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Round 18 v Port Adelaide at the MCG (an alternative view)

31/07/2019 By Lapsed TIger 1 Comment

Heading into the Port Adelaide game the thoughts through this writers head was about banking the win. On a day like it was, with the glorious sunshine, it was important to put this game in the back pocket. The week before was different. That GWS game had significance for the club and fans, given that during the week we were pronounced as ‘flag favourites’ by the football media. Richmond as flag favourites… three weeks after three straight losses to middle of the road Adelaide and North, plus actual contenders Geelong. In the intermediate three weeks, a bye and the opportunity to beat-up on the Gold Coast and St Kilda.

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Heading into the Port Adelaide game the thoughts through this writers head was about banking the win. On a day like it was, with the glorious sunshine, it was important to put this game in the back pocket.

The week before was different. That GWS game had significance for the club and fans, given that during the week we were pronounced as ‘flag favourites’ by the football media. Richmond as flag favourites… three weeks after three straight losses to middle of the road Adelaide and North, plus actual contenders Geelong. In the intermediate three weeks, a bye and the opportunity to beat-up on the Gold Coast and St Kilda.

Flag. Favourites. Sheesh.

After proving ourselves last week, the most important thing against Port, was to back that up with not just a win, but a solid win. A win where we displayed the Richmond way of footy that reinforces our chances for 2019. System, structure, style.

So we come to a very bright sunny and warm Saturday afternoon in July. “Big boy month”. The month that usually catches the Pies out, as they end to tumble down in July. Possibly the most significant month of the year, outside of September.

And on that bright sunny day, the old cliché “if you can’t play on a day like this”, etc was wheeled out. I was lucky enough to be invited to the game by Ryan, the Exiled Victorian, and joined him in the rather salubrious level two of the southern stand. All padded seats covered in jackets and scarves as far as the eye could see. Cup-holders! Attendants directing you to the bars ‘behind the glass’. Rare air for this M55 regular. Footy in the sunshine with bright and friendly company… a great day in store.

And entertaining footy by the Tiges to match the weather was the order of the day. A three goal to nil first 10 minutes saw to Port. Well, it didn’t completely finish them off as there was still 100+ minutes left, but you just felt that they were already done.

Prestia was good early, as too Bolton who had runs in the centre setup. And Lynch was out of the blocks early. Delightful footy.

And so it went for the day. Richmond holding off the Power after each thrust by them, and also working hard enough to increase the lead at each change. Winning every quarter. Dustin Martin was back to his best. Brandon Ellis copped a lot of rubbish from our section of the stands but pretty much proved the mockers wrong, bringing lots of drive from the back. He’s had a great year given his 2018, and I hope he stays. He’s almost a ‘best 22’ for the pointy end of the year.

At 3/4 time I said to Ryan with some shock and alacrity “Hey wait what? Is it three-quarter time? It can’t be!”. The game was just so fun that it didn’t seem like we were at that point of the game.

What can anyone say about Grimes and Astbury that hasn’t been said already? Both were imperious and unbeatable. Broad plays a lesser role but is also vital. Unrewarded by footy media chat. Such a redemptive two seasons he has had. Big fan of the plumbers apprentice.

The last quarter became a bit of a parade as we continued on with it. Solid enough footy against another contender with lots to play for. As up-tempo and ‘on our game’ as we have all season. A pleasure to watch, and their best game of the year so far (that I’ve been to). I did tweet at the end that it was such a good day that the game should never have ended.

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FOR THE LOVE OF THE LITTLE THINGS

The Maric factor.

Still influencing the club. Publicly but without fanfare.

From the Skipper cleaning up the rooms after a game to Nathan Broad picking up Tex’s strapping to now @JackRiewoldt08 picking up rubbish on the ground. My club is the best #gotiges #AFLTigersPower pic.twitter.com/UgNkDdQPti

— Trav Benson (@tcb934) July 20, 2019

The Brotherhood of Players.

Jack, and scrambling a dink of a kick forward from a contest, picked up by Stack (who pressured the ball out of the Power’s control), and then Stack handing the ball off to Brandon for the goal.

Rioli and Stack with their muted goal celebration late in the game.

Ivan II’s goal was a highlight. Not for his (should be trademarked) dink of a kick over the umps head and into row D, but for the player reactions around him. First to Ivan to celebrate was VFL ruck partner Mabior, who also celebrated with arms in the air as the mark was taken.

Positional Play

What a display by both Tommy Lynch and Jack Riewoldt. Working off each other and not in each others way. Some of the positioning and body work by Lynch was liquid football.

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Onward and Forward.

With almost every play the drive is forward.

Chol grabs a loose ball out of the ruck and takes them all on with a burst out of the congestion, while at the same appearing to be in no more than second gear and not even looking like moving to third. He follows it up with a lace-out kick to Lynch. Chol has a huge upside we have not seen half of yet.

An outnumber in the forward 50 and we still shunt on. How ridiculous is this game that Lynch can be 1 against 2, have a ball kicked in his general direction (by Rioli?) and then the bounce of the ball sets him up for a goal around the corner while being tackled? Ludicrous.

