26 April 2003 Herald Sun
By SHANNON McRAE
RICHMOND coach Danny Frawley expects Matthew Richardson to slip into top gear against Hawthorn today, saying the big forward was just warming his engine against St Kilda last week.
The Tigers expect a bigger impact from Richardson in today's clash at the MCG, after he returned early last week from surgery to repair his fractured cheekbone.
Richardson booted two goals after missing just one match with the injury.
"I can smell a pretty good game from the big fella tomorrow," Frawley said. "He's been able to defy a lot of odds over the years. His ability to play with injury is probably second to none.
"He's been doing that since he was 18. He's had his fair share of injuries and he knows better than anyone else how to get over them, and he's a credit to himself the way he handles himself."
While wary of the strong Hawthorn ruck combination of Peter Everitt and Nathan Thompson, Frawley said big Tiger Ray Hall had proved he could hold his own.
"Ray's been really good for us. He's been filling the void with Brad (Ottens) and Ben Holland out, so his workload's been great," he said.
"He's doing a hell of a lot of work on Saturdays, so we've been resting him up during the week."
Frawley said the Tigers' young midfield brigade would be instrumental against the Hawks and that the group had a strong future.
"With (Mark) Coughlan, Kane Johnson, Dave Rodan and Tim Fleming, it's allowed some really good structures around the ball now," he said.
"If we can keep this group together for a long time, it's a pretty young midfield, it's exciting."
The loss of Justin Blumfield (thigh) has been offset by the return of forward Andrew Krakouer.
Krakouer injured his knee in an intra-club pre-season match, and has performed strongly for Coburg in the VFL for the past three weeks.
"It's great to see Andy Krakouer back. He'll add a lot of freshness around the packs," Frawley said.
"He'd been in really good form throughout the pre-season, but unfortunately after the Aboriginal All-Stars game he hurt his knee. He's had three runs back in the VFL now and he's ready to go."
Despite a break of just five days between Monday's win against St Kilda and today's match, Frawley said the Tigers were well prepared.
"We've come up really well. It's been really good. The boys have been very professional about it," he said.
"We've known about this since last October when the draw came out, and Brisbane were able to do it last week, so that gives us a lot of confidence."
By SHANNON McRAE
RICHMOND coach Danny Frawley expects Matthew Richardson to slip into top gear against Hawthorn today, saying the big forward was just warming his engine against St Kilda last week.
The Tigers expect a bigger impact from Richardson in today's clash at the MCG, after he returned early last week from surgery to repair his fractured cheekbone.
Richardson booted two goals after missing just one match with the injury.
"I can smell a pretty good game from the big fella tomorrow," Frawley said. "He's been able to defy a lot of odds over the years. His ability to play with injury is probably second to none.
"He's been doing that since he was 18. He's had his fair share of injuries and he knows better than anyone else how to get over them, and he's a credit to himself the way he handles himself."
While wary of the strong Hawthorn ruck combination of Peter Everitt and Nathan Thompson, Frawley said big Tiger Ray Hall had proved he could hold his own.
"Ray's been really good for us. He's been filling the void with Brad (Ottens) and Ben Holland out, so his workload's been great," he said.
"He's doing a hell of a lot of work on Saturdays, so we've been resting him up during the week."
Frawley said the Tigers' young midfield brigade would be instrumental against the Hawks and that the group had a strong future.
"With (Mark) Coughlan, Kane Johnson, Dave Rodan and Tim Fleming, it's allowed some really good structures around the ball now," he said.
"If we can keep this group together for a long time, it's a pretty young midfield, it's exciting."
The loss of Justin Blumfield (thigh) has been offset by the return of forward Andrew Krakouer.
Krakouer injured his knee in an intra-club pre-season match, and has performed strongly for Coburg in the VFL for the past three weeks.
"It's great to see Andy Krakouer back. He'll add a lot of freshness around the packs," Frawley said.
"He'd been in really good form throughout the pre-season, but unfortunately after the Aboriginal All-Stars game he hurt his knee. He's had three runs back in the VFL now and he's ready to go."
Despite a break of just five days between Monday's win against St Kilda and today's match, Frawley said the Tigers were well prepared.
"We've come up really well. It's been really good. The boys have been very professional about it," he said.
"We've known about this since last October when the draw came out, and Brisbane were able to do it last week, so that gives us a lot of confidence."
