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MATCH
Western Bulldogs v Richmond – Monday 13 April – Etihad Stadium – 2.10pm.
RECENT CLASHES
2008 – R5 – Western Bulldogs 19.16.130 drew with Richmond 20.10.130 (TD)
2007 – R4 – Richmond 14.16.100 defeated by Western Bulldogs 20.12.132 (MCG)
2006 – R18 – Richmond 10.18.78 defeated by Western Bulldogs 15.10.100 (MCG)
2006 – R1 – Western Bulldogs 25.17.167 defeated Richmond 7.10.52 (TD)
2005 – R20 – Richmond 16.11.107 defeated by Western Bulldogs 18.11.119 (TD)
FORM THIS SEASON
The Bulldogs & Richmond’s round 1 form couldn’t have contrasted any further; the Doggies notching an impressive 63 point win over Fremantle in Perth whereas Richmond played on the big stage opening the season against Carlton with prized pre season recruit Ben Cousins only to fail miserably, losing by 83 points & Cousins pulling a hamstring in the final term.
Round 2 saw the Bulldogs prevail over recent bogey team North Melbourne at the MCG to win a tough hard encounter by 15 points. Tiger fans would have been heartened by a much improved performance against Geelong at the Cattery going down by just 20 points after leading at the final change.
ETIHAD STADIUM
This might come as a surprise, but results at this venue between these two teams favour the Tigers 4-2 with the most recent clash ending all square. Richmond won the first 4 clashes at the venue, before they came crashing down to Earth in round 1, 2006.
Last season the Bulldogs played at the venue 12 times for 8 wins, 3 losses & a draw, whereas Richmond only ventured there on 4 occasions for 1 win, 2 losses & a draw.
SELECTION TABLE
I can’t see too many changes at the selection table this week. The Bulldogs will feel nice & relaxed after an 8 day break (this may be a factor the following week with a 6 day break prior to a trip to Perth) & will not look at resting anyone, though they bring back Scott Welsh who was outstanding for Williamstown on Saturday. Robert Murphy is unlikely to now be considered until he’s had a game with the Seagulls so I don’t see him being included this week. There may be the temptation to bring back Tiller to combat the height in Richmond’s forward line.
Who goes out if Welsh or Tiller comes in? Tough choice & it may come down to match ups/team balance. Those in the frame are likely to be Jarrod Harbrow, Liam Picken or Callan Ward.
Will Terry Wallace look to pit Jordan McMahon against his old team? Only if he decides to replace Jake King, who I must say really contributed to the Tigers demise on Saturday against Geelong with poor tackling & errant disposal (sounds just like Jordy). Mark Coughlan may be included after an encouraging display on the weekend for Coburg.
WHO’S MISSING?
For the Bulldogs Robert Murphy will miss. Others injured or returning from injury that might expect to be there or thereabouts include Tim Callan & Scott Welsh.
Richmond will be without Ben Cousins, Andrew Raines, Kane Johnson, Trent Cotchin & Graham Polak.
WHERE WILL THIS BE WON & LOST?
Simply, out of the middle. There’s a whole host of players for the Bulldogs who’ll take a turn in their & it’s where I expect them to exert their authority over the Tigers.
Richmond looked good when they won first possession out of the center on the weekend but I think Geelong had taken their foot off the pedal & only did enough to ensure they got the 4 points.
KEY PLAYERS
Ryan Griffen – Is clearly in red hot form at the moment after winning the Gary Dempsey medal v North Melbourne. I think he’ll cop a hard tag & I expect Shane Tuck to get the job. Tuck can be used as an offensive weapon at stoppages for the Tigers as he’s often the 3rd man up & has a decent reach, something Griff needs to be mindful of.
Brad Johnson – If Johnno gets half a sniff he could tear Richmond a new one on Monday. He looked much sharper on the weekend & has had a huge pre season. If the Bulldogs get on top out of the middle Johnno might be in for a day out. Who matches up on him from Richmond? He’d be too quick for Joel Bowden, Daniel Jackson & Luke McGuane, maybe a job for Kelvin Moore.
Brian Lake – I don’t expect Richmond to put a loose man down back as north did with Petrie & allow Brian Lake off the leash. He plays his best football when he’s freed up to just go after the ball & make it his number one priority. Schultz or Reiwoldt may have to ensure he’s accountable. Interesting poser for Wallace this week.
Lindsay Gilbee – Another who Wallace can ill afford to let run free & use his immaculate foot skills. Gilbee has so far this year shown a tendency to work his way through a hard tag (Crowley & Lower) & continue to hurt the opposition, particularly as he’s moved forward. I wouldn’t be surprised to see Chris Newman have a crack at him first up.
