Richmond midfield stoppage coach Andrew McQualter provides an insight into Carlton’s capabilities ahead of tomorrow night’s 2017 season-opener at the MCG.
Captain Murphy’s main attribute as a midfielder
“I think his biggest strength is his ability to get away from the congestion . . . when he gets the ball, to be able to break lines and get it again. He’s been able to do that for a number of years.”
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Key Blues’ rebounding defenders Simpson and Docherty
“They are both great players in their own right . . . Simpson’s more run and carry. He breaks a lot of lines and runs and carries. Docherty’s a great kick, and he sets them up a lot with his kicking. They’re both critical players to their team with the way they play, so we’ll have to make sure we shut them down tomorrow night.
Importance of Richmond forward pressure
“It’s a sum-of-the-parts-type scenario. We’ve got some more speed in our forward line and players with some great defensive mindset, who love chasing, love tackling and love pressuring, which has certainly helped us a lot.”
Carlton’s quick ball movement during the JLT Community Series
“They were playing a really fast brand . . . We’ve seen (Brendon) Bolton (Carlton coach) talk about being bold with the ball in an offensive manner, and we’re certainly going to have to try and shut down this part of the game, because if they get up and going and running, they’re a very hard side to stop.”
Cripps’ influence in Carlton’s midfield
“There’s been a bit spoken about how he missed a fair chunk of the pre-season. For guys of this quality, it doesn’t matter as much. He’s just a bloody good player . . . His strength is at the contest. It’s always going to be really hard to stop it. It’s just about curbing his influence as much as possible because players of this ilk, they’re really hard to cut out of a game entirely. Most games of footy, it’s won and lost through the midfield, but I think it’ll be especially the case tomorrow night.”
The possibility of Cripps spending more time forward
“He probably will, and it’s probably a bit to do with his fitness levels, after missing a bit over the JLT. Clearly an aim of his is to kick more goals. So that wouldn’t surprise us if we see him down there as well.”
