'Trench warfare' on cards between Sydney Swans, Richmond TigersAndrew Wu
The Age
13 May 2016John Longmire has good reason to be guarded against one of his bogy teams, Richmond, whose coach Damien Hardwick has told his players to prepare for "trench warfare" against the hard-nosed Swans.
There are only four clubs against which the Swans coach has a negative win-loss record. Two of them, Hawthorn and Geelong, have won four of the past five flags. Another, Fremantle, has been a regular top-four side, and the other team is Richmond.
The Tigers have not won a final under Hardwick, but have a surprisingly good record against the Swans, who they have beaten in four of their past six matches. They even beat the Swans in a premiership year while finishing a lowly 12th.
Apart from the final round of 2014, when Sydney rested several stars against a Tigers side needing to win to feature in September, the Swans have had no excuses.
Two major reasons stand out to explain why the Swans have so much trouble against a side they have finished above in each of Longmire's five seasons at the helm.
One is Jack Riewoldt, who has been one of the few forwards to get the better of Ted Richards in recent years, and the other is the Tigers' ability to beat the Swans for contested possessions. In each of the Swans' four losses to the Tigers, they have been well beaten in this key stat.
But led by the grunt of Josh Kennedy, Dan Hannebery and Luke Parker, the Swans have improved their work in the clinches this year, rising from mid-table to be second for contested possession differentials.
"We've been really strong inside, which has been good," Longmire said. "Our midfield group have been strong inside and all over the ground. The contested side of the game has been so important for us.
"It certainly allows us to get our hands on the ball, then it's a matter of what we do from there on in."
One knock against the Swans has been a perceived lack of pace once the ball is free, but Hardwick knows the Tigers cannot exploit any weakness if they do not win the ball first.
"There's a couple of things we can do well against certain sides, Sydney's one of those sides," Hardwick said. "It's always a tough contested battle against Sydney. I think they've got three of the top six players in contested ball.
"It's easy to say you want to beat them on the outside, but you've got to beat them inside in their own game first and foremost. Their pressure around the contest and tackle numbers is elite, as are contested ball.
"It's going to be a bit like trench warfare this week. They have 66 entries inside 50, if we give them that kind of supply inside 50 we won't win."
Riewoldt's ability to kick goals against such a miserly defence has been crucial in the Tigers' success against the Swans. He has kicked 23 goals in his past seven games against Sydney, including a bag of six last year.
The forward, who is likely to have Richards or Dane Rampe as his opponent, is also one of the few Tigers enjoying a strong 2016.
"He's been having a great season, he's added so much more versatility to his game," Longmire said. "He's up the ground a lot more than what he was a few years ago. He's such a beautiful kick, not just for goal but as a field kick, and he's been using that to great effect when he's been up the ground.
"That provides a couple of challenges in on our defensive group, to make sure we get the right match-ups on where he is."
http://www.theage.com.au/afl/afl-2016-trench-warfare-on-cards-between-sydney-swans-richmond-tigers-20160512-gotmye.html
