Round 18: Geelong vs Collingwood

[Lockyer24]

How things change! Geelong well and truly got our respect after last years win but after just the one Wizard Cup win and Round 3 win it appears to have all gone down the sh*tter. Your midfield matches up extremely well against us, and your backline is classy on its day led by Scarlett. I see your only weakness to be your forward line (and your youth can also play against you a bit) yet we will be missing Prestigiacomo, Cloke and Clement so theres a big opportunity there for you. We have been up for 5 weeks, surely we are due for an 'average' one. Anyway should be a cracking game, provided King plays, Pies by 29pts, drawing away in the 3rd Q this time

PS Lingy may well Tag Bucks out of the game, shame you havent got another Lingy to tag Burns

 

[you_idiot]

Originally posted by Lockyer24
We have been up for 5 weeks, surely we are due for an 'average' one.

Just a hunch on my part, but with your team getting ready for a finals campaign, I don't think Mick Malthouse is going to put up with any risk of a letdown. He's going to want to see the intensity and the team's overall performance remain on a high note, I think.

 

[Moo://_Cow]

Originally posted by Lockyer24
shame you havent got another Lingy to tag Burns

But we do have a Jarad Rooke.

 

[Nic]

I've been surprised at how well our backline's been holding up over the last couple of weeks, this week could be a bit of tester with Presti, Cloke and Clement (very doubtful he'll play) all out. I'm not sure how much Geelong could test us tho.

 

[NICK THE PIE MAN]

I would rather actually someone from our team tag Ling than vice-versa.

He gets the most ball for your lot, I doubt he will continue to slip under opposition's guards. What about someone playing on him? Would be weird because Ling will probably be playing on Bucks, Ling on Buckley and say Holland standing there marking Ling.

Im losing it, anyway, I just think that your midfield this year relies on Ling alot, he seems to be the only one consistently getting 25+ touches a week. If we could shut him down, im confident we could shut the Geelong midfield down.

 

[NakedDeadGuy]

Originally posted by NICK THE PIE MAN
Im losing it, anyway, I just think that your midfield this year relies on Ling alot, he seems to be the only one consistently getting 25+ touches a week.

Players averaging 25+ touches 2003

N Buckley 27.9
S West 27.9
R Harvey 26.6
C Ling 26
P Bell 25.6
L Hayes 25.5
N Lappin 25.1
A Simpson 25
N Stevens 25

That's it for the whole league. While I understand what you're saying, there's not many at all who get their 25+ a week.

 

[Fall Out Boy]

Originally posted by evertonfc
Should be a good game.

I usually attend this fixture, more often than not it is usually a belter.

Are you going this time mate?

Must buy you a beer at some point.

 

[Fall Out Boy]

Originally posted by NICK THE PIE MAN
I just think that your midfield this year relies on Ling alot, he seems to be the only one consistently getting 25+ touches a week. If we could shut him down, im confident we could shut the Geelong midfield down.

And who, apart from Buckley, 'consistently gets 25+ touches' for Collingwood?

If we shut Buckey down, i'm confident we could shut the Collingwood midfield down

 

[jim boy]

It's pretty easy to be down when you're losing, but we hardly disgraced ourselves against Norf last week, and could easily have won the match. In the end, a little luck and bit more spark would have seen us victorious. These things can be hard to come by, but I am confident they will return.

I think our forward line is now running as well as it has it has all year with Steve Johnson and Maloney adding a bit of zip. In the midfield, I expect Ling to put in another belter. It seems with him that the better his opponent, the better he plays. Maybe Malthouse should play a dog on him.

The backline missed Harley last week and is rated only 50/50 chance of returning, which in Geelong speak means he will still be missing. While the maggies are tricky, we can hold them.

The big man department is our biggest concern, with King possibly out for the rest of the year, it will be a big ask for Street, Chambers and Mooney.

That will probably cost in the wash-up, especially with Carringbush in good form. But then form is only fleeting.

 

[ScouseCat]

Joel Corey has to stand up at some stage and show that he is capable of getting the ball without Steven King in the side. I've been pretty disappointed with some of his performances this year, especially after starting the year pretty well.

Has anyone got the stats on Joel Corey's performances in games with King in the side opposed to games without King in the side??

 

[Joel]

Originally posted by Matt_TY
I think we'll beat the Catters unless we get complacent after handing out two consecutive beltings.

