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Q by Q – Port vs Tiges

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*my preview is at Reading Sideways.

Quarter I:
Overview: The jumpers are looking a little like a practice jumper and definitely like an away jumper. I don’t have a problem with them. I would prefer them with the black sash on the back. The bingle green somehow looks better against the yellow background. I can’t stand the bingle green against the black on the regular jumper.
Edwards had some nice touches. A very shiny Deledio kicked a nice goal. Jack is up. The Tiges are creating space well and cutting off Port’s run. One of their better quarters of the season, as they have nullified Port. They have shown, at least immediately, that they’re not intimidated. Scrappy to begin with but then the Tiges started to find their mojo.
Best Moment: Batchelor’s goal, after Edwards had kept his feet in a marking contest and then gave off a long-handball.
Tactic Talk: David King has the job. He says, “Richmond are prepared to play wide … they’re going to challenge Port on the counter-attack.” Ricciuto (Roo) added that other teams have realised that the best way to stop them is ‘down back’. Roo also says that Richmond are letting them kick wide, but, not letting them go forward.
Best Comment: A toss-up between: Mark Ricciuto, “a little oil on the arms there Huddo”. Huddo: [after Martin’s long kick forward into empty space wasn’t considered deliberate, Razer said, “it went straight on”] “the boundary line just happened to bend there…it does there on most grounds, you’ll find.”
What Dimma should say: “That was rubbish boys! Absolute rubbish! 3 goals to none! That’s nothing. We should be ten goals up. Keep it coming, though. Keep on giving us this rubbish. Okay, you done good. More of that. They’ve thrown in the towel. They haven’t come to play. They’re tired. They’re exhausted. I want more tackles, more chases, more interceptions. More deceptions, more improvisations and more imaginations.”
Hopeful-Despondent Continuum: Well and truly on the hopeful side.

 

