Morning all.
If you are reading this, please help. I’m currently trapped in a dungeon, held prisoner by a Dastardly Dictator who seems determined to prevent me from making any contact with the outside world. I haven’t breathed fresh air for the last 6 months, and my physical and mental health is suffering from an unhealthy overdose of unidentifiable animal and vegetable compost, served in what appears to be a plastic hubcap from a 1965 Valiant Regal, heated in an elctrickery-radiation box and eaten with whatever non-fatal conconction I can produce from any paint thinners and assorted cleaning products that I can find. If you can help, please send fresh water, soap, razor blades and food (but no kebabs).
Ok, it’s not quite that bad. The caravan in Mum and Dad's back yard is reasonably comfortable, the wi-fi’s good, working from home has some compensations, and as a Richmond supporter (particularly one active on BigFooty) I have spent much of the last 40 years keeping my head down while dealing with the sneers, jeers and (worst of all) sympathy from opposition supporters. Spending the winter locked down in a permanent depression while avoiding contact with the outside world brings back memories of those glorious 80s (and 90s) (and 2000s) (you get the point).
But that was then. Now – Richmond are a good side. For example, just like week we
A) Played a final
B) Started favourites and
C) Won well
a chain of events completely foreign to many Tiger fans who lived through the Dark Ages. And it’s been happening for 4 years now. Winning the flag in 2017 was like finally punching the airlock that flushed the alien into deep space. We are also the current premiers – and if anyone wants to take the throne, they still have to come through us. I keep thinking that I’m going to wake one morning, having dreamt up Dusty Martin (not like that you ‘orrible little perverts) and I’m back to looking for details of Richmond’s futile exploits in a minor paragraph about 6 pages in from the back page of the paper (kids – ask your dad to ask his dad what a newspaper was). But I’m pretty sure this reality is not merely a figment of my overstressed, tortured psyche and that we are playing our 4th preliminary final in 4 years this coming weekend.
So – Port Adelaide. They’ve had a good year. Played well. Been consistent. Adopted the Richmond long-term strategy of ‘We’re sticking with this coach until he wins us a flag, because we can’t afford a new one’ despite some pressure from supporters for a change. But they stayed the course and are now reaping the rewards – maybe because the players decided to listen to the coach for a while rather than the wise sages on the club websites.
They certainly have some exciting young players, Robbie Gray’s a champion, and they havethe entire state, much of the state, a few wharfies from the 1970s behind them. You have to like Port somewhat – unlike most of the other new franchises they at least have a historical basis for their existence, they have a core of solid rusted-on supporters and they are first and foremost a football club. If they sometimes sound like a little kid complaining to Mum that she won’t let them wear their favourite jumper, well good on them for being a bit stroppy.
Still – ‘Best side all Year’, ‘Finished on Top’, ‘Deserved favourites’, ‘Paladins of South Australia’ – where have I heard that before?
So how do Richmond beat the competition powerhouse? Well, pretty much by playing our game. We seemed to get some of our flow back the last few weeks and are starting to produce our surge of running football again. When we have our gameplan operating properly, we create an irresistable tide that swamps opposition defences
by giving them no time to react and by being able to instantly apply pressure if we lose the ball. In defence we need to at least nullify Dixon – we can run either Asbury or Balta against him with Grimes floating in when needed. Stopping Gray completely is pretty much impossible as he’s a brilliant reader of broken play which means he’ll get his chances. I’m sure the coaching staff will have Plan A, B, and C ready in case he starts running amok (Plan C being Neil Balme). I think Broad may get first crack.
In the midfield, I’m feeling pretty good about our chances. The return of Sheds and Prestia has greatly increased our power there, Martin is being Martin, and Nank is back to his bulldozing best – ‘Here mate, you have the hitout and then let me smash some poor little rover of yours’. Between them, they should provide plenty of quick ball for Riewoldt and Lynch to do their stuff (ie: Riewoldt – ‘Flail arms about and look for a free kick’, Lynch – ‘Accidentally elbow or knee opponent in the head and look for a free kick’). Rioli's playing his one month of football for the year, we have no idea what George is doing, so how the f*** would the defenders, and Bolton - wow. The forward line's fine.