But Geelong always puts up a good fight, so it could be quite a nice match.

Ahhhhhhhh, make that five consecutive beltings. We have not lost by under 41 points in the last five matches.

 

[you_idiot]

Originally posted by ScouseCat
Joel Corey has to stand up at some stage and show that he is capable of getting the ball without Steven King in the side. I've been pretty disappointed with some of his performances this year, especially after starting the year pretty well.

Has anyone got the stats on Joel Corey's performances in games with King in the side opposed to games without King in the side??

From gfc.com.au:

Player Statistics - Joel Corey
Season
AFL 2003 Premiership Season

[u]With King in the squad[/u]:
Round Date vs. K H P M HO T FF FA G B
ROUND 1 30/03/2003 Western Bulldogs 15 13 28 5 2 4 1 1 1 0
ROUND 2 06/04/2003 Kangaroos 17 13 30 5 0 6 1 0 1 0
ROUND 3 12/04/2003 Collingwood 10 9 19 1 0 1 4 2 1 0
ROUND 4 19/04/2003 Melbourne 13 11 24 2 1 3 1 1 0 2
ROUND 5 27/04/2003 St Kilda 9 2 11 0 0 1 0 0 0 0
ROUND 6 04/05/2003 Brisbane Lions 12 12 24 4 0 0 1 0 1 0
ROUND 7 10/05/2003 West Coast 16 12 28 8 0 4 0 2 0 1
ROUND 9 25/05/2003 Hawthorn 22 9 31 7 1 3 2 0 1 0
ROUND 10 01/06/2003 Adelaide 15 5 20 3 1 5 4 0 0 0
ROUND 11 08/06/2003 Carlton 3 5 8 2 0 4 0 0 0 0
ROUND 12 14/06/2003 Fremantle 11 6 17 3 0 2 0 1 0 1
ROUND 13 27/06/2003 Essendon 15 9 24 6 0 2 1 1 1 0
ROUND 14 06/07/2003 Port Adelaide 7 2 9 2 0 5 1 2 1 0

[u]Without King in squad[/u]:
ROUND 8 18/05/2003 Sydney 7 5 12 2 0 4 0 0 0 0
ROUND 15 12/07/2003 Richmond 9 6 15 3 0 2 0 2 0 1
ROUND 16 20/07/2003 Western Bulldogs 6 6 12 4 0 1 1 0 0 0
ROUND 17 26/07/2003 Kangaroos 8 7 15 3 0 1 1 0 1 0

Hope that helps!

Corey's numbers are significantly down, in terms of possessions, whenever he can't rely on Steven King's ruckwork-- but better get used to it, now that the club's admitting that King is well and truly done for 2003.

http://gfc.com.au/default.asp?pg=news&spg=display&articleid=109216

(with item about King's current status boldfaced)

King may be done for the season Jordan Chong
afl.com.au
6:31:04 PM
Tue 29 July, 2003

With a match under the roof at Telstra Dome this weekend, Geelong coach Mark Thompson took his team indoors to escape the downpour on Tuesday.

The Cats take on an in-form Collingwood side on Saturday night and Thompson used the dry conditions to undertake some important skill work.

He described the team as in good spirits despite last weekend’s last-quarter fadeout against the Kangaroos in Canberra and hopes every player continues to work hard in order to finish the season on a good note.

“At this stage they’ve managed to keep their heads. It’s important that they do for the rest of the year. We don’t want to tail off towards the end. We want to be really competitive,” Thompson said.

The team looks to be again without skipper and ruckman Steven King, who has been battling an achilles injury all season.

“He’s unlikely to play this week. We’ve just got to reassess over the next couple of weeks to see how he pulls up and whether he plays again (this season),” Thompson said.

“He’s doing some running during the week and he’s not pulling up well from that so he’s got no chance of pulling up well from a game.”

Thompson said he would be greatly missed, adding: “Every year he’s had a full season he’s won the best and fairest and he’s obviously one of the elite two or three/four ruckman in the competition. And our captain.”

Thompson rated Tom Harley and Peter Riccardi, who both didn’t make the trip to Canberra, as ’50-50’ chances to play this week.

Harley has a back-related hamstring problem while Riccardi missed with an injured foot.

Meanwhile, the Cats are also having problems upgrading a rookie onto the senior list after Marc Woolnough’s retirement with knee problems.

