PC2011/12RP Hardwicks last stand (ENDED)

[Tigz_09]

RICHMOND
Another loss for the Tigers last round has them stalling in 13th spot and now 2 games away from 8th spot on the ladder.
After clearing most of their injury list, Shaun Grigg, Oleg Markov and Anthony Miles will be missing from selection for a couple of rounds. Grigg and Markov expected to be available within 3 weeks whilst Anthony Miles season is in doubt with a second broken leg and 8 weeks on the sideline.
The Tigers will fancy themselves this weekend against the Saints despite being lower on the ladder.
Their midfield should get the better of the Saints and if the small forward brigade continues to wear the brunt of the scoring they could prove too nimble for the Saints defence.

ST KILDA
Saint Kilda's season has been going better than expected.
After a run of 4 losses from rounds 2 to 5, The Saints have dropped just 3 games from their last 10 as they climb towards a top 8 spot.
With wins against Hawthorn, Collingwood and Adelaide. Saint Kilda have proven themselves capable of beating current top 8 contenders and will also go into this match with belief against the Tigers.
David Armitage won’t be available to play through an injury, which will weaken the Saints Midfield.
They are still confident they can get the job done.


MARGIN
We’re picking the Tigers to respond this week and keep their fading finals hopes alive
Tigers by 26 points.


THE ONLY HOPE

Josh Bruce and Nick Riewoldt up forward. Along with Nathan Brown and Jake Carlisle in defence, will need to play at their best to maximise their opportunities and limit the Tigers scoring.
We can’t see them winning it in the middle so the bookend players are where the Saints will be looking to win this game from.​

 

[Tigz_09]

 

[Tigz_09]

Tiger Demolition

The Tigers have come away 49 point winners over the Saints at the MCG in front of 49,957 fans.
Richmond picked up the opening goal of the game but it was the Saints who looked more dangerous. They added a quick reply 3 goals to go up by 12 before the Tigers fought back to close out the quarter trailing by 7. Another quick 3 quick goals to the Saints at the start of the second term gave them a 24 point early lead and put the Tigers on the back foot.

“The Saints started well, I was concerned we were going to be in for a hard day out, after the way they came out of the blocks. The start of the second term forced us to make some changes (defensively) and it worked to allow us back into the contest.”

At the half way mark of the second term, the Tigers came alive.
Putting up 5 unanswered goals they turned that 24 point deficit into a 7 point lead at halftime.
Richmond kept on pushing from there putting up 8 scoring shots to 2 in the third term to lead by 22 points at the final change. Putting Saint Kilda to the sword, The Tigers were relentless in attack. Putting up a 5 goal quarter whilst keeping the Saints to just 1. Richmond pulled away to run out eventual winners by 49 points.

“It was pleasing to be able to pull away and score with some ease whilst restricting their scoring. We gave them just 4 scoring shots for the second half and had 15 of our own. It’s the first game this season we’ve managed to build on the momentum and extend a lead.”

Ryan Garthwaite played superbly in defence for the Tigers.
He was moved onto Nick Riewoldt during the second term as Rance struggled to retain him. Riewoldt kicking 4 first half goals on Rance.
From there, he kept Nick goalless and finished up the Tigers leading disposal winner.
Garthwaite finished up with 32 possessions, 10 tackles, 8 clearances and 8 rebound 50’s

Sam Lloyd lead the way with scoring finishing up with 5.2

Daniel Rioli finished up with 4.4 and could of have 6 or seven if some easy shots didn’t miss their target.

Nick Vlastuin, Dylan Grimes and Dustin Martin the next best possession winners for the Tigers.

“It was good not to have had to rely on Dusty too much for this game. He was a little down on past performances and it was good to see we had some players put their hands up and work hard to contribute to the team when we needed them to.”

For the Saints,

Nick Riewoldt was the leading goal scorer with 4.
Ryan Garthwaite taking him out of the game on the scoreboard in the second half.
Nick looked really dangerous early. He was held to just 13 possessions for the match.

------------------

Shane Savage ------- and ------- Sean Dempster
were the best possessions winners for the Saints.
The defenders had their work cut out for them and clearly tried their best to keep the Saints in the match.