Matthew Richardson – Clearly the most important player for Richmond. How they wish they had 2 of him, 1 up forward & 1 in the midfield. I’d like to see Tom Williams stand Richo when he’s forward. Tom has all the tools to nullify Richo, but I think we have to use his lack of defensive pressure when he goes for a wander. Perhaps use Griff to run off him & hurt them the other way. Geelong tried Bartel on him but Richo just rag dolled him & was too strong. Stop Richardson & Richmond are in a whole heap of strife.
Brett Deledio – I was very impressed with his game against Geelong, a vast improvement on his performance in the opening round. He has very good foot skills & can go forward & kick a goal. Is Liam Picken the right match up? I’m not real sure to be honest, but I’d let him have first try & if that fails then Matthew Boyd as a back up.
Nathan Brown – Fail to keep him under control at your peril! Still very damaging & an excellent user of the ball, forget round 1, we all know that wasn’t the Nathan Brown we all know (& hate). Whoever is assigned to him has to concentrate all day & have his footy smarts about him. A job for Dylan Addison.
Mitch Morton – One of the few Tigers to perform well in round 1 with 4 goals. A real opportunist. He doesn’t need too many kicks to be damaging. I’d put Dale Morris onto him & make him work his socks off for every touch.
WHO WILL WIN & WHY?
I just think the Bulldogs have more good players than Richmond & will win. Obviously the Bulldogs have to stop Matthew Richardson. Do that & they’re half way there, whereas Richmond on the other hand have to stop more than just one player. Allow Griffen, Gilbee, Boyd, Cross, Higgins, Cooney & Giansiracusa to run through the middle unmolested & you’re asking for trouble, on the other hand, try matching them up & you run the risk of having no one to kick to if you do win possession.
The Bulldogs will look to use the strength of their midfield to overwhelm Richmond, use their stronger bodies (never thought I’d ever say that) to out muscle them & superior foot skills to penetrate the Tigers defence as they surge forward.
Richmond will hope their key play makers are all on song, if they are then they will give a good account of themselves. They will need to get first use of the ball & get it in quickly to Richardson (Williams), Reiwoldt (Lake), Schultz (Hargrave), Morton (Morris) & Brown (Addison). Foley will have to be at his damaging best out of the middle.
VERDICT
I can’t honestly see Richmond getting within a bulls roar of the Bulldogs on Monday. I just think we have far too many match winners & I have a feeling it’s going to get ugly for the Tiger supporters. Obviously I could be wrong & we could keep them in the game as we did last year with missed opportunities, somehow I don’t think so.
The Doggies to win by 13 goals.
Western Bulldogs v Richmond – Monday 13 April – Etihad Stadium – 2.10pm.
RECENT CLASHES
2008 – R5 – Western Bulldogs 19.16.130 drew with Richmond 20.10.130 (TD)
2007 – R4 – Richmond 14.16.100 defeated by Western Bulldogs 20.12.132 (MCG)
2006 – R18 – Richmond 10.18.78 defeated by Western Bulldogs 15.10.100 (MCG)
2006 – R1 – Western Bulldogs 25.17.167 defeated Richmond 7.10.52 (TD)
2005 – R20 – Richmond 16.11.107 defeated by Western Bulldogs 18.11.119 (TD)
FORM THIS SEASON
The Bulldogs & Richmond’s round 1 form couldn’t have contrasted any further; the Doggies notching an impressive 63 point win over Fremantle in Perth whereas Richmond played on the big stage opening the season against Carlton with prized pre season recruit Ben Cousins only to fail miserably, losing by 83 points & Cousins pulling a hamstring in the final term.
Round 2 saw the Bulldogs prevail over recent bogey team North Melbourne at the MCG to win a tough hard encounter by 15 points. Tiger fans would have been heartened by a much improved performance against Geelong at the Cattery going down by just 20 points after leading at the final change.
ETIHAD STADIUM
This might come as a surprise, but results at this venue between these two teams favour the Tigers 4-2 with the most recent clash ending all square. Richmond won the first 4 clashes at the venue, before they came crashing down to Earth in round 1, 2006.
Last season the Bulldogs played at the venue 12 times for 8 wins, 3 losses & a draw, whereas Richmond only ventured there on 4 occasions for 1 win, 2 losses & a draw.
SELECTION TABLE
I can’t see too many changes at the selection table this week. The Bulldogs will feel nice & relaxed after an 8 day break (this may be a factor the following week with a 6 day break prior to a trip to Perth) & will not look at resting anyone, though they bring back Scott Welsh who was outstanding for Williamstown on Saturday. Robert Murphy is unlikely to now be considered until he’s had a game with the Seagulls so I don’t see him being included this week. There may be the temptation to bring back Tiller to combat the height in Richmond’s forward line.
Who goes out if Welsh or Tiller comes in? Tough choice & it may come down to match ups/team balance. Those in the frame are likely to be Jarrod Harbrow, Liam Picken or Callan Ward.