Football operations manager Garry Davidson said the club was working through a series of issues relating to the Total Player Payments with the league in the hope that a rookie-listed player can be promoted onto the senior list.

While Davidson indicated a player would only be promoted if they were ready to play. He nominated either Andrew Carrazzo or Shannon Byrnes - who has a shoulder injury - as the two most likely.

A decision needs to be made before round 19, which is the cut-off date for any rookies to be elevated.

 

[you_idiot]

And the rest of the Geelong news round-up for Wednesday...

(1) From the Geelong Advertiser: King out for year?

http://www.geelonginfo.com/readarticle.asp?articleid=8070


King out for year?

Wednesday, July 30
FIONA WELSH

GEELONG captain Steven King has been ruled out of playing Collingwood on Saturday night amid concerns his season may be over.

King has battled an achilles tendon injury for most of the year and has missed the past three games with the problem.

Coach Mark Thompson said yesterday it was unlikely King would play this weekend at Telstra Dome.

``We'll have to reassess how he pulls up over the next couple of weeks to see whether he plays again,'' Thompson said with just five rounds remaining.

``We are getting to the stage where if he's a chance to play we have to consider how many weeks there are and what damage it can do.''

Thompson said the inflamed tendon had not deteriorated, but King had pulled up sore after running, so playing was not an option.

He said the Cats had certainly missed the dual best and fairest winner, who was one of the game's elite ruckmen and an important on-field leader.

Injured teammates Peter Riccardi (calf) and Tom Harley (back-related hamstring) are rated a 50-50 chance of returning this week after both missed against the Kangaroos in Canberra.

Thompson said youngsters Brent Moloney and Henry Playfair would hold their places while Tim Callan and Andrew Mackie were not far off making their debuts.

``With five games to go we definitely want to look at Mackie, and put (Matt) McCarthy back in,'' he said.

``We'll probably end up with a completely different forward line - perhaps a forward line of the future.''

One thing is certain, Thompson is looking for some competitive showings as Geelong's season winds down with just five wins to its name.

In their round three clash, the Cats held a three-point lead at the last change before they were swamped by the Magpies, who kicked eight goals to their one point in the final term.

The Cats went indoors yesterday to replicate the dry conditions they will experience at Telstra Dome to help their chances of beating the fifth-placed team.

Thompson said it was a late decision to head to the Altona North venue to sharpen up their skills.

It has been used successfully by the Western Bulldogs, who regularly train at the stadium, including the week of their win over Geelong in round 16.


(2) Also from the Geelong Addy: Finding faults, analysis by Andrew Bews of what the players are doing well lately, and not doing well...

http://www.geelonginfo.com/readarticle.asp?articleid=8068

Finding faults

Wednesday, July 30
ANDREW BEWS

AS much as Geelong did well to restrict the Kangaroos at Manuka Oval in Canberra, the Cats continued to fall victim to being unable to do the common things well.

You couldn't fault the players' vigour, or the intent with the way the boys applied themselves.

So what is it that is costing them wins? What are other teams doing to win that the Cats just can't, or have struggled to? What's the missing link to the chain?

This is not going to be rocket science but it's stuff I reckon is thwarting the ability of the team to win games.

Firstly, there is the way the ball is delivered into the forwards. It generally gets sent in with a large amount of hang time, which means defenders get plenty of time to have a look at the ball and get a fist in or better still, an intercept.

Guys like Corey Enright, Paul Chapman, Brenton Sanderson, Joel Corey and James Rahilly all kick the ball the same way, when under the pump. They go in long and very high.

I'll keep saying that if these guys got supported by others with more than an occasional block that their delivery would be more effective and of better quality.

I'm not saying that these blokes have to all of a sudden become tracer kicks - not everyone is born with the ability of Nathan Buckley.

Then there is the lead from the forwards. Rarely do the key forwards drive through the grid.

This leaves them no other option but to go wide towards the boundary.

Which means if the forward does get the pill, the shot at goal is difficult and low percentage or if he doesn't, the ball can get forced out of bounds with greater ease by the defence.

There are other crimes being committed up field, and they're being committed by most of the backline and midfield players.

Often there is a lack of precision when using either handball or short kicks to break the lines. Don't bother looking at the clanger count for these indiscretions as they don't get registered. They are often mopped up by the player who the ball was intended for in the first place.

