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Richmond Tigers - AFL Central

Tigers finish season on a high

August 31st 2008 07:23
RICHMOND has consigned Melbourne to its first wooden spoon since 1997 with an 80-point win at the MCG on Sunday afternoon.

The Tigers dominated after quarter-time, slamming on 16 goals to four to cruise to a convincing 18.13 (121) to 6.5 (41) victory.

The Demons could have gotten off the bottom of the ladder with a win on Sunday but were simply outclassed by a Richmond side that finished the season with a better than 50 percent winning strikerate for the first time since 2001.

Joel Bowden starred for the Tigers with a game-high 34 possessions, 13 marks and three second-half goals while Brett Deledio was equally damaging with 25 touches and four goals.


Chris Newman and Shane Tuck were prolific in the middle, racking up 30 possessions apiece while Greg Tivendale was a busy contributor in his last game for the club with 24 disposals and one goal.

For Melbourne, Matthew Warnock did a superb blanketing job on Matthew Richardson, keeping the Richmond star goalless while Adem Yze (25 possessions) tried hard all day.

It was a disappointing performance by the Demons and a poor way to send off veterans Jeff White, Ben Holland and Yze.

The Tigers dominated the opening term, entering inside their forward 50 19 times to Melbourne's seven.

But they failed to translate their dominance onto the scoreboard, booting a wasteful 2.5 for the quarter to take just a four-point lead into the first change.

Richmond broke the game open in the second term, slamming on six goals to one to take a commanding 38-point lead into the main break.

Any hopes of a comeback by the Demons in the second half were quashed by the Tigers as they slammed on four goals to one in the third quarter before steamrolling Melbourne in the final stanza with six majors.


MELBOURNE: 2.1, 3.1, 4.4, 6.5 (41)
RICHMOND: 2.5, 8.9, 12.10, 18.13 (121)
GOALS: Melbourne: White 2, Green, Whelan, Holland, Sylvia
Richmond: Deledio 4, Bowden 3, Riewoldt 2, Jackson 2, Morton, Tuck, Tivendale, Connors, Foley, McMahon, White
BEST: Melbourne: Warnock, Yze, Buckley, Green
Richmond: Bowden, Deledio, Tuck, Tivendale, Newman, Foley, McGuane, White, Johnson
INJURIES: Melbourne:
Richmond: Nil
REPORTS: Nil
CHANGES: Richmond: Pattison replaced in selected side by Connors
UMPIRES: Margetts, H Ryan, Ellis
CROWD: 37,046 at the MCG
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Posted By: TonyK - Category: AFL News, Richmond Tigers
   


Time up for Tivendale at Tigerland

August 28th 2008 05:29
RICHMOND midfielder Greg Tivendale will play his last game for the the club Melbourne at the MCG on Sunday.

The 29-year-old has struggled to break into the senior side this season, managing just two games in 2008.

The 187-game veteran says he has not given up hope of being picked up by another club next year.

"I'd like to think that people would think of me as a good servant of the Richmond Football Club and a good quality player that has done his best for Richmond," he said.

"My form (in the VFL) has been pretty good this year so I'm not going to cancel out a chance of going on next year."

"I’ll put my hat in the ring and see what happens."
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Tigers primed for finals in '09

August 26th 2008 08:03
RICHMOND is better placed to capitalise on another ninth-placed finish this season in 2009, according to coach Terry Wallace.

The Tigers will finish in ninth place for the sixth time in the 15 seasons since the top eight was first introduced in 1994 if they defeat bottom-placed Melbourne at the MCG on Sunday.

Only two of those previous ninth-placed finishes - 1994 and 2000 resulted in finals appearances in the following season, but Wallace is confident the club will be able to build upon this year's ninth-placed finish.

"In most of those years the team had played well early but then faded away and finished ninth," he said.

"But this time around we have done it on the back of young talent and ridden it home (with seven wins in the last 10 matches) in the latter part of the year."

Wallace said the 2008 team could not be compared to the one of 2006, which won the wooden spoon the following season.

"The difference between those two teams is this is more sustainable," he said.

"We did that (in 2006) with the second or third oldest team in the competition and were not able to achieve finals so you would think in that situation you are more likely to go down and up."

"But this time around we have got some good young players and along with Melbourne we had the most players running around in the competition last week with 50 games or less to their names."

Wallace also said the club shouldn't accept anything less than a finals appearance.

"We are on an improving graph and our challenge now is to ensure that continues," he said.

