Round 4 match reports

[Rosy]

From the club's site:

Tigers keep the Saints at bay
Jordan Chong
afl.com.au
4:45:02 PM Mon 21 April, 2003

Richmond has survived a final-term St.Kilda onslaught to get home by 26
points at Telstra Dome on Easter Monday, winning 17.5 (107) to 11.15 (81).

The match turned into a massive struggle after the Tigers had surged to a
36-point lead 10 minutes into the third term.

From that point, St.Kilda kicked the only goal to three-quarter time and,
despite Adam Houlihan's great mark over Xavier Clarke and goal to start the
final quarter, the Saints continued to come at an increasingly nervous and
uncertain Richmond outfit.

Steven Milne displayed his goal-kicking flair, booting two in a minute to
reduce the gap to 24 points with only 5:30 showing on the clock.

St. Kilda's endeavour was admirable but its shooting at goal during the
frantic final minutes was not, with Milne among several players failing to
kick accurately at goal, and they managed 2.7 for the term.

When Houlihan kicked his second of the quarter and fourth of the match deep
in time-on to secure victory, St. Kilda was left to rue its missed
opportunities in addition to a lack of discipline early.

Earlier, Richmond took advantage of being afforded time and space to kick
four consecutive majors midway through the first quarter to advance to a
17-point advantage.

The Tigers added two more majors to lead by 20 points at quarter-time, with
the first of those gifted to Joel Bowden after he, David Rodan and Mark
Coughlan were the only players from both sides at the bottom of a marking
contest deep inside forward 50.

Bowden featured again in the second term, scoring a fantastic goal after
baulking three opponents to slot a goal and put the Tigers ahead by 34
points.

But to St. Kilda's credit it recovered and started to create more of an
impact at the contest. With skipper Aaron Hamill kicking two goals and
debutant Brendan Goddard notching his first in AFL footy, the Saints kicked
three goals to one in time-on and ensured they entered the second half very
much in the contest.

Sensing a need to respond, the Tigers started the third stanza full of
running and, Steven Milne's agonizing poster for the Saints aside, resumed
their dominance with three goals in the first 10 minutes.

But Richmond was unable to break the game open, adding only a further two
points and conceding a goal to Fraser Gehrig before ending the third term
31 points in front.

In terms of injuries, Richmond's Justin Blumfield left the field in the
first-quarter with a thigh injury and was unable to return.

In round five, the Tigers face Hawthorn at the MCG on Saturday afternoon,
with St.Kilda hosting Geelong at Telstra Dome the next day.

ST KILDA: 3.4, 8.6, 9.9, 11.15 (81)
RICHMOND: 7.1, 12.2, 15.4, 17.5 (107)

GOALS: St Kilda: Hamill 3, Milne 2, Hayes, Lawrence, Koschitzke, Hudghton,
Goddard, Gehrig.
Richmond: Houlihan 4, Cameron, Richardson, Coughlan, Bowden, Rodan 2, Ti
vendale, Blumfield, Chaffey.
BEST: St Kilda: Hamill, Clarke, Koschitzke, Ball, Gehrig.
Richmond: Coughlan, Bowden, Chaffey, Houlihan, Johnson, Tivendale.
INJURIES: St Kilda: Lawrence (ankle)
Richmond: Blumfield (strained thigh), Campbell (corked thigh)
CHANGES: Nil
UMPIRES: Rowe, Dore, Kennedy.
CROWD: 44,382 at Telstra Dome

 

[Rosy]

From HeraldSun
Tigers gun down tardy Saints
21 April 2003 AFL
AAP

A FAST-starting and super-accurate Richmond moved to a 3-1 record with a 26-point win over St Kilda at Telstra Dome today.

The Tigers had four less scoring shots but still managed to plunge the Saints back toward the tail of the ladder with the 17.5 (107) to 11.15 (81) win in front of a bumper crowd of 44,382.

The Tigers have now posted three straight wins while the Saints' momentum from the upset win over Adelaide had evaporated with two disappointing performances.

St Kilda got their match-ups all wrong in the opening term, allowing far too much latitude to Richmond's running brigade.

The Tigers used it to best advantage as Mark Coughlan in midfield prompted the likes of Greg Tivendale and David Rodan as Richmond piled on seven goals to establish a 21-point lead at the first break that proved decisive.

The margin went out to 33 points as the Saints failed to pick up their men on the defensive transition and the game looked in danger of becoming a blow-out.

