Well, whooda thunk it! ...I did, sort of - from my round 14 preview:
So I suppose effort and self belief is a powerful force, watching the Tigers in the preseason they look like a well oiled machine. Winning games without getting out of 2nd gear, but that second gear is still manic and grinds the opposition down. The Dons and Kangas looked alright in the first quarters of their games and managed to get through the Tigers forward half press but as soon as the tired legs kicked in suddenly it was Tiger ambush and Harlem Globetrotter like display.
Richmond Preseason Form
No signs of a hangover and aside from Houli, Rioli and Prestia (pretty key players mind you) they're at peak fitness. What's a bit frightening is Dusty looks like he actually gives half a s**t this year and he's finding more of the footy.
Tigers will IMO play Shai Bolton after a promising preseason and he should ease the Rioli pain while they will be buoyed by the efforts of Jayden Short in Houli's absence
Carlton Preseason Form
*De Niro Face* Not bad, not bad!
How do we cover the loss of Bryce Gibbs in an already weak midfield? Answer is the gradual improvement of Zac Fisher, addition of Matt Kennedy, and the returns of key bulls Curnow and Cripps.
Docherty's loss is a bit more difficult, All Australian half backs don't grow on trees but lucky we had a promising Irishman up our sleeve. Along with another year into Jones, Marchbank, Weitering and Plowman we can probably allow some more forward running from our mids while Lord Liam and Weiterbot do their thang.
Teague, Speed, and the curious case of Daisy. The forward line and flankers pushing high up the ground finally looks AFL quality. The pressure and ability to lock it in deep is still not great but it's definitely improving every year. We also have every other club drooling over our kids. Creeps!
Predicted Line Ups:
BLUES
FB: PLOWMAN, JONES, WEITERING
HB: BYRNE, MARCHBANK, SIMPSON
C: MURPHY, ECURNOW, FISHER
HF: WRIGHT, CCURNOW, THOMAS
FF: SILVAGNI, CASBOULT, GARLETT
R: KREUZER, CRIPPS, KENNEDY
IC: LAMB, DOW, PETREVSKI SETON, CUNINGHAM
EMG: KERRIDGE, MULLETT, MCKAY
TIGERS
FB: GRIMES, RANCE, SHORT
HB: B.ELLIS, ASTBURY, VLASTUIN
C: EDWARDS, LAMBERT, MCINTOSH
HF: CADDY, TOWNSEND, BUTLER
FF: BOLTON, RIEWOLDT, CASTAGNA
R: NANKERVIS, COTCHIN, MARTIN
IC: GRAHAM, GRIGG, C.ELLIS, CONCA
EMG: BROAD, LLOYD, MOORE
LAST TIME WE MET
KEY PLAYERS AND MATCH UPS:
Tiger small forwards vs. our defense: This is where I worry, we struggle when our defense isn't as well structured as usual and the reputation of the Richmond pressure will infer pressure from the very start. Marchbank and Weitering have some kicking howlers at the best of times but I've already made my peace with about 4 goals from easy turn overs. Then there's the unselfish nature of the Tigers and like the Hawks in the first half of JLT2, there are plenty of gaps if the opposition want to exploit it.
Rance - Keep it away from him, try to break even if you're his opponent but for the love of Judd keep it where he isn't!
Don't go to ground - I worry about this point, in all of the Tigers' big wins they seem to fill 80% of the screen and run in waves with precise and quick hands/kicks. I see us too often miss tackles or go to ground trying to salvage a kick to the toes or bad hand pass, we'll get punished if this happens too often.
Pickett - They don't have a great match up for him...then again, nobody does! The challenge is getting him involved enough
MY TIP - RICHMOND BY 45 (LATE BLOW OUT)
We should put up a good fight and will show great signs but in the end we might look back and think "s**t, the margin was that much?". Tigers are confident, well drilled and the crowd will be pushing them down hill. Blues have shown plenty already but I get a feeling we're going to succumb to - if you haven't heard yet - the premiers...