"We are not accepting of ninth place and nor should we be and we have got to start marching up and playing finals footy."

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Tigers won't risk Brown

August 25th 2008 03:14
RICHMOND will not risk classy forward Nathan Brown for Sunday's last home-and-away encounter against Melbourne at the MCG now that the Tigers cannot make the finals.

St Kilda's win over Adelaide on Sunday ended any chance the Tigers have of making the finals in 2008.

Brown has missed three of the past four matches with a combination of leg and hip injuries and Richmond coach Terry Wallace revealed after Saturday's win over Fremantle that the club had only been keeping Brown's season alive while the Tigers were still a chance to play finals.

"We kept him alive while we were alive," Wallace said.

"Even though he hasn't been able to play the last couple of weeks, he has been improving all the time."

"(But) I wouldn't risk him for a one-off scenario (against Melbourne) if we weren't alive (for a top eight spot) - it's just not worth it."

Wallace also said he wouldn't make any major changes to the side now that the Tigers are out of finals contention.

"The guys that have got us through to this stage have done a pretty good job and they deserve to play," Wallace said.

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Tigers stay alive

August 23rd 2008 07:29
RICHMOND has kept its slim finals hopes alive with a hard-fought seven-point win over Fremantle at the MCG on Saturday afternoon.

The Tigers trailed at every change but lifted in the final term to record a crucial 15.15 (105) to 15.8 (98) victory.

The win sees the Tigers move to within half a game of the top eight but the club's finals bid could still be over by the end of this round if Collingwood and St Kilda both win their respective matches against Sydney and Adelaide.

The Dockers have now lost eight games this year by single figure margins - the most by any AFL club in history in a single season.

Shane Tuck was prolific in the middle with a game-high 31 possessions and two goals while Brett Deledio was a busy contributor with 23 touches and two majors.

For Fremantle, Paul Duffield (28 possessions) tried hard all day. Roger Hayden was busy in defence with 25 disposals and 12 marks while Mark Johnson chimed in with three majors.

Despite losing skipper Matthew Pavlich before the match the Dockers started the better of the two sides, booting the first three goals of the contest in the opening six minutes.

The Tigers responded with three of the last five goals of the quarter and should have been in front at quarter-time but failed to make the most of their opportunities in front of goal, booting a wasteful 3.6.

Richmond kicked the first goal of the second term through Troy Simmonds and when Tuck kicked his first it appeared as if the Tigers were on their way to their 10th win of the season.

But Fremantle answered every challenge, booting five majors of their own to take a seven-point advantage into the main break.

The Tigers came out firing in the second half, booting the first three goals of the third term to skip out to a 13-point lead at the 11-minute mark.

The predictable thing to do for a Fremantle team with seemingly little to play for would have been to drop their heads and allow the Tigers to cruise to an easy victory.

But the Dockers refused to give in and responded with majors from Ryan Murphy, Josh Carr and Brett Peake to take a five-point lead into the final change.

Matthew Richardson came to life in the final stanza, booting two early goals and when Jay Schulz kicked a goal on the run the Tigers had booted four unanswered goals to open up a 20-point lead at the 17-minute mark.

The Dockers booted the last two goals of the match but ran out of time as the Tigers held on for an unconvincing win.

RICHMOND: 3.6, 8.8, 11.12, 15.15 (105)
FREMANTLE: 5.1, 10.3, 13.5, 15.8 (98)
GOALS: Richmond: Morton 3, Tuck 2, Deledio 2, Richardson 2, Simmonds, Jackson, Connors, Foley, Newman, Schulz
Fremantle: Mark Johnson 3, Murphy 2, Bradley 2, Carr, Peake, Palmer, Headland, Mundy, Thornton, Campbell, Drum
BEST: Richmond: Tuck, Simmonds, Edwards, White, Jackson, Newman, Deledio
Fremantle: Duffield, Hayden, McPharlin, Palmer, Campbell, Mark Johnson, Crowley
INJURIES: Richmond: Nil
Fremantle: Nil
UMPIRES: Schmitt, Ellis, Mollison
REPORTS: Nil
CHANGES: Richmond: Nil
Fremantle: Pavlich (knee soreness) replaced in selected side by Murphy
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Foley set to return

August 19th 2008 06:14
RICHMOND looks set to regain Nathan Foley but classy forward Nathan Brown remains in doubt for Saturday's must-win match against Fremantle at the MCG.

The Tigers need to win their last two matches against the Dockers and Melbourne and rely on other results going their way if they are going to feature in September action.

