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TIGERS
UNIMPRESS-
IVE IN
VICTORY
BY KENT WINZER
FEBRUARY 23, 2004
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On Friday night, Richmond played a must-win game. It was must win
as the Western Bulldogs won the wooden spoon in 2003. But, even if
they did win, the Tigers were always to be reminded: it's only pre-season,
and; it was only the Bulldogs. It was a case of "Damned if you
do, damned if you don't".
So, with new players including Nathan Brown, Shane Morrison, Luke
Weller, and Tommy Roach, Richmond started like a house on fire. Kayne
Pettifer's nine-pointer in the first quarter set the tone for the
first half. Richmond played some irresistable football at times, but
also made simple skill errors which will need to be ironed out prior
to Round 1.
The second half was a different matter. The Bulldogs got their game
plan up and running, and Richmond fell to pieces in the third quarter.
Daniel Bandy had a kick to get them in front late in the term, but
missed, and Andrew Kellaway followed up with a captains goal to put
the margin out to 10 points. Richmond consolidated in the final term
to run out winners by 24 points.
Richmond has won 2 of its past 15 matches, both wins coming from the
Dogs. And now it faces a St Kilda side that has come off an impressive
win against Adelaide at Football Park. If Richmond and St Kilda play
the way they both did over the weekend, the Saints will book themselves
a Semi-final spot. The game will be at 5:10pm on Sunday afternoon,
at Colonial Stadium. No doubt because Channel 10 are showing golf.
See you in the outer!
Kent Winzer is McGinlay's sports editor.
