10 things we learnt last night

Richmond buck poor opening round trend to beat Carlton.

Ty Vickery on a lead. Picture: George Salpigtidis Source: Herald Sun

Trent Cotchin clears out of the middle. Picture: Michael Klein Source: Herald Sun

DON'T write off Chris Judd, Mick rethinks game plan, Cotchin takes charge and the MCG's magnetic goalposts. Here are 10 things we learnt from Richmond v Carlton.

1. JUDD STILL GOING STRONG

Anyone who thought the former Carlton skipper was a spent force should fast-forward the replay to the 20-minute mark of the third quarter. With the Blues looking for a spark, Judd put on a three-minute master class, kicking two goals and almost snagging a third with a snap that sailed wide. He finished the night with 27 disposals and 14 score involvements, the most on the ground.

2. MAGNETIC POSTS

The goalposts at the Punt Rd end couldn't stay out of the action all night. Three Tigers - Jack Riewoldt, Shane Tuck and Shane Edwards - slammed the footy into the woodwork in the first quarter, then Dennis Armfield did the same after the Blues switched ends. Chris Yarran also hit the post - at the same end - in the fourth quarter and some would argue his running goal in the second brushed the padding as it skidded through. A video review was inconclusive and the goal stood.

LiveHQ: Full match stats, SuperCoach points and more

3. MEET THE REAL BRYCE GIBBS

The 2006 No.1 draft pick has been tagged as an outside player with neat skills, but last night he showed what he could do when thrown into the guts. Gibbs was the top-ranked player on the ground with a huge 150 SuperCoach points from 34 disposals including 16 contested possessions - the equal most in the match with Trent Cotchin. What did Brett Ratten leave him down back for so long?

4. CAPTAIN COTCH

Cotchin showed why the Tigers handed him the captaincy before his 23rd birthday with a match-saving final quarter. Twice Cotchin came from nowhere to intercept what appeared certain Carlton goals and in the dying minutes, with the Tiger lead disappearing and most players out on their feet, he took the responsibility of the behind kick-ins. Richmond needed a bit of luck to get home but the leadership that was lacking in the closes losses last year was there for all to see.

Trent Cotchin clears out of the middle. Picture: Michael Klein Source: Herald Sun

5. MICK BINS GAME PLAN ... BUT FOR HOW LONG?

There has been plenty of discussion over the summer about how the Blues would adapt to Mick Malthouse's long kicking, stick to the boundary game plan. On the evidence last night, the answer was not well. Carlton appeared stagnant and without Travis Cloke to bomb the ball to in attack, the Tigers - notably Jake Batchelor, doing a good Joel Bowden impression in the No.11 jumper - cut off repeated forward forays with easy marks. After halftime Mick released the shackles and let the Blues play the run-and-gun style favoured under Ratten - and they almost pinched an unlikely win. Not that Mick was all that pleased. "By working one way you do rob yourself of some defensive play and we took that gamble so I'm not too sure where I actually sit with that. It got us back in the game, but I'm not 100 per cent sure you can keep having shootouts with sides," he said post-match.

Carlton coach Michael Malthouse talks to his players. Source: Getty Images

6. GREAT GAME, JACK

The reigning Coleman medallist finished with 0.4 for the night but don't be surprised if he earns votes in the Tigers' best-and-fairest award. Damien Hardwick was delighted with Riewoldt's team-first attitude, dragging opponent Michael Jamison - and often one or two other defenders - up the ground and creating space for unlikely heroes Ty Vickery and Luke McGuane. "I think it's one of the best games he's played for 12 months," Hardwick said of Riewoldt. Vickery showed his importance to the Tigers with nine marks and three goals, while McGuane chimed in with two and laid the game-saving tackle on Josh Bootsma in the final 30 seconds - just reward for a player who has been on the end of plenty of beltings in his 93 matches over eight seasons.

Blues say KO'd Robbo will play next week

7. KARATE KID

We're not sure what's in Vickery's DVD collection at home, but after last night we're betting Bruce Lee makes an appearance. Vickery channelled the martial arts legend when he protected himself while waiting for a looping handball on the wing in the first term. With Brock McLean closing rapidly, the Tiger big man extended his leg to basically fly-kick McLean in the face. But there was no free kick and Richmond swept the ball forward.

Picture gallery: All the action from the MCG

8. TEFLON JACKSON

Daniel Jackson has been run down more than once in his AFL career and Tiger fans had a sense of deja vu as Jackson waltzed into the goalsquare early in the third term only for Marc Murphy to latch onto him. But instead of pulling Jackson down, Murphy somehow slid right off allowing Jackson to drill the goal, seemingly oblivious to what had just happened. Won't be one for the "how to tackle" DVD.

Jack Riewoldt flies for a mark. Source: Getty Images

Daniel Jackson breaks a Marc Murphy tackle to kick a goal in the third quarter. Picture: George Salpigtidis Source: Herald Sun

9. 50-50 CALL

The Blues were mounting a charge in the third quarter before they shot themselves in the foot, giving away goals with consecutive 50m penalties. Michael Jamison was a bit stiff to be penalised for crossing into the protected area as he walked past Luke McGuane after the Tiger marked 45m out. The second 50m was more clear-cut after a filthy Nick Duigan noted his displeasure with a push in the back free kick to Jake King at the top of the goalsquare. Richmond kicked three goals from 50s, with Bachar Houli nailing a long shot in the second term after a late spoil by Shaun Hampson at centre half-back.

10. RIP HOODOO

Richmond's win snapped a nine-match losing streak against Carlton, the longest sequence since the Tigers lost their first 24 clashes to the Blues from 1908-1917. The two teams have played at the MCG in Round 1 every season since 2007 and before last night Richmond had won only one of those matches (2008), losing the other five by an average of 44 points. The next hoodoo on the Tigers' agenda is trying to play finals for the first time in 12 years. Their last September appearance was a preliminary final loss to Brisbane at the Gabba 4207 days ago.
 

Anda sedang membaca artikel tentang

10 things we learnt last night

Dengan url

http://kepadatankey.blogspot.com/2013/03/10-things-we-learnt-last-night.html

Anda boleh menyebar luaskannya atau mengcopy paste-nya

10 things we learnt last night

namun jangan lupa untuk meletakkan link

10 things we learnt last night

sebagai sumbernya