Savage finishing with 31 possessions, 4 tackles and 3 rebound 50’s

Dempster finishing with 30 possessions, 4 tackles and 3 rebound 50’s.
Tarnishing Dempsters game was 5 free kicks against

​

 

[Tigz_09]

 

[Tigz_09]

The Tigers host Adelaide at the MCG

The Tigers picked up an impressive 49 point win over the Saints last week, keeping their finals hopes alive and now sit just one game outside of the top 8.
They return this week to take on Adelaide, at home this Saturday.
The Tigers will be keen to make up for the poor showing in their opening round clash, at the start of the season where they lost by 58 points.
Leading goal kicker Daniel Rioli was not selected for the round 1 clash but will be certain to play this time around, in a forward line that is starting to look more settled.
The Tigers defensive structure has also changed since the round 1 game.
Defenders Nathan Broad and Jayden Short have struggled to get back into the senior side, whilst Nick Vlastuin, Ryan Garthwaite and David Astbury have been playing a superb combined role down back along with Dylan Grimes who is having a breakout season.
Richmond will be hoping the line-up changes can close some of the gaps they were exposed to in round 1, but will still need to play at their best to challenge Adelaide on Saturday.

Adelaide has recovered from a mid-season drop in form winning their last two matches (Melbourne and Sydney).
After dropping just 2 games in the opening 10 rounds, the Crows fell on the sword losing 4 games in a row, including a shock 2 point loss to 16th placed Fremantle. Giving Fremantle their second win of the season.
The Crows sit in a pack of 5 teams with 40 points and are looking to push for a top 4 finish.
A loss this weekend could stall that attempt as they could drop down to 8th spot and a game behind.
Tom Lynch has yet to play a game for the Crows this season. His SNFL form has been below par as Lynch has managed just 11 majors in 17 matches. Still tied to the club until 2018, there is growing speculation that Lynch’s name may be placed on the trading table come season's end.
Josh Jenkins and Taylor Walker have been providing the tall forward options for the club with a combined 91 goals for the season so far.
Eddie Betts and Matt Crouch will be looking to repeat their round 1 form against the Tigers where they both kicked 4 goals. It may not be as easy this time around with a different set of Tigers defenders, but the Crows still feel confident in securing the 4 points.

WHO WINS

It’s hard to tip against the Crows, given their position on the ladder and the comfortable round 1 victory.
Although vulnerable, Adelaide has the stars across the ground to outmatch the Tigers outfit.
We expect the final margin to be closer this time around but it’s Adelaide all the way.

MARGIN
36 points

THE ONLY HOPE

The Tigers must nullify Eddie Betts and Matt Crouch up forward, but also contain Rory Sloane and Rory Atkins who performed well against them last time out. Astbury, Rance and Grimes should be able to contain Walker and Jenkins down back. Scoring is still going to be tough for the Tigers. They should get a return with live wire Daniel Rioli but will need another player to step up and contribute.

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[Tigz_09]

 

[Tigz_09]

Adelaide gets their third win in a row after beating the Tigers by 30 points.

Fast and ferocious start by the Crows, stunning the Tigers early as they put up 5 unanswered goals to break away to an early 25 point lead. It would take the Tigers 20 minutes to register their first score as they closed out the quarter with just 1.1 to their score trailing by 24 points.

“We were dominated early. It’s not the first time this season a side’s gotten away to a quick start. I thought we had fairly decent match-ups and learnt a bit about our round 1 clash to stop this from happening, but I guess we didn’t get it right at all.”

Adelaide continued to pressure the Tigers in the second. Richmond lifting up their intensity as they started to win the clearance battle and went inside 50, 6 more times than the Crows. Poor finishing and limited marking options saw them add 1.2 converting at a dismal 33% and getting no reward for their effort. Adelaide took their chances to score though, with 3 goals to add to their tally, increasing the margin to 32 at the main break.

A better Richmond side showed up the second half however, they couldn’t break away from the Crows at any stage to get the game back on their terms.
Kicking 2.3 to Adelaide’s 2.1, the Tigers reduced the halftime lead down to 30 points but failed to draw it back any closer from there.

“It was a better second half for us. Probably what we expected to play like from the opening bounce, yet it took us a while to get there. We won equal amounts of contested ball and most of the clearances but didn’t do enough to find targets up forward. I thought the Crows handles us well defensively. We couldn’t get any space and they had numbers around the ball to get out of trouble. A few silly decisions cost us shots at goal. Prestia decided to play on 15 metres out and ended up getting a holding a ball decision against him. That’s frustrating to watch and I know what he was trying to do, but you just have to go back and take the shot in those situations.”

