Tigers relish wet weather in AFL shock - Sports News - Fanatics - the world's biggest events

Tigers relish wet weather in AFL shock

By Adam Cooper 02/07/2006 07:41:49 PM Comments (0)

Richmond prepared to play wet weather football like a Siberian would for snow. You know it's coming, just be ready.

Collingwood's players looked like they would have preferred a wintry Sunday on the couch with a video. A chick flick at that.

The Tigers gave a putrid Collingwood a lesson as they won by 47 points with a superb display of team-oriented, self-sacrificing football in the round 13 AFL clash at the MCG.

Richmond kept the Magpies - the league's highest-scoring side entering this round - to one goal in the first half en route to a magnificent 13.14 (92) to 6.9 (45) win before 63,016 fans.

The win keeps Terry Wallace's side firmly in the hunt to play in the finals and left Collingwood again contemplating lost credibility.

However Richmond's win was soured by a badly broken leg suffered by midfielder Chris Newman - similar to Nathan Brown's horror injury in 2005 - which has ended his season.

Richmond will finish the round in the eight for the first time this season after proving the most dangerous Tiger is a hungry one.

Wallace said his players had been itching for redemption for the fortnight since their poor loss to Hawthorn in round 12, and had promised spectators the effort could not be faulted.

"What was on the line was our pride and it was bloody well dented last time we came out," he said.

"I'll give credit to our boys, this is now the third time this year, let alone last year, where we've put in an effort which we didn't think was up to scratch and then we've come out the next week and been hungry and angry and really done something about it."

Wallace said his players were prepared for wet weather once they had seen an initial forecast six days ago.

They trained specifically on Friday focused on the little things that win wet games and Wallace reinforced the message at a pre-game meeting.

Late call-up Andrew Krakouer played the game of his career and booted three goals, Patrick Bowden, Shane Tuck and Chris Hyde starred in midfield, Troy Simmonds again dominated the ruck and Joel Bowden thrashed Magpies forward Chris Tarrant.

The Tigers booted 4.5 to 0.2 in the first quarter and both Wallace and Magpies coach Mick Malthouse agreed it was obvious the two sides were not playing the same game.

"I just thought we were able to adjust our game to wet weather-style football quicker than what the opposition were theirs," Wallace said.

"Up the other end we were able to manufacture goal-scoring opportunities, we had eight or nine goal-scoring chances in that first quarter, and up the other end as far as I was concerned they didn't look like getting through."

Collingwood's only goal of the first half came through a rare Richmond blunder, via Alan Didak, and Malthouse was unsure if his side had any winners.

He even questioned his own efforts at team selection, as despite Anthony Rocca's three goals, the Magpies' talls and young players had no impact.

"I won't ever just blame players, as always the buck stops with the senior coach," Malthouse said.

"Maybe the tactics today (failed), maybe I picked the wrong side, but nonetheless we do it together, we win together, we lose together.

"Today we were thrashed and we were thrashed together."

Malthouse said this loss had stripped away the credibility gained from Collingwood's win over Sydney, especially with a resurgent St Kilda to come.

"You can see how you lose credibility pretty quickly in today's football and that's what we did today," he said.

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