Match Preview - Western Bulldogs v Richmond - R3

[The Coon Dog]

MATCH

Western Bulldogs v Richmond – Monday 13 April – Etihad Stadium – 2.10pm.


RECENT CLASHES

2008 – R5 – Western Bulldogs 19.16.130 drew with Richmond 20.10.130 (TD)
2007 – R4 – Richmond 14.16.100 defeated by Western Bulldogs 20.12.132 (MCG)
2006 – R18 – Richmond 10.18.78 defeated by Western Bulldogs 15.10.100 (MCG)
2006 – R1 – Western Bulldogs 25.17.167 defeated Richmond 7.10.52 (TD)
2005 – R20 – Richmond 16.11.107 defeated by Western Bulldogs 18.11.119 (TD)


FORM THIS SEASON

The Bulldogs & Richmond’s round 1 form couldn’t have contrasted any further; the Doggies notching an impressive 63 point win over Fremantle in Perth whereas Richmond played on the big stage opening the season against Carlton with prized pre season recruit Ben Cousins only to fail miserably, losing by 83 points & Cousins pulling a hamstring in the final term.

Round 2 saw the Bulldogs prevail over recent bogey team North Melbourne at the MCG to win a tough hard encounter by 15 points. Tiger fans would have been heartened by a much improved performance against Geelong at the Cattery going down by just 20 points after leading at the final change.


ETIHAD STADIUM

This might come as a surprise, but results at this venue between these two teams favour the Tigers 4-2 with the most recent clash ending all square. Richmond won the first 4 clashes at the venue, before they came crashing down to Earth in round 1, 2006.

Last season the Bulldogs played at the venue 12 times for 8 wins, 3 losses & a draw, whereas Richmond only ventured there on 4 occasions for 1 win, 2 losses & a draw.


SELECTION TABLE

I can’t see too many changes at the selection table this week. The Bulldogs will feel nice & relaxed after an 8 day break (this may be a factor the following week with a 6 day break prior to a trip to Perth) & will not look at resting anyone, though they bring back Scott Welsh who was outstanding for Williamstown on Saturday. Robert Murphy is unlikely to now be considered until he’s had a game with the Seagulls so I don’t see him being included this week. There may be the temptation to bring back Tiller to combat the height in Richmond’s forward line.

Who goes out if Welsh or Tiller comes in? Tough choice & it may come down to match ups/team balance. Those in the frame are likely to be Jarrod Harbrow, Liam Picken or Callan Ward.

Will Terry Wallace look to pit Jordan McMahon against his old team? Only if he decides to replace Jake King, who I must say really contributed to the Tigers demise on Saturday against Geelong with poor tackling & errant disposal (sounds just like Jordy). Mark Coughlan may be included after an encouraging display on the weekend for Coburg.


WHO’S MISSING?

For the Bulldogs Robert Murphy will miss. Others injured or returning from injury that might expect to be there or thereabouts include Tim Callan & Scott Welsh.

Richmond will be without Ben Cousins, Andrew Raines, Kane Johnson, Trent Cotchin & Graham Polak.



WHERE WILL THIS BE WON & LOST?

Simply, out of the middle. There’s a whole host of players for the Bulldogs who’ll take a turn in their & it’s where I expect them to exert their authority over the Tigers.

Richmond looked good when they won first possession out of the center on the weekend but I think Geelong had taken their foot off the pedal & only did enough to ensure they got the 4 points.


KEY PLAYERS

Ryan Griffen – Is clearly in red hot form at the moment after winning the Gary Dempsey medal v North Melbourne. I think he’ll cop a hard tag & I expect Shane Tuck to get the job. Tuck can be used as an offensive weapon at stoppages for the Tigers as he’s often the 3rd man up & has a decent reach, something Griff needs to be mindful of.

Brad Johnson – If Johnno gets half a sniff he could tear Richmond a new one on Monday. He looked much sharper on the weekend & has had a huge pre season. If the Bulldogs get on top out of the middle Johnno might be in for a day out. Who matches up on him from Richmond? He’d be too quick for Joel Bowden, Daniel Jackson & Luke McGuane, maybe a job for Kelvin Moore.

Brian Lake – I don’t expect Richmond to put a loose man down back as north did with Petrie & allow Brian Lake off the leash. He plays his best football when he’s freed up to just go after the ball & make it his number one priority. Schultz or Reiwoldt may have to ensure he’s accountable. Interesting poser for Wallace this week.

Lindsay Gilbee – Another who Wallace can ill afford to let run free & use his immaculate foot skills. Gilbee has so far this year shown a tendency to work his way through a hard tag (Crowley & Lower) & continue to hurt the opposition, particularly as he’s moved forward. I wouldn’t be surprised to see Chris Newman have a crack at him first up.

Matthew Richardson – Clearly the most important player for Richmond. How they wish they had 2 of him, 1 up forward & 1 in the midfield. I’d like to see Tom Williams stand Richo when he’s forward. Tom has all the tools to nullify Richo, but I think we have to use his lack of defensive pressure when he goes for a wander. Perhaps use Griff to run off him & hurt them the other way. Geelong tried Bartel on him but Richo just rag dolled him & was too strong. Stop Richardson & Richmond are in a whole heap of strife.

