BRISBANE LIONS VS RICHMOND TIGERS
THE SEASON SO FAR...
Richmond:
The Tigers started off round one with a solid come from behind 27 point victory over Carlton. This result was dismissed in the media and over bigfooty as an underwhelming result with the blues tipped to struggle in 2015, however with Carlton being somewhat of a bogey side for the Tigers optimism was high with a number of second tier players stepping up.
In round 2, the Tigers faced a young Western Bulldogs side who were up and about after defeating West Coast in round 1. With more experience and arguably more talent across every line, the Tigers faithful were confident of a comfortable victory, especially with the game being played on the open ground of the MCG. However, the Tigers simply couldn't find a way to get their running game up and going, with the Bulldogs simply working and chasing harder all over the ground and playing a much more direct brand of footy, getting the win by 19 points over a very lacklustre Tigers outfit.
Brisbane:
Confidence was rising heading into round 1, with a good trade/free agency period seeing a number of new senior faces expected to bolster the young Lions' midfield. Coming up at home against a Collingwood side who had a rough week in the media and who were tipped to finish in the bottom half of the league, the Lions started favourites. However, despite a strong final quarter, they went down to Collingwood by 12 points, with a little salt rubbed into the wound with captain and arguably best player Tom Rockliff going down with a rib injury expected to keep him out for 3-5 weeks.
In round 2, the Lions came down to Etihad to face a Kangaroos outfit out for revenge after being belted by Adelaide in round 1. The Lions started okay and went out to an 11-point lead early in the first quarter- however completely dropped off after that, scoring only 4 goals after quarter time to North's 15 and eventually going down by an embarrassing 82 points. Jarrad Waite got of the leash to boot 7 goals, and coach Justin Leppitsch was left to rue his side's poor effort around the stoppages, losing the clearances 42-24 and contested possessions 143-119.
KEY MATCHUPS
Leuenberger/Martin vs Maric/Griffiths
A fully fit Leuenberger is a rare sight and coach Justin Leppitsch will be thankful to have his number one ruckman at his disposal. Stefan Martin has improved his work around the ground immensely since moving from Melbourne and provides handy ruck relief and a solid forward option. One of the few teams in the league that have an almost 50/50 split with players performing near equal rucking duties, Griffiths will need to provide a decent contest when called upon in an effort to keep big Ivan fresh. This matchup could be crucial as if Maric goes down or tires, or Griffiths is needed up forward, this duo could really get on top in the middle.
BEAMS/RICH/REDDEN VS COTCHIN/MARTIN/MILES
Daniel Rich has been one of the few Lions midfielders who can hold his head up high so far this year, showing the form that snagged him the Rising Star award in 2009. Redden was arguably the Lions’ best in the loss to North Melbourne, gathering 28 possessions (10 contested). Beams came to the club with high expectations and is yet to deliver in 2 games so far, turning in mediocre performances. it appears the extra reliance on him isn’t getting the best out of him with less senior midfielders around him at Brisbane to shoulder the load and also copping the oppositions best tagger every week.
Dustin Martin was one of Richmond’s only players who showed a desire to kick the ball long against the Bulldogs. His run across and out of half back is crucial to Richmond’s game plan. Cotchin amassed 34 possessions in round 2 however frustrated Tiger fans with most of them 1-2 handballs or short kicks that fail to hurt the opposition. A reason for this could be his desire to get into the bottom of packs and being forced to play as a clearance player, a position not ideally suited to him, due to his lack of other teammates willing to gain contested possession out of stoppages. This is why Miles needs to step up and get those hardball gets out to Cotchin so he can play a more natural outside game.
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Dayne Zorko
Electric, pacy midfielder who can go forward and loves a goal. Often the player to provide when the Lions need a spark, he is one of the more exciting players in the Lions line-up.
JED ADCOCK
The Brisbane skipper has great footskills and his run off half back is invaluable to his side. Capable of running through the midfield and kicking goals, he is one of the few reliable leaders at Brisbane. Needs to go up another gear in the absence of Rockliff, Merrett and Hanley.
ALEX RANCE
A rock at the back of the Richmond defense, rarely loses a 50-50 contest, and provides plenty of run and leadership, he is surely the favourite to take out back-to-back spots in the backline in this year’s All-Australian team. Easily Richmond’s best against the Bulldogs.
BACHAR HOULI
Crucial to Richmond’s game plan, provides a lot of run out of the Tiger’s defence. Was in the bests against Carlton and the Bulldogs responded by shutting him down- a tactic that went a long way towards their victory.
WHERE BRISBANE CAN WIN…
The Bulldogs showed in round 2 that Richmond tend to make poor decisions under pressure. They also ran extremely hard and flooded the Tigers forward line, forcing Richmond to attempt to switch possession and kick short across the ground and have a lot of shots from the pocket. The Lions need to work as a team and tackle hard. They also need to find a matchup for Jack Riewoldt- a task that looks tough on paper as without Daniel Merrett there isn’t exactly a KPD screaming out for the job. However, games are won and lost in the midfield, and if Beams, Rich, Aish and Redden get enough of it they can be extremely damaging. They have plenty of midfielders who can go forward and kick goals as well as score on the run from outside 50. If they can win the contested ball and deny Richmond run through the corridor, the Tigers will have a tough time scoring.