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Benny Votes by Lapsed Tiger

5 Tom Lynch
4 Dylan Grimes
3 Dustin Martin
2 David Astbury
1 Dion Prestia

Leaderboard

Houli 33
Martin 31
Grimes 24
Edwards 22
Vlastuin, Lynch 21
Stack, Prestia  18
Lambert 12
Ellis 11
Cotchin, Bolton 7
Castagna 6
Nankervis 5
Baker, Broad 4
Chol 3
Astbury, Ross, Naish 2
Rioli, Balta 1

 

Blair Hartley Appreciation Award: for players who have joined Richmond from another club
(Eligible 2019: Caddy, Grigg, Houli, Lynch, Nankervis, Prestia, Townsend and Weller)
Houli 33
Lynch, Prestia 18
Nankervis 5

Anthony Banik Best First Year Player: for anyone who was yet to debut before round 1
(Eligible 2019: Balta, Coleman-Jones, Collier-Dawkins, Miller, Naish, Ross, Turner, Stack)
Stack 18
Ross, Naish 2
Balta 1

Joel Bowden’s Golden Left Boot:for left footers
(Eligible 2019: Chol, Grigg, Nankervis and Houli)
Houli 33
Nankervis 5
Chol 3

Greg Tivendale Rookie List Medal:
upgraded from the rookie list during the current season
(Potentially eligible 2019: Aarts, Baker, Chol, Eggmolesse-Smith, Stack, Townsend, Weller)
Stack 18
Baker 4
Chol 3

Maurice Rioli Grip of Death Trophy:
For the Tiges top tackler in 2019

Prestia 82
Graham 63
Castagna 50
Baker 48
Vlastuin 47
McIntosh 45

Lapsed TIger 31/07/2019Filed Under: benny, craig, front, Uncategorized

Round 20 v Geelong at the MCG

12/08/2018 By Lapsed TIger Leave a Comment

First and away. Its interesting on the night to see the Cats kick away to an early lead, because you know this team has the ability to settle, control tempo and then accelerate when needed. Without a worry. And it was Cap Cotch who lead the charge, literally. His pickup and dash on the corner of the square, then second effort following the ball upfield for another tackle was a sign that he was switched on, and that we would be too. Those efforts lead to Jack kicking the first. From the restart we snag another, and again it’s the Captain. A few minutes later, our third via a Jack flick over the head. This team. Seriously.

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First and away
It’s interesting on the night to see the Cats kick away to an early lead, because you know this team has the ability to settle, control tempo and then accelerate when needed. Without a worry.

And it was Cap Cotch who lead the charge, literally. His pickup and dash on the corner of the square, then second effort following the ball upfield for another tackle was a sign that he was switched on, and that we would be too. Those efforts lead to Jack kicking the first. From the restart we snag another, and again it’s the Captain. A few minutes later, our third via a Jack flick over the head. This team. Seriously.

Letting Geelong get some space in the corridor late in the period was not good, and a sign of the play to come. So too letting them get the ball to Dangerfield when they’re struggling.

Despite all the gloom and doom about the look of the game and it needing fixing, we are a very entertaining footy team. How can you not love the run and chase of George when he took on two Cats from the back of the square and forced the ball to the forward 50? Hilarious to show up the Cats with speed and pressure. And Rioli and Shane were very creative with the ball as well.

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Steady second
“Kick not his best though” – BT summing up the Clangerfield cameos for the night. Not quite to QF level though. His hand skills also suffered and the only reason would be from our pressure.

Nank had a great quarter, with a sneaky goal after a goal saving mark a few minute earlier. And when he was off, well – we were exposed a bit.
Speaking of exposing, Titch went up a notch and had the best of the quarter, and Connor also had a few moments. Unfortunately for Connor, there were a few the other way too. Good to also see Rance play all over ‘the best key forward’. Played him completely.

A few more runs from the Cats through the corridor end up in goals… not good and no improvement from the first quarter there.

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On song in the PQ
George scored a steal and a goal early, plus some great pressure… all great George efforts, delivering the first 2 goals for us.
Shedda has a wonderful kicking style, and his vision, and that steal later ! Another long period where we were dominating the game, but the problem was that scoring was hard. Sharing the ball is great but sometimes it was overshared. Another thread of our play to be tightened up before the final.

Corridor Cats… again. Tigers oversharing again. Lloyd and Lambert could have goaled. But at least Towner did… too messy though.

Do like it when Nank gets grumpy and exerts himself. Yeah sure there should have been a free kick, but other physicality from him was great.

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Getting it done
When in doubt, go to Dangerfield… and they did, and they did again.

Its only when you see Selwood live that you can really see exactly what he does in tight and extracting free kicks.

Good to see Selwood and Danger handballing their teammates into trouble too. They looked better than we did in the last quarter, but we also did enough when needed, a 7-point play with Josh and Jack, Lloyd bobbing up for a goal, and then later his defensive effort with those tackles on Tuohy and Henderson.