The Crows started the fourth quarter with clear intent on closing the game out early. 3 quick goals in the first ten minutes pushed the margin out to a game-high 49 points. The Crows looking like running away with the game, but to the Tigers credit, they fought back to kick the next 4 goals and restore the 30 point 3 quarter margin. Adelaide had further chances to increase the lead as the game wore on but their finishing in front of goal let them down as they added only 7 behinds (4 rushed) to finish with 3.7 for the quarter and a 30 point win over the Tigers.

The Tigers would be disappointed with the loss having won the clearances by +16 and registered just 1 less inside 50 than the crows (52 to 53)
Ultimately it was Adelaide's tackling pressure around the ground that won them the game.
With +20 tackles, the Crows were able to shut down the run and carry of the Tigers forcing them to play wide and slow. With a lack of scoring power up forward, this slow transition of play, played into the hands of the Crows who could get numbers back and congest the Tigers forward line.
With only 14 scoring shots for the match (3 rushed behinds), Richmonds conversion rate went at 57.1% to Adelaide’s 72.2% in front of goal.

“Conversion in front of goal. A match killer. If you can’t score, you can’t win. We all know that.
Our forward line has been the biggest let down this year.
Inside 50 goal conversion for this match was appalling, 7% - 8% - 13% - 36% for quarters 1 to 4. We finished the final quarter ok, but were scoring like a bottom four side at the moment. We’ve put extra time into the forwards at training and I’m not sure what’s going wrong at this stage. It’s difficult to watch for our members/supporters and we need to get better.”

Matt Crouch top-scored for Adelaide with 4 goals.
He was superb when resting up forward and gave the Tigers headaches for the second time this season

Luke Brown was the best possession winner for the Crows.
The small defender had his best game of the year so far.
A season-high 28 disposals and 7 spoils along with 7 rebound 50’s and 5 tackles.


For the fantasy players out there,

Rory Sloane was the top scoring Crows player with 111 points.
Sloane picked up 26 disposals, 5 marks and 2 goals.

Sam Lloyd was the leading goal kicker for the Tigers.
The only player with multiple goals, Lloyd kicked 2.2 and was the only starting forward to score for the match.

Dustin Martin was the leading player on the ground out of both sides.
Martin had 35 disposals, 14 marks, 5 tackles and 11 inside 50’s

He doubled up as the best fantasy player out there for the Tigers and the match with 158 points.
​

 

[Tigz_09]

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[Tigz_09]

FREMANTLE

The dockers have struggled this season and languish in 15th spot on the AFL ladder.
with just 3 wins to their name, (2 of those in the last 3 weeks) the Dockers have been another side performing well under their expectations.
Ross Llyon adamant, this is a short term problem. Most West Australians would be furious with the season so far.
Having lost to the Tigers in Melbourne back in round 2 by 13 points, Fremantle will take some belief they can secure their 4th win of the year as they take on the Tigers at home.
With little to play for, a win in front of the home crowd will be as good as a finals win at this stage.

RICHMOND

It’s crunch time for the Tigers.
Back to 8 points away from 8th spot, every game is a must-win for the Tigers to play finals.
Damien Hardwicks career hangs in the balance as speculation grows an ultimatum has been handed down by the board.
It is believed Hardwick has been told that only a finals berth will save his job.
They face Melbourne, Sydney, Gold Coast and West Coast in their final 4 matches. Having lost to Melbourne (3 points) Gold Coast (18 points) and West Coast (21 points) earlier in the season, A loss this weekend against Fremantle will almost surely put the writing on the wall for the Tigers season.
Each game from here on out will need to be played in the same intensity of a finals match.
It’s unclear at this stage if the pressure will be too much for the club handle.

WHO WINS

Despite being played in the West, We’re picking the Tigers to win against the struggling Fremantle side. Although both sides are playing less than expected, We feel the Tigers have just enough to get it done and the most still to play for.

Tigers by 18

THE ONLY HOPE

Fremantle has the players and the home field advantage. It will just come down to who wants it more. This match could easily go either way.​

 

[Tigz_09]

 

[Tigz_09]

Richmond survive 3rd quarter fightback to keep finals dream alive

Richmond has come away 28 point winners against Fremantle at Domain Stadium.