WHERE RICHMOND CAN WIN…
Richmond simply must bounce back from a poor showing against Western bulldogs. It would be expected that there will be a lift in intensity, and the coaching panel surely must encourage the players to be more direct with the ball and kick longer. On paper, Richmond probably has the superior team (although the same can be argued against the Bulldogs) but they need a lift from their better runners and users of the ball in Ellis, Houli, Martin and Macintosh. They should also welcome back Deledio from suspension and Shane Edwards who missed last week with a calf complaint. It’s also hard to see a matchup for Jack Riewoldt, with Griffiths a handy forward option as well. If the Tigers win the clearances, get their running game going, and get the ball in to their forward 50 quickly and efficiently, they are capable of beating the best sides in the competition. Brisbane are also lacking a key forward, and with Alex Rance down there, they will need to either score from long distance or keep the ball away from him otherwise it will be coming straight back out.
POSSIBLE CHANGES
Richmond:
IN: Deledio, Edwards, Knights, McDonough
OUT: Lambert (inj), Newman, Petterd, Gordon
Deledio missed with suspension but is also under an injury cloud. Edwards was a late withdrawal and showed how important he is to our clearances. Gordon has had 2 starts with the sub vest and needs to go learn some composure, Petterd may go out as a scapegoat although he was far from the worst on ground- ditto Newman. Knights was named in the bests in the VFL.
Brisbane:
IN: Rockliff (?), McGuane (lel) Zorko, Staker
OUT: Close (inj), Mayes, Lester, Bewick
Zorko was a late withdrawal against North Melbourne. Close picked up a knee knock early in the game. Rockliff was expected to miss a few weeks but they may rush him back. Pure speculation at this point with plenty of players below their best on the weekend.
THE FINAL WORD
Richmond showed they can be beaten by anyone when put under the right amount of pressure. You would expect the players to lift in intensity and want to atone for a loss they shouldn’t have had. The Lions will be better at home, but haven’t had much success in recent years against the Tigers- you need to go back to before 2010 to see their last triumph over Richmond. On paper, Richmond has the experience and the talent across every line. It’s also hard to see Brisbane kicking a winning score with the glaring lack of a key forward.
PREDICTION: Richmond by 34 points
THE SEASON SO FAR...
Richmond:
The Tigers started off round one with a solid come from behind 27 point victory over Carlton. This result was dismissed in the media and over bigfooty as an underwhelming result with the blues tipped to struggle in 2015, however with Carlton being somewhat of a bogey side for the Tigers optimism was high with a number of second tier players stepping up.
In round 2, the Tigers faced a young Western Bulldogs side who were up and about after defeating West Coast in round 1. With more experience and arguably more talent across every line, the Tigers faithful were confident of a comfortable victory, especially with the game being played on the open ground of the MCG. However, the Tigers simply couldn't find a way to get their running game up and going, with the Bulldogs simply working and chasing harder all over the ground and playing a much more direct brand of footy, getting the win by 19 points over a very lacklustre Tigers outfit.
Brisbane:
Confidence was rising heading into round 1, with a good trade/free agency period seeing a number of new senior faces expected to bolster the young Lions' midfield. Coming up at home against a Collingwood side who had a rough week in the media and who were tipped to finish in the bottom half of the league, the Lions started favourites. However, despite a strong final quarter, they went down to Collingwood by 12 points, with a little salt rubbed into the wound with captain and arguably best player Tom Rockliff going down with a rib injury expected to keep him out for 3-5 weeks.
In round 2, the Lions came down to Etihad to face a Kangaroos outfit out for revenge after being belted by Adelaide in round 1. The Lions started okay and went out to an 11-point lead early in the first quarter- however completely dropped off after that, scoring only 4 goals after quarter time to North's 15 and eventually going down by an embarrassing 82 points. Jarrad Waite got of the leash to boot 7 goals, and coach Justin Leppitsch was left to rue his side's poor effort around the stoppages, losing the clearances 42-24 and contested possessions 143-119.
KEY MATCHUPS
Leuenberger/Martin vs Maric/Griffiths
A fully fit Leuenberger is a rare sight and coach Justin Leppitsch will be thankful to have his number one ruckman at his disposal. Stefan Martin has improved his work around the ground immensely since moving from Melbourne and provides handy ruck relief and a solid forward option. One of the few teams in the league that have an almost 50/50 split with players performing near equal rucking duties, Griffiths will need to provide a decent contest when called upon in an effort to keep big Ivan fresh. This matchup could be crucial as if Maric goes down or tires, or Griffiths is needed up forward, this duo could really get on top in the middle.