Quarter II:
Overview: The Other Team dominated the opening ten minutes. But, the Tiges were resilient and held on. They scored a couple of goals – Wingard (“unguarded”) and Monfries (the usual snap). Some goals to Us and it was a neutral quarter. The Hoff took a brilliant mark on Deledio and fluffed his kick giving an opportunity to Griff who goaled after taking out Pittard (haircut). Credit to the Tiges for absorbing the pressure.
Best/Worst Moment: B.Ellis’s roving off the pack in the forward fifty pocket, a centering kick to the goal-square and Dusty’s outmuscle-ing of his defender, his turn and goal on the right foot. A quick gesture to Ellis (I presume). Worst Moment: Ty’s injury. The horror of The Knee.
Tactic Talk: King – “That is the first repeat entry they’ve scored from. Richmond have been good at minimising the damage, considering the Port opportunities earlier in the quarter. It is a stoppage game at the moment. Whoever wins it out of the center looks like scoring.” A moment later, Ryder kicks it out of the center and it is marked by Batchelor, on the defensive 50, alone.
Best Comment: Gerard: “The backline are delivering rubbish for Port Adelaide. Until they get that sorted, it doesn’t matter how many goals they kick.” Ouch. Tell us what you really think.
Dimma’s Speech: We are in the game. We’re still in it. We have a chance. Okay, admittedly they have a really good fitness coach and we’re a player down, but, we’re still doing not so bad. I’m liking it. I’m having a nice time up in my box, watching you boys run around. What’s my favourite movie? Umm….let me think about it.
Hopeful-Despondent Continuum: Very hopeful. Tiges have showed again that they’re not intimidated. And, even with everything not going their way, they’ve managed to increase their lead. They’ve held on and looked like they’re up for a fight, too. Don’t fool us, Tiges.
Quarter III
Overview: Scarves draped along the top of fences. Ads advertising LED advertising. To write about nothing, you still have to watch it first. Nothing happened for 30 minutes. Okay, nothing in the scoring department and only One Proper One for The Other team. Hats off to our blokes for stopping them from scoring without it looking like anyone of our defenders was being an absolute star. Maric was good in defence after a lapse. Okay, I think I have to admit it: Edwards has been quiet today. Hunt has been defensively minded. Grimes okay. Bachar was injured for a moment, came back with his finger re-adjusted. Menadue is on for Ty; probably not in the ‘like-for-like’ category.
Best/Worst Moment: Maric’s finger tip on X’s shot at goal. Umpire’s decision upheld. Or, McIntosh doing some fancy stuff on the Other wing before kicking out on the full. Worst moment: Maric not getting a finger tip on Ryder’s goal.
Tactic Talk: There was a lot of talk this quarter. As indeed, there wasn’t much scoring to comment on. My pencil was working overtime trying to transcribe commentary. Ricciuto: ‘get Lobey off, use Trengove in the ruck, free up Ryder, get some run in the side…Aemon is itching to get on.’
Best Comment: Huddo: ‘Jones pokes it to Boak’. Nice rhyme. Gerard: ‘He seems to run quicker in a straight line.’ Gerard: ‘Just got him on the funny bone, which is never that funny.’
Dimma’s Speech: Wake me up when it is over.
Hopeful-Despondent Continuum: A little nervous, which means still in the hopeful zone. Thinking that we need to kick two goals in this quarter to win that game. That is exactly what I think, every time we cough up a lead.
Quarter IV
Overview: Good play by Riewoldt throughout the quarter; including a great pass to Morris, whom, well, kicked a point. Wingard goaled with 12minutes left to get Port within 19. Great mark by Riewoldt after Griff fluffed his kick from 40meters out. The penultimate-sealer. Straight-kicking. Nice.
Best/Worst Moment: Menadue (in Jayden Post’s number) and his goal – it was straight and the game was still in the balance. Worst Moment: Jack being dragged down by an injured Trengove. Not an ideal way to score a goal; could there have been better communication between the Port players?
Tactic Talk: Roo: “very smart by Richmond not to give Port any opportunities to bring the ball through the middle, fast, so that their clever forwards can have an impact.”
Best Comment: Huddo: “the buck being passed here […] the ball pin-balling around.” Gerard: “Richmond need two more goals to win the game.” Wow. What vindication! Ricciuto: “Poor bugger he couldn’t move.” Hmmm, probably mixing pub-talk a little too closely with footy commentary. Gerrard: “they’re overcooking the ball.” Ricciuto: “oh, they’re done here, look at this.” (moments before the sealer-proper from Edwards – the ball was caught in one of the Tiger banners).
Dimma: We played brilliant ordinary football today. I’m happy to take all the credit for this one. I devised the tactics; the boys followed my orders and we won. Now, where is that journalist who asked me if I doubted I’m up for it?
Hopeful-Despondent Continuum: I’m hopeful. Not taking the lid off. The Tiges have righted the ship, for the moment.
Postamble
The Tiges did well to suck the life out of this game. Initially by setting up a three goal lead and then by holding off Port during the ¾ when they were sort of coming. The Tiges’ lead was by no means insurmountable in the last quarter, but, Port and their crowd were well-dampened. I’m liking the look of McIntosh, most of the time, most weeks. He has got a mature body and athleticism. He is strong and reads the play pretty well. Grigg seems to be playing better – which may reduce some of the criticism coming his way. I’ve generally liked him, but, for one reason or another, he seems to stand out if the team loses – as does Morris. As Ricciuto said, this was an ugly game to watch. But, it was beautiful also to see the way the Tiges withstood the pressure and didn’t let Port find their mysteriously missing mojo. I would prefer not to see Richmond win-ugly every week, but, for this week, I’ll take it. The ledger has been squared. Two good wins over the past two weeks, somewhat balancing out the two ugly losses (to Melbourne and Footscray).