I'm going to suggest that if the player was able to take the ball cleanly in the first place and not have to pick it up from the ground or pause for it, he would find himself with more time and space to work in, a rarity on the footy field.

Rushes of blood are also costing the Cats.

Players are getting caught in the moment; David Spriggs and David Wojcinski get so zoned in on the play around them, there ends up two or three players going to tackle one opponent with the ball, prompting the old over-the-top play.

I was listening to former Essendon superstar Tim Watson describe what separates excellent football sides from mediocre teams is that they have the ability to execute under extreme pressure.

These views aren't meant to come across as soapbox stuff. But a lot of people I run into ask where is the improvement to come from?

Yes, the Cats are a young group still learning the caper but I believe these are the areas they need to focus on to challenge the elite teams in the competition on a consistent basis.


(3) From The Age: Cat ruckman's season could be over (with interesting comments from Mark Thompson at the end with regard to trying to get the yet-untested Andrew Mackie a shot)

http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2003/07/29/1059244619627.html

Cat ruckman's season could be over

By Kenneth Nguyen
July 30 2003

Geelong coach Mark Thompson yesterday conceded for the first time that star ruckman Steven King's season could be over.

The Cats skipper has been dogged throughout the year by an inflamed Achilles tendon, playing with discomfort before missing the past three matches.

Although the injury had previously been described by club officials as a "week-by-week proposition", Thompson yesterday admitted that King would probably not play at the weekend and might not compete again this season.

"We've just got to re-assess him over the next couple of weeks and see how he pulls up and whether he plays again," the Geelong coach said. "If we get him back with a chance to play, we have to consider how many weeks are left and what damage he might do (to his Achilles)."

The possible loss of King comes as the Cats, with only five wins for the season, face an interesting quandary: like Carlton, a season-end record of five wins would give them access to an invaluable priority draft pick.

Former Blues coach David Parkin has suggested that Carlton play as many young players as possible, minimising their chances of victory while blooding new players for the future.

With Tom Harley and veteran Peter Riccardi only 50-50 prospects at the weekend, Thompson yesterday indicated that young players were certainly on the Cats' agenda for the rest of the season.

"We might end up with a completely different line-up at some stage - maybe a forward line-up of the future," he said. "Five games to go: we definitely want to have a look at (Andrew) Mackie. I think he'll probably play before the end of the year, and (we will) put (Matthew) McCarthy back in."

Mackie, 18, was the Cats' No.1 draft pick last year.


(4) From the Herald-Sun: Home Cats to wear white shorts

http://www.heraldsun.news.com.au/footy/common/story_page/0,8033,6835071%5E19766,00.html

Home Cats wear white shorts
30 July 2003 Herald Sun
By SCOTT GULLAN

GEELONG will change its traditional home strip to avoid a colour clash with Collingwood on Saturday night at Telstra Dome.

The Cats have decided to wear white shorts instead of navy to off-set the Magpies' predominantly black away guernsey and black shorts.

Geelong chief executive Brian Cook said the club felt it had to act after Saturday's debacle in Canberra where the Cats' new away strip clashed with the Kangaroos' jumper.

"Looking at last week's game against the Kangaroos, we felt everybody would have been better served by us wearing navy shorts and the Kangaroos white shorts," he said.

"We would have faced a similar situation this Saturday, so we took the initiative and suggested we wear the white shorts."


(5) Also from the Herald-Sun: Cats may put King away until next year

http://heraldsun.com.au/footy/common/story_page/0,8033,6835069%5E19766,00.html

Cats may put King away for next year
30 July 2003 Herald Sun
By GRANTLEY BERNARD

WITH its season petering out, Geelong is casting glances towards 2004, which might mean putting captain and No. 1 ruckman Steven King on ice.

Saddled with persistent achilles tendon inflammation for most of the season, King has missed the past three games and is considered unlikely to play against Collingwood at Telstra Dome on Saturday night.

It may be that if King cannot get himself right to play within the next fortnight, the Cats might decide their best option is to rest their No. 1 asset for a fresh assault on next season.

"He's unlikely to play this week and we've just got to reassess over the next couple of weeks and see how he pulls up and whether he plays again," coach Mark Thompson said yesterday.

"If we get him back with a chance to play, we've got to consider how many weeks there are left and what damage that can do."