Brett Deledio – I was very impressed with his game against Geelong, a vast improvement on his performance in the opening round. He has very good foot skills & can go forward & kick a goal. Is Liam Picken the right match up? I’m not real sure to be honest, but I’d let him have first try & if that fails then Matthew Boyd as a back up.

Nathan Brown – Fail to keep him under control at your peril! Still very damaging & an excellent user of the ball, forget round 1, we all know that wasn’t the Nathan Brown we all know (& hate). Whoever is assigned to him has to concentrate all day & have his footy smarts about him. A job for Dylan Addison.

Mitch Morton – One of the few Tigers to perform well in round 1 with 4 goals. A real opportunist. He doesn’t need too many kicks to be damaging. I’d put Dale Morris onto him & make him work his socks off for every touch.


WHO WILL WIN & WHY?

I just think the Bulldogs have more good players than Richmond & will win. Obviously the Bulldogs have to stop Matthew Richardson. Do that & they’re half way there, whereas Richmond on the other hand have to stop more than just one player. Allow Griffen, Gilbee, Boyd, Cross, Higgins, Cooney & Giansiracusa to run through the middle unmolested & you’re asking for trouble, on the other hand, try matching them up & you run the risk of having no one to kick to if you do win possession.

The Bulldogs will look to use the strength of their midfield to overwhelm Richmond, use their stronger bodies (never thought I’d ever say that) to out muscle them & superior foot skills to penetrate the Tigers defence as they surge forward.

Richmond will hope their key play makers are all on song, if they are then they will give a good account of themselves. They will need to get first use of the ball & get it in quickly to Richardson (Williams), Reiwoldt (Lake), Schultz (Hargrave), Morton (Morris) & Brown (Addison). Foley will have to be at his damaging best out of the middle.


VERDICT

I can’t honestly see Richmond getting within a bulls roar of the Bulldogs on Monday. I just think we have far too many match winners & I have a feeling it’s going to get ugly for the Tiger supporters. Obviously I could be wrong & we could keep them in the game as we did last year with missed opportunities, somehow I don’t think so.

The Doggies to win by 13 goals.

[Mantis]

Nice preview CD.

The Brown piece intrigues me. You say that the player assigned to watch him has to have his footy smarts about him and then you suggest that Addison is the man for the job.... Footy smarts?? Didn't you see his efforts in the goal square last week?

How we match up in defence will be interesting. If Williams is going to follow Richo up the ground we probably need to bring in a taller defender to help out in matching up on Riewoldt & Schulz (even though he is a gumby).

Another interesting week at the selection table, but I think it's a great position to be in as we now have the depth on the list to be able to match up to differing playing styles.

13 goals? That would be nice...:)

[The Coon Dog]

Nice preview CD.

The Brown piece intrigues me. You say that the player assigned to watch him has to have his footy smarts about him and then you suggest that Addison is the man for the job.... Footy smarts?? Didn't you see his efforts in the goal square last week?


I'm not too sure how many players really understood that particular rule. Only last week Luke Hodge admitted he wasn't fully conversant with it, so I'm happy to cut Dylan some slack.

[LostDoggy]

Good sumary TCD

Having watched the game against Geelong, Wallace has them playing the 18 man zone very well with the exception that they failed to harass the player with the ball and even left the mark to cover further upfield.

Despite this, their positioning was good and we need to think our way through the wall on Monday.

During the last quarter, Geelong took their time in pin-pointing passes through the maize which ultimately opened up as they moved closer to goal

However, if we choose to just bomb it in or to do a Farren Ray run into nowhere act, we will fail

Rocket has had the pre-season to set strategies against this plan and hopefully the team can adhere to them.

[Go_Dogs]

Nice preview.

I get the feeling Welsh and Tiller may come in.

If we can win enough ball in the middle, our forwards should crush their weak and undersized backline. I expect Griffen will be given a heavy tag, so hopefully a few others like Higgins and Gia can step up and help share the load this weekend.

[Sedat]

Great preview TCD.

Wonder if Teflon will being out the "crunch ball" this week? If we do happen to win by 13 goals, he may not get another chance to bring it out.

I reckon I'm the only person in Australia who thinks that Schulz can play a bit. Put him in a decent forward line, and without having to compete for space alongside Richo (something he has had to do for most of his career to date), and I reckon he'd be good value for 40+ goals in a season. He would have more tricks up his sleeve than someone like than a Lonergan for example. Would not have been be all that many "lace out" moments for Richmond's forwards over the last 28 years. My view on Schulz is very much in the minority with my mates as well.

[Mofra]

Fair point Sedat, I'm not sure Hargrave is the best match up for him. He's 193cm and I'd hate to think we go back to the bad old days of playing Shaggy outside of his weight division again. Morton is a much better match up for size, leaving Morris free to take Riewoldt & Lake to run off Schultz.

