It’s unfortunately been the story of our season, we’ve been able to match it with some of the best teams in the competition right up until the final quarter only to just fall at the final hurdle.
While this might be perceived as a negative I like to view it as the exact opposite. Obviously at the end of the day football clubs are judged on the wins and losses column, however it’s becoming quite clear that this current Richmond line-up is far different to the one from the last ten years.
Carlton, Collingwood and Geelong have all handed us the mother of all beltings over the past few seasons, but it seems the frequent ten-goal plus thrashings from the top sides are now a thing of the past.
Of course this is due largely in part to the continued development of our young list, growing and maturing as footballers together and the results are starting to show. The depth in the Tiger list now runs a lot deeper than in previous seasons, especially in the midfield with the likes of Shaun Grigg, Reece Conca and Nathan Foley all going up another notch in performance.
Perhaps the most promising sign of our growing depth though is the fact that Jack Riewoldt and Tyrone Vickery have barely fired a shot all year. I don’t think a lot of sides could remain competitive if their two major goal scorers from the previous season were not performing, yet we have taken it right up to two reigning grand finalists and a premiership contender in Carlton.
It’s because of all this that I believe we are a red hot chance to defeat West Coast this week, despite all the expert tipster’s selections.
The curtailing of their ruck combination in Nic Naitanui and Dean Cox will obviously be the key to any potential upset, as both have the ability to dominate in the ruck then swing forward and kick a goal or two.
As I type this the official 22 hasn’t been selected yet, but given he is named on the extended interchange, I have a suspicion that Angus Graham may make his return in a bid to give Ivan Maric a chop out from battling the twin towers alone.
While he isn’t as mobile as Naitanui or Cox around the ground, the one thing he does have is height and a big body which he really needs to throw around in the ruck contests to wear down the athletic ruckmen if he gets the nod.
Physicality has never been Graham’s strong suit but that is a role he needs to play come Sunday should he be named. He needs to reinvent himself and becoming a bash and crash ruckman might be his final opportunity to show he can compete regularly at AFL level.
As for other parts of the ground, I believe we match up quite well. Ordinarily West Coast’s forwards in Kennedy, Lynch and Darling would create a nightmare, but with Dylan Grimes, Alex Rance and Jake Batchelor playing some fantastic defensive footy at the moment I think they can at least break even with their Eagles opponents.
The midfield battle will be intriguing as always as Dustin Martin draws ever closer to that huge breakout game that we all know is coming so soon. Cotchin continues to deliver despite various ‘bear-hugs’ and Shane Tuck continues to amaze in a contested situation as he gets better with age.
Any chance we have though will come down to our key forwards this week. On a ground such as Etihad Stadium it becomes difficult to win games if you aren’t kicking 15+ goals and against an outfit like West Coast that makes it even more important.
Another bag of ten goals from Jack against the Eagles would go down just nicely I reckon.
Go Tiges!
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