And gain through the middle Geelong scored. All our good work sending them wide was then undone by open corridors.
Speaking of defensive efforts, Kamdyn, Grimes, Grigg, and Dave… all did real well in the last period.
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To The Benny’s…
So hard to give out the votes to individuals when a solid team effort is the feature of this team.
5 Brilliant early was the Captain, and powering the engine room all game.
4 You could notice when he wasn’t there, and a marked improvement when he was. Is running Nank solo starting to be exploited?
3 Mr Creativity shone all night. Loved Titch‘s game.
2 A welcome return to the George we all know he can be.
1 Jack kicked a modern day bag and presented all night. What a Tiger great

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Leaderboard

43: Cotchin
26: Martin
21: Grimes
20: Astbury
19: Short, Riewoldt
17: Edwards
16: Lambert, Nankervis
13: Caddy
11: Rance, Vlastuin
10: Prestia
7: Conca
4: Rioli
4: Higgins
3: Graham, Lloyd, Houli, Castagna
1: Townsend, McIntosh

Blair Hartley Appreciation Award: for players who have joined Richmond from another club
(Eligible 2018: Caddy, Grigg, Hampson, Houli, Nankervis, Miles, Prestia and Townsend.)
16: Nankervis
13: Caddy
10: Prestia
3: Houli
1: Townsend

Anthony Banik Best First Year Player: for anyone who was yet to debut before round 1
(Eligible 2018: Liam Baker, Noah Balta, Callum Coleman-Jones, Ryan Garthwaite, Jack Higgins, Ben Miller, Patrick Naish)
4: Higgins

Joel Bowden’s Golden Left Boot:for left footers
(Eligible 2018: Chol, Corey Ellis, Grigg, Nankervis and Houli).
16: Nankervis
3: Houli


Greg Tivendale Rookie List Medal:
upgraded from the rookie list during the current season
Potentially eligible 2018: Baker, Chol, Eggmolesse-Smith, Moore, Stengle
No votes yet.


Maurice Rioli Grip of Death Trophy:
For the Tiges top tackler
Graham: 81
Cotchin: 81
Conca: 73
Nankervis: 69
Grimes: 67

Lapsed TIger 12/08/2018Filed Under: benny, front

Benny Round 10 v Essendon – Dreamtime at the MCG

31/05/2017 By Lapsed TIger 2 Comments

After a string of near misses, it looked very likely we were in for another. A few poor choices led to some poor calls and you got that feeling the game was to be taken away from us. It certainly felt that way at the time. It was another Richmond performance of note. Entirely not a game to give the media speculators more ammunition about the tiger fragility. In fact it was quite the opposite. Noteworthy for our attack on the ball and endeavour around the packs. Some of the polish of the first five wins was missing, but there was no questioning the hardness.
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After a string of near misses, it looked very likely we were in for another. A few poor choices led to some poor calls and you got that feeling the game was to be taken away from us. It certainly felt that way at the time.

It was another Richmond performance of note. Entirely not a game to give the media speculators more ammunition about the tiger fragility. In fact it was quite the opposite. Noteworthy for our attack on the ball and endeavour around the packs. Some of the polish of the first five wins was missing, but there was no questioning the hardness.

The thought during the breaks was that Essendon, if they were to get away from us with the ball, would end up carving us up. They had their little moments in the first quarter with two bursts of three goals. Those sat in the matchday memory when we dominated general play for extended periods. The memories lingered as the game wore on… if they can get away, we are done for.

But as it happened the threat level diminished as the cream of the AFL’s defenders rose to the challenge. Of course Rance was his Rancetastic and imperious self, and the leftenants around him also went up a notch when needed. Astbury, Grimes and Short were huge. Rocks. Launchpads.

For all the resoluteness of our defence, there is a shallowness to the attacking options. Jack toiled as he does, and our small forwards plus Caddy also ground away. Clean we were not, but we do need another tall to stand up in attack. The forwards were also not helped by what appeared to be the number 468 bus from Essendon to Highpoint (via Maribynong) that was parked down there crowding out space.

I also liked Menadue (generally and also for that skinny kid taking down Bull Goddard tackle), Rioli and the big Nankervis, and also Titch who had moments.

menadue_goddard

And our first home viewing of Bolton was impressive… great chase down. Just try not to do everything at once, son. And Grigg and Bachar. The former should be in the leaders for the Dyer Medal if it were counted today. The latter for a good display through the back and sweeping up forward. Reckon he always plays well against the Bombers (I wonder why).

To the votes

FIVE to Cotch for an awesome display, sometimes of see-ball-get-ball footy, and sometimes where he sat off the back of the pack to be a third or fourth player in the chain out and forward. And always around stoppages and directing the set-up. And the fend off was superb. McDonald-Tipungwuti is a real talent, but he went down swift enough, and even bounced a touch on the deck.

cotch_tippa

FOUR votes to a reborn BEllis. Lots of stats and touches and more of the creative stuff… its good to have him back to that sort of form.

