The Tigers' toughest test
11:35:31 AM Wed 21 May, 2003
Rodney Eade
afl.com.au
Saturday’s West Coast-Richmond will be a cracking game between two sides that have found some form.
Richmond has a chance to gain further respect by defeating a quality side in what is the toughest road trip in the AFL.
It will be a contest of hardness and height versus system and pace. With Matthew Richardson in form, it is a difficult choice for John Worsfold to select his opponent.
The Tigers have really improved in tight contests and their hard-ball gets with the likes of Johnson, Coughlan and Newman and this has allowed Bowden, Tivendale and Fiora to play their natural games to great effect.
The Eagles have many quality midfielders who can run all day and coupled with their pace, it gives Worsfold plenty of weapons and Frawley much to think about. The size of Subiaco is going to suit West Coast midfielders more than their Tiger counterparts.
The Eagles have been able to manufacture goals without a name big forward. Glen Jakovich returns this week and has been adequate in his role at centre half-forward, but it is the likes of Embley, Jones, Haines, Sampi who have given support to Matera.
Game plan: The Tigers in the past have had many different styles, sometimes changing from week to week and relying on extra numbers in defence in an attempt to restrict the oppositions’ scoring ability.
They still like to have numbers behind the ball but certainly not as much as in the past. Their biggest improvement has come with their ability to win tight contests and to be able to release their runners. Even with their tall forwards out injured, they have been able to manufacture goals through smart positioning. Richardson back in and in form is obviously their lynch pin in attack.
The Eagles generally are a running side who play possession football, attempting to hit leading targets. They play on quickly at all times and are efficient at getting the ball into the forward line quickly.
The form of Michael Gardiner has been able to give his quality midfield an armchair ride. His contest with Greg Stafford will go along way towards deciding the contest.
Key match-ups: The obvious one is in the ruck. Both players have been in excellent form. Gardiner has been a player with a great deal of natural talent, but has been inconsistent in previous years.
His form at the moment would make him equal Brownlow favourite with Michael Voss. It is not only his athleticism and ability to cover the ground that is impressive, but also his ability to win the taps and hit a teammate on the chest.
Stafford has really responded to the injury to Brad Otters and has relished being the no.1 ruckman.
However, I believe Gardiner’s athleticism, ability to jump at centre bounces and cover the big ground that will give him the edge in this duel.
What does Frawley do? All week, he would have had visions in his mind of Ben Cousins, Chris Judd, Chad Fletcher, Daniel Kerr. Does he go head-to-head with the likes of Coughlan and Johnson, or does he sit on a couple of the Eagle play makers?
Worsfold will be prepared to back his players against Mark Coughlan and Kane Johnson because of the pace factor. Frawley could alleviate this by having Coughlan and Johnson in at centre bounces then have only one of them play on ball, alternating with the other at half-forward.
The player who is playing half-forward could then push into midfield and be used at stoppages and tight situations. This would allow two running-type players to have go-with roles with Eagle midfielders.
These may include Greg Tivendale, Joel Bowden and Aaron Fiora. Obviously, you would not start Fiora at centre bounces and probably not Tivendale. This would give Bowden a centre line role playing on Cousins, while Tivendale and Fiora would be responsible for Judd and Kerr. This would leave Johnson and Coughlan to rotate on Fletcher or Jones.
What does Worsfold do? His biggest issue would be Richardson.
Richardson, with his height, pace and athleticism is a very difficult match-up for most teams. His only options are McIntosh, Carroll and Glass. All of them have weaknesses that Richardson could exploit. McIntosh does not have the fitness or run to keep with him over the distance, Glass is not strong enough in the body to compete one-on-one, so Carroll might be the option, even though there is a discrepancy in height and talent. Carroll will, however, be able to provide a constant contest because of his athletic ability and his ability to hang tough – a quality you need when Richardson goes on a tear.
The verdict: West Coast’s significant home ground advantage will be a factor in the result. The travel should not impact upon Richmond’s performance but the size of the ground and the home ground is worth goals to the Eagles. They will miss Daniel Chick, but certainly have enough players to cover his absence.
It is not just in the midfield where West Cost’s pace is evident. Sampi, Matera and David Wirrpunda are explosive and can expose most teams in this area.
The Tigers have been terrific since round two and more important than the respect they have gained in the football world is the self-belief that must be growing by the week. They will give a good account of themselves, but will fall just a bit short against another quality side. Their big test will come the week after when they encounter the week-after-Perth-factor.
