Game Day Round 5: Richmond V Geelong @ MCG - Saturday 1:45PM, 02/05/15

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Squibbs

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May 25, 2013
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Round 5 2015:

Richmond vs Geelong
MCG
Saturday May 2nd, 1:45PM AEST

Richmond $2.05 Geelong $1.75
Broadcasted live on Southern Cross and Fox Sports

Past Five Encounters:

Round 7 2014, Geelong 11.15 (81) d Richmond 12.4 (76) at the MCG
Round 6 2013, Geelong 20.11 (131) d Richmond 13.9 (87) at the MCG
Round 4 2012, Geelong 11.9 (75) d Richmond 9.11 (65) at Simonds Stadium
Round 18 2011, Geelong 17.11 (113) d Richmond 7.9 (51) at Etihad Stadium
Round 6 2010, Geelong 24.17 (161) d Richmond 7.11 (53) at Simonds Stadium

*Richmond have not beaten Geelong since Round 9 2006*

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Last Time They Met - Round 7 2014:

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Geelong hosted the Tigers in scrappy, wet weather conditions on a Sunday afternoon at the MCG in front of just under 35,000. Richmond. The Cats were well in control at quarter time, leading 21 to Richmond's solitary behind in a very dull first quarter. The Tigers lack of run and willingness to take the game on in the early stages of 2014 was once again on show. Goals continued to come from Geelong in the second quarter, they were in a commanding lead of 35 points midway through the term. The Tigers were on the ropes and fans were starting to question whether this could be a repeat of the catastrophe in 2007, the famous 157 point game all Richmond faithful will never forget.

Richmond's first goal did not come until the 22nd minute mark of the 2nd quarter, a brilliant snap at goal from deep inside the boundary by none other than Jack Riewoldt. This seemed to lift the Tigers, they went on to kick 3 of the next 4 four goals and drew within striking distance of the Cats. Alas, as Geelong are well known for, they hit back at a determined Tigers outfit. A late goal on the stroke of half time by Mitch Duncan gave Geelong some much needed breathing space, going into the main change leading 50 - 27. Although the score would suggest otherwise to someone who just turned the game on, the Tigers were coming hard.

Early in the third quarter, Richmond sub Shane Edwards had an immediate impact in the match, kicking two quick goals to cut the margin back to just three goals. The quarter was dominated by the Tigers, yet multiple chances were blown with inaccurate kicking inside 50 and lack of composure, letting the Cats off far too many times. The match stepped up a notch when Ty Vickery kicked truly to bring it back to a one goal ball game; 35,000 suddenly became 75,000 as the Tiger Army found its voice around the MCG. The stage was set for a big final term with Geelong's lead cut to just 7 points.

The rain was setting in as the Tigers were fighting to keep within touch of the top 8. The final quarter began with a classy goal from Joel Selwood outside 50, sending a small dagger through Tiger faithful's hearts. It would be difficult to come back from a 13 point deficit in a wet weather slog against an experienced Geelong outfit. When it was Richmond's turn for a player to step up it would be none other than their skipper Trent Cotchin, who gathered skillfully and skidded through a major to draw within a goal once again, plenty of time was left in the match. The Tigers would not lie down.

As Geelong do time and time again, they found a way, kicking 2 goals and a rushed behind within four minutes to steady the ship and give them a 19 point advantage midway through the final quarter, and almost bringing curtains to a very entertaining match in unpleasant conditions for supporters. The Tigers had one last chance to come back with just over 10 minutes to play, Vickery slotted through his second major to give Richmond an instant reply, they weren't letting the match slip away from them. The ball was hotly contested as Geelong knew another quick goal would give the Tigers a real sniff at victory. When Riewoldt bagged his second for the game the margin was cut back to 11 points with a minute and a half to play, it seemed too little too late for the Tigers who fought so hard. The last goal of the game came from Sam Lloyd right on the siren, to the disappointment of Richmond supporters.

They finished the match within a goal, it was the ultimate tease as they were never able to cut the lead below 6 points until that point, Geelong were just too good for the Tigers on the day, who relied on accurate kicking in front of goal to stay in touch. Geelong winners by 5 points, in front of 34,377 people.