As much as Delideo & Richo are the danger men, we'd be wise to play Foley pretty close too. Picken might be an option but Crossy would be my first pick. Gia could be a surprise as he probably has the cleanest hands in traffic at the Kennel but I'd expect him to rotate through a few positions as he has so far this season.

If Cooney plays, hopefully he is over the knock & gearing up to full fitness. If so, he plays forward a little more with Welsh & releases Hill to a wing, where his hard running should see him as a second link man with the improved Eagleton (I think he looks better this year than last already).

The real strength is we can hurt teams who turn the ball over. As much as Carlton hurt the Tiges with 16 goals from turnovers in round 1, we pipped them with 18 goals from Freo turnovers. I'm hoping that the games turns out to be a contest on who has the cleanest skills, in which I'm confident we will come out on top.

[ledge]

Eade mentioned Lake on Richo when he plays forward and Williams a chance if he goes up the ground.

[ledge]

After Pickens job on Harvey, give him a go on Browny?

[Mantis]

Eade mentioned Lake on Richo when he plays forward and Williams a chance if he goes up the ground.

Who would Lake pick up when Richo is up the field? What happens to Williams when Richo goes forward?


After Pickens job on Harvey, give him a go on Browny?

From what I have seen of Picken he is more a midfield run with type rather than a small defensive backman. Plus I think Brown might be a bit to clever for a 2nd gamer.

[Happy Days]

After Pickens job on Harvey, give him a go on Browny?

I would've thought that based on his job on Harvey, he would go to Foley. He's pretty much the same player as Boomer (quick, small, annoying), except less skilled.

[LostDoggy]

Great preview TCD.

I concur about how important the midfield battle will be, Richmond have their fair share of ball winners as well and as we saw last year they were first to the contest more often than not. Polak usually plays quite well against us and not having him in the side is a big plus for us.

Richo brings his own solo concert whenever he plays us, he is crucial to their chances of winning and must be contained all game.

Foley is another one who worries me and I wonder whether Picken will be given mission (im)possible MKII.

I believe that the essence to beating Richmond is relentless pressure, both contact and inferred pressure. This will take away their belief nice and early and force them into poor decision making and disposal, much like Carlton did in round one, their tackling was first class.

If richmond are in the contest at halftime I would suggest that they will be there abouts come the end of the game.

[lemmon]

If Everitt plays I wouldnt mind seeing him spend some time on Richo when he is further up the ground as IMO he has more ability to hurt him going the other way. Who plays on Jack Riewoldt is also a fairly interesting one, not sure Lake has the agility or turning circle to go with him. Everitt or a Tiller would be a perfect matchup.
Picken should go with Foley and Cross or Boyd to run with Deledio IMO.
Another unknown is Simmonds and I think he could really hurt us, I cant see Hudson or Minson being able to go with him around the ground so IMO we'll see a lot of Hudson and Minson on the ground together, one rucking and one at FF. They lack a defender with the size to take either of these two.

[Scraggers]

Great preview TCD ...

Due to our recent games and our form over the Tiges in the last five rounds, I'm a little more confident about this game than I was at the beginning of the year ... Bulldogs by 36 points

[AndrewP6]

Great preview TCD... until the last line...13 goals??? Hope you were joking... I'll be happy with a 20 point win... I think if they're on song, our 22 are more skilled than the other mob... but not quite 13 goals more skilled...

However I'd love to be proven wrong on Easter Monday.... :) :) :) Love a good Tiger-bashing...

[LostDoggy]

If Everitt plays I wouldnt mind seeing him spend some time on Richo when he is further up the ground as IMO he has more ability to hurt him going the other way. Who plays on Jack Riewoldt is also a fairly interesting one, not sure Lake has the agility or turning circle to go with him. Everitt or a Tiller would be a perfect matchup.
Picken should go with Foley and Cross or Boyd to run with Deledio IMO.
Another unknown is Simmonds and I think he could really hurt us, I cant see Hudson or Minson being able to go with him around the ground so IMO we'll see a lot of Hudson and Minson on the ground together, one rucking and one at FF. They lack a defender with the size to take either of these two.
Richo will tear Everitt a new one and possibly an extra for good measure.

[hujsh]

I just think the Bulldogs have more good players than Richmond & will win. Obviously the Bulldogs have to stop Matthew Richardson. Do that & they’re half way there, whereas Richmond on the other hand have to stop more than just one player. Allow Griffen, Gilbee, Boyd, Cross, Higgins, Cooney & Giansiracusa to run through the middle unmolested & you’re asking for trouble, on the other hand, try matching them up & you run the risk of having no one to kick to if you do win possession.

Surely there are other ways to stop them?

[lemmon]

Richo will tear Everitt a new one and possibly an extra for good measure.

Wouldnt like to expand on why?

[Desipura]

Surely there are other ways to stop them?
Now that is funny, well not funny but a real typo!

[LostDoggy]

13 goals would be great, hell i hope we beat them by 100plus like round 1 a few years back but i think 5 goals will be the margin

[LostDoggy]

Wouldnt like to expand on why?

Sure.

