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Richo's form boosts Tigers
By Jake Niall
March 09 2003
As ever, the fortunes of Richmond and Carlton will be greatly influenced in 2003 by the form and fragile bodies of Matthew Richardson and Anthony Koutoufides. Neither club is likely to make significant progress if its premier player endures another wasted year.
Yesterday, Richardson and Koutoufides not only took the field at Optus Oval, but were direct opponents for much of the afternoon. And the immediate outlook appears more positive for Richo and Richmond than Kouta and Carlton.
Koutoufides lined up in defence and it was evident that he would struggle to match Richardson on the lead. By the middle of the second quarter, Richo had three goals on the board, all from marks, one from beyond 50 metres.
Kouta appeared at least half-a-metre slower than the man who terrorised the competition in 2000 and 2001. Back then, Koutoufides was in the midfield and it was noticeable yesterday that he found some semblance of touch only when he was shifted to the middle in the second half, finishing with more than 20 touches.
If Koutoufides was uncomfortable in defence, it is worth asking why he was compelled to play in his discomfort zone? The ominous answer is that, as Denis Pagan explained, the Blues didn't have anyone else to play on Richmond's talls - Richardson and Brad Ottens/Greg Stafford.
"Ideally, we want to play him in the midfield," said Pagan of his best player. "We've got no one else to put down back at the minute; we know where Kouta's best spot is."
Richo, meanwhile, was in good nick and, most crucially, he did not end the match on crutches. "He had some pleasing signs today," said Tiger coach Danny Frawley.
Richmond had not performed well in the pre-season until yesterday and, like Carlton the previous weekend, probably needed to win a practice match, if only for confidence and to reassure supporters.
Yesterday, the Tigers won by 33 points, in a match they had controlled but not put to bed until the middle of the last quarter, when Joel Bowden and Kane Johnson - their classiest midfielders - collected 18 possessions between them and finished Carlton off. Bowden was best afield, booting three goals.
Besides winning, the other objective for the Tigers was to get some kilometres in the legs of skipper Wayne Campbell, Ray Hall and recruit Justin Blumfield. These tasks were completed, the only minus being an injury to Hall, who was taken to hospital for bruising to either the ribs or kidney.
"We've got some quality time into a number of players who've been a little underdone," said Frawley, calling yesterday's game a "consistent" effort. Richmond had selected by far its strongest side of the pre-season, despite the withdrawal of Rory Hilton, who, in an apparent first, injured his ankle watching the World Cup cricket on television on Friday.
Carlton's major positive was the performance of once wayward full-forward Brendan Fevola, who booted four goals, all in the first half. Fevola, fortunate to remain on the list, was given a "clean slate" upon Pagan's arrival. "There's a line in the sand. Both Brendan and Ryan (Houlihan), who were probably maligned last year, going forward and adding to our team," said Pagan.
Pagan was disappointed at "wasted opportunities, forward handballs, finessing around corners without kicking". He singled out three incidents in the last quarter "that cost us goals, blokes just trying to fiddle with the ball".
The implementation of the efficient Pagan plan still has some distance to travel.
By Jake Niall
March 09 2003
As ever, the fortunes of Richmond and Carlton will be greatly influenced in 2003 by the form and fragile bodies of Matthew Richardson and Anthony Koutoufides. Neither club is likely to make significant progress if its premier player endures another wasted year.
Yesterday, Richardson and Koutoufides not only took the field at Optus Oval, but were direct opponents for much of the afternoon. And the immediate outlook appears more positive for Richo and Richmond than Kouta and Carlton.
Koutoufides lined up in defence and it was evident that he would struggle to match Richardson on the lead. By the middle of the second quarter, Richo had three goals on the board, all from marks, one from beyond 50 metres.
Kouta appeared at least half-a-metre slower than the man who terrorised the competition in 2000 and 2001. Back then, Koutoufides was in the midfield and it was noticeable yesterday that he found some semblance of touch only when he was shifted to the middle in the second half, finishing with more than 20 touches.
If Koutoufides was uncomfortable in defence, it is worth asking why he was compelled to play in his discomfort zone? The ominous answer is that, as Denis Pagan explained, the Blues didn't have anyone else to play on Richmond's talls - Richardson and Brad Ottens/Greg Stafford.
"Ideally, we want to play him in the midfield," said Pagan of his best player. "We've got no one else to put down back at the minute; we know where Kouta's best spot is."
Richo, meanwhile, was in good nick and, most crucially, he did not end the match on crutches. "He had some pleasing signs today," said Tiger coach Danny Frawley.
Richmond had not performed well in the pre-season until yesterday and, like Carlton the previous weekend, probably needed to win a practice match, if only for confidence and to reassure supporters.
Yesterday, the Tigers won by 33 points, in a match they had controlled but not put to bed until the middle of the last quarter, when Joel Bowden and Kane Johnson - their classiest midfielders - collected 18 possessions between them and finished Carlton off. Bowden was best afield, booting three goals.
Besides winning, the other objective for the Tigers was to get some kilometres in the legs of skipper Wayne Campbell, Ray Hall and recruit Justin Blumfield. These tasks were completed, the only minus being an injury to Hall, who was taken to hospital for bruising to either the ribs or kidney.
"We've got some quality time into a number of players who've been a little underdone," said Frawley, calling yesterday's game a "consistent" effort. Richmond had selected by far its strongest side of the pre-season, despite the withdrawal of Rory Hilton, who, in an apparent first, injured his ankle watching the World Cup cricket on television on Friday.
Carlton's major positive was the performance of once wayward full-forward Brendan Fevola, who booted four goals, all in the first half. Fevola, fortunate to remain on the list, was given a "clean slate" upon Pagan's arrival. "There's a line in the sand. Both Brendan and Ryan (Houlihan), who were probably maligned last year, going forward and adding to our team," said Pagan.
Pagan was disappointed at "wasted opportunities, forward handballs, finessing around corners without kicking". He singled out three incidents in the last quarter "that cost us goals, blokes just trying to fiddle with the ball".
The implementation of the efficient Pagan plan still has some distance to travel.
