgery on his knee next week.

Hunt was subbed out in the third quarter with a hip flexor injury and is in doubt for the Giants' clash with North Melbourne next Saturday. 

http://www.afl.com.au/news/2014-08-02/tigers-win-enter-finals-race

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Team Stats



Individual Stats

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Richmond defeats GWS Giants by 37 points to notch fifth consecutive win, Reece Conca reported
Mark Hayes
Herald-Sun
August 03, 2014

AN electrical fault blew the MCG lights in the second quarter; exactly what caused Greater Western Sydney to short-circuit might prove harder to isolate.

For 15 dimly-lit minutes, it was hard to comprehend what was going on — with GWS, not the lights — as Richmond won by 27 points after keeping the Giants goal-less throughout what was the pivotal term.

Because after running boldly and taking risks in a first quarter notable for its competitiveness more than its skills, an otherwise gallant GWS stopped taking on the Tigers through the midfield and paid a heavy price.

Richmond, amazingly still alive in the finals race courtesy of favourable results around the league and its fifth straight win, pushed up hard when they went forward and the Giants simply couldn’t turn the tide.

Worse for the visitors was that two of what turned into five matchwinning goals came from extremely long range through defensive goal square efforts that were lamentable at best.

Sam Frost had his open punch attempt blocked by a Sam Lloyd arm, allowing Brett Deledio the first of his two goals from 60m.

Less than a minute later, Ricky Petterd scored from 65m out with a set-shot kick that bounced 10m from goal with many Giants in the region.

They are the lapses of a young team, but they’re glaring when their best running footy in other patches was more than dangerous.

Will Hoskin-Elliott took a spectacular Royce Hart-style aerial pack grab to light up the Giants in the third term.

Adam Treloar, strangely subdued in the first half, torched the Tigers for 14 third-quarter touches, including a goal that brought the Giants briefly within 16 points.

But some selfless work at the other end by Shane Edwards laid on a goal for Dustin Martin that quelled the charge.

It was a rare highlight for Martin who was cut out superbly by Tomas Bugg, who continued his impressive recent form.

Lachie Plowman’s slipshod kick across goal early in the final term allowed Brandon Ellis to waltz in and kick what was effectively the sealer to cap another good individual performance.

Richmond’s win — its fifth in succession for the first time since Round 12, 2000 — came on the heels of losses to Essendon and Adelaide to keep the mathematicians among the Tigers faithful abuzz.

The lights of towers No. 3 and No. 5 went out just as dusk was beginning to take hold.

They weren’t the only lights shorted out, with several rooms around the MCG also out while repairs were done.

The AFL said that only three of the six towers — plus other stadium lighting — needed to be operational so play could continue.

Trent Cotchin and Deledio were again influential around the ground, the skipper’s opportunistic opener typical of Richmond’s intent to harass in their forward line.

Cotchin kicked the first from less than a meter after Jono O’Rourke’s indecision threw Josh Kelly under the bus.

At the other end of the ground, twin towers Jon Patton and Tom Boyd showed glimpses of what might be, but the pace of their play outside goalscoring range after a mark remains problematic as backmen rush into position around them.

The low point for Richmond came inexplicably when Reece

Conca was reported for high contact at the interchange gate after he and Devon Smith had been wrestling seconds earlier.

Conca clipped Smith with an elbow to the back of the head that, while low impact, was off the ball and completely unexpected by the young Giant.

Veteran Josh Hunt was subbed out in the third term with what appeared a hip flexor injury, creating doubt about whether or not the former Cat might have played his last game.

MARK HAYES’ BEST PLAYERS

BEST:

Richmond: Ellis, Deledio, Cotchin, Rance, Edwards

GWS: Bugg, Treloar, Davis, Greene, Shaw

VOTES

3. Brandon Ellis (Rich)

2. Brett Deledio (Rich)

1. Tomas Bugg (GWS)

http://www.news.com.au/sport/afl/richmond-defeats-gws-giants-by-37-points-to-notch-fifth-consecutive-win-reece-conca-reported/story-fndv8t7m-1227011348872

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Tigers roar against Giants to keep slim finals hopes alive

  Jake Niall
     The Age
    August 3, 2014

RICHMOND                        3.2  8.5  10.10  13.11 (89)
GREATER WESTERN SYDNEY 2.3  2.7   6.10    8.14 (62)

Goals:
Richmond: B Deledio 2 D Martin 2 R Petterd 2 B Ellis B Griffiths B Houli J Riewoldt M Thomas S Edwards T Cotchin.
Greater Western Sydney: J Patton 2 T Boyd 2 A Treloar C Ward R Palmer W Hoskin-Elliott.