Richardson is one of the elite bigmen in the competion. He is a fantastic contested mark, a physical player and has got a massive engine. He runs all day and when he pushes forward we find him quite difficult to negate. He is a great pack mark and also good on a lead, he is a smart footballer and has destroyed us, time and time again.

Everitt is a kid who has basically played games based on his potential and hasn't really stepped up to the mark thus far. He has shown that he is not a very accountable player and doesn't really like the body contest. If he was caught out against Richo in a marking duel he would get eaten alive. Everitt's decision making has shown to be quite suspect and that's too much of a risk against one of the best forwards of our time.

A run with role against richo would a very defensive task and unfortunately Everitt just hasn't got a defensive side to his game. Sure, he looks great in space with the ball in his hands but he is not muture enough, strong enough or defensively minded enough to play on Richo.

I know what you are saying in terms of hurting him going the other way, but the first objective must be to stop him, remember, this is a player that is renound for saving his best game of the year until he meets us.

Hope that helps.

[Sedat]

Sure.

Richardson is one of the elite bigmen in the competion. He is a fantastic contested mark, a physical player and has got a massive engine. He runs all day and when he pushes forward we find him quite difficult to negate. He is a great pack mark and also good on a lead, he is a smart footballer and has destroyed us, time and time again.

Everitt is a kid who has basically played games based on his potential and hasn't really stepped up to the mark thus far. He has shown that he is not a very accountable player and doesn't really like the body contest. If he was caught out against Richo in a marking duel he would get eaten alive. Everitt's decision making has shown to be quite suspect and that's too much of a risk against one of the best forwards of our time.

A run with role against richo would a very defensive task and unfortunately Everitt just hasn't got a defensive side to his game. Sure, he looks great in space with the ball in his hands but he is not muture enough, strong enough or defensively minded enough to play on Richo.

I know what you are saying in terms of hurting him going the other way, but the first objective must be to stop him, remember, this is a player that is renound for saving his best game of the year until he meets us.

Hope that helps.
Agree 100% TAMA. I reckon the best players equipped to blunt Richo's effectiveness are the smaller players who have the capability to go with him, both from a speed and endurance perspective. The bigger slower players generally speaking don't have the engine nor the speed off the mark to go with Richo and generally get carved up as a result.

[Happy Days]

Agree 100% TAMA. I reckon the best players equipped to blunt Richo's effectiveness are the smaller players who have the capability to go with him, both from a speed and endurance perspective. The bigger slower players generally speaking don't have the engine nor the speed off the mark to go with Richo and generally get carved up as a result.

Righto, explain Jimmy Bartel then?

I'd reckon we'd give Tommy the first crack at him. He's reasonably athletic, and has the body to boot.

[Sedat]

Righto, explain Jimmy Bartel then?
What do you want me to explain?


I'd reckon we'd give Tommy the first crack at him. He's reasonably athletic, and has the body to boot.
He'd be a good choice primarily because of his athleticism and pace off the mark - his height is an added bonus.

[Happy Days]

What do you want me to explain?


Sorry, read that back and it sounded a little vicious.

I was referring to the game last week, where Bartel and Richo went head to head, with Bartel getting smashed and shrugged off at the contests with the utmost of ease.

[Sedat]

Sorry, read that back and it sounded a little vicious.

I was referring to the game last week, where Bartel and Richo went head to head, with Bartel getting smashed and shrugged off at the contests with the utmost of ease.
No dramas, I didn't watch the Geelong Richmond game last week so I had no idea that they went head-to-head. Bartel doesn't exactly cover the ground all that quickly so I'm actually very surprised he went to Richo, who would have Bartel well covered in pace off the mark.

[LostDoggy]

As far as match ups go this is what I would like to see.

Picken vs Foley

Eade has backed Liam in for a second game and Foley is a simmilar hard, short, hard running player, also Richmond don't actually know how to block for each other, so Picken should get a clear run at a tagging role. I would love to see if he can back up and do it again.

Cross/Boyd vs Deledio
Cross and Boyd could roatate on Deledio who is a tough matchup due to his height, speed, spring strength. If they rest him forward then Addison or Morris might go to him.

Williams/Lake/The forward line vs Richo Man
Much as Eade suggesting this has made me think it won't actually happen (Ducks and Drakes perhaps??) I would like to see Williams start on Richo and try to run with him beyond the 50. If they rest Richo forward then Lake may take Richo and Williams could go to Lake's opponent (Shultz??).

The swap will only work if the defense can swap at a stoppage if we try to transition defence with the ball in play there is to much to go wrong unless we play a spare man back.

I would also like to see Brian/Tommygun try to counter-attack off the back line if Richarson tries to rest there, as Lake did on Barry Hall in last year's finals series. This may stop them feeling comfortable resting Richo in the forward line and he may need more bench time.

Also if we keep honoring the lead to our small fast forwards, Richo will not be effective playing the sweeper in defence, as he did a bit last year.

Thus we can have a whole ground anti-Richo approach designed to ruin his day (mostly unneccesary as Richmond ruin his day pretty well on their own).