The Tigers defensive efforts in the first quarter was superb as they held the Dockers goalless, allowing the Tigers to break away early and take a 15 point lead. Unable to finish the attack on 3 occasions (rushed behinds) Richmond kept Fremantle within arm’s reach as they were only able to kick 2.2 from 13 inside 50 entries.

“We got off to a decent start. We had a pretty well-organised defence in the first term. We stayed close in the clearances and contested possession, but found a lot of space to run free getting +5 in uncontested marks and +4 in contested. Finishing still let us down along with decision making inside 50. Probably could have scored 1 or 2 more goals than we did, but it was nice to lead at the first quarter for a change”

After tit for tat scoring early in the second quarter, the Tigers started to dominate. Kicking 4 goals in a row to push the margin out to 39 points just before stoppage time. Looking as if they were about to run away with the game, Tigers gave up 2 late goals to Fremantle allowing them to draw the margin back to 26 points at the hhalftimebreak.

“As a coach, there’s a few things that you hate to see. Stoppage time goals to the opposition is a big one for mine. We had put ourselves in a real good position, not only on the scoreboard but because we had also kicked away to put ourselves in a position to blow the match wide open.
Giving away cheap goals that late in the quarter, It provides the opposition with some momentum and that in turn builds belief they can get back into the contest.”

Fremantle added 3 goals in the 3rd term to make it 5 in a row and at the same time held the once dominant looking Tigers side scoreless.
The hard working Fremantle outfit closing the third quarter margin to just 7 points.
It was a display that gave the home fans something to cheer about and a little bit of hope the Fremantle side could come away with a win.
A Nat Fyfe goal in the very first minute of the 4th quarter made it 6 in a row for the Dockers and just 1 point away from taking the lead. The haunting looks from the Tiger faithful in the crowd grew more prominent as the roar from the Fremantle crowd grew louder by the second.

The Tigers Fans needn’t have worried though, Richmond found the patch of the form they showed during the second term to steal victory away from the hearts of the Fremantle fans. Richmond found top gear and put up 5 unanswered goals (all of which happened in 10 minutes of play) The Tigers fans erupted silencing the Fremantle supporters as they quickly restored a healthy lead and run away winners by 28 points.

“I was furious with that 3rd quarter and I guess the first 15 minutes of the last as well. To not put up a score when you’re leading the possession count, (+10) out marking your opposition (+11) and end up equal numbers going inside 50 (11 times) but fail to score is appalling. Fremantle's defence kicked it up a notch or two and that pressure in the forward half got to us. They were +9 in tackles for the term and most of that was inside our forward 50. Good defence is enough to get you back into games and they gave us a pretty good scare. We worked our way back into the contest in the last quarter and rewarded ourselves on the scoreboard. In the end, we finished up +37 in disposals, +49 in total marks, +32 in contested possession, +14 in rebound 50’s. Totally dominate, yet we looked like losing the game.
It’s hard to be happy with that performance. 4 points we really needed, but there's still more work to be done”

Dustin Martin top-scored for the Tigers with 3 goals.
All 3 coming in the final term as he was one of the main reason the Tigers ran away in the end.
After a relatively quiet game prior to that.

Corey Ellis produced his career best performance bettering his previous best from round 7 this season.
Ellis had 36 touches, 14 marks and 7 inside 50’s playing off the wing.
Corey was also the leading Fantasy point scorer for Richmond with 147 points.

Hayden Ballantyne led the way for Fremantle on the scoreboard.
The 30-year-old kicking 2 goals for only the second time this season in his 10th game and most likely final season at the club.

Nat Fyfe was the Dockers major possession winner.
Fyfe with 32 touches, 2 marks, 15 tackles, 8 inside 50’s and 1 goal
Fyfe also the best fantasy player out there for Fremantle with 151 points.​

 

[Tigz_09]

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[Tigz_09]

RICHMOND
Ending up with the 4 points last round, despite almost throwing away the match.
The Tigers continue to toy with fans over a finals appearance. With results going their way, Richmond are only 4 points out from 8th spot but will still need 2 wins to push for a 6th/7th placed finish. It’s unlikely the Tigers can finish any higher with 2nd to 5th place 3 games ahead and only 4 rounds remain.
Percentage being the Tigers other concern as it could well be the deciding factor over ladder positions. Richmond will need to focus on winning their remaining 4 games to put forward their best possible chance of September action.