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GEELONG 3.3 7.8 8.10 11.15 (81)
RICHMOND 0.1 4.3 8.3 12.4 (76)


GOALS
Geelong:
Duncan 2, Murdoch 2, Hunt 2, Bartel, Varcoe, McIntosh, Johnson, Selwood
Richmond: Lloyd 3, Edwards 2, Vickery 2, Riewoldt 2, Deledio, Martin, Cotchin

BEST
Geelong:
Taylor, Duncan, Enright, Bartel, Guthrie, Selwood, Murdoch
Richmond: Rance, Hampson, Conca, Vlastuin, Astbury, Deledio, Jackson




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The Ladder After Round 4:

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Current Form In 2015:

Richmond - 9th Place, 2 Wins, 2 Losses, 118.1%.

Round 1: Defeated Carlton by 27 points.
Round 2: Dogs defeat Richmond by 19 points.
Round 3: Defeated Brisbane by 79 points.
Round 4: Defeated by Melbourne by 32 points.


If you didn't look at Richmond's fixture you'd say being 2-2 after 4 games would be at least break-even and not a terrible result, until you check our 4 opponents. We have played 4 of the bottom 6 sides from 2014, and been well beaten in two of those games with poor performances against Melbourne and the Doggies. Both of these games were lost from many things, including deplorable kicking efficiency going inside 50, wayward set shots for goal, bruise-free footy and being exposed on the counter-attack, and not to mention our coach looking lost for answers every single week. The writing is on the wall for this club, our first 4 weeks have been nothing short of underwhelming and unsatisfactory, you can't blame our long suffering fans for being frustrated, we should NOT be losing to bottom 6 sides at this stage of our development; we are more than capable of beating these teams, yet continually fail to do so.

It's hard to see where our improvement has come from, we struggle to innovate when placed under pressure and our team often crumbles in games that we should win, our desire to win games is almost non-existent and we seem to love dumb footballers. This is a massive game for the Tigers, can we beat them for the first time in almost 10 years and show that we have improved or will we be disappointed yet again? This will prove to be a very interesting contest, against what seems to be a vulnerable Geelong side.

Geelong - 16th Place, 1 Win, 3 Losses, 72.2%.

Round 1: Hawthorn defeat Geelong by 62 points.
Round 2: Fremantle defeat Geelong by 44 points.
Round 3: Defeated Gold Coast by 9 points.
Round 4: North Melbourne defeat Geelong by 16 points.


Geelong have been such a good side for so long. They've finished top 4 in 7 of the last 8 seasons, they've won three flags since 2007, a powerhouse side that have earned the utmost respect in the AFL, but it is evident that this may be the beginning of the end for an amazing era. Geelong started the season with a massive 10 goal defeat at the hands of Hawthorn, a side that is generally known to struggle against the Cats. It didn't get much better the next week, with star Steven Motlop getting suspended for off-field behaviour, which was terrible timing as Fremantle put on a second half frenzy to easily account for the Cats at Simonds.

After two horrid weeks for Geelong, they finally got something to cheer about, yet even that came at a cost as their 9 point win over Gold Coast came at the expense of injuries to veterans Matthew Stokes, Jimmy Bartel and Tom Lonergan. They were challenged by the Suns, yet held on to win in typical Geelong fashion. Things still weren't looking too bright down at the Cattery, even with a win against the Suns (pun intended).

So, Geelong were faced with a massive clash this week against North Melbourne. Both teams were under-manned, both teams were 1-2 and both teams desperate for a win to keep the door open for top 4. Geelong started with a bang, kicking the first 4 goals of the match and working fantastically as a unit. North would then hit back hard, kicking the next 5 and giving them a slight lead at half time. An emotional week for Tom Hawkins after the passing of his mother was filled with some joy as he put through a major in the third quarter, with a warm reception from fans and teammates alike. This would not be enough to get the Cats over the line though, as North Melbourne kicked away late to put the game beyond doubt, which places the Cats with a 1-3 record along with St Kilda and Carlton.

