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Tigers to thrive in the nine-point zone

mightytiges

The greatest Tiger of them all - Jack Dyer R.I.P.
Dec 16, 2002
1,195
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Tony Greenberg
richmondfc.com.au
1:19:14 PM Wed 8 January, 2003

Richmond will boast an impressive list of potential ‘nine-point’ players going into the upcoming Wizard Cup competition.

One of the most interesting changes made by the AFL to ‘spice’ up the pre-season series has been the introduction of nine points for a goal kicked outside the 50-metre arc. Under this new rule, the player must have his back foot on or beyond the 50-metre arc if shooting on the run and the player on the mark must be on or beyond the 50-metre arc if the kicker is taking a set shot (the ball can bounce through).

The Tigers appear well placed to capitalise on this goalscoring variation in the competition which kicks off in late February. A check of the Club’s playing list reveals several players who will relish the opportunity to have a crack at the nine-pointers – most of them power-laden left-footers.

Here’s Richmond Football Manager Greg Hutchison’s assessment of the Tigers who are set to thrive in the nine-point zone . . .

BRAD OTTENS
“Brad from a set shot from outside 50 will give it a real nudge. He’s definitely a very accurate kick . . . the only question is if he can get the distance because you’ve actually got to kick it about 55-60 metres (taking into account the man on the mark). He’d certainly go close, though.”

JOEL BOWDEN
“Definitely Joel Bowden on that sweeping left foot, getting the handball, running and banging them through from outside 50 . . . he’ll like the look of those nine-pointers. Joel has tried a few set plays over the past couple of seasons where he has crept up to a team-mate taking a set shot from about 50 out, received the handball and then let fly – and it’s worked pretty well. So, it makes sense that Joel will be looking for the nine-point goals because he’s such a prodigious kick of the ball.”

MATTHEW RICHARDSON
“Matty Richardson obviously is a thumping kick from outside 50, so I’m sure he’d be happy to try and score some nine-pointers and really get the Yellow and Black fans involved.”

AARON FIORA
“Aaron, potentially, could be in the same boat as a Joel Bowden. He’s certainly able to penetrate from outside 50 with that left foot.”

LEON CAMERON
“Leon is clearly technically capable of doing it, but I’m not sure we’d want him in a position where he was going to have a lot of shots there. But he might be one who could have a go at it . . .”

RAY HALL
“Big Ray Hall is a good, long kick of the ball also. If he plays in the ruck, he’ll get an opportunity because he’ll push forward and have a chance to run and have a shot at it.”

GREG TIVENDALE
“Another left-footer, who I have visions of running and bouncing through the middle, and having a ping from outside 50. He’s certainly capable of getting the distance.”

Hutchison said there could be another couple of Richmond players who may also stake a claim in the nine-point zone, but that at this stage the Tigers were well satisfied that they had the armory to exploit this radical Wizard Cup innovation.

“We’ll just have to get the coaching staff to work on some of these set plays, because I’m sure that nine points on offer will be quite exciting and provide a boost for the whole competition,” he said.
 
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Does anybody know why things copied from the RFC site are coming out like the post above? I wonder if there has been some code included to stop copying, or is our swear filter not recognising the punctuation marks?

Anyway back to the long bombs. What are people's opinions on this?

I was watching one of our games from last year on video this week, and it seemed we did better when we bombed the ball towards the goal square, which is probably what shots from outside 50 will often end up being anyway.

The height and marking ability Staff and Otto and Richo are pretty handy to have in the goal square and must put the odds in our favour when the ball is kicked to the goalsquare, especially with a decent crumber at their feet.
We seemed to turn the ball over around chf a lot last season.
Of course that should change this season with all our tall players in the team and better delivery from the midfield.
To me the long bombs will be exciting to see, but I certainly hope they are not to the detriment of practising delivery to our forwards advantage in preparation for the real season.
Go Tiges.
 

mightytiges

The greatest Tiger of them all - Jack Dyer R.I.P.
Dec 16, 2002
1,195
0
Unless it's a one-out situation between Richo/Stafford/Otto and their opponent then the long bomb should be a last option. The guys kicking inside 50 need to increase their peripheral vision and look for other teammates running alone inside 50 as well as trying to hit a big man. Less predicitable and the opposition won't so easily be able to tag team whoever of the 3 big guys is playing FF. If a player has to kick long then sure set it up in the danger zone - 15m out from goal dead in front - and have our crumbers/midfielders in front of the pack (not right under though) with room to run onto the ball if no mark is taken.

Sounds simple doesn't it ;)