West Coast by 21 points.
11:35:31 AM Wed 21 May, 2003
Rodney Eade
afl.com.au
Saturday’s West Coast-Richmond will be a cracking game between two sides that have found some form.
Richmond has a chance to gain further respect by defeating a quality side in what is the toughest road trip in the AFL.
It will be a contest of hardness and height versus system and pace. With Matthew Richardson in form, it is a difficult choice for John Worsfold to select his opponent.
The Tigers have really improved in tight contests and their hard-ball gets with the likes of Johnson, Coughlan and Newman and this has allowed Bowden, Tivendale and Fiora to play their natural games to great effect.
The Eagles have many quality midfielders who can run all day and coupled with their pace, it gives Worsfold plenty of weapons and Frawley much to think about. The size of Subiaco is going to suit West Coast midfielders more than their Tiger counterparts.
The Eagles have been able to manufacture goals without a name big forward. Glen Jakovich returns this week and has been adequate in his role at centre half-forward, but it is the likes of Embley, Jones, Haines, Sampi who have given support to Matera.
Game plan: The Tigers in the past have had many different styles, sometimes changing from week to week and relying on extra numbers in defence in an attempt to restrict the oppositions’ scoring ability.
They still like to have numbers behind the ball but certainly not as much as in the past. Their biggest improvement has come with their ability to win tight contests and to be able to release their runners. Even with their tall forwards out injured, they have been able to manufacture goals through smart positioning. Richardson back in and in form is obviously their lynch pin in attack.
The Eagles generally are a running side who play possession football, attempting to hit leading targets. They play on quickly at all times and are efficient at getting the ball into the forward line quickly.
The form of Michael Gardiner has been able to give his quality midfield an armchair ride. His contest with Greg Stafford will go along way towards deciding the contest.
Key match-ups: The obvious one is in the ruck. Both players have been in excellent form. Gardiner has been a player with a great deal of natural talent, but has been inconsistent in previous years.
His form at the moment would make him equal Brownlow favourite with Michael Voss. It is not only his athleticism and ability to cover the ground that is impressive, but also his ability to win the taps and hit a teammate on the chest.
Stafford has really responded to the injury to Brad Otters and has relished being the no.1 ruckman.
However, I believe Gardiner’s athleticism, ability to jump at centre bounces and cover the big ground that will give him the edge in this duel.
What does Frawley do? All week, he would have had visions in his mind of Ben Cousins, Chris Judd, Chad Fletcher, Daniel Kerr. Does he go head-to-head with the likes of Coughlan and Johnson, or does he sit on a couple of the Eagle play makers?
Worsfold will be prepared to back his players against Mark Coughlan and Kane Johnson because of the pace factor. Frawley could alleviate this by having Coughlan and Johnson in at centre bounces then have only one of them play on ball, alternating with the other at half-forward.
The player who is playing half-forward could then push into midfield and be used at stoppages and tight situations. This would allow two running-type players to have go-with roles with Eagle midfielders.
These may include Greg Tivendale, Joel Bowden and Aaron Fiora. Obviously, you would not start Fiora at centre bounces and probably not Tivendale. This would give Bowden a centre line role playing on Cousins, while Tivendale and Fiora would be responsible for Judd and Kerr. This would leave Johnson and Coughlan to rotate on Fletcher or Jones.
What does Worsfold do? His biggest issue would be Richardson.
Richardson, with his height, pace and athleticism is a very difficult match-up for most teams. His only options are McIntosh, Carroll and Glass. All of them have weaknesses that Richardson could exploit. McIntosh does not have the fitness or run to keep with him over the distance, Glass is not strong enough in the body to compete one-on-one, so Carroll might be the option, even though there is a discrepancy in height and talent. Carroll will, however, be able to provide a constant contest because of his athletic ability and his ability to hang tough – a quality you need when Richardson goes on a tear.
The verdict: West Coast’s significant home ground advantage will be a factor in the result. The travel should not impact upon Richmond’s performance but the size of the ground and the home ground is worth goals to the Eagles. They will miss Daniel Chick, but certainly have enough players to cover his absence.
It is not just in the midfield where West Cost’s pace is evident. Sampi, Matera and David Wirrpunda are explosive and can expose most teams in this area.
The Tigers have been terrific since round two and more important than the respect they have gained in the football world is the self-belief that must be growing by the week. They will give a good account of themselves, but will fall just a bit short against another quality side. Their big test will come the week after when they encounter the week-after-Perth-factor.
West Coast by 21 points.