THREE to Dusty who along with Cotch decided the game needed winning they would see to it that it was us they won it. And the Caro baggers can get stuffed. He was great, but he also is at that level now.

TWO to our other elite who we have come to expect excellence from. Rance, as before was just perfection.

ONE last vote to give and its a bit of a raffle because so many were so good. But for this week and being part of that 2 goal for a half defensive set-up, it goes to the under appreciated DAstbury.

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The Benny Leaderboard:
25: Grigg
24: Cotchin
21: Martin
17: Rance
10: Riewoldt
7: Conca, Houli
6: Grimes, Nankervis
5: Castagna, B. Ellis, Astbury
4: Rioli
3: Lambert
2: Butler, Vlastuin
1: Prestia

Blair Hartley Appreciation Award: for players who have joined Richmond from another club
(Eligible 2017: Caddy, Grigg, Hampson, Houli, Hunt, Nankervis, Maric, Miles, Prestia and Townsend.)
25: Grigg
6: Nankervis
1: Prestia

Anthony Banik Best First Year Player: for anyone who was yet to debut before round 1
(Eligible 2017: Shai Bolton, Dan Butler, Ryan Garthwaite, Jack Graham, Ivan Soldo, Tyson Stengle)
2: Butler

Joel Bowden’s Golden Left Boot: for left footers
(Eligible 2017: Batchelor, Chol, Corey Ellis, Grigg, Nankervis  and Houli).
25: Grigg
6: Nankervis


Greg Tivendale Rookie List Medal:
upgraded from the rookie list during the current season
Potentially eligible 2017: Castagna, Chol, Moore, Stengle and Soldo.
5: Castagna


Maurice Rioli Grip of Death Trophy:
For the Tiges top tackler

62: Cotchin
42: Lambert
41: Martin
36: Nankervis
35: Grigg

Lapsed TIger 31/05/2017Filed Under: benny, front

Benny Round 2 v Collingwood, MCG

04/04/2017 By Lapsed TIger Leave a Comment

Toowanoh. It’s not a town in country Queensland. It’s Richmond 3121. And its a lovely part of the world. From the opening minutes with ‘that goal’ from an acre of space inside a phone box, until drilling a belter from outside 50, Captain Cotchin was at the helm and deserving of the five votes. In between those moments was the usual drive from the Chimp. He is a great ball-finder, chip-kicker, hardball-getter and pill-distributor. And also all the tackles, but mainly the one that pulled Treloar down. Like a lion on a wildebeest. Stopped the Pies attacks dead in their tracks at a vital stage.

Votes and notes this week by The Lapsed Tiger

Toowanoh. It’s not a town in country Queensland. It’s Richmond 3121. And its a lovely part of the world.

From the opening minutes with ‘that goal’ from an acre of space inside a phone box, until drilling a belter from outside 50, Captain Cotchin was at the helm and deserving of the five votes. In between those moments was the usual drive from the Chimp. He is a great ball-finder, chip-kicker, hardball-getter and pill-distributor. And also all the tackles, but mainly the one that pulled Treloar down. Like a lion on a wildebeest. Stopped the Pies attacks dead in their tracks at a vital stage.

Stepping up to be the number one ruck from outside the group has seemed effortless for big Toby the Nank. The bloke is not only big of stature, but also big of heart and blessed with skill. When needed, he stayed on the park after Griff was concussed, and toiled manfully and gets this rounds four votes. Might have been beaten on pure stats by Grundy, but the around the ground work and the overall effort was very important. And that baulk was top class. Who knew big men could sidestep while showing the ball as a bluff.

There was a lot of chat about how Shaun Grigg apparently ‘manipulated’ the third man up rule. But in reality, its a reflection on the rule itself and how ill-considered and rushed through it was by AFL HQ. What happens if a team is a ruckman down…? Someone else has to nominate. What if no one nominates? Go ask the duffers at Collingwood. But enough of that, because Grigg was his usual self around the ground and then some. Enough to earn the three votes this week. That he rucked a few times as well as running into space to be a link showed his commitment to the night.

I may be spinning in ever decreasing circles on assessing Nick Vlastuin, but I think he made enough of an impact to warrant two votes this week. Low on the final stats figures, but was running between the centre and defence as the start of runs, or mopping up loose balls. Somewhere in the third quarter was a gather, blind turn and underground handball to advantage. I can’t remember if it brought a goal, but by gee it looked good.

While held quiet and playing further up the ground for a good two quarters, I liked that Jack could once again rise above. Those marks in the second half, at a time the team was rising and needed a forward to stand up, were superb. Body positioning and strength won the ball as Jack stamped himself on the game. Made it look easy. Vitally needed, and the one Benny vote.

Honourable mentions to;

  • The tattooed one himself. Martin had a resaonable game and shone again at moments when needed. Overall a regulation day at the office.
  • Titch started well, lighting up the goalsquare with such a well crumbed goal that Cap’n Birdseye would be proud. Solid.
  • I like what Astbury did down back. Not a star, but made his presence known when needed.
  • A few more nebulous honourable mentions: to the Tiger faithful that remained hopeful after a disappointing first half; and to the blustery, swirly MCG wind that did enough in that second quarter to dilute the Pies’ efforts on goals.