Will Terry Wallace look to pit Jordan McMahon against his old team? Only if he decides to replace Jake King, who I must say really contributed to the Tigers demise on Saturday against Geelong with poor tackling & errant disposal (sounds just like Jordy). Mark Coughlan may be included after an encouraging display on the weekend for Coburg.
WHO’S MISSING?
For the Bulldogs Robert Murphy will miss. Others injured or returning from injury that might expect to be there or thereabouts include Tim Callan & Scott Welsh.
Richmond will be without Ben Cousins, Andrew Raines, Kane Johnson, Trent Cotchin & Graham Polak.
WHERE WILL THIS BE WON & LOST?
Simply, out of the middle. There’s a whole host of players for the Bulldogs who’ll take a turn in their & it’s where I expect them to exert their authority over the Tigers.
Richmond looked good when they won first possession out of the center on the weekend but I think Geelong had taken their foot off the pedal & only did enough to ensure they got the 4 points.
KEY PLAYERS
Ryan Griffen – Is clearly in red hot form at the moment after winning the Gary Dempsey medal v North Melbourne. I think he’ll cop a hard tag & I expect Shane Tuck to get the job. Tuck can be used as an offensive weapon at stoppages for the Tigers as he’s often the 3rd man up & has a decent reach, something Griff needs to be mindful of.
Brad Johnson – If Johnno gets half a sniff he could tear Richmond a new one on Monday. He looked much sharper on the weekend & has had a huge pre season. If the Bulldogs get on top out of the middle Johnno might be in for a day out. Who matches up on him from Richmond? He’d be too quick for Joel Bowden, Daniel Jackson & Luke McGuane, maybe a job for Kelvin Moore.
Brian Lake – I don’t expect Richmond to put a loose man down back as north did with Petrie & allow Brian Lake off the leash. He plays his best football when he’s freed up to just go after the ball & make it his number one priority. Schultz or Reiwoldt may have to ensure he’s accountable. Interesting poser for Wallace this week.
Lindsay Gilbee – Another who Wallace can ill afford to let run free & use his immaculate foot skills. Gilbee has so far this year shown a tendency to work his way through a hard tag (Crowley & Lower) & continue to hurt the opposition, particularly as he’s moved forward. I wouldn’t be surprised to see Chris Newman have a crack at him first up.
Matthew Richardson – Clearly the most important player for Richmond. How they wish they had 2 of him, 1 up forward & 1 in the midfield. I’d like to see Tom Williams stand Richo when he’s forward. Tom has all the tools to nullify Richo, but I think we have to use his lack of defensive pressure when he goes for a wander. Perhaps use Griff to run off him & hurt them the other way. Geelong tried Bartel on him but Richo just rag dolled him & was too strong. Stop Richardson & Richmond are in a whole heap of strife.
Brett Deledio – I was very impressed with his game against Geelong, a vast improvement on his performance in the opening round. He has very good foot skills & can go forward & kick a goal. Is Liam Picken the right match up? I’m not real sure to be honest, but I’d let him have first try & if that fails then Matthew Boyd as a back up.
Nathan Brown – Fail to keep him under control at your peril! Still very damaging & an excellent user of the ball, forget round 1, we all know that wasn’t the Nathan Brown we all know (& hate). Whoever is assigned to him has to concentrate all day & have his footy smarts about him. A job for Dylan Addison.
Mitch Morton – One of the few Tigers to perform well in round 1 with 4 goals. A real opportunist. He doesn’t need too many kicks to be damaging. I’d put Dale Morris onto him & make him work his socks off for every touch.
WHO WILL WIN & WHY?
I just think the Bulldogs have more good players than Richmond & will win. Obviously the Bulldogs have to stop Matthew Richardson. Do that & they’re half way there, whereas Richmond on the other hand have to stop more than just one player. Allow Griffen, Gilbee, Boyd, Cross, Higgins, Cooney & Giansiracusa to run through the middle unmolested & you’re asking for trouble, on the other hand, try matching them up & you run the risk of having no one to kick to if you do win possession.
The Bulldogs will look to use the strength of their midfield to overwhelm Richmond, use their stronger bodies (never thought I’d ever say that) to out muscle them & superior foot skills to penetrate the Tigers defence as they surge forward.
Richmond will hope their key play makers are all on song, if they are then they will give a good account of themselves. They will need to get first use of the ball & get it in quickly to Richardson (Williams), Reiwoldt (Lake), Schultz (Hargrave), Morton (Morris) & Brown (Addison). Foley will have to be at his damaging best out of the middle.
VERDICT
I can’t honestly see Richmond getting within a bulls roar of the Bulldogs on Monday. I just think we have far too many match winners & I have a feeling it’s going to get ugly for the Tiger supporters. Obviously I could be wrong & we could keep them in the game as we did last year with missed opportunities, somehow I don’t think so.
The Doggies to win by 13 goals.
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