Foley missed the 29-point win against the Hawks last Sunday with a rib injury sustained against Adelaide in round 19 while Brown missed his second game in the past three matches due to a combination of leg and hip injuries.

Richmond coach Terry Wallace said Foley was more likely to return this week than Brown.

"They are both still in calculations, Nathan has done a little bit more today in our skills session from a running point of view than Browny did," Wallace said.

"It's only early in the week and we will give both those boys an opportunity to come up later in the week but Nathan Foley is ahead of Nathan Brown at the minute."

Wallace said Brown's latest injury problems were not related to the lingering problems he suffered from the severe broken leg he sustained in 2005.

"Browny has had two or three on-going problems over three or four weeks," he said.

"One is from a knock to the leg and the other is from a knock to the hip - they were both collision injuries - but fortunately the leg knock is to his other leg, his good leg."

Wallace said his young side had gained plenty of self-belief from their shock win over the Hawks.

"It was pretty important from a self-belief point of view for our guys to know they can compete with sides that have been right up there," he said.

"As much as I can sit here and say I believe in our younger players, for them to see it for themselves is important and it helps sell the message to ourselves that we have been trying to portray all along."

The Tigers will be strong favourites in their last two matches but Wallace said his side shouldn't underestimate bottom four clubs Fremantle and Melbourne.

"When you are in a situation lower down the ladder, and we were there last year and knocked off a couple of sides, you have got that 'nothing to lose' attitude and you can go out and play with a bit of freedom," Wallace said.

"And you don't tighten up because there is nothing to tighten up over."






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Tigers upset Hawks

August 17th 2008 06:22
RICHMOND has kept its slim finals hopes alive with a 29-point win over Hawthorn at the MCG on Sunday afternoon.

The Tigers led at every change and survived several challenges from the Hawks, eventually prevailing 16.9 (105) to 10.16 (76).

The Hawks won the inside 50 count 49-36 but it was Richmond's ability to make the most of their opportunities that proved to be the difference between the two sides.

Richmond is within half a game of eighth-placed Brisbane with two rounds remaining - although they could drop to six points behind the top eight if St Kilda beats Fremantle in the Sunday twilight game at Subiaco Oval.

But with winnable matches against Fremantle and Melbourne at the MCG to finish the home-and-away season the Tigers have a great chance of ending their finals drought stretching back to 2001.

Joel Bowden was Richmond's best with a game-high 38 possessions, 21 marks and one goal while Matthew Richardson continued his stellar season with 29 disposals, 21 marks and one major.

Shane Tuck was also influential with 36 possessions. Brett Deledio was a busy contributor in the middle with 29 touches and one goal while Luke McGuane did a superb blanketing job on Jarryd Roughead, keeping the Hawthorn forward goalless.

The Tigers had 12 individual goalkickers for the match - Daniel Connors and Mitch Morton the most effective with three apiece.

For Hawthorn, Lance Franklin was dangerous up forward but failed to make the most of his opportunities in front of goal, booting a wasteful 3.6 - meaning he needs a further six goals in the final two rounds to become the first player since Tony Lockett in 1998 to boot 100 goals in the home-and-away season.

Richmond stamped their authority on the contest from the opening bounce. They won the contested football, ran hard and were clean with their use of the football as they slammed on five goals to two to take a 15-point lead into quarter-time.

The Hawks kicked the first goal of the second term through Jordan Lewis but the Tigers remained in control, piling on five of the last six majors of the quarter to take a commanding 31-point advantage into the main break.

Hawthorn lifted their intensity in the second half but were let down by their poor use of the football and woeful kicking for goal.

They closed to within 25 points at the 15-minute mark of the third term and should have been closer but failed to capitalise in front of goal, booting four straight behinds.

The Tigers made Hawthorn pay for their wastefulness in front of goal with Morton kicking a goal on the siren to give Richmond a 27-point lead heading into the final change.

Hawthorn closed to within 15 points early in the final term thanks to two goals from Campbell Brown but the Tigers had all the answers with majors from Jordan McMahon and Richardson sealing an impressive win for Richmond.