 Griff had an eventful night. What an enigma the boy is. – Ed

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The Benny Leaderboard:
7: Grigg
5: Martin, Cotchin
4: Nankervis
3: Castagna
2: Butler, Vlastuin
1: Prestia, Riewoldt

Blair Hartley Appreciation Award: for players who have joined Richmond from another club
(Eligible 2017: Caddy, Grigg, Hampson, Houli, Hunt, Nankervis, Maric, Miles, Prestia and Townsend.)
7: Grigg
4: Nankervis
1: Prestia

Anthony Banik Best First Year Player: for anyone who was yet to debut before round 1
(Eligible 2017: Shai Bolton, Dan Butler, Ryan Garthwaite, Jack Graham, Ivan Soldo, Tyson Stengle)
2: Butler

Joel Bowden’s Golden Left Boot: for left footers
(Eligible 2017: Batchelor, Chol, Corey Ellis, Grigg, Nankervis  and Houli).
7: Grigg
4: Nankervis


Greg Tivendale Rookie List Medal:
upgraded from the rookie list during the current season
Potentially eligible 2017: Castagna, Chol, Moore, Stengle and Soldo.
3: Castagna


Maurice Rioli Grip of Death Trophy:
The club’s top tackler, across AFL and VFL teams
15: Cotchin
14: Vlastuin
13: Riewoldt
11: Grimes
9: Prestia

Lapsed TIger 04/04/2017Filed Under: benny, front

Benny Round 22 v St Kilda at MCG

23/08/2016 By Lapsed TIger 1 Comment

To round out the season at the MCG, a loss to St Kilda in the manner that we did was a sour finish to the year to say the least. Both teams seemed less than inclined to really put up much effort, and it was clear for all to see this pattern inside the first 5 minutes. A generally low level of intensity by the players was countered by the frequent reminders by the Richmond hierarchy and marketing team that this was “thank you fans day”. This at least tempered the quickly evaporating atmosphere with some semblance of good cheer.
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To round out the season at the MCG, a loss to St Kilda in the manner that we did was a sour finish to the year to say the least. Both teams seemed less than inclined to really put up much effort, and it was clear for all to see this pattern inside the first 5 minutes.
A generally low level of intensity by the players was countered by the frequent reminders by the Richmond hierarchy and marketing team that this was “thank you fans day”. This at least tempered the quickly evaporating atmosphere with some semblance of good cheer.

But what we saw from ‘thank the fans day’ was equivalent to what was played out on the field – a shallow effort to acknowledge the contribution of the 72-plus thousand members and 35,000 that attended.
On our last game at the MCG for seven months, no players approached the boundary fence to farewell the members and faithful. No one went near the most die-hard of all at the Punt Road end. No acknowledgement at all by the players as they wandered away like Brown’s cows.

Granted they were bested and beaten, but that Saturday was more than a loss on the scoreboard, and a loss of four points. It was a loss of connection between home fans and players for another season. A loss of the community of football for seven months.
How was this connection overlooked by the footy department, the marketing and promotions team, and all involved with ‘fan engagement’? These small moments are emotional sinews that wrap and bind people to club, and some fine strands of those sinews were broken on Saturday.

This was the most sour part of the day, and an unfortunate way to round out an ordinary home effort of 6 wins and 5 losses for 2016.

And so to the votes.
In times past I preferred to list the unlucky, and then count up to the best with 5 votes.
This week it will be done in the reverse order. Because really there is not much but charity after the early votes get apportioned.

FIVE VOTES
There was no brighter burning Tiger on Saturday than the most recent NAB rising Star nominee Daniel RIOLI. He worked hard and tirelessly as though it was an early season game with much on the line. Flashes of brilliance from the young man peppered our dark final day at the G for 2016.

FOUR VOTES
Playing well and doing his best to will a very unwilling team to some form of competitiveness highlighted once again why, as captain, COTCHIN should not be questioned on leadership again. Not his best game this year, and not even his best this month, but a beacon when cast against the general malaise of Saturday.

THREE VOTES
Its never easy down back when the others further up field are not on song, but the effort of GRIMES was exemplary. Though he and his defensive brothers were helped by the loss to the Saints when McCartin went off, Dylan was well positioned and close checking throughout. An early and successful stretch of those famous hamstrings in the opening minutes (about where the practice wickets used to be) showed he was switched on.

TWO VOTES
This is where a charitable heart steps in and the cold hard reality that we just didn’t have very many shining lights must exit. So lets offer up another defender.

It was a Rance-esque display of Rance-type defending by Alex RANCE. Solid and dependable as always, and what we now come to expect.
And while were on it, was it too little too late to try Alex as a forward with about 10 mins to go? I think so.
Although Dusty has the Benny sewn up, its fair to say Alex will be challenging him for the Jack Dyer. Best Tiger all year for mine.