St Kilda belatedly knuckled down as captain Aaron Hamill kicked three second term goals and the gap was a manageable 20 points at half-time.

As legs tired the game took on a far more defensive aspect in the second half, which did not suit the Saints who could not find the goals they needed.

Two quick goals from the previously hibernating Stephen Milne in the final quarter reduced the margin to four goals as the Saints attacked relentlessly but with little reward.

They kicked 2.6 and one out of bounds on the full in the final quarter as the wilting Tigers prevailed.

Ex-Crow Kane Johnson, Coughlan and Tivendale starred for the victors, while there was promise for the Saints future as first year player Luke Ball impressed.

 

[Rosy]

:rollin Ha, ha, ha... Yeah right Grant :rollin

We're still better than Richmond insist beaten Saints
April 21 2003

St Kilda is a better side than Richmond according to coach Grant Thomas, but the Saints lost today, sit last on the ladder again and the hype is starting to sound increasingly hollow.

Richmond's 17.5 (107) to 11.15 (81) win was its third straight and elevated them to fourth on the AFL ladder while St Kilda fell to last.

After the game, Saints coach Grant Thomas insisted his side was still a finals hope, still rated his side better than Richmond, insisted the club was better off than many others, and made another appeal for patience.

"We set ourselves for this game because we believe we are better than Richmond," Thomas said after the match.

"On any measure I still firmly believe we are a better side."

Clearly the scoreboard and the ladder were not measures that registered with Thomas.

This was the first of four games against struggling opposition at Telstra Dome for the Saints, and with one opportunity lost, their season hinges on upcoming fixtures with Geelong, Western Bulldogs and Carlton.

"We can win the next three games and be four-three," Thomas said.

"The year is absolutely nowhere near finished, we've got truckloads to get out of it.

"I would still rather be in our shoes than a lot of other clubs' shoes."

It was a strange game for the Saints, who gave up a big early lead and then hung in the contest while watching Richmond kick superbly for goal to maintain a buffer of at least 20 points throughout.

The Saints attacked relentlessly in the final term but kicked 2.6 and one out on the full to blow their comeback hopes.

The win was effectively decided in the opening term when Richmond's confidence-fuelled running players were given great latitude and the forwards finished nicely to establish a 21-point quarter time lead.

"(Accuracy) is one area we haven't been able to achieve in our first three games and to put scoreboard pressure on and get reward for our efforts was something we talked about," Richmond coach Danny Frawley said.

In the recent past a Richmond side that got just two goals from tall forwards would have been thrashed, but the Tigers have found more avenues to goal and promise to improve even further when the likes of Brad Ottens and Ben Holland return from injury.

"We're going to get better when we get back some of our structure and can get on the front foot," Frawley said.

"If we can keep that consistency of effort going and we can add to that, it will make my job a little bit easier."

The Tigers were best served by three blonde runners in Mark Coughlan, Kane Johnson and a rejuvenated Greg Tivendale.

For the Saints, much attention was focussed on hyped debutant Brendon Goddard, but it was another first-year player in Luke Ball who shone while Fraser Gehrig was handy at both ends.

 

[Rosy]

Tigers tame Saints
Sportal

Richmond has moved into the top four with its third straight win, a
26-point defeat of St Kilda at the Telstra Dome.

With the roof left open in the mild autumn conditions at Docklands, the
Tigers made a brilliant start with seven goals to three in the first term,
and after leading by 33 points in the second quarter, were still in front
by 20 points at half-time.

In both the third and last stanzas Richmond extended its advantage beyond
six goals again, but after a tough game in the wet last week against
Fremantle, stopped in the last 25 minutes.

St Kilda made all the running in the closing stages, but couldn't convert
its chances on the scoreboard, kicking a wasteful 2.6, before Adam Houlihan
sealed the 17.5 (107) to 11.15 (81) victory with his fourth goal.

Greg Tivendale, Mark Coughlan, Mark Chaffey and Kane Johnson had plenty of
the ball in midfield for the Tigers, Andrew Kellaway was solid in defence,
Matthew Richardson provided a marking target up forward and Houlihan
finished off the good work by his teammates further afield.

Luke Ball, Robert Harvey and Aussie Jones tried hard all day for the Saints
with their share of possession, along with hard-working captain Aaron
Hamill, who booted three goals, while Nick Riewoldt was handy and Brendon
Goddard impressed in his debut.