[lemmon]

Sure.

Richardson is one of the elite bigmen in the competion. He is a fantastic contested mark, a physical player and has got a massive engine. He runs all day and when he pushes forward we find him quite difficult to negate. He is a great pack mark and also good on a lead, he is a smart footballer and has destroyed us, time and time again.

Everitt is a kid who has basically played games based on his potential and hasn't really stepped up to the mark thus far. He has shown that he is not a very accountable player and doesn't really like the body contest. If he was caught out against Richo in a marking duel he would get eaten alive. Everitt's decision making has shown to be quite suspect and that's too much of a risk against one of the best forwards of our time.

A run with role against richo would a very defensive task and unfortunately Everitt just hasn't got a defensive side to his game. Sure, he looks great in space with the ball in his hands but he is not muture enough, strong enough or defensively minded enough to play on Richo.

I know what you are saying in terms of hurting him going the other way, but the first objective must be to stop him, remember, this is a player that is renound for saving his best game of the year until he meets us.

Hope that helps.

I think we are looking at this too defensively, Waite carved up Richo in round one by zoning off and finding the ball himself. Too often coaches let Richo run around doing what he wants but the best way to counter him is to let him know that his opponent is going to find the ball himself and hurt him going forward, I think Tom lacks the footy brain to do this. Richo's skills are average and he isnt a creative user of the ball so he isnt going to hurt you with the footy in his hands. He is such a weapon because of his marking ability when theres a high kick into the backline and his running capability IMO he will have no influce playing on a wing if we refuse to bomb the ball in and spot up a target instead. When he does get the ball zone off him and make him do something with it instead off giving him the easy dish off.
IMO Everitts foot skills would put Richo to the sword more then Williams but in saying that I would still give Tommy first crack.

[ledge]

Who would Lake pick up when Richo is up the field? What happens to Williams when Richo goes forward?



From what I have seen of Picken he is more a midfield run with type rather than a small defensive backman. Plus I think Brown might be a bit to clever for a 2nd gamer.

If Richo goes up the ground, whoever replaces Richo if its abnother tall, if its a short let Lake back himself a bit more and maybe go up the ground too, or even just play that spare man in the backline.


I would have thought Harvey has more gut running and love for the footy than Brownie and as far as being too clever, Harvey would rate as good as Brownie in that department too i would have thought.

[Remi Moses]

Dogs by 24 points. Hard fought tussle,we have to make the most of their turnovers.Geelong didn't do that last week,they should have won that game Geelong were running in cement.

[LostDoggy]

IMO Everitts foot skills would put Richo to the sword more then Williams but in saying that I would still give Tommy first crack.

In theory I would agree with you, but given skinny's performances of late I don't think he is up for the job. Speaking to a few people who are in the know, Skinny is a confidence player and is still coming to terms with the physicality of AFL football.

His confidence is way down and as a result his skills have been very bad, all through pre season and in round 1 his kicking has been way off target. I'm aware that he is highly skilled with his feet but when the confidence goes, so does the skill level.

I'm not so sure that playing him against Richo is the best way for Skinny to regain his confidence and get some momentum going into the season. We all know that when Richo flicks the switch and ignites himself, he is nigh on unstoppable and someone like Skinny wouldn't be able to lift his head and go on to be an influence.

I think that had it been a few more years down the track, it would be a perfect match up for Richo down the ground, but Skinny hasn't developed enough to take on such a role.


The coach may let Richo run around the midfiled and defensive 50 unattended because his skills are horrible. However he can accumulate tons of the ball and that may be a problem.

[bornadog]

Who would Lake pick up when Richo is up the field? What happens to Williams when Richo goes forward? .

Good preview TCD, I like the 13 goal win.

Last year there was a similar scenario, ie Lake picked him up when he went forward and seemingly, no one when he played up the ground on the wings and through the backline. Lake ended up a loose man in defence. It will be interesting if the same thing happens this year

[Sedat]

Good preview TCD, I like the 13 goal win.

Last year there was a similar scenario, ie Lake picked him up when he went forward and seemingly, no one when he played up the ground on the wings and through the backline. Lake ended up a loose man in defence. It will be interesting if the same thing happens this year
Could Gilbee take him when Richo roams around the middle and try to work him offensively? Richo isn't the world's most defensive oriented player, something that Waite proved with ruthless effiiciency in Round 1. Gilbee can certainly cover the ground and is one of the best spoilers in the busniess. Or is this robbing our half back line of one of our most offensive options in that area?

[Mantis]

Could Gilbee take him when Richo roams around the middle and try to work him offensively? Richo isn't the world's most defensive oriented player, something that Waite proved with ruthless effiiciency in Round 1. Gilbee can certainly cover the ground and is one of the best spoilers in the busniess. Or is this robbing our half back line of one of our most offensive options in that area?

Gilbs hasn't spent a whole lot of time in defence this year so it could be a plan worth some thought.

Agree with the thoughts of other's that Richo doesn't hurt you around the ground, but we must be mindful of picking him up when he ventures forward. I'm not real keen on this swapping opponents, a few of our players have trouble focusing on one opponent little own 2 depending on who is where on the ground.

