That last quarter on Monday

[wagstaff]

I watched the last quarter of Monday's game last night, wanting to know why Richmond fell away so badly.

The thing that stood out for me was the flaws in the way Richmond transferred the ball out of the backline. Often a player (let's say Chaffey) would mark the ball in the back pocket and be confronted with a large throng of players heading towards the wing. After waiting around for a few seconds for an option, he would kick the ball to the wing where it would get bottled up or a Saints player would take a mark.

The obvious thing to do was for some Tiger players to run to the fat side of the ground so that Chaffey would be able to switch play across the ground and the Tigers could run the ball down the wing and into the forward line. But time and again, it would be kicked to the congested wing and all the momentum would stop.

I suspect the reasons for this were a combination of tiredness and loss of nerve. From the angles Ch. 10 were showing, there weren't enough players running to positon there. Switching play in the backline can be a risky option (as Rogers found out) but if done sensibly can lead to a quick transfer to the forward line and when Richmond did get in there, were very potent.

Also, some players were found out in the pressurised atmosphere. The likes of Hilton and Pettifer (who both had rotten games) gave up the ball far too easily and softly in contested situations. Fleming was vibrant and did some good one percenters but also sloppy on other occasions, in particular fell over chasing a ball on the wing unnecessarily.

And Stafford was dead unlucky not to be given a push in the back in the forward line; the holding-the-ball against Clarke was a 50/50 for mine.

Hopefully, these chinks will be ironed out for the big game on Saturday.

 

[mightytiges]

Pretty accurate summary there wagstaff. I'm putting that last quarter down to tiredness due to the freo game and the fact that with Blumfield and Campo on the bench we were restricted in our interchange rotations. We did panic a bit. I'm sure Danny and the coaching staff went through the last quarter with the players and compared it with the free-flowing and quick ball movement we showed earlier in the game.

We got bugger all from the umps in the second half and especially the last quarter. Those holding the ball decisions you mentioned wagstaff plus the worse one against Ty. Good one ump, throwing a ball with your fist :.

 

[Rosy]

Speaking of frees, what does Richo have to do to ever get one. It seems he can be held and pushed and scragged constantly and the opposition player rarely gets penalised for it.

As to the last 1/4, I also think a bit of lethargy kicked in. The game in the wet was always going to have to take it's toll. We also had a pretty hectic first half against the Saints to set the game up.
I'm not too concerned, I don't think the result was ever in doubt.
Maybe if they had to to save the game the players could have lifted another notch.
The main thing is to freshen up enough in the short break to be able to run with the Hawks all day.
Go Tiges!

 

[dimmauchamp]

problem is that if we the reason was due to lethargy than we are in trouble against the hawks!! Only a 5 day break against a team known for its fitness above everything else may just be too much!!! Ill will be surprised if we do win, but heres hoping!!! Aslong as they can show the same commitment and passion for the first 3 quarters agains hawks we are a chance!!! We must have a good break going into the last quarter as they will overrun us!!