Tiges vs Pies, Quarter by Quarter

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Preamble:
Richmond are still staring down the barrel. This season has been less than mediocre. Richmond is entering a tough run of opponents and the problem is that they haven’t been able to beat the supposedly more beatable teams: Melbourne, Western Bulldogs and the declining Cats. RFCRamble is excited about the inclusion of Liam McBean. Menadue isn’t making his debut. Newman is out and Astbury has been omitted. Griffiths too is out due to concussion. Will Ty Vickery stand up with this latest opportunity? Todd Elton and Ellis are back in the team. I do not expect Richmond to win. What I am dreading is that they lose by a point, after a goal kicked by Cloke after the siren. I am dreading the team loses by less than 10 points; I feel that will give too much ammunition to the coach to say that the team is improving. The time for improvement is just about up, no? It is time to win only. This season has been six years in the making.

Quarter One:

After about 10 minutes I noticed that there was no Shane Edwards. Perhaps he had been on the bench. The Pies were having the game gifted to them thanks to creative moves such as putting Rance in the centre and leaving the backline to be lead by the master trio of Chaplin, Elton, Grimes and Batchelor. Perhaps Rance is being given a diversity of roles in order to convince him to stay at Tigerland. Richmond’s only goal bordered on the lucky; Collingwood very poor not to have kicked two more goals. Too often Collingwood players were without markers going into the forward line. At one great moment Cloke marked in front of Batchelor. Leigh Matthews, who bores me to tears, made the comment, “sometimes you outsmart yourself as a coach”. Liam took a neat mark but sprayed the kick. Cotchin had kicked the ball in boad and Riewoldt had passed it to him. A rare moment of Richmond players knowing what to do. Only 20 points down flatters the Tiges. I was watching on tenterhooks; tears welling. Tears not of losing but because this is a team that has had the lifeblood run dry from them. All bluster and no substance. The Upside: only 20points down. The Downside: Getting smashed. A random defence. Dimma says, “if you give a side like Collingwood a four goal headstart, you’re going to be paddling up the mountain for the rest of the afternoon.”

Quarter Two:

The Tigers kicked a few goals in the first few minutes: something shocking. The crowd roared in favour of their team. The forwards kicked goals rather than points. It was beautiful. Collingwood came back and took an 8 point lead. I felt it was all over when Elliot kicked that goal to steady the Pies’ ship. But, somehow, the Tiges got themselves together and played full of energy again. I watched and controlled my excitement. Being behind a computer screen makes getting excited a rather redundant activity. Oh the noise of the crowd. Beautiful kicks from Jack and Ty. Leigh Matthews: “McBean is still on Cloke”. And none of the other commentators corrected him; presumably out of fear or also not knowing the difference between Bean McLiam and Elton Todd. I can’t stand it anymore: Vlastuin doesn’t rhyme with ‘stone’. The ‘ui’ in Dutch pronunciation is more like an ‘ow’ sound. My Dutch is shabby, but, that is one thing I sort of know. I know the wrong sound, but, can’t make the right sound. It’s difficult. I didn’t think I’d see an eight goal quarter against Collingwood in my lifetime. Last time it happened was 1995, apparently. The Upside: maybe this will prove to the team they can actually play. The Downside: Still another hour in which to mess this one up. Dimma says: “on our best day we can beat anyone. Including ourselves. And by ‘beat’, I mean, be leading at half-time.” By the way, I liked the way Grimes played in that quarter; he won the ball and was awarded some free-kicks. Nice.

Quarter Three:

“Some funny things happened at the footy today: I saw Richmond lead a game by 25points.” Ah, beautiful, The Tigers of Old. “I saw Corey Ellis get shoved in the back and no free kick.” “Stop whinging.” Deledio is back and getting the ball but his kicks are going awry. Grigg is playing well and has kicked some nice goals. Cotchin’s left foot snap goal, good enough to make him captain. And Bachar is injured going into three quarter time. This is a problem. We need him healthy. Cotch yelled at Batch for not punching in a making contest with Swan, who, heavy with tattoos kicked a goal and gestured triumphantly. Lethal Matthews made another error, this time pointing out that Collingwood had got Crisps in the deal for Dayne Swan going to Brisbane. Again, no correction. This man is always right; he casts the jedi mind trick over his co-commentators. What the heck? The Tiges are down only by 1point at three quarter time. Nice of that Collingwood player to kick the ball out on the full to keep us in it. The Upside: Hello, it seems the Tiges can play football. The Downside: It is not being better and improvement that counts, what counts is being better than the opposition. May well lose this one. Dimma says: “I was proud of the way the boys stuck it out today. Injuries cruelled us, with Edwards going down before the game. Griffiths not having recovered from his concussion. And, we even had a couple of players not doing very much. You can only make so many subs. I think we were brilliant.”