MELBOURNE
Melbourne still has a mathematical chance of getting to September, but they haven’t won a game since round 10 where they beat bottom of the table North Melbourne by 31 points.
Last time out it was a very tight contest between these 2 sides. Melbourne coming away with a 3 point win on the back of a good 3rd quarter performance. It’s a must win for Melbourne, a loss this week would no doubt rule them out as the run home gets only more difficult. Gold Coast, West Coast, Footscray and Geelong to follow.

Dustin Martin celebrating his 150th game for the yellow and black

WHO WINS

Based on form, we have to go with the Tigers.
There is a kink in that theory with Alex Rance ruled out after a training run incident.
Still, we think the Tigers have enough stock to correct their earlier season mistake and take the 4 points this week. Still a close game is expected.

Richmond by 6

THE ONLY HOPE

Melbourne take full advantage of the Tigers best defenders absence.
Jesse Hogan (kicked 5 goals last time) and Jack Watts (2 goals last time) without a doubt be rubbing their hands together knowing Rance will be missing.
If Richmond can’t find a way to contain them, Melbourne could end up winning big.​

 

[Tigz_09]

Connor Menadue a late withdrawal for the Tigers. Shia Bolton comes in to replace.​

 

[Tigz_09]

Another poor 3rd quarter costs the Tigers

Richmond's hopes of making the finals have taken a serious hit.
Going down to the Demons by 39 points, in front of a small crowd of 47 thousand at the MCG.

The Demons got away quickly putting up the opening 3 goals of the game before the Tigers could even get an inside 50 entry. Melbourne going inside 50 with ease, continued to put up scoring shots before the Tigers settled and kicked back to back goals of their own. Melbourne with a 5 goal first quarter took a 15 point lead into the break.

“Again we were hurt at the start of the game. Not having Rance down back made us a little unsettled but I thought we started poorly before getting back into the contest.”

Another 3 quick goals at the start of the second pushed the margin out to 35 points. Richmond recovered to kick the next 3 before coughing up 2 stoppage time goals to Melbourne who pushed the lead out to 29 at half time.

Max Gawn was dominating the hit-outs and monstered Shaun Hampson. At half time he was +24. However, it was the Tigers who were winning the clearances +15 but struggled to get inside 50 -16 at the half.

“Gawn was a beast today. Hammer played one his worst games for us. He’s been down on confidence like Nankervis is also. It certainly wouldn’t have helped that today. We tried to rest him up forward and get him into the game but he only managed 2 behinds from 5 disposals, it wasn’t a great game for him.”

It was another 3rd quarter fadeout for the Tigers.
Only being able to kick 2 goals from 5 shots in a quarter where they were able to go forward a little easier. The Tigers defence would stumble and allow the Demons to kick 6.1 blowing the margin out to 50 points at the final change.

After a 3rd quarter spray from Hardwick, his Tiger side came out with a bit more gusto kicking the first 2 goals closing the margin back to 38 points. Richmond dominated the Demons (who didn’t really need to play risky football) but could not get the conversion in front of goal. They kicked 1 goal and 9 behinds (after the opening 2) in a frantic effort to try and save the match. Melbourne keeping the margin out of reach added 2 goals to their tally and took the 4 points with a 39 point win.

Damien Hardwick concerned with his side's “lack of effort” with so much on the line.

“It was poor really, we wasted our limited chances and allowed easy access to their forward line.
We were +20 in Marks, +19 in clearances, free kicks went our way +22 and rebound 50’s +15 but we didn’t do anything with it. Melbourne were +40 in hit-outs but they weren’t effective and they were only +13 in overall possession. We gave up 17 more inside 50’s and I guess at the end of the day that cost us the game. We should have been closer on the scoreboard, let another 3rd quarter get away from us and didn’t make the most of our chances during the final term when it was all one-way play.”

Jack Watts picked up 5 goals for Melbourne. With only 8 disposals to his name, his contribution was purely on the scoreboard.

Angus Brayshaw was Melbournes leading possession winner.
Angus ending the day with 30 disposals, 6 Marks, 4 Tackles and 15 Inside 50’s
He would double as the leading fantasy player with 114 points.

