Yeah not sure how any Adelaide person could think they got screwed by the umps, that free kick count is deceptive, but not in the sense that Adelaide fans would like to hear!
Not only did they get double the free kicks, but there were some bogus free kicks that were given just as we looked to run out and score, and there were also non-frees on our side that were clear as day but not paid to us.
If the umps had been more balanced, on the state of general play, we'd have probably kicked an extra 3 or 4 goals ourselves and won by 35-40 points.
I said this before the game even started!
They kept banging on about how "we know what we'll get from Adelaide, but for Richmond, they need to prove themselves" and "pre-season games are more important for teams trying to rise up the ladder, not so much established teams, so Richmond will be hungrier for the win", and other words to that effect.
They were talking about us like people talk about a perennial cellar-dweller, when for the previous 3 seasons prior to 2016, we were a finalist.
It was frustrating!
Yeah, I'd say about 6 cans short!
Maybe one day they'll be doing this s**t with D. Rioli... but only if he leaves Richmond and goes to Hawthorn of course!
People say that the Dogs came out of nowhere and basically became a premiership team almost overnight, but they often forget that the Dogs started rebuilding in 2011/2012.
Same with Hawthorn and Clarkson, they won a flag "early" in 2008, but he had still had them for 4 seasons at that point!
We're not rebuilding, we've already got a foundation in place from the 2010-2013 build, we just had to knock a few walls down and re-design a bit, and so far based on the pre-season we've had and the first JLT match, it looks pretty solid!
