Tigers expecting Dockers lockdown

Updated June 08, 2012 12:39:57

Richmond is not expecting any repeat of the basketball-style AFL on show last week when they face Ross Lyon's Fremantle at the MCG on Saturday.

The Tigers and St Kilda put on a scoring feast in one of the best matches in recent memory last Friday night, Richmond posting a eight-point win in a match featuring 34 goals.

But as Lyon works on getting the Dockers to adopt his miserly defensive style, the Tigers are banking on a return to more conventional scores one week on.

"He is an outstanding coach and the sides he coaches are very disciplined about the way they play, very methodical about the way they play," Tigers coach Damien Hardwick says of Lyon.

"Defensively they're the best in the AFL ... if we don't control the game the way we need to control it, they can do some damage and stifle us offensively."

While the Tigers' midfield has taken much of the spotlight, their defence has improved markedly this season.

The Tigers conceded more than 100 points a match last season.

But they have reined that back to just under 90 in 2012 and the figure was tracking at much less until the Saints booted 16 goals against them last week.

The match pits the Tigers' cult hero ruckman Ivan Maric and his run of career-best form against the competition's ruck benchmark Aaron Sandilands.

So big has Maric's impact been, he looms as a possible All-Australian but his biggest test comes on Saturday against the freakish Sandilands, according to Hardwick.

"His (Sandilands) ability to cover the ground is enormous," he said.

"He's 123 kilograms and he covers the ground like a six-foot player.

"He's a formidable opponent, no doubt about that."

The Tigers' midfield has suffered a blow with in-form Nathan Foley missing with a minor leg injury.

Small forward Jake King is out suspended, with wingman or half-forward Brett O'Hanlon brought in for his AFL debut and defender Matt Dea recalled.

The Dockers have axed defender Paul Duffield, ruckman Zac Clarke and forward Jack Anthony for Nic Suban, Adam McPhee and Jonathon Griffin.

But midfielder Anthony Morabito will not return to the AFL until at least after the Dockers' bye next weekend.

He has played three matches in the WAFL since recovering from a serious knee injury, but the Dockers have resisted throwing him into action against the Tigers.

Both teams boast 5-5 win-loss records but contrasting form, with the Tigers winning their past two and the Dockers losing their past three.

AAP

Tags: australian-football-league, sport, richmond-3121, fremantle-6160

First posted June 08, 2012 12:39:57

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Magpies expecting fired up Cats

Updated May 17, 2012 22:30:39

Collingwood coach Nathan Buckley has dismissed last year's grand final loss and Geelong's form slump as factors heading into their Friday night blockbuster.

Buckley said all he was focusing on ahead of the MCG clash was Geelong's form over the past month.

The Cats beat Collingwood by 38 points to win last year's premiership, but are coming off a 50-point loss to Adelaide.

Frontline Collingwood players Dale Thomas, Darren Jolly and Chris Dawes will all play for the Magpies, while Geelong is also strengthened by the return to the side of Jimmy Bartel, Mathew Stokes and Matthew Scarlett.

Geelong coach Chris Scott and All-Australian midfielder James Kelly have publicly expressed concern this week about the team's form this season.

Collingwood midfielder Sharrod Wellingham said publicly this week that the Magpies' players would seek some retribution for the grand final loss.

But Buckley dismissed any such suggestion.

"Sharrod and the rest of the players, and the club and the team as a whole, have been very focused on the Geelong of now against the Collingwood of now," Buckley said.

"We're not going to make up for anything that's happened in the past - that doesn't get you anywhere.

"We're just entirely focused on what we're faced with now and that's Geelong of 2012 and what they've been able to do in the last four weeks in particular.

"In the end, you go back far enough, obviously their performance against Hawthorn in round one - their only game on the MCG so far this year - they performed really well.

"We expect something similar from them this week."

Buckley said Kelly and Scott would have a better understanding of how Geelong are going than anyone at Collingwood.

He added the only message to be taken from their comments was that a tough battle is coming.

"From our perspective, we have a great respect for Geelong ... there's no way we're going to under-rate (them)," Buckley said.

"From their comments during the week, there's no doubt this is going to be a bit of an arm wrestle and a real battle.

"Collingwood are ready for it."

