By Rohan Connolly
May 11 2003
Richmond has won more than its share of games on pure heart in recent seasons, which made yesterday's 42-point thumping of Essendon at the MCG arguably more significant than any of them. It was a victory of skill as much as passion.
That's a quality the Tigers have rarely been able to claim, one which continues to separate the yellow-and-black from the top teams. But on yesterday's showing, it's a gap being closed by the week, Richmond beginning to combine like a team that knows it's a fair bit better than popular opinion would suggest. And Richmond clearly is that, despite opposition yesterday that bordered on the insipid at times.
The old Tigers would have taken an inferiority complex into yesterday's game, given the physical and psychological hurdles standing in their way, the absence of virtually their entire big-man division, plus skipper Wayne Campbell only increasing the spectre of Essendon's imposing nine victories from their past 10 meetings.
Instead, the Tigers did the intimidating, first in the clinches, then on the scoreboard. In doing so, they not only forced the Dons to have a pretty long, hard look at themselves, but also forced the rest of a still pretty cynical football world to reassess the Tigers' place in the pecking order.
As funny as it seems, you can't help wondering whether the loss of key forward targets Matthew Richardson and Brad Ottens might actually have helped the Tigers find some badly needed alternative avenues to goal. Far from the indiscriminate long-bombing to the pair that often seemed to define the Tigers' game plan, the delivery forward yesterday was more measured and very, very effective.
But it was also direct enough to allow the likes of goalsneak Andrew Krakouer a bit of space to work in, and the various lower-profile Tiger forwards space in which to lead, against opponents who, frankly, didn't look interested.
Proof of that came in the way the Tigers flooded back in big numbers to thwart Essendon attacks, then burst the other way, often with their opponents trailing 30 or 40 metres in their wake, to carry the ball from end to end.
Royce Vardy's first goal of the game came from such pressure, the next, from Andrew Kellaway, was testimony to his preparedness to work. And by the time Krakouer snapped his first to make it four goals to nothing, the writing was on the wall.
Midfield, another supposed Richmond Achilles heel, is rapidly becoming a strength; Mark Coughlan, Kane Johnson, Joel Bowden and Greg Tivendale yesterday racked up more than 100 disposals. In contrast, Essendon's Jason Johnson, with 27 touches, had nearly twice as many as the next most prolific Bomber.
Kane Johnson is turning into one of the pick-ups of the season - his hardness, but more importantly, skilled hardness, just what the Tiger engine room was looking for. But he might just about have a double in Coughlan, who seems to have added some extra poise and class to his repertoire this year.
Krakouer's emergence is also allowing David Rodan to spend a bit more time in the action, while players of the calibre of Leon Cameron and Mark Chaffey are better off for not having to spend as much time there. The Tigers dominated the stoppages, which well before half-time were already a whopping 17-8 Richmond's way, the centre breaks an even more lopsided 7-1.
At 5-2, and with an MCG derby against down-in-the-dumps Melbourne next week, followed by a searching trip to Perth, then two more winnable games, Richmond is beautifully placed to reach the halfway point of the season with a win-loss record as good as 8-3. Even at 7-4, you'd have to say the Tiges are a better side than most of us thought.
May 11 2003
Richmond has won more than its share of games on pure heart in recent seasons, which made yesterday's 42-point thumping of Essendon at the MCG arguably more significant than any of them. It was a victory of skill as much as passion.
That's a quality the Tigers have rarely been able to claim, one which continues to separate the yellow-and-black from the top teams. But on yesterday's showing, it's a gap being closed by the week, Richmond beginning to combine like a team that knows it's a fair bit better than popular opinion would suggest. And Richmond clearly is that, despite opposition yesterday that bordered on the insipid at times.
The old Tigers would have taken an inferiority complex into yesterday's game, given the physical and psychological hurdles standing in their way, the absence of virtually their entire big-man division, plus skipper Wayne Campbell only increasing the spectre of Essendon's imposing nine victories from their past 10 meetings.
Instead, the Tigers did the intimidating, first in the clinches, then on the scoreboard. In doing so, they not only forced the Dons to have a pretty long, hard look at themselves, but also forced the rest of a still pretty cynical football world to reassess the Tigers' place in the pecking order.
As funny as it seems, you can't help wondering whether the loss of key forward targets Matthew Richardson and Brad Ottens might actually have helped the Tigers find some badly needed alternative avenues to goal. Far from the indiscriminate long-bombing to the pair that often seemed to define the Tigers' game plan, the delivery forward yesterday was more measured and very, very effective.
But it was also direct enough to allow the likes of goalsneak Andrew Krakouer a bit of space to work in, and the various lower-profile Tiger forwards space in which to lead, against opponents who, frankly, didn't look interested.
Proof of that came in the way the Tigers flooded back in big numbers to thwart Essendon attacks, then burst the other way, often with their opponents trailing 30 or 40 metres in their wake, to carry the ball from end to end.
Royce Vardy's first goal of the game came from such pressure, the next, from Andrew Kellaway, was testimony to his preparedness to work. And by the time Krakouer snapped his first to make it four goals to nothing, the writing was on the wall.
Midfield, another supposed Richmond Achilles heel, is rapidly becoming a strength; Mark Coughlan, Kane Johnson, Joel Bowden and Greg Tivendale yesterday racked up more than 100 disposals. In contrast, Essendon's Jason Johnson, with 27 touches, had nearly twice as many as the next most prolific Bomber.
Kane Johnson is turning into one of the pick-ups of the season - his hardness, but more importantly, skilled hardness, just what the Tiger engine room was looking for. But he might just about have a double in Coughlan, who seems to have added some extra poise and class to his repertoire this year.
Krakouer's emergence is also allowing David Rodan to spend a bit more time in the action, while players of the calibre of Leon Cameron and Mark Chaffey are better off for not having to spend as much time there. The Tigers dominated the stoppages, which well before half-time were already a whopping 17-8 Richmond's way, the centre breaks an even more lopsided 7-1.
At 5-2, and with an MCG derby against down-in-the-dumps Melbourne next week, followed by a searching trip to Perth, then two more winnable games, Richmond is beautifully placed to reach the halfway point of the season with a win-loss record as good as 8-3. Even at 7-4, you'd have to say the Tiges are a better side than most of us thought.