[LostDoggy]

I'm not real keen on this swapping opponents, a few of our players have trouble focusing on one opponent little own 2 depending on who is where on the ground.

I totally agree with this.

Richmond have a lively forward line with Reiwolt, Morton and Brown running around. I'd like our backline to be settled and for Richo to have a designated opponent following him around the ground.

We should have Morton and Riewolt covered with Morris and Shag. This leaves Lake to take the next Forward that lines up or if their ruckman rotates through the forward line.

Surely his opponent will be Tommy boy?

[G-Mo77]

Anyone got any news on the Ins and Outs? By the sounds of things Welsh is certain to come in. Who goes out? Anyone else considered to come into the side?

[Scraggers]

Tigers still rue missed opportunity (http://www.richmondfc.com.au/tabid/6301/default.aspx?newsid=74675)

RICHMOND vice-captain Nathan Foley says the players are still dirty on themselves for Saturday’s loss to Geelong.

Tiger fans who have overcome the disappointment – after the Tigers led at the last change, kicked the first goal of the last quarter and still lost by 20 points – have not been joined by the players.

Coach Terry Wallace was filthy when he faced the media immediately after the game at Skilled Stadium and when Foley was up in front of journalists on Thursday, it was obvious the attitude hadn’t changed.

“We’re really disappointed – we had our opportunity to win the game, and we were right in it in the last quarter and let it slip, so we have to look at that,” he said before a skills session at Victoria Park.

“It was a vast improvement on round one, which it had to be, but at the same time, we still haven’t won a game.

“There’s no such thing as an honourable loss, but it’s certainly a bit better so we can take a bit of confidence out of the weekend.”

The 23-year-old said his team faced another huge task this weekend, with the Tigers-Bulldogs game – last versus second – the sole attraction on Easter Monday.

"The Bulldogs are in really good form at the moment, they're playing some tough, hard footy, and they've won two games, so it'll be a great challenge this weekend.

"Like all games, we'll go in with the attitude to try and win the game – we'll do all our homework on them and we'll go in with the same attitude."

But Foley did admit that the Tigers – who went into their forward 50 just three less times than the Cats, but had 10 less scoring shots – would probably be doing some work on that area of the game in their main session of the week.

"There will be a bit of work done, as there is most weeks,” Foley said. "We're about to train now so there might be a bit more of an emphasis on that."

[Rocket Science]

Richmond side named...

B: Newman, Moore, King
HB: Bowden, McGuane, Polo
C: White, Tuck, Jackson
HF: Brown, Richardson, Deledio
F: Morton, Riewoldt, Tambling
Foll: Simmonds, Hislop, Foley
Interchange (from): Rance, Schulz, Nahas, Coughlan, Edwards, Pattison, Graham

IN: Coughlan, Pattison, Tambling

No Jordy.

Still awaiting our team...

[Rocket Science]

and here we go...

Western Bulldogs
B: Jarrod Harbrow, Brian Lake, Dale Morris
HB: Lindsay Gilbee, Tom Williams, Ryan Hargrave
C: Daniel Cross, Ryan Griffen, Nathan Eagleton
HF: Josh Hill, Mitch Hahn, Brad Johnson
F: Adam Cooney, Will Minson, Jason Akermanis
Foll: Ben Hudson, Matthew Boyd, Shaun Higgins
I/C (from): Dylan Addison, Andrejs Everitt, Daniel Giansiracusa, Liam Picken, Callan Ward, Stephen Tiller, Scott Welsh

In: Everitt, Tiller, Welsh
Out: -

Still obviously none the wiser regarding the 'outs'.

[lemmon]

What about Nathan Brown? I cant really see a clear matchup for him, perhaps Cal Ward?

[Happy Days]

What about Nathan Brown? I cant really see a clear matchup for him, perhaps Cal Ward?

Probably Morris, maybe Harbrow.

[Before I Die]

I think we are looking at this too defensively, Waite carved up Richo in round one by zoning off and finding the ball himself. Too often coaches let Richo run around doing what he wants but the best way to counter him is to let him know that his opponent is going to find the ball himself and hurt him going forward, I think Tom lacks the footy brain to do this. Richo's skills are average and he isnt a creative user of the ball so he isnt going to hurt you with the footy in his hands. He is such a weapon because of his marking ability when theres a high kick into the backline and his running capability IMO he will have no influce playing on a wing if we refuse to bomb the ball in and spot up a target instead. When he does get the ball zone off him and make him do something with it instead off giving him the easy dish off.
IMO Everitts foot skills would put Richo to the sword more then Williams but in saying that I would still give Tommy first crack.

Not quite. Waite played very tight on Richo when Richmond had the ball, then ran off him when Carlton took possession. Richo showed no interest at all in manning up on Waite which allowed Waite to became the link man and also a goal scorer for Carlton. It also helped Waite's overall performance that Richo missed two sitters at goal early in the first quarter (both from strong marks).

[always right]

What about Nathan Brown? I cant really see a clear matchup for him, perhaps Cal Ward?