ONE VOTE
The papers and radio talked up DUSTY, and hell he may even get a Brownlow vote out of this game, but its a ‘scrape into the 1 vote slot’ sort of game for mine.

ALSO, KINDA, MAYBE…
I thought Houli played his best game since returning from injury, but those other games were not much to write home about.
Grigg was patchy, but threw himself in most when we looked well out of the contest.
Lloyd made sporadic efforts but was found wanting more than he found the goals.
Edwards too flashed in, but he is well below his 2015 level.

Hopefully we can have a mighty crack at the Swans next week, and then regroup, draft, reset and re-load for 2017.
Go Tigers.

The Benny

48: Martin
36: Cotchin
35: Rance

29: Riewoldt
23: Miles
17: Hampson
13: Griffiths
12: Deledio, Lloyd
11: Houli
10: Grimes
7: Edwards
9: Castagna, Rioli
6: Short
5: Lambert, Grigg, Drummond, Markov
4: Hunt
3: Townsend, C. Ellis, Vlaustin, Astbury, Marcon
2: B. Ellis
1: Menadue

Blair Hartley Appreciation Award

23: Miles
17: Hampson
11: Houli
5: Grigg
3: Townsend

Anthony Banik Best First Year Player
9: Castagna, Rioli
6: Short
5: Drummond, Markov
3: Marcon
1: Menadue

Joel Bowden's Golden Left Boot
11: Houli
5: Grigg

Greg Tivendale Rookie List Medal
9: Castagna
6: Short


This week Richmond flies to Sydney to take on the Swans. If anyone will be there and would like to cast the votes, please get in touch.

Lapsed TIger 23/08/2016Filed Under: benny, front

Benny Round 20 v Collingwood at MCG

10/08/2016 By Lapsed TIger 11 Comments

What a week it had been for Richmond leading into the glare of Friday nights lights. Apparently ‘well connected’ and ‘long-standing Richmond families’ were plotting a clandestine coup to remove selected board members. Sitting in a restaurant, making backroom political moves and treating the club and its 70,000 members as their own fiefdom.
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Votes and notes this week by The Lapsed Tiger

What a week it had been for Richmond leading into the glare of Friday nights lights. Apparently ‘well connected’ and ‘long-standing Richmond families’ were plotting a clandestine coup to remove selected board members. Sitting in a restaurant, making backroom political moves and treating the club and its 70,000 members as their own fiefdom.

This is not 1984, when the less-professional Tigers were tearing at themselves. That internal struggle saw us off into the wilderness for a decade or more. This is 2016, when the template for football is for it to be run like a business, with targets goals and plans, and embracing change and managing it through.
There needs to be a reduced use of emotion at the management level, and most certainly there needs to be a divorcing of outside influence to the club management. I am fed up with board challenges and coup plotters, and most certainly fed up of people who once had a stake in running that less professional club of my youth now trying to retake control of the tiller.

Also in the maelstrom, was a week where those ordinary 70,000 plus members talked of moving on coaches, players and almost anything not bolted down.
So, how good was it to be playing Collingwood as a way for the players and staff to prove a point.
That they were better than what was delivered the week before (and lets also credit GWS as being a strong finals contender this year too – don’t lose sight of their improvement).
That the systems and talent that got us three seasons of (albeit unsuccessful) finals finishes still had the internal fortitude to play well again.
That they could avenge the 1 point loss at the start of the year, that saw us lose 5 more and basically pulled the season out from under us so early.

UNLUCKY
After a wobbly start, Big Ty then began presenting and stamping authority. Its what we want him to do, and its a welcome return.
It’s getting hard to see Rance doing anything other than trademark Rance-isms. He is no doubt the best defender in the AFL, and was brilliant again this week.
There were two other first year players who also had a great game and Short and Rioli will be a platform for Richmond for 2017 and on.
Big fan of Hampson’s effort too. Maybe Grundy shaded him for most of the game, but Hammer just kept on going.
Would really like to give a vote to Jesse White and Ben Reid too. So good were the pair of them to Richmond in coughing up the ball so often.

ONE VOTE
Down the back half the pairing of Rance and ASTBURY is beginning to bear fruit. Supported by Grimes, its a very solid back end, and Astbury played well filling in holes, linking with Rance, and starting transitions.

TWO VOTES
In the last two quarters when the game was still in the balance, DUSTY began to impose himself on the game and steady the Tiger ship. And I agree with Dugald that maybe the ‘Don’t Argue’ needs to be put back in the bag of tricks for a few weeks. Reduce predictability, and go the handball or kick first.

THREE VOTES
Early on, when we were struggling, it seemed as though MARCON got involved and helped get the engines running. Seemingly in all passages of play in the first two quarters went via the boy from Williamstown. Only his second top tier game, but a top bit of work by the mature age-er.

FOUR VOTES
Another young player that did superbly was the running half back of Comrade OLEG. Good run and drive. Deep kicks that were low, hard and accurate. But most impressively was his ability to pull some of the long steps back a touch, and to dance about and get clear. Under such skill and vision, the people and p̶a̶r̶t̶y̶ team will be united!