RICHMOND: 5.2 10.5 13.6 16.9 (105)
HAWTHORN: 2.5 4.10 7.15 10.16 (76)
GOALS: Richmond: Morton 3, Connors 3, Cotchin, Edwards, Bowden, Tuck, Tambling, White, Cartledge, Deledio, McMahon, Richardson
Hawthorn: Franklin 3, Brown 2, Lewis, Osborne, Bateman, Rioli, Williams
BEST: Richmond: Bowden, Richardson, McGuane, Tuck, Deledio, Newman, Morton, Thursfield, Moore
Hawthorn: Mitchell, Bateman, Franklin, Guerra, Birchall, Rioli
INJURIES: Richmond: Nil
Hawthorn: Nil
UMPIRES: James, M Nicholls, Mollison
REPORTS: Simmonds (Richmond) reported for rough conduct on Murphy (Hawthorn) by umpire Nicholls in the first quarter
CHANGES: Hawthorn: Nil
Richmond: Foley (ribs) replaced in selected side by Polo
CROWD: 44,523 at MCG



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I deserve to see out my contract: Wallace

August 12th 2008 05:56
RICHMOND coach Terry Wallace believes he deserves to see out the fifth and final year of his contract next season despite the fact that the Tigers have not played finals football during his reign.

Wallace said this current team is capable of brighter things to come than the ageing team that won ten and 11 games in 2005 and 2006 respectively.

"We were a mature side when I first arrived here (in 2005 and 2006), we were the third oldest side in the competition and now we one of the youngest sides," he said.

"And while we are in about the same position on the ladder we are now doing it with much younger blokes."

The Tigers are set to miss out on September action again this season but Wallace said the club was heading in the right direction.

"Legitimate Richmond people who follow the club, I still believe are happy to now see the right young men playing for their footy club," he said.

"They just weren't around to be played earlier - we made 25 changes to the list in the first two years and you can't make 40 changes - and we had 17 and 18-year-olds then who are now 21 and 22 and it just takes time (to build a successful team) but I knew that when I took on the job."

"But if we continue to improve (next year) with young players then we are heading in the right direction but if we stagnate now that we have got young players playing or don't continue to improve then we are not heading in the right direction."

Wallace admitted the pressure will be on him to lead the Tigers into the finals.

"Absolutely that will be the case and after a five year period, why wouldn't that be the case," he said.

"I have said before that if I am not coaching Richmond (beyond next season) then I won't be coaching because I am not at the stage in my career where I want to take up another coaching job and another starting challenge that goes for a seven or eight year period."

"I would love to be here when (gun midfielders) Brett Deledio gets to 25 (years of age) and Trent Cotchin has 100 games under his belt and our backmen (Luke McGuane, Will Thursfield and Kelvin Moore) have played together for six years."

"That is my desire to achieve that and I will be working as hard as I can."

"And while we are not where we want to be at the moment, we believe our graph is heading in the right direction and with the right age bracket (of players)."


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Posted By: TonyK - Category: AFL News, Richmond Tigers
   


We're still on track: Wallace

August 3rd 2008 00:17
RICHMOND is heading in the right direction despite their ten-goal loss to Geelong at Telstra Dome on Saturday night, according to coach Terry Wallace.

The Tigers challeneged the Cats early but Geelong's class came to the fore as the match wore on, eventually thumping Richmond by 63 points.

Despite the loss Wallace remained confident that his side was improving.

"I still think that we are going in the right direction," Wallace said.

"Geelong has been a much better side than us over my period of coaching, but I think Geelong would be saying that they are getting more competitive games of footy against Richmond now than what we have had in the past."

"We have still got some things to clean up if we want to be the best and we know that and we understand that."

Richmond now finds itself half a game outside the eight and faces a relatively tough run home with matches against Adelaide, Hawthorn, Fremantle and Melbourne in the final four rounds.

Having played out a draw against the Western Bulldogs earlier in the season, Wallace knows that percentage will not come into the equation for the Tigers if they are to sneak into the finals.

"Percentage is no issue for us. If we lose to Geelong by two goals or ten goals, obviously we want to get as close to them as we can, but its going to make no difference to our outcomes at all," Wallace said.

"Winning and losing is going to make the difference to our outcomes and we have just got to put our best foot forward over the next couple of weeks."

"Its what you do in the three or four weeks after you play Geelong whether it puts you into your shell or whether you're prepared to get back on it and play your footy. We were five out of six leading into this game and now we are five out of seven and that is still pretty reasonable form for this time of year."


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Polak returns to Tigerland

August 1st 2008 02:29
RICHMOND utility Graham Polak has returned to Punt Road on Friday for the first time since being hit by a tram in Melbourne almost five weeks ago.

He was placed in an induced coma for several days to relieve swelling on the brain, but has made steady progress since.