Dustin Martin led the goal scoring for the Tigers.
Martin kicking 3 goals in his 150th match
He finished with 19 disposals, 6 Marks, 4 Tackles
Martin also taking out the fantasy points leader for Richmond with 114

Ryan Garthwaite was Richmond's leading possession winner.
Taking on the workload left by Rance’s absence
He finished with 24 Disposals, 4 Marks, 18 spoils and 4 rebound 50’s​

 

[Tigz_09]

 

[Tigz_09]

RICHMOND
This is possibly the last chance for the Tigers to make September action.
They need to win their remaining 3 games. With a bye to follow the round against the Swans, results from other games could end their season.
Nervous energy surrounds the club as several players will be playing for their careers including (as we believe) Damien Hardwick.
In an underwhelming season filled with promise, The Tigers have failed to fill the potential many believed they had, stalling in the last 2 seasons.

SYDNEY
The Swans are in line with a shot at finishing ladder leaders. With a shot, depending on results to topple the Bulldogs. There’s still plenty to play for, as the side gets ready for September action. Dropping games will hurt their chance at a top 4 finish with 5 other sides locked in on 48 points, but there’s little doubt of missing out on Finals. (although still mathematically possible)

WHO WINS

Hard to tip against Sydney. Despite losing their earlier encounter by just 3 points.
The recent form of the Tigers leaves little hope they can finish off the season strong.

Sydney by 40+

THE ONLY HOPE

Nothing has gone the Tigers way when heading into attack and we feel it’s going to be the same this week.
Despite being competitive on the stats sheet and even clear winners in key areas they just can’t score.
Expect a shake-up of positions as the Tigers search for something, but we doubt they’ll find it.
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[Tigz_09]

 

[Tigz_09]

Sydney sinks Tigers hopes in first term flyer

The Swans have moved up to 2nd place on the AFL ladder with a convincing 34 point win over the struggling Tigers.

A monster first term set the Swans up for victory as the obliterated the Tigers defence early.
Sydney powered home 6 goals in the first 9 minutes of play with Lance Franklin kicking 3 and taking a healthy 37 point lead.
The Tigers struggled to match the Swans only adding 2.2 whilst Sydney continued to dominate with another 3 goals to end the quarter 42 points ahead.

“That was the biggest opening term we’ve had against us all season. I couldn’t believe what was happening, we were frozen into ball watching and I don’t think we had more than 5 touches in those first 9 minutes. It’s disappointing, We can run with the best sides for the most part of a game, but we can’t string 4 quarters together to give us a chance of being in a position to win.”

The Tigers look a lot better in the second term, but the Swans pressure was enough to turn the momentum their way again after back to back Tiger goals. Sydney outscoring the Tiger 4 goals to 3 to push the lead out 49 points at halftime.

The Tigers would be more competitive in the second half of the match but they never threatened to dominate the Swans at any point.
After letting the margin blow out to 55 points in the third term, the Tigers clawed back through hard work outscoring the Swans to trail by 44 points at the final change.

With everything on the line, the Tigers tried valiantly to resurrect the match. After dropping 7 goals behind and trailing by 50 points once again. Richmond turned the tables and went on the attack to try and close the margin. Poor finishing hurt their chances of reducing the score back to a more a respectable loss with the Tigers coughing up 5 chances at goal through behinds. With 4 more scoring shots than the Swans, Richmond had to settle with a 34 point loss and an almost certain end to their finals chances.

Damien Hardwick acknowledged that the Tigers season is the hands of the competition after failing to secure the win.

“It’s in the hands of the footy gods now. We needed that win to keep ourselves in the driver's seat as to what happens, but now we have to rely on results to give us an unlikely, but a mathematical shot of still getting there."

True. The Tigers could still “mathematically” make it to September, but with a percentage of just 93.49 after today’s loss. They will need big wins in their last 2 games as well as hope for some big losses for the teams that will keep them out of the hunt.

Lance Franklin was at his best in front of goal.
The leading Coleman medallist top-scored for the Swan kicking 7 goals in a superbly dominant display.
Buddy dominated in the fantasy scoring finishing up with 178 points.
32 Disposals, 10 Marks, 7 goals and 5 inside 50’s for a tremendous day out for the key forward.