So I suppose effort and self belief is a powerful force, watching the Tigers in the preseason they look like a well oiled machine. Winning games without getting out of 2nd gear, but that second gear is still manic and grinds the opposition down. The Dons and Kangas looked alright in the first quarters of their games and managed to get through the Tigers forward half press but as soon as the tired legs kicked in suddenly it was Tiger ambush and Harlem Globetrotter like display.
Richmond Preseason Form
No signs of a hangover and aside from Houli, Rioli and Prestia (pretty key players mind you) they're at peak fitness. What's a bit frightening is Dusty looks like he actually gives half a s**t this year and he's finding more of the footy.
Tigers will IMO play Shai Bolton after a promising preseason and he should ease the Rioli pain while they will be buoyed by the efforts of Jayden Short in Houli's absence
Carlton Preseason Form
*De Niro Face* Not bad, not bad!
How do we cover the loss of Bryce Gibbs in an already weak midfield? Answer is the gradual improvement of Zac Fisher, addition of Matt Kennedy, and the returns of key bulls Curnow and Cripps.
Docherty's loss is a bit more difficult, All Australian half backs don't grow on trees but lucky we had a promising Irishman up our sleeve. Along with another year into Jones, Marchbank, Weitering and Plowman we can probably allow some more forward running from our mids while Lord Liam and Weiterbot do their thang.
Teague, Speed, and the curious case of Daisy. The forward line and flankers pushing high up the ground finally looks AFL quality. The pressure and ability to lock it in deep is still not great but it's definitely improving every year. We also have every other club drooling over our kids. Creeps!
Predicted Line Ups:
BLUES
FB: PLOWMAN, JONES, WEITERING
HB: BYRNE, MARCHBANK, SIMPSON
C: MURPHY, ECURNOW, FISHER
HF: WRIGHT, CCURNOW, THOMAS
FF: SILVAGNI, CASBOULT, GARLETT
R: KREUZER, CRIPPS, KENNEDY
IC: LAMB, DOW, PETREVSKI SETON, CUNINGHAM
EMG: KERRIDGE, MULLETT, MCKAY
TIGERS
FB: GRIMES, RANCE, SHORT
HB: B.ELLIS, ASTBURY, VLASTUIN
C: EDWARDS, LAMBERT, MCINTOSH
HF: CADDY, TOWNSEND, BUTLER
FF: BOLTON, RIEWOLDT, CASTAGNA
R: NANKERVIS, COTCHIN, MARTIN
IC: GRAHAM, GRIGG, C.ELLIS, CONCA
EMG: BROAD, LLOYD, MOORE
LAST TIME WE MET
KEY PLAYERS AND MATCH UPS:
Tiger small forwards vs. our defense: This is where I worry, we struggle when our defense isn't as well structured as usual and the reputation of the Richmond pressure will infer pressure from the very start. Marchbank and Weitering have some kicking howlers at the best of times but I've already made my peace with about 4 goals from easy turn overs. Then there's the unselfish nature of the Tigers and like the Hawks in the first half of JLT2, there are plenty of gaps if the opposition want to exploit it.
Rance - Keep it away from him, try to break even if you're his opponent but for the love of Judd keep it where he isn't!
Don't go to ground - I worry about this point, in all of the Tigers' big wins they seem to fill 80% of the screen and run in waves with precise and quick hands/kicks. I see us too often miss tackles or go to ground trying to salvage a kick to the toes or bad hand pass, we'll get punished if this happens too often.
Pickett - They don't have a great match up for him...then again, nobody does! The challenge is getting him involved enough
MY TIP - RICHMOND BY 45 (LATE BLOW OUT)
We should put up a good fight and will show great signs but in the end we might look back and think "s**t, the margin was that much?". Tigers are confident, well drilled and the crowd will be pushing them down hill. Blues have shown plenty already but I get a feeling we're going to succumb to - if you haven't heard yet - the premiers...
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