Geelong has nursed King through the season in terms of training, but, while there seems to be no deterioration in the tendon, he is now struggling to recover from a workout as simple as running.

While Thompson early last week committed to naming King to play against the Kangaroos in Canberra with a game-day decision on his fitness, the Cats did not name him on Thursday night.

"He's doing some running during the week and he's not pulling up well from that, so he's got no chance of pulling up well from the game," Thompson said.

"He did some running on the Wednesday or Thursday and pulled up sore. That's why that happened."

The value of King to Geelong is seen by his on-field presence and the fact, while missing games, he is third in hitouts in the AFL and second on average this season.

"Every year he's had a full season he's won the best-and-fairest," Thompson said.

"He's one of the elite three or four ruckmen in the competition."

Keeping their eyes on next season, the Cats will take the chance over the closing weeks of this campaign to introduce some more young players to AFL football.

It is likely Andrew Mackie, Geelong's top pick in last year's draft, and Tim Callan, taken under the father-son rule, will make their debuts before the season ends.

"We did that with (Henry) Playfair and (Brent) Moloney and with five games to go we definitely want to have a look at Mackie," Thompson said.

"I think he'll probably play before the end of the year. Tim Callan's another one we might play before the end of the year.

"We'll put (Matthew) McCarthy back in, so we might end up with a completely different forward line at some stage as maybe a forward line of the future."

The Cats are also considering promoting one or two players off their rookie list, but have yet to receive permission from the AFL, which is considering if Geelong can fit another contract into its injury allowance.

Defender Tom Harley (hamstring) is considered a 60-40 chance to play against Collingwood, while veteran Peter Riccardi (foot) is rated only 50-50.

Pretty healthy round-up of articles today, even without the news on King's status...

 

[Nic]

Given that sometimes coaches and clubs are known to make up a bit about the likeliness of injured players playing, is 50-50 really an accurate description of Harley's and Riccardi's chances?

 

[ScouseCat]

Originally posted by Nic
Given that sometimes coaches and clubs are known to make up a bit about the likeliness of injured players playing, is 50-50 really an accurate description of Harley's and Riccardi's chances?

Riccardi is probably a better chance of playing then Harley is, but if they're both carrying injuries, why bother risking them at this stage of our season?? There's no point whatsoever in doing that, we may as well give someone like Tim Callan a game instead.

 

[Nic]

Ta. Dragging along a Geelong-supporting mate to this game, so I'm hoping for a better result than at the only other game I've been to this year (ANZAC day).

 

[Rival_V]

Originally posted by phatandphreaky
He had 17 touches, his direct opponent, 23.

Considering the job Ling did on Buckley in the match in 01', I would think that is a 'good' game on his part!

 

[jim boy]

Originally posted by ScouseCat
Riccardi is probably a better chance of playing then Harley is, but if they're both carrying injuries, why bother risking them at this stage of our season?? There's no point whatsoever in doing that, we may as well give someone like Tim Callan a game instead.

No point in risking Harley, but it could be Riccardi's last hurrah, career wise.

 

[Fall Out Boy]

Riccardi can, and probably will, play on for 2 more years.

Whilst he's not performing to the level some expect, he is kicking goals, something which we desperately need.

 

[you_idiot]

"Play the kids"-- we've heard it before around Geelong in recent times, but today's op-ed article in the Geelong Advertiser is advocating the battlecry once again...

http://www.geelonginfo.com/readarticle.asp?articleid=8072

Throw caution to the wind and play rookies

Thursday, July 31
Geelong Advertiser _ Ken Hinkley

GEELONG has been careful to play only a handful of youngsters in any given game this season but with just five games left it's time to throw caution to the wind.

The club now should revisit its policy of playing no more than five or six of its kids in the seniors and give those waiting in the wings a taste of the big time, as a group.

It has nothing to lose and everything to gain with a major list management assessment looming in the next two months.

Make no mistake, the club's been brave the past two seasons with the number of kids it's blooded but it should now take that another step and expose players like Andrew Mackie, Tim Callan and Tom Lonergan to senior football.

And even a rookie like Shannon Byrnes, if they are in a position to promote him.

Matthew McCarthy should also be brought back for another stint in the remaining games, and Charlie Gardiner.

Coach Mark Thompson has already indicated that most of these kids will get game time before the end of the year but not at the same time, maintaining the club's policy of five or six kids in the seniors.

