July 11, 2003
RICHMOND coach Danny Frawley may not think much of Geelong's defence, but he probably doesn't want to hear what they think of his AFL forwards.
Frawley's regard for this weekend's opponent was exposed when his tactics whiteboard was photographed at training this week.
The main messages on the board were: "Geelong are ranked 16th in stopping goals from marks" and "Our main KPI [key performance indicator] is too (sic) take an uncontested mark in corridor inside 50."
So expect Richmond to bomb long to tall forwards - hardly a novel plan at Tigerland - and to expose Geelong's backs by getting loose in attack.
Geelong has not been as lax in letting its whiteboard secrets slip, but if so it might have said: "Richmond has averaged only 10 goals a game in its six-match losing streak" and "Richmond is the worst team in the league for clearances from contests."
Not that Frawley needs reminding of his side's shortcomings, as he today repeatedly emphasised the need for his goal-shy side to crank up its offence.
Over the past five games, no Richmond player had managed more than six goals in total.
"We've got a few areas we need to improve on, one is scoreboard pressure and we've been unable to do that the last couple of weeks," Frawley said.
Having sunk from a 6-2 record to 6-8, Frawley recognised the Tigers' September hopes will be on the line against the Cats, describing a win as "a must" and "super-important".
"We know we've got to put four points on the board - it's been disappointing, a long time between drinks," he said.
The onerous effect of returning from Perth had been well documented this year, but Richmond must contend with a unique travel burden, having come off consecutive trips to Brisbane then Adelaide.
"It's not ideal when you have a week's break and then you have two interstate games to butter up," Frawley said.
"But in saying that, the boys' attitude has been terrific. We've really kept off their legs this week to make sure they're fresh for the game tomorrow."
RICHMOND coach Danny Frawley may not think much of Geelong's defence, but he probably doesn't want to hear what they think of his AFL forwards.
Frawley's regard for this weekend's opponent was exposed when his tactics whiteboard was photographed at training this week.
The main messages on the board were: "Geelong are ranked 16th in stopping goals from marks" and "Our main KPI [key performance indicator] is too (sic) take an uncontested mark in corridor inside 50."
So expect Richmond to bomb long to tall forwards - hardly a novel plan at Tigerland - and to expose Geelong's backs by getting loose in attack.
Geelong has not been as lax in letting its whiteboard secrets slip, but if so it might have said: "Richmond has averaged only 10 goals a game in its six-match losing streak" and "Richmond is the worst team in the league for clearances from contests."
Not that Frawley needs reminding of his side's shortcomings, as he today repeatedly emphasised the need for his goal-shy side to crank up its offence.
Over the past five games, no Richmond player had managed more than six goals in total.
"We've got a few areas we need to improve on, one is scoreboard pressure and we've been unable to do that the last couple of weeks," Frawley said.
Having sunk from a 6-2 record to 6-8, Frawley recognised the Tigers' September hopes will be on the line against the Cats, describing a win as "a must" and "super-important".
"We know we've got to put four points on the board - it's been disappointing, a long time between drinks," he said.
The onerous effect of returning from Perth had been well documented this year, but Richmond must contend with a unique travel burden, having come off consecutive trips to Brisbane then Adelaide.
"It's not ideal when you have a week's break and then you have two interstate games to butter up," Frawley said.
"But in saying that, the boys' attitude has been terrific. We've really kept off their legs this week to make sure they're fresh for the game tomorrow."