BEAMS/RICH/REDDEN VS COTCHIN/MARTIN/MILES
Daniel Rich has been one of the few Lions midfielders who can hold his head up high so far this year, showing the form that snagged him the Rising Star award in 2009. Redden was arguably the Lions’ best in the loss to North Melbourne, gathering 28 possessions (10 contested). Beams came to the club with high expectations and is yet to deliver in 2 games so far, turning in mediocre performances. it appears the extra reliance on him isn’t getting the best out of him with less senior midfielders around him at Brisbane to shoulder the load and also copping the oppositions best tagger every week.
Dustin Martin was one of Richmond’s only players who showed a desire to kick the ball long against the Bulldogs. His run across and out of half back is crucial to Richmond’s game plan. Cotchin amassed 34 possessions in round 2 however frustrated Tiger fans with most of them 1-2 handballs or short kicks that fail to hurt the opposition. A reason for this could be his desire to get into the bottom of packs and being forced to play as a clearance player, a position not ideally suited to him, due to his lack of other teammates willing to gain contested possession out of stoppages. This is why Miles needs to step up and get those hardball gets out to Cotchin so he can play a more natural outside game.
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Dayne Zorko
Electric, pacy midfielder who can go forward and loves a goal. Often the player to provide when the Lions need a spark, he is one of the more exciting players in the Lions line-up.
JED ADCOCK
The Brisbane skipper has great footskills and his run off half back is invaluable to his side. Capable of running through the midfield and kicking goals, he is one of the few reliable leaders at Brisbane. Needs to go up another gear in the absence of Rockliff, Merrett and Hanley.
ALEX RANCE
A rock at the back of the Richmond defense, rarely loses a 50-50 contest, and provides plenty of run and leadership, he is surely the favourite to take out back-to-back spots in the backline in this year’s All-Australian team. Easily Richmond’s best against the Bulldogs.
BACHAR HOULI
Crucial to Richmond’s game plan, provides a lot of run out of the Tiger’s defence. Was in the bests against Carlton and the Bulldogs responded by shutting him down- a tactic that went a long way towards their victory.
WHERE BRISBANE CAN WIN…
The Bulldogs showed in round 2 that Richmond tend to make poor decisions under pressure. They also ran extremely hard and flooded the Tigers forward line, forcing Richmond to attempt to switch possession and kick short across the ground and have a lot of shots from the pocket. The Lions need to work as a team and tackle hard. They also need to find a matchup for Jack Riewoldt- a task that looks tough on paper as without Daniel Merrett there isn’t exactly a KPD screaming out for the job. However, games are won and lost in the midfield, and if Beams, Rich, Aish and Redden get enough of it they can be extremely damaging. They have plenty of midfielders who can go forward and kick goals as well as score on the run from outside 50. If they can win the contested ball and deny Richmond run through the corridor, the Tigers will have a tough time scoring.
WHERE RICHMOND CAN WIN…
Richmond simply must bounce back from a poor showing against Western bulldogs. It would be expected that there will be a lift in intensity, and the coaching panel surely must encourage the players to be more direct with the ball and kick longer. On paper, Richmond probably has the superior team (although the same can be argued against the Bulldogs) but they need a lift from their better runners and users of the ball in Ellis, Houli, Martin and Macintosh. They should also welcome back Deledio from suspension and Shane Edwards who missed last week with a calf complaint. It’s also hard to see a matchup for Jack Riewoldt, with Griffiths a handy forward option as well. If the Tigers win the clearances, get their running game going, and get the ball in to their forward 50 quickly and efficiently, they are capable of beating the best sides in the competition. Brisbane are also lacking a key forward, and with Alex Rance down there, they will need to either score from long distance or keep the ball away from him otherwise it will be coming straight back out.
POSSIBLE CHANGES
Richmond:
IN: Deledio, Edwards, Knights, McDonough
OUT: Lambert (inj), Newman, Petterd, Gordon
Deledio missed with suspension but is also under an injury cloud. Edwards was a late withdrawal and showed how important he is to our clearances. Gordon has had 2 starts with the sub vest and needs to go learn some composure, Petterd may go out as a scapegoat although he was far from the worst on ground- ditto Newman. Knights was named in the bests in the VFL.
Brisbane:
IN: Rockliff (?), McGuane (lel) Zorko, Staker
OUT: Close (inj), Mayes, Lester, Bewick
Zorko was a late withdrawal against North Melbourne. Close picked up a knee knock early in the game. Rockliff was expected to miss a few weeks but they may rush him back. Pure speculation at this point with plenty of players below their best on the weekend.
THE FINAL WORD
Richmond showed they can be beaten by anyone when put under the right amount of pressure. You would expect the players to lift in intensity and want to atone for a loss they shouldn’t have had. The Lions will be better at home, but haven’t had much success in recent years against the Tigers- you need to go back to before 2010 to see their last triumph over Richmond. On paper, Richmond has the experience and the talent across every line. It’s also hard to see Brisbane kicking a winning score with the glaring lack of a key forward.
PREDICTION: Richmond by 34 points