Richmond 17.5 (107)
Goals: Houlihan 4, Coughlan, Rodan, Cameron, Richardson, Bowden 2,
Blumfield, Chaffey, Tivendale
Best: Tivendale, Coughlan, Chaffey, Richardson, Johnson, Houlihan

St Kilda 11.15 (81)
Goals: Hamill 3, Milne 2, Koschitzke, Goddard, Gehrig, Hayes, Hudghton,
Lawrence
Best: Hamill, Harvey, Ball, Jones, Riewoldt, Goddard

Injuries: Blumfield (Richmond) thigh, Lawrence (St Kilda) ankle
Reports: Nil
Crowd: 44,382 at the Telstra Dome

 

[Rosy]

From the club's site:

Forward line flexibility pleases Frawley
Samantha Lane
afl.com.au
7:56:41 PM Mon 21 April, 2003

Richmond coach Danny Frawley has named his side's multi-faceted forward
line as one of the most pleasing aspects after the first four rounds of the
season.

Adjectives such as 'versatile' or 'unpredictable' are not freely associated
with the Tigers' attack, which has recently functioned around tall
game-breakers Matthew Richardson and Brad Ottens. But Richmond boasted nine
individual goalkickers in its round four win over St Kilda, and
significantly Richardson had just eight touches and contributed two goals.

All this with Ottens sidelined with a serious back complaint.

"We've really learnt a hell of a lot since round one and we're getting a
hell of a lot better there," Frawley said of his side's forward set-up
after the game.

"I was really pleased with the team goals we were able to kick today, being
able to isolate certain players at certain stages and not to have the one
go-to player."

Frawley conceded the predicability of the Tigers' forward half had been
addressed during the pre-season, and the round one loss to Collingwood
aside, says a shift of focus has since paid dividends.

"We've talked about that. We become very predictable when you continue to
go to one or two talls. It was common knowledge that Ottens and Richardson,
if you kept them down you'd beat Richmond. We've worked on it over summer.

"Under pressure in round one we weren't able to do that. But I think the
players are really taking that on board now - and even our tall forwards
know to lead into a space, and if you're taking two with you someone else
is going to pop up and kick the goals and Adam Houlihan was lucky enough to
do it this week."

Houlihan kicked four goals for the Tigers on Monday - in a standout effort
in his career - while Leon Cameron did the same in the side's round two win
over the Western Bulldogs.

Richardson led strongly against St Kilda, after returning to senior action
just 13 days after having a fractured cheekbone repaired.

Frawley said he had not instructed club hero and spearhead Richardson to
alter his game, nor his teammates to change their mindset in attack.

"It's not a change of mindset. We tell Richo that his athleticism and his
ability to run all day is something we really need out there," Frawley
said.

"He opened up a vacuum for other players to slot into today, and he also
went in and kicked really telling goals when they were needed as well. I
thought his game, for a guy who 13 days ago was on an operating table,
takes a hell of a lot of courage.

"As a coach I couldn't be more proud of being able to coach him today
coming out after 13 days and to play the way he did."

 

[Rosy]

After the game, Saints coach Grant Thomas insisted his side was still a finals hope, still rated his side better than Richmond, insisted the club was better off than many others, and made another appeal for patience.

"We set ourselves for this game because we believe we are better than Richmond," Thomas said after the match.

"On any measure I still firmly believe we are a better side."

I'd like to know what his "any measures" are. The main measure on the day that comment was made would be the score board.
We didn't have our best side in and still defeated the Saints with with ease.
You sound a little silly there Granty-babes. ;D

 

[JohnF]

From the club's site:


INJURIES: Richmond: Blumfield (strained thigh), Campbell (corked thigh)


I knew there had to be a reason why Campbell played so badly. I'll be expecting 40 possessions next week to make up for this one.

I reckon Blumfield will be a good player for us as the season goes on. The guy has skills, he's just got to get a good run with injuries and have a solid preseason and he'll be a good player. I still think he'll be a good contributor for us later on in the year, though i don't think we'll see his best till next year.

 

[JohnF]

Sorry for putting words in yoru mouth Rosy, just meant to quote the line about the injuries. ;D

 

[Rosy]

Haha no worries JohnF....I didn't realise that Campbo was listed as injured. I just posted my bit sticking up for him on the Votes thread.
I reckon you and TF should be proud of me, ha. ;D

 

[JohnF]

Proud and shocked!!

 

[Tigerdog]

Stunning avatar JohnF ;D 'luv ya work'

 

[JohnF]

;D Thanx, appreciated Tigerdog!