As you can tell, I’m quietly (and probably unreasonably) confident about our chances. Port will be deserved favourites – they have played some great football this year, we don’t have the best record in Adelaide,and the home crowd can be relied upon to intimidate the umpires. But I think we still have a few cards yet to be played this season, and I think we will come out firing (we’ve haven’t won a game this season where we have been behind at ¼ time, and only lost one where we were in front). Despite all that, and the media hating us (the narrative this week will be interesting), if they want to win the flag, they still have to come through us – and I don’t think they will find that easy.
It’s good to be the King. Tigers by 22.
If you are reading this, please help. I’m currently trapped in a dungeon, held prisoner by a Dastardly Dictator who seems determined to prevent me from making any contact with the outside world. I haven’t breathed fresh air for the last 6 months, and my physical and mental health is suffering from an unhealthy overdose of unidentifiable animal and vegetable compost, served in what appears to be a plastic hubcap from a 1965 Valiant Regal, heated in an elctrickery-radiation box and eaten with whatever non-fatal conconction I can produce from any paint thinners and assorted cleaning products that I can find. If you can help, please send fresh water, soap, razor blades and food (but no kebabs).
Ok, it’s not quite that bad. The caravan in Mum and Dad's back yard is reasonably comfortable, the wi-fi’s good, working from home has some compensations, and as a Richmond supporter (particularly one active on BigFooty) I have spent much of the last 40 years keeping my head down while dealing with the sneers, jeers and (worst of all) sympathy from opposition supporters. Spending the winter locked down in a permanent depression while avoiding contact with the outside world brings back memories of those glorious 80s (and 90s) (and 2000s) (you get the point).
But that was then. Now – Richmond are a good side. For example, just like week we
A) Played a final
B) Started favourites and
C) Won well
a chain of events completely foreign to many Tiger fans who lived through the Dark Ages. And it’s been happening for 4 years now. Winning the flag in 2017 was like finally punching the airlock that flushed the alien into deep space. We are also the current premiers – and if anyone wants to take the throne, they still have to come through us. I keep thinking that I’m going to wake one morning, having dreamt up Dusty Martin (not like that you ‘orrible little perverts) and I’m back to looking for details of Richmond’s futile exploits in a minor paragraph about 6 pages in from the back page of the paper (kids – ask your dad to ask his dad what a newspaper was). But I’m pretty sure this reality is not merely a figment of my overstressed, tortured psyche and that we are playing our 4th preliminary final in 4 years this coming weekend.
So – Port Adelaide. They’ve had a good year. Played well. Been consistent. Adopted the Richmond long-term strategy of ‘We’re sticking with this coach until he wins us a flag, because we can’t afford a new one’ despite some pressure from supporters for a change. But they stayed the course and are now reaping the rewards – maybe because the players decided to listen to the coach for a while rather than the wise sages on the club websites.
They certainly have some exciting young players, Robbie Gray’s a champion, and they have
Still – ‘Best side all Year’, ‘Finished on Top’, ‘Deserved favourites’, ‘Paladins of South Australia’ – where have I heard that before?
So how do Richmond beat the competition powerhouse? Well, pretty much by playing our game. We seemed to get some of our flow back the last few weeks and are starting to produce our surge of running football again. When we have our gameplan operating properly, we create an irresistable tide that swamps opposition defences
by giving them no time to react and by being able to instantly apply pressure if we lose the ball. In defence we need to at least nullify Dixon – we can run either Asbury or Balta against him with Grimes floating in when needed. Stopping Gray completely is pretty much impossible as he’s a brilliant reader of broken play which means he’ll get his chances. I’m sure the coaching staff will have Plan A, B, and C ready in case he starts running amok (Plan C being Neil Balme
). I think Broad may get first crack.In the midfield, I’m feeling pretty good about our chances. The return of Sheds and Prestia has greatly increased our power there, Martin is being Martin, and Nank is back to his bulldozing best – ‘Here mate, you have the hitout and then let me smash some poor little rover of yours’. Between them, they should provide plenty of quick ball for Riewoldt and Lynch to do their stuff (ie: Riewoldt – ‘Flail arms about and look for a free kick’, Lynch – ‘Accidentally elbow or knee opponent in the head and look for a free kick’). Rioli's playing his one month of football for the year, we have no idea what George is doing, so how the f*** would the defenders, and Bolton - wow. The forward line's fine.
As you can tell, I’m quietly (and probably unreasonably) confident about our chances. Port will be deserved favourites – they have played some great football this year, we don’t have the best record in Adelaide,
It’s good to be the King. Tigers by 22.