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Potential Lineup For The Match:

FB:
Batchelor, Astbury, Chaplin
HB: Houli, Rance, Vlastuin
C: B. Ellis, Cotchin, McIntosh
HF: Edwards, Vickery, Martin
F: Lloyd, Riewoldt, McDonough
R: Maric, Miles, Hunt
I: Foley, Grigg, C. Ellis, Lennon (sub)

Ins: Chaplin, Vickery, Foley, C. Ellis, Lennon

Outs:
Drummond (inj), Griffiths (inj), Morris (omitted), Gordon (omitted), Arnott (omitted)

New:
Corey Ellis


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I'd go with 5 changes this week. Chaplin (if available) should come straight back into the side, as he is crucial to the structure of our back 6. Foley and Corey Ellis starred in our big win in the VFL over Frankston, I'd be happy to see both boys get a call up into the seniors, with Corey Ellis making his debut. With Ben Griffiths going down with a calf injury, Tyrone is almost an automatic selection since he kicked 4 goals on the weekend and looked in good touch. Sam Lloyd survives for another week, I believe he has more upside to Nathan Gordon who honestly looks lost at times, not AFL standard unfortunately. McDonough should stay in the side as he was sub last week and as he deserves a full match to show us where he's at. The three omitted - Morris, Gordon and Arnott are solid VFL players but will never make it in the AFL, they should be depth players ONLY, yet 2 of them are regular members in our best 22; no thank you. Ben Lennon to play his first game of the year as the sub and to be eased back into it, while Deledio, Grimes, Conca and possibly Newman to be given another week before selection against North Melbourne in Hobart.

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Where Richmond Can Win This Game:
In both our losses against the Dogs and the Dees, we've shown to be lost for answers when the pressure is applied. Our team is not going in hard enough, we're being out-hunted at almost every contest, by teams that are behind us in development and aren't considered to be in the same bracket as us. It is not a personnel problem, we have the talent, as shown in 2013 and the second half of 2014. Our problem right now is effort around the ground, Round 2 and last Friday Night were fantastic examples of how NOT to play football.

I believe that if the players get a rocket during the week we can come out firing and play a hard brand of footy, I'm confident that our team is good enough to respond. Geelong haven't exactly been setting the world on fire, but they're still quality opposition, and when given the opportunity to play the way they want to play, they'll hurt any team on any given day.

Some of our usual major ball winners such as Ellis, Cotchin and Miles have been relatively quiet and below standard so far in 2015, if we are to win these guys need to get busy in the middle. Another thing to note from last week, our scoring from inside 50 entries was shocking - 6 goals from 57 inside 50's is pathetic and will never win you a game of football at any level, this needs to be addressed during the week and massively worked on. Our problem seems to not be getting the ball, but the way we use it going forward is almost at Auskick level. If we play like we did against Melbourne this week, we will struggle to match Geelong, they are a much classier outfit.

Final Thoughts:

Call me biased, but I'll back our boys in because I know what we're capable of. This almost becomes our most important game of the year - Geelong's amazing record against us, another embarrassing loss the week before, and our first 'tough' opponent which will show if we have improved from 2014 at all. I'm looking forward to seeing the real character of the club on Saturday, has our culture really improved or are we always going to accept mediocrity at Punt Road? We have come a long, long way in 5 years under Dimma, although all our good work seems to have stagnated at the moment, as our on-field performances have been nothing short of mediocre and middle of the road. The club is in a much more stable position off-field, so it makes me feel more confident that we will make all the right decisions coming into the game. I'm expecting us to break a ten game losing streak against the Cats on Saturday.

Tip:

Richmond by 10 points in a game to remember (for us).

This was my first preview I've written, spent a fair amount of time on it but thoroughly enjoyed it. I encourage anyone that hasn't put their hand up for one to do so in the future, it's great fun! Go Tiges!

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Apr 26, 2012
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Despite the fact we aren't playing well and haven't beaten Geelong since the middle ages, think we are a good chance today if we come to play. Just need to back ourselves in go hard at the ball, excited to see Lennon and Cellis play two real big talents. Need to get on top in the middle which we should be able to do on paper and then use it well going forward and we should have a good day.

Go tiges!
 

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Cotcho

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Jul 4, 2012
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Remember that game against West Coast in 2013 was it? The one where that guy promised to eat s**t. I just had a thought.....Was that our best tackling game we've seen from this group?

Just watching the bulldogs and collingwood at the moment...their tackling is so much better than ours and has them in the top 8 on the back of it IMO.

I'd love so much for us to just put that as #1 priority for the next 3 weeks. Just out tackle the opposition. Hard, strong, bone crunching tackles.

I wonder if it would set up our season or make no difference.
 
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