AAP

Tags: sport, australian-football-league, collingwood-3066, geelong-3220, vic, australia

First posted May 17, 2012 13:55:48

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Pies expecting Cloke to stay

Updated May 03, 2012 14:08:27

Collingwood coach Nathan Buckley expects key forward Travis Cloke to stay with the Magpies despite bigger financial offers from other clubs.

Cloke reportedly could earn a $1 million a season if he crossed to Fremantle or Greater Western Sydney next season, but Buckley says the premiership hero is fully aware that there is more to consider than just cash.

"He loves the place here," Buckley said.

"He's got a great environment. He's got great mates.

"He enjoys being here as much as we enjoy him being here and his contribution."

As part of the AFL's free agency policy which begins this year, Cloke would be free to leave unless the Magpies matched a rival offer.

"I do get a little affronted seeing him in opposition guernseys in the paper," Buckley said of this week's media speculation over 25-year-old Cloke's playing future.

"I don't think I'll ever get used to that, neither will he.

"He's one of the best players in the competition. He's fighting for that mantle [as Collingwood's best player] with Swanny (Dane Swan), with Scott Pendlebury, with Dale Thomas.

"We're not about putting a hierarchy in place and this team will not be built on a hierarchy in the future.

"Our players, if they want to stay in this group, as successful groups have had to do in the past, will do so at a financial cost to the individual in order to stay together.

"We can't possibly as a club meet some of the offers that will cross the table of all of our individuals at various times."

Swan, Pendlebury and Thomas have all signed contract extensions with the Magpies.

AAP

Tags: australian-football-league, sport, collingwood-3066

First posted May 03, 2012 14:06:39

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Tigers expecting better showing

Updated July 8, 2011 15:39:00

Richmond coach Damien Hardwick is confident his players will not be scarred by their massive loss to Carlton last weekend and are ready to bounce back to their best against Essendon on Saturday night.

Hardwick was true to his word following the 103-point defeat to the Blues at the MCG, binning the post-match review with his team as promised and encouraging all at the club to put it out of their minds.

He believes his players are ready to respond, describing the mood at training this week as upbeat ahead of Saturday night's MCG encounter.

"The one thing I would say about our group is they're very vibrant," Hardwick said.

"You wouldn't know we've come off a resounding loss, and that's something we try to pride ourselves on.

"We try to take away the emotion of the ups and downs of our season.

"We understand where we're at, but we certainly know where we're going. There's going to be bumps along the way, and last week was one of those."

The Tigers have lost ruckman Andrew Browne with a hip injury, with Tyrone Vickery to shoulder the ruck load and key position duo Ben Griffiths and Jayden Post to pinch-hit.

Meanwhile, the Bombers expect the Tigers to be breathing fire on Saturday night.

The Bombers are trying to keep a lid on celebrations after upsetting Geelong last weekend.

They will also have to contend with an ordinary record at the MCG and a poor recent record against the Tigers.

And they are smarting from their round-nine loss to the Tigers, which started a four-match slump for the high-flying side.

Bombers' coach James Hird says he is anxious the players atone for their performance earlier in the season and does not believe they will still be carried away with their defeat of the previously-unbeaten Cats.

"I hope not," he said.

"We've just basically trained hard this week and prepared for Richmond who caused us a lot of troubles last time and beat us quite convincingly.

"It's a very important game for both teams but we're very keen to play Richmond again and give a much better account of ourselves than we did last time."

Hird feels he has moved to counter the Bombers' difficulty in the past with the wide open spaces of the MCG.

"The team this week has got a lot more running power than we've had in the past," he said.

"You need a good spread of inside players and guys who can run and create at the MCG - that's why it's such a great ground, because it's got something for everyone.

"The MCG is probably the hardest ground to defend in the AFL because of its width, which makes it hard to cover all spaces."

Despite the Bombers' dramatic return to form, he refuses to speculate on the finals.

"It's not something we've been thinking about," Hird said.

"The way the guys played at the weekend was a real positive for our supporters and an affirmation of what we're doing but it's not the be-all and the end-all of what we're doing.

"If finals come along, they do - we're six-and-a-half wins and nine games to go so anything can happen."

- AAP

Tags: sport, australian-football-league, richmond-3121

First posted July 8, 2011 15:38:00

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