Luke Parker was Sydney’s leading possession winner
Parker finishing with 33 touches, 5 Marks, 4 Tackles, 5 Clearances and 6 Inside 50’s



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-----------------

-------------------
-----------------Ben Lennon--------------------------------- Corey Ellis ---------------------- Josh Caddy ----------------------------
Sharing the goals around Lennon, Ellis and Caddy all kicked 3 goals each for the Tigers

Brandon Ellis was Tigers leading possession winner
Ellis picked up 29 Disposals, 2 Marks, 4 Tackles and 7 Rebound 50’s

Sam Lloyd was the leading Fantasy player for the Tigers with 166 points.
Lloyd had 28 Disposals, 25 Marks, 1 Goal and 10 Inside 50’s
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[Tigz_09]

 

[Tigz_09]

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[Tigz_09]

RICHMONDS BOARD GIVE HARDWICK HIS NOTICE

Peggy O’Neal and the Richmond board held a press conference this morning (Monday) announcing Damien Hardwick has been relieved of his contract come the close of the AFL season.

“It’s with some sadness that we announce today, Damien Hardwick will not be leading the Tigers as head coach next season. It has been a unanimous decision across all board members, that we need to look to the future and bounce back from 2 underperforming seasons. Whilst we greatly appreciate the dedication and hard work Damien has given us over the last 8 seasons. We need to continue to strive forward and demand success from all areas of the business.”


It’s believed Damien knew his time with Richmond was up after the loss against the Swans.

Hardwick looking shattered after going down to Sydney by 34 points. Effectively ending the Tigers season.


Speculation about his career started back in July (round 16) after the loss to Essendon. Sitting 13th on the ladder and 2 games away from 8th spot, It’s believed the board sent out an ultimatum that it was finals or bust for the 178 game coach. However, that has yet to be confirmed or denied.

Richmond captain, Trent Cotchin wasn’t aware the coach’s job was on the line as he spoke to media not long after the announcement.

“We had no idea. Dimma kept that information pretty close to his chest. I guess he didn’t want any added pressure on the playing group to perform. I wish we could have done better, He’s been pretty good for this football club.”

Peggy O’Neal announced that the board was happy for Damien Hardwick to coach the remaining 2 games of the season, but the announcement was necessary at this point in time, to allow the club the best possible amount of time to interview, short list and assign a new coach before the next season preparations got underway.


Hardwick later appeared on the AFL 360 program

A dejected and lost looking Damien Hardwick.


After a short period of time, Damien regained his composure and spoke openly about his situation.

“It’s been difficult to manage. Having known for a month or so that your basically coaching for your career has brought about an extra load of stress I found difficult to carry.
Coaching is already very tough on you mentally, having to watch the players go about saving your job and relying on results is not something I want to go through again.”

“I found the seasons competition very difficult to manage, almost impossible at times you could say.
The difficulty of the season was probably too much for my ability and this is where you end up when it plays out like that. I have no regrets, other than my time ending earlier than I hoped it would.”

After discussing the disappointment in his forward line and that many players lost confidence over the season making things more difficult to correct, Damien made one final statement to close out the program.

“Peggy and the board were allowing me to continue to coach until season's end, But I let them know (prior to coming on the show) that I have declined the offer and will vacate my role effective immediately. I think that’s the right decision for myself and the playing group. Things happen quickly in football and hanging around when you know you’re not there for the future isn’t fair on myself or the playing group. I wish them all the success in the world, I felt like we were close to something special. I’m just saddened that I couldn’t get the most out the boys to show our full potential.”

Blake Caracella has been appointed interim coach for the final two games of the Tigers season.

“It’s a good opportunity for myself to put my hand up and show off my ability. I have the desire to be a head coach and now I get an opportunity to plead my case. It’s not the way you want to go about getting a chance to take over a position, but I have to grab any chances with two hands and go for it. Damien was a good coach, I learnt some things that will help me build on my own coaching style and wish him all the best.”
​

 

[Tigz_09]

Well, there you have it, an end to another story.
Didn’t quite get the result I was after. Would have liked another crack after the offseason and a clean out of the duds.

But, that’s football as they say.

Impossible difficulty is just that I suppose.

Thanks for reading. I hope it was enjoyable.

Any feedback, please feel free to add.

Going to take a break for a little while, but if there’s enough support I’ll come back with another afl coaching story.


Cheers ​