FIVE VOTES
By my read the Chimp COTCHIN set the team up in the first half. While the Pies scored early from a few dodgy ones, it was the captain who steadied the ship, set the tone and tempo, and got us righted. Spent a great deal of the game either in and under the clinches spurting out handballs, or just laying off the pack about 5 meters to collect a handball and do the Chimp’s trademark dink of a kick about 20 metres forward to another Tiger.
Led from the front. Who can question his role and captaincy now.

The Benny

43: Martin
32: Cotchin
29: Riewoldt
28: Rance

23: Miles
16: Hampson
13: Griffiths
12: Deledio, Lloyd
11: Houli
7: Edwards, Grimes
9: Castagna
5: Lambert, Grigg, Drummond, Markov
4: Hunt
3: Townsend, Short, C. Ellis, Vlaustin, Astbury, Marcon
2: Rioli, B. Ellis
1: Menadue

Blair Hartley Appreciation Award

23: Miles
16: Hampson
11: Houli
5: Grigg
3: Townsend

Anthony Banik Best First Year Player
9: Castagna
5: Drummond, Markov
3: Short, Marcon
2: Rioli
1: Menadue

Joel Bowden's Golden Left Boot
11: Houli
5: Grigg

Greg Tivendale Rookie List Medal
9: Castagna
3: Short


This week the Tiges host the Cats on Sunday at the G. Liahm O’Brien will be doing the votes for us.

Lapsed TIger 10/08/2016Filed Under: benny, front

Benny Round 14 v Brisbane at the MCG

26/06/2016 By Lapsed TIger 1 Comment

Votes and notes this week by mystery man, bon vivant and Son of Swan Street, the Lapsed Tiger.

After about 6 weeks without going to the football in this first full 11-game-membership year for me since 2006, the day could not have been better. It was a crisp Melbourne winter day with not much of a breeze to speak about, and a low sun hanging in the north and gently warming the earth. It brought to mind the old adage that “if you can’t play football on days like today, you can’t play football”.

Walking to the ground I wandered through the Treasury and Fitzroy Gardens, the soft grass and earth underfoot reminded of why games were played in East Melbourne all those years ago. A yielding surface would have been perfect for the rough and tumble of blacksmiths and wool scourers of the day chasing the leather.

Thanks to the half dozen Tigers (and a stray Crow) I sat with. A very enjoyable afternoon of ordinary football that was enlivened by the company of good people.

UNLUCKY
Having a bit of a break in the VFL has given the sleeveless reincarnation of David Bourke a bit of a boost. Connor Menadue was quite good yesterday, particularly in the first half when the game was to be won. And really should be in the one vote spot.

All season the big unit Hampson has done very well at getting first hand on the footy at ruck contests. Yesterday he impressed further with his around the ground work. but the second half fade was a worry. A bit more of that progression in his game and he can be this generations Greg Stafford.

Probably should also put Captain Cotchin in for a vote too. He was good all day, but possibly only an acceptable level for someone of his quality. Same for Edwards as well. plenty of aggression at the footy and niggle at opponents. Nice impacts in and around the forward packs, which is his stock in trade.

Also unlucky to not collect a vote was was Richie Carr, who was sitting with us and having a lot of fun in the last quarter. An otherwise pedestrian-to-sub-standard performance against an obviously listless Brisbane team was enlivened by this young lads wide-eyed optimism and joy.

ONE VOTE
It pains me to do this, but Ellis (of the Bellis variety) was very good yesterday. Free running and dropping into empty space was the order of the day. As too playing-on quickly, which is all well and good around the ground, but please can we knock it out of his ‘take a mark inside 50’ game? Please?
His best game of the year, and for mine he is lucky to not be playing the early games at Punt Rd. So much more he can do with application and concentration.

TWO VOTES
After playing good ‘around the ground’ footy all year, it was great to see Jack finally get a modern day ‘bag’ of 4 as target forward. Good return for effort from the big man. If only he was about in the 90’s, that 4 would have been closer to a Jeff Hogg / Mothers Day Massacre 10 goal proper ‘bag’.

THREE VOTES
With the Chimp Kazoo captaining well this year (despite that idiot Maclure’s attempts to undermine him), our little section of the stands debated the heir apparent at the RFC. And Richmond’s number one pick from the 2012 draft could be it. Yesterday’s effort from Vlaustuin was great in the back half and through the centre, ably controlling things in the Houli mould. Leadership material.

FOUR VOTES
As much as he had control of the ball and lead the stats count, it is also what a player of his calibre should be doing too. There were also a brain fade or two at stages as well, and these need ironing out. Otherwise a solid Martin performance we expect these days, and the basis for the win.

FIVE VOTES
Recycling players vs drafting of quality kids is an argument for the ages. But if you can be smart in picking up both in the one package, then you have a very good player. And yesterday Miles was involved in a lot and continues to grow into a quality hard on baller. Thanks for shedding your bloated talent list, GWS. Another candidate to take over from Captain Chimp.