That sounds like good management but with the season shot I can't see any value in it anymore.

The club should play the kids without necessarily swapping youth for youth between the VFL and AFL.

Games on merit should be the club's motto and if that means having, maybe, eight kids in the side and some experience running around in the VFL, then so be it.

Just play them all if they deserve it and forget about the scoreboard.

Let's not even consider rotating them. It might expose the club to a blowout on the scoreboard but it might also unearth another surprise packet like Brent Moloney, who stood out against the Bulldogs.

All of a sudden he has been acknowledged as having the right stuff and will be a player of real value next year with the games he has under his belt this year.

Let's find out how many more Brent Moloneys there are on the list.

How valuable would it be for the club next year to know for sure now what these kids are capable of. And it should start this weekend against Collingwood.

The Pies are a potential top four side and to expose Geelong's kids would give them a great understanding of how far they've got to go and what they need to do to have an impact on the AFL stage.

Bomber mentioned this week that we might see Geelong's future forward line before the end of the year; let's see it now for the remaining five games.

Stack the forward line with these players and keep either Ben Graham or Cameron Mooney in there to keep them straight.

Mackie, I understand, oozes class and has plenty of poise under pressure. Every time he gets the footy it goes to a Geelong teammate. He has super skills, something Geelong hasn't been able to show a lot of this year.

There is a real buzz about the kid around the club.

He's light but we saw on Friday night another 17-year-old wow them in Martin McGrath for Richmond.

At the start of last year we didn't know much about Gary Ablett, James Bartel, James Kelly or Steve Johnson.

We soon found out what valuable players they are and each of them has continued to develop this year, albeit at different speed.

They've been real bonuses but these other kids have largely unknown qualities at the moment because they haven't had sufficient senior experience.

I watched Collingwood live last week and they're going to be very hard to beat.

They have possibly the best three-pronged forward attack in the competition.

Anthony Rocca and Jarrod Molloy act as battering rams and give Chris Tarrant room to move and roam up past the half-forward line.

Might as well... we have nothing to lose against Collingwood.

 

[ScouseCat]

Originally posted by phatandphreaky
Riccardi can, and probably will, play on for 2 more years.

Whilst he's not performing to the level some expect, he is kicking goals, something which we desperately need.

That's right, Ricco can still be a valuable contributor to the side, all be it in a different role to what we're used to seeing him play.

Riccardi the midfielder - past his best now, on borrowed time
Riccardi the small forward - still great value

 

[ScouseCat]

Teams

GEELONG
B: Milburn, Scarlett, Sanderson
HB: Wojcinski, Graham, Rooke
C: S.Johnson, Enright, Spriggs
HF: Moloney, Playfair, Chapman
F: Ablett, Mooney, Kelly
FOLL: Street, Corey, Ling
I/C: Rahilly, Bartel, Chambers, McCarthy
EMG: Gardiner, Clarke, Lord
IN: McCarthy
OUT: Lord


COLLINGWOOD
B: Johnson, Walker, Cloke
HB: Shaw, Wakelin, Cole
C: Licuria, Buckley, O’Bree
HF: Didak, Rocca, Williams
F: Betheras, Tarrant, Molloy
FOLL: Fraser, Woewodin, Burns
I/C: Holland, Lokan, Lonie, McKee
EMG: McGough, Richardson, Swan
IN: Cloke
OUT: Prestigiacomo (knee)

 

[evertonfc]

Originally posted by phatandphreaky
Are you going this time mate?

Must buy you a beer at some point.

Have to go to a party mate, where many a beer will be consumed

Might go next Friday night, or if not then, Round 22 would be sensational. A mass pub crawl in Geelong sounds like a ripping idea to round out the season

 

[Catman]

Originally posted by ScouseCat
Riccardi the small forward - still great value

Yep, great value just jogging around the forward line, kicking his one goal a game. If he was Mitchell White, he'd be abused by all and sundry.

 

[Fall Out Boy]

Originally posted by Catman
Yep, great value just jogging around the forward line, kicking his one goal a game. If he was Mitchell White, he'd be abused by all and sundry.

Not by me he wouldn't.

No doubting Riccardi isn't as effective as he could be and no doubt that he could put more in, but it's Ricco, he's always been like this.

He's still getting more of the ball than most on our list, and he's kicking more goals then everyone outside KK.

Not a bad effort given his age.