Polak watched the Tigers' 30-minute training sessions with his manager Paul Connors.

Richmond assistant coach Brian Royal said the 24-year-old's unexpected visit following his discharge from hospital on Wednsday was inspiring for the players.

"For Graham to walk into the club, it was overwhelming for the players, it's just terrific to see Graham back," said Royal.

"We know he's got an enormous amount of work in his recovery, but it's just fantastic to see him about the club."


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Polak out of hospital

July 30th 2008 04:38
RICHMOND utility Graham Polak has been discharged from hospital after being hit by a tram in Melbourne last month.

Polak suffered serious injuries in the incident and was put in an induced coma. He awoke from the coma two days later and was transferred from The Alfred Hospital to the Epworth Rehabilitation Centre on July 4.

Richmond doctor Greg Hickey said the 24-year-old will undergo extensive rehabilitation in the coming weeks.

Tigers coach Terry Wallace said Polak still had a long way to go in his recovery.

"We are thrilled that Graham has been able to show doctors... enough positive signs that he can return home," Wallace said.

"Graham still has a long way to go in his recovery, but this is considered another positive step."



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We need three more wins: Wallace

July 29th 2008 06:47
RICHMOND needs to win at least three of its five last games to qualify for only its third finals series since 1982, according to coach Terry Wallace.

The race to earn a finals berth is a tight one with just two and a half wins separating fourth-placed Sydney from 11th-placed Carlton.

The Tigers have won five of their past six matches to storm into finals contention but they face a tough next three weeks with matches against Geelong, Adelaide in Adelaide and Hawthorn before finishing with games against Fremantle and Melbourne at the MCG.

Wallace said it was important for his side to win games against fellow finals contenders.

"I don't know the answer to that but to be honest I think it matters which wins (you get)," he said when asked about the finals equation confronting his team.

"If you are playing a side in similar scenarios to yourself, if you win those type of games - well it's one less they can win so I think that could have an impact but at the very least we would say we would need three victories from this stage onwards if we wanted to play finals footy."

The Tigers meet only one fellow finals contender in the run home - Adelaide in round 19.

But Richmond is not looking beyond Saturday night's clash against reigning premiers and ladder leaders Geelong - the team which beat them by 157 points at Telstra Dome in round six last year.

Wallace said the match will give him a good gauge on how much his side has improved.

"We know we are in the hunt for the eight and every game is critically importantly but we are also in bigger picture mode as well and trying to build a side that can formulate a finals type scenario year in, year out over more than one finals campaign."

"So to be playing against the best - for these young boys who have been able to step up (in recent weeks) is great timing, great timing for us coming off a good run."



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Posted By: TonyK - Category: AFL Opinion, Richmond Tigers
   


Miller dumped for football reasons: March

July 28th 2008 02:10
RICHMOND president Gary March said the club’s decision to severe ties with former director of football Greg Miller was football-based and aimed at giving the Tigers the best chance of on-field success in the future.

March said the club had to act now to ensure they were in a good position when it came to making their most important football decisions in October.

“What we wanted to do was not be behind the rest of the field,” March said.

“It’s well documented there’s a number of clubs out there looking for different people … what we didn’t want to do was miss the best available person once we’d made the decision to move forward.”

March also admitted the way the Tigers handled Miller's departure from the club was not ideal.

“In an ideal world, I would have sat down with Greg and we would of discussed it and worked on his departure,” he said.

“I’m disappointed it came out that way and I expressed that disappointment when I met with him yesterday.”



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Posted By: TonyK - Category: AFL News, Richmond Tigers
   


Miller steps down

July 27th 2008 23:16
GREG Miller has bowed to pressure and stood down as Richmond's director of football.

Miller has been in the position for six years and is the first casualty of the club's review of the football department, which is being conducted by president Gary March and two of his board members.

March said both parties agreed to go their separate ways.

"It was agreed by both parties that Greg would step down immediately from his role as general manager of football operations," March said.

"I would like to thank Greg Miller for his six years of tireless service to the Richmond Football Club.

"He has been integral in the rebuilding of our young list.

"Greg should be proud of his work with the Richmond Football Club and I would like to specifically acknowledge his dedication to our club coterie groups and supporters over the years."

The review has also reportedly cast doubt over the future of Richmond assistant coach Jade Rawlings.

But Richmond coach Terry Wallace said he had been assured by March and new director Tony Free that Rawlings' position was safe.

Wallace was also confident his own position was safe and that he would coach the club in 2009.


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