Quarter Four:

It turns out Cotchin is a much better player when kicking the ball forward. Nice. Straight kicking by Vickery; nice. A couple of goals from the Deledio pocket by Deledio himself. Nice. A pity Ellis’s kick hit the post, that would have been a great sealer. Wonderful to see the Richmond faithful up and about and out of their seats and jumping up. This was a game that a neutral would have enjoyed, methinks. A relief. Some hard tackling by the boys. Nice. Varcoe probably thought he would never see the day of losing to the Tiges. I watched that last quarter in a state of numbness; but a pleasurable kind of numbness. Not the usual Tiger-numberness of 2015. A pity about McBeam having a fizzer and Elton not doing much. C.Ellis didn’t do too much too and Menadue could have kicked a goal but didn’t. They might not hold their places, but, I hope they had fun. They would have seen what it takes to get the job done. The Upside: Let us hope that this is the beginning of the season proper. The Downside: why did it take so long to play like this? Dimma says: “we won it because we played well for that 10 minute burst in the second quarter. After that, the game was as good as done and dusted.”

Post-amble:
Richmond plays on the last game of the weekend giving us ample time to enjoy this weekend’s win. Port lost, so, they’ll be angry next week. We’ll hear talk about how well the team travels and likes to get away together. The game could have easily gone the other way, were it not for errant kicking on the Magpie behalf. I’m going to follow Damien Hardwick’s lead and not ride the emotional roller coaster. Dimma, I promise  you, I’m going to be thoroughly depressed, win lose or draw. 🙂

Tiges v Cats, Quarter by Quarter Report

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1

Preamble:
Mr.Hardwick regarded last week’s performance against Melbourne as insipid. Would this week’s performance be any better? It has been a long time since the Tigers have beaten the Cats. There is a worrying feeling amongst Richmond fans that after several years on the slow-improve, the team has now reached a lowly plateau. Player watch: under-pressure, under-achieving forward, Ty Vickery has come back into the team; Corey Ellis makes his debut, Trent Cotchin – somewhat questioned captain, in the eyes of some, needs to be more aggressive and assertive. And, Shane Edwards, Richmond’s best player of the season.

The First 
The quarter ends goalless for Richmond. In the past against Geelong this could mean that they would have been at least 40 points behind. But, instead, the margin is only nine points. The delivery into the front-50 has been very disappointing from Richmond. The best and clearest opportunity for a mark close to goal was spoiled by Vickery; this was his low-light of the quarter. Riewoldt has taken a couple of good marks up on the wing; he laid a good tackle in the forward line that resulted in Miles having a shot which hit the post. Corey Ellis had a couple of kicks, one for a point the other for an out-of-bounds. These came late in the quarter and would have proved very handy for the Tiges. The narrow margin indicates not so much how Richmond have improved but how the Mighty have fallen. The Tiges’ structure has become a fraction more solid with the return of Chaplin and Newman. Houli has linked up with Martin a couple of times, coming out of defence. The holding the rule has been both fairly and unfairly applied – by different umpires, of course. Upside: only nine points in it. Downside: haven’t kicked a goal. Jack and Ty not looking like they’re cooperating. Hopes for the second quarter: at least go goal-for-goal with the Cats. Ideally kick four goals to at least show that they can run and work together.