Morton and Brown will be picked up by Shaggy and Morris

[bulldogsman]

Morton and Brown will be picked up by Shaggy and Morris

Who plays on Riewoldt then? We may need to bring in Tiller or Everitt

[Go_Dogs]

Who plays on Riewoldt then? We may need to bring in Tiller or Everitt

Williams to Richo, Lake to Riewoldt maybe?


Who takes Deledio if he goes forward?

[Dogs 24/7]

Everitt is a kid who has basically played games based on his potential and hasn't really stepped up to the mark thus far. He has shown that he is not a very accountable player and doesn't really like the body contest. If he was caught out against Richo in a marking duel he would get eaten alive. Everitt's decision making has shown to be quite suspect and that's too much of a risk against one of the best forwards of our time.

A run with role against richo would a very defensive task and unfortunately Everitt just hasn't got a defensive side to his game. Sure, he looks great in space with the ball in his hands but he is not muture enough, strong enough or defensively minded enough to play on Richo.

I know what you are saying in terms of hurting him going the other way, but the first objective must be to stop him, remember, this is a player that is renound for saving his best game of the year until he meets us.

Hope that helps.


I'm not going to disagree with what you have written but I would ask the question about if the role Everitt is being asked to play is why you don't think he is being overly accountable?
From what I have seen, Everitt has normally been asked to play an attacking role and it might be interesting to see him being instructed to lock down on a player.

[Dogs 24/7]

Who takes Deledio if he goes forward?

When he is switched on he is a very hard match up for sides. He is very quick and he has a thumping kick.

[LostDoggy]

I'm not going to disagree with what you have written but I would ask the question about if the role Everitt is being asked to play is why you don't think he is being overly accountable?
From what I have seen, Everitt has normally been asked to play an attacking role and it might be interesting to see him being instructed to lock down on a player.

Even if you are an attacking defender, you are still a defender and you have a responsibility to beat your direct opponent when they have have the ball. Everitt still gets very lost out there and gets led to the ball with regularity.

No doubt that we don't want skinny to be a lock down player, but he still has to be able to get in the contest and be hard at it. We got rid of Mcmahon and Power because both of these players were great with the ball in space but were like jellyfish in the contest.

I have no doubt that he will be able to do this and he will be a 200 game player for us, but right now he has low confidence which makes him look timid, unsure and Richo would spank him.

[lemmon]

Probably Morris, maybe Harbrow.
I reckon we'll see Morris go to Morton and I doubt Harbrow will be able to match Brown in a marking contest.

[Happy Days]

I reckon we'll see Morris go to Morton and I doubt Harbrow will be able to match Brown in a marking contest.

I think Hargrave will take Schultz, with Morris going to Brown (as he is more dangerous than Morton IMO), and Harbrow to at least start on Morton.

[comrade]

I think Hargrave will take Schultz, with Morris going to Brown (as he is more dangerous than Morton IMO), and Harbrow to at least start on Morton.

That's a huge ask for Harbrow - giving away a lot of height and weight.

[Rocket Science]

Morris on Brown makes sense, but Morton (186 cm) is reasonably strong overhead I'm not at all confident Harbrow (178 cm) could go with him in the air. Tiller could be a suitable match-up though.

[Mofra]

I think Hargrave will take Schultz, with Morris going to Brown (as he is more dangerous than Morton IMO), and Harbrow to at least start on Morton.


That's a huge ask for Harbrow - giving away a lot of height and weight.

Hargrave is also giving away a bit of height & size there too. Worrying.

[The Bulldogs Bite]

Looks as though we may actually require another defender for match-up reasons. Remebering they can/will throw Simmonds/Deledio down there at times and so we will probably really need Tiller to fill a role. Otherwise, the backline does look a little unbalanced.

It'll be interesting to see which way the coaching panel go.

[comrade]

Hargrave is also giving away a bit of height & size there too. Worrying.

But Shaggy is a very good backman and Schultz is very average. I'd back Shag in every day of the week.

However Morton is very creative with good size about him and Harbrow is tiny and has been a defender for approx. 1 week. Too much to ask from him - a role like this is made for Tiller.

[Rocket Science]

I hate conceding Richmond anything but upon closer inspection, while they're not all proven performers they've got the ability to regularly rotate a mix of smalls, mids and talls in attack in much the same way we were able to to last season, most notably versus Brisbane @ the MCG, which Matthews then noted caused him no end of headaches because every time he'd look up from his clipboard we had a different 'look' inside forward 50 and he found it difficult to keep up with his backline match-ups.

We need flexible players back there...Hargrave and Morris are givens in that regard, and Everitt/Tiller both handy complements.

Unless used exclusively up forward, am not sure there's a spot for Harbrow this week, particularly with Welsh a certain starter.

[mjp]

Everyone needs to forget that Shaggy is 190cm. He plays his best footy when matched against smalls, not talls. I couldn't see any reason he would be matched up against someone like Shultz.

Based on what I have seen so far this year, Morris will take the best opposition forward/one considered the most dangerous. That will end up being Deledio when he is playing down there, otherwise Morton.