BEST:
Richmond: Deledio, Cotchin, Ellis, Rance, Edwards, Petterd.
GWS: Ward, Treloar, Davis, Shaw, Bugg.

Injuries: Greater Western Sydney: J Hunt (hip flexor).

Reports: Richmond: R Conca (Richmond) for striking D Smith (GWS) in the second quarter.

Umpires: Jacob Mollison, Sam Hay, Nicholas Foot.

Official Crowd: 23,093 at MCG.

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In this competition, five consecutive wins almost invariably place a team either inside the top eight, or somewhere near it. Richmond, thus, is some kind of theoretical possibility of making it, and a realistic chance of finishing in its once customary position of ninth.

That a fifth win on the trot by the Tigers doesn't have them entrenched in the top eight - and still long odds to reach that distant destination - is a demonstration of how off key they were for the first two thirds of their underwhelming season.

In time, we'll learn whether their belated charge is a genuine reflection of their capabilities - as a team that ought to have played finals - or classic fool's gold.

Greater Western Sydney, at the MCG, doesn't represent a major scalp. Not yet. But the 27-point victory will be sufficient to ensure that there will be a sizeable turnout - many more than the 23,000 who endured the cold twilight and failing lights - when the Tigers play Essendon on Friday night.

The outcome was shaped in the second quarter, when the Tigers booted five goals and the profligate Giants posted only four behinds. The half-time margin of 34 was sufficient and, despite GWS's third quarter revival - when it chanced its arm and moved the ball with some urgency - one never thought that the visitors would surf over the top - as they had almost managed against the Cats.

GWS closed to within 16 points in the third term, following a nice snap by Adam Treloar, who appeared suddenly as a force (14 touches for the quarter) following a dormant first half. Callan Ward and Toby Greene were also prominent, and there were flashes from Tom Boyd and especially Jonathan Patton that reminded us of what that towering duo might do to defences from 2016 onwards.

Whereas the monstrous Giant forwards are tomorrow's heroes, Richmond's most polished pair, Brett Deledio and Trent Cotchin, are game-changers in the present. Cotchin did his best work in the contest, Deledio when running with the ball and delivering it. Deledio's two goals in the second term were important, while Cotchin would finish with a game-high 18 contested balls. Brandon Ellis continued his steady maturation into a reliable midfielder, finishing with 34 touches and a nice goal in which he intercepted a well-intentioned switch of play from Lachie Plowman in the last quarter.

Jack Riewoldt was contained by Phil Davis, who received help from team mates who folded back and restricted the space in Richmond's front half. Heath Shaw's return from a severe concussion solidified the GWS defence, which, numerically speaking, did well to hold the Tigers to 13 goals from 56 forward entries. Dustin Martin was well smothered by Tomas Bugg, though Dusty booted two handy goals in the second half.

But the modest scoring wasn't due to frenzied pressure from either side. The Tigers, in fact, posted an astonishingly low tackle tally of 31 for the match - less than half of what teams budget for in these defence-conscious times. On the plus side, Richmond held a significant edge in contested ball, with 30 more than Leon Cameron's skinnier boys.

Alex Rance was probably the best defender afield, providing plenty of run from behind the ball. Anthony Miles, Richmond's great discovery of 2014, was more subdued in terms of winning the ball, but he still played an important part when switched on to Callan Ward, who had been outstanding in the first half.

Midway through the second quarter, at about 5.30pm, two of the MCG light towers went down. Around this time, Ricky Petterd took a strong mark and converted to put the Tigers 28 points ahead of the Giants. A freshly retired Jake King, sitting in the Richmond cheer squad with a beer in hand, seemed as content as those kindred souls surrounding him.

The lights were turned back on at half-time. The Giants found some light in the second half, but their brightest days lie ahead. Richmond? Who knows. At least the darkness is lifting at Punt Rd.

Read more: http://www.theage.com.au/afl/afl-match-report/tigers-roar-against-giants-to-keep-slim-finals-hopes-alive-20140802-zzuo0.html#ixzz39FnM7cbJ