SUMMARY
Richmond has made two changes for its clash against Fremantle at Domain Stadium on Saturday night with captain Trent Cotchin and midfielder Kane Lambert replacing Daniel Rioli (family illness) and Corey Ellis (soreness).
The Tigers sit 15th on the ladder with two wins and six losses, but are within four points and three per cent of St Kilda and Gold Coast, who sit 14th and 13th respectively.
Having lost their previous six matches by an average of 36 points, Richmond returned to form last weekend with a thrilling one point victory over the Swans, sealed by a Sam Lloyd goal after the siren.
Forward Brett Deledio said the Tigers are fully focused on keeping the win in perspective.
“It’s always nice to have a win but we fully understand where we sit at the moment,” he said.
“We’ve got a lot of work to do and our focus is primarily on Fremantle this weekend.”
Where and when
Saturday 21 May, 5:40pm, Domain Stadium.
FORWARD LINE
Richmond sits 13th in the league for scoring with an average total of just over 79 - more than eight points shy of last year’s tally. Jack Riewoldt (20 goals), Lloyd (15 goals) and Ty Vickery (14 goals) have been in impressive form while Ben Griffiths gathered 20 possessions and kicked five goals in a career-best display last week. Young smalls Jayden Short and has shown promising signs, and Deledio, who has been in good form since returning to the side, said developing the Tigers’ list was a focus. “We’ve got some good games into some of our younger players but we’ll keeping blooding them and keep seeing how they go,” he said.
MIDFIELD
Against Sydney, the Tigers adopted a possession-based approach towards their ball movement, exemplified by the 100-52 count for marks. Short passes were used to work the Swans’ defence laterally before Riewoldt, Lloyd, Vickery and Griffiths were isolated deep in attack. Dustin Martin has been consistent, averaging 26 possessions, while Brandon Ellis, Shaun Grigg and Anthony Miles are in good form. Richmond Coach Damien Hardwick said he was happy with how his midfield performed last Saturday. “I think we had Dustin [Martin] who’s had two great contested ball games in a row, Milesy [Anthony Miles] was back to his best and Brandon Ellis we were really pleased with as well,” he said. “Consistency of effort was great on the weekend.”
Talking points: Rd 9 v Richmond
DEFENCE
Richmond is 16th in the league for points against, conceding an average score of just over 110. The Tigers’ backline was boosted last week by the return of All-Australian full-back Alex Rance who held his own, despite conceding five goals to Lance Franklin. Young half-back Connor Menadue has been praised for his development, but will have to step up in the absence of second-year player Corey Ellis and line-breaker Bachar Houli, who is missing with a hand injury. Griffiths has been flexible, swinging between full-back and full-forward, while new recruit Jacob Townsend is enjoying his new role in defence, having played as an inside-midfielder for GWS.
MISSING IN ACTION:
Midfielders Cotchin and Kane Lambert both passed fitness tests and will fly with the team to Perth. Rioli returned to the Northern Territory midweek because of a family illness, while Corey Ellis pulled up sore, having playing every game in just his second season. Houli’s wrist injury is worse than first thought and will could keep him sidelined for up to 10 weeks.
STRAY FACT:
- Despite their ladder position, Richmond have won the fifth-most quarters of any side in the AFL with 50. Only Hawthorn (67), West Coast (61), Sydney (53) and Fremantle (51) have won more.