Lake will take the bigs - that will be Simmonds when he is there - or they will manipulate him as the loose man. He reads the ball better than anyone else down there.

Williams will go to Richardson in the event he goes forward. The closest we have seen to Richardson in terms of size and athleticism this year is McPharlin - Williams went to him. Everitt will take the 'next' tall - again, vs Freo this was Johnson, against Richmond it will be Shultz.

When Brown is down there I suspect we will try and get Gilbee on him as that will cause headaches for Wallace...he wont want Brown having to account for Gilbee.

I doubt Ward will play back - he zones off as a defender (kind of a Guy McKenna style, angle cutting half back) and our defensive strategy has been very one-on-one lately. He will stay in the centre square which is where he has been.

[dog town]

Everyone needs to forget that Shaggy is 190cm. He plays his best footy when matched against smalls, not talls. I couldn't see any reason he would be matched up against someone like Shultz.

Based on what I have seen so far this year, Morris will take the best opposition forward/one considered the most dangerous. That will end up being Deledio when he is playing down there, otherwise Morton.

Lake will take the bigs - that will be Simmonds when he is there - or they will manipulate him as the loose man. He reads the ball better than anyone else down there.

Williams will go to Richardson in the event he goes forward. The closest we have seen to Richardson in terms of size and athleticism this year is McPharlin - Williams went to him. Everitt will take the 'next' tall - again, vs Freo this was Johnson, against Richmond it will be Shultz.

When Brown is down there I suspect we will try and get Gilbee on him as that will cause headaches for Wallace...he wont want Brown having to account for Gilbee.

I doubt Ward will play back - he zones off as a defender (kind of a Guy McKenna style, angle cutting half back) and our defensive strategy has been very one-on-one lately. He will stay in the centre square which is where he has been. Pretty much agree with all of this, in particular the Hargrave part. He has been unbelievable on smaller players in his last 20 or so games. He should never stand a tall player again. It is what makes Williams an important player in our structure.

I would prefer Morris to take Riewoldt if possible. Riewoldt is a good second effort presenter with his leads and will double back towards the square to stay involved if they dont honour his leads. Morris doesn't ball watch and will stick at the task. I suppose it depends who rocket thinks is the most dangerous player

[lemmon]

Im not a massive fan of the Gilbee on Brown, we cant forget how dangerous how Brown can be and I'd prefer for Gilbee to be playing on someone he can run off and find the ball. IMO he'd be to restricted playing on Brown.

[Bulldog Revolution]

Im not a massive fan of the Gilbee on Brown, we cant forget how dangerous how Brown can be and I'd prefer for Gilbee to be playing on someone he can run off and find the ball. IMO he'd be to restricted playing on Brown.

I've been wondering whether Hargrave is another good option go to Brown

But also expecting that either Tiller or Everitt would come into the team and probably get Riewoldt

[mjp]

Everitt on Riewoldt probably makes sense. I like the idea of making Brown accountable for an attacking player...watching him the last couple of weeks I think he can be taken advantage of (which is why I like the idea of Gilbee).

[LostDoggy]

This is how I see the match ups

Harbrow on Tambling
Addison on Brown
Williams on Richardson
Morris on Riewoldt
Lake on Morton
Hargrave on Deledio

Picken on Foley

Gilbee will either play up the ground or play on Tambling allowing Harbrow to play forward. Tiller or Everitt will be brought into the side as a back up defender.

[lemmon]

This is how I see the match ups

Harbrow on Tambling
Addison on Brown
Williams on Richardson
Morris on Riewoldt
Lake on Morton
Hargrave on Deledio

Picken on Foley

Gilbee will either play up the ground or play on Tambling allowing Harbrow to play forward. Tiller or Everitt will be brought into the side as a back up defender.

Cant really see Lake on Morton whos more of a crumbing forward, he'd probably be a bit too quick and agile. I would switch Morris onto Morton and Everitt or Lake onto Riewoldt.

[LostDoggy]

It is a hard one as Lake does not have an obvious match up unless Richardson plays forward. I think riewoldt will be to quick for Lake. One from left field if Everitt or Tiller do come in could Lake be thrown to full foward, just for this week only. Would be nice to try this during the year to see if this could be used in the finals, but with Lake playing so well could be risky to upset both him and the team.

[Dogs 24/7]

It is a hard one as Lake does not have an obvious match up unless Richardson plays forward. I think riewoldt will be to quick for Lake. One from left field if Everitt or Tiller do come in could Lake be thrown to full foward, just for this week only. Would be nice to try this during the year to see if this could be used in the finals, but with Lake playing so well could be risky to upset both him and the team.

Lake will take Richardson whenever he moves into the forward 50.

[LostDoggy]

Have we got a final 22 yet?

[GVGjr]

Have we got a final 22 yet?

Not that I can see. AFL.com.au still has the 7 man IC bench.

[azabob]

Not that I can see. AFL.com.au still has the 7 man IC bench.

Being a Monday game I dont think it will be finalised till tonight / tomorrow.