The Benny
26: Martin
25: Riewoldt
18: Cotchin, Miles
15: Rance
13: Hampson
12: Deledio
11: Houli
7: Edwards, Grimes
6: Lloyd
5: Lambert, Castagna, Griffiths, Grigg
3: Townsend, Short, C. Ellis, Vlaustin
2: Rioli, B. Ellis

Blair Hartley Appreciation Award
18: Miles
13: Hampson
11: Houli
5: Grigg
3: Townsend

Anthony Banik Best First Year Player
5: Castagna
3: Short
2: Rioli

Joel Bowden's Golden Left Boot
11: Houli
5: Grigg

Greg Tivendale Rookie List Medal
5: Castagna
3: Short


Next week the Tiges play Port at AO – I have an Adelaide correspondent in mind. Email if you’d like to get involved in voting.

 

Lapsed TIger 26/06/2016Filed Under: benny, front

True Tigers don’t ever leave

05/05/2015 By Lapsed TIger 3 Comments

By Lapsed Tiger

I have no idea why I was drawn to Richmond.

It would have been about 40 years ago, so a few key suspects have always been prime in my mind as to why Richmond became part of me.

The early 70’s were part of the Hafey era. Of back-to-back Premierships, and finals seemingly all the time. The ‘Ruthless Richmond’ driven to attack the footy and opposition with full gusto, and the “Eat ’em alive” desire to win.

They must have been on the TV every week. And would have been ‘match of the round’ on 3UZ and 3LO.
And for a small lad, they would have seemed like the ultimate footballers.
Being with the winners is where you wanted to be. Is that what drew me to them?

1974

▰▰▰▰▰▰▰

ghost

Jim Jess, ‘The Ghost’

I grew up in a family that liked football, but were never fully into football to go week in week out. Nor to commit themselves wholly to the local club, and to the weekly training and playing grind that hundreds of thousands of families and kids of the era did.
“Mugs game” was my father’s favourite rebuttal to my every seasons request for new footy boots, or to be taken to training for the local team.
But I would try footy… train, have a run and get a kick. But never get an actual game, bar one time.

There was no greater feeling in my fleetingly brief football playing experience, than picking out of the box the number 20 on the back of the Primary School team jumper, and putting it on.
My first team jumper earned.
And in choosing the number 20, for fleeting moments, I was ‘The Ghost’, albeit decked out in green with the ’20’ in white.

Breaking into the local club team was touch harder.
And the term “Mugs game” would come back to ring in my ears. The clashes and bumps, mud and rain and the bitter cold of training nights would come to haunt my football experience every cold winter.

I was never prepared for the hard, dirty graft of footy in winter in Melbourne. I am sure my Dad told me the same. And I was quite a shy kid, so doing the whole ‘social’ thing that is club footy was hard too.
But cockeyed optimist was I, blindly drifting off to that oft-imagined childhood footy dream.

The reality of football had me out of the local club quickly. Tired, cold, wet, and most importantly, without that first team jumper.
And pummelled from pillar to post, being built as I was back then, in the ‘David Bourke’ mould.

All I really aspired to was being at the club until ‘Pie Night’.

▰▰▰▰▰▰▰

hartThere was only, at best, a very tenuous link to Tigerland. A slender silver thread between our family and one of the greats. The magic of that association, and the mythical deeds of one of thee greatest, drew me to the Tigers.

Royce Hart was my first football hero, and also to thousands of others no doubt. The flame that drew this moth to the MCG.
I only have vague memories of him playing. I am pretty sure as a 9 year old I saw him play, perched in the top deck of the Southern Stand with my dear Dad. To this impressionable lad he played with an ease and grace that normal ‘good ordinary footballers’ could only dream of. Or was it just my adulation that gleaned only the good moments and dispensed with all else. Surely in those twilight years he was dogged with niggling injuries. At such a young age I was blind to that detail.

And that name!
Royce.

To a kid from the sprawling western suburbs of Melbourne, where most boys were Shanes and Daves, Jeffs and Paulos, Christos’ and Zorans, the name Royce lit-up the imagination. It was a name that seemingly could only be bestowed upon someone destined for immortality.

Better still was to hear it being called through the speakers of the little window to the world in the corner of our living room on a Saturday night, or via the radio with the live call of the play.
” Royce!! ” would be the cry from Harry Beitzel or Ian Major on the radio… and you would wonder what spectacle was unfolding to have that name shouted down from the ether.

▰▰▰▰▰▰▰

Royce and the early 70’s Premierships stamped my card in Melbourne life with the word “Tiger”.
Indelibly.
Irrefutably.

Even through the years when I stopped going to games, or even joined in the office footy talk on the Monday.

And even today… where the Tiger momentum under Hardwick and Gale now is becalmed and drifting.

Still a Tiger.
Still backing the club, even at a distance.
You don’t ever lose that deep-seated love for Richmond. True Tigers don’t ever leave.
“These are not dark days… “

Lapsed TIger 05/05/2015Filed Under: craig, front, guest

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