2

The Second
The first 10 minutes of the quarter were positive: the Tiges had managed to get the lead back to two points. There were moments when the game suddenly seemed open for the Tiges; they ran and created. Geelong were stalling. And then, the Cats kicked the next four goals to get the lead to 28points. Vickery and Corey Ellis were as good as unsighted. Lennon took a good mark deep in the left-forward pocket but wasn’t able to convert it into a goal or pass it successfully. Morris did little. Brandon Ellis who was lively in the first quarter was also as good as absent. Houli and Martin linked up on a couple of occasions. Edwards got the ball, but was ineffective in his disposal – except for the goal that was largely a result of a Geelong mistake. 28points is a large margin given how difficult it has been for the Tiges to score. Upside: The Tiges are playing very poorly, let’s hope it doesn’t get worse. Downside: Geelong aren’t playing brilliantly, but have a winning lead. Hopes for the third quarter: to get the margin back to 12-16 points. The game still needs to be alive going into the last quarter, otherwise the fans may well leave. I could be wrong but the Tigers players who are standing up are Vlastuin, Houli and Maric.

3

The Third
Again, the Tigers start with relative zip. They look like they want to play well and tough. But my only conclusion is that I don’t think there is a single team that fears the toughness of Richmond. Cotchin plays well; gets a lot of the ball and scores a goal and misses the captain’s goal that would have brought the game within 14points – my ideal margin. There are moments of proper football; a centre break that leads to a goal. A lucky goal from a lucky bounce (Cotchin’s) and Houli’s poise. Selwood gives a freekick away; something I think I’ve never seen before in a Richmond-Geelong game. There are moments of spite. This quarter has been a stalemate; neither Geelong nor Richmond would be properly satisfied. Richmond was perhaps the better team, but have only managed to bring the margin back a little. Over their past seven quarters, Richmond has scored 12 goals. Now, they must outscore Geelong by four goals if they are going to win it. Upside: despite playing poorly, they are still, still in it. Downside: neutrals would have turned off five minutes into the first quarter. Reality check: If Richmond win it from here it will be a great turnaround. If not, the fans will be angry and justifiably angry. This Club is lacking some passion at the moment. Vlastuin, Houli, Cotchin playing well. Edwards too. Vickery has gone out of the game. Riewoldt has been there-abouts. All need to lift.

The Last
It is already past midnight and I’m not sure how long I can hang on for. Geelong have kicked the opening goal and it feels like it is as good as over. I skip forward about ten minutes. Corey Ellis kicks a goal and then, it is Miles who gets another after being taken high. Miles plays decently and toughly. The Tiges have left their run too late. Their hunger for the contest, again, too late. A spectacular win could have eventuated if the players had more polish. The nine point defeat is not honourable; this is a game that the Tiges should have won to prove that they are improving. Upside: None. No major injuries? Downside: 2:3. Reality check: likely to be 2:7 after the next four games.

4Post-amble:
The heat should now be well and truly placed on the coaching staff. During the last minute or so Richmond had a chance to get the margin to within a goal, but couldn’t do so. The coverage showed the Richmond coaches’ box and all looked mute and stunned, as if they had already accepted the fact that the team was going to lose. It seems as if the team has run out of ideas about how to play and they have lost enthusiasm. The Club has a very healthy membership and supporter base, but, the passion has been exhausted for the moment. McIntosh again showed himself to be a player of enthusiasm and skill. Richmond needs boring wins; games that pass by with little or no fanfare, just chalking up the wins. But, instead, the Club is serving up very familiar style losses. Us fans have very little choice, but to stay on board, to stay positive and support the team. But, at the moment, my sense is that the support is being given with very little joy. The team is stuck in low-mid ladder mediocrity, with no clear path out of it. Hardwick and Cotchin’s press conferences and statements about the team are numbingly ‘on-message’ in which they speak about what can be rectified. Would be great if the club held no press conferences until a convincing win was chalked up. No, until three or so proper wins were chalked up.

 

@readingsideways