As good as we were today

[Rhino Richards 1,467]

In many ways the four games we have played this season have been very similar efforts. Each result is merely reflective of the strength of the opposition.

A lack of leadership and experience does not help either. And the comment is not an attack on individual players but a real issue that was made worse out there without Junior and Green.

However, a special mention to Brad Miller who ran the length of the ground to punch a Tiger shot on goal that fell short on distance for a rushed behind. Its these little things in close pressure situations that makes or breaks games.

[woe31 0]

Garbage. How can a player be a "star" when he so routinely butchers the ball in front of goal.

A player blessed with unique athleticism but whose maturity over his career has been often failed to harness those gifts.

Iconic but flawed in a number of crucial aspects.

And yet he's kicked 800 goals in his career, one of only 11 AFL/VFL footballers to do so. Clearly not a star.

[H_T 2,941]

I was waiting for their standard, play 20 crap games a year but turn it on against us. Their skills/decision making is absolutely atrocious

Confirmed by Joel Bowden getting 40+ possessions in the backline, meaningless possessions at that.

[Rhino Richards 1,467]

And yet he's kicked 800 goals in his career, one of only 11 AFL/VFL footballers to do so. Clearly not a star.

He has played 300 games.

He could have been an elite if he had even a reasonable history of kicking vital goals.

His best is exhilarating. His worst has been Fevola like. Too often has marred his execeptional talents with execution.

Confirmed by Joel Bowden getting 40+ possessions in the backline, meaningless possessions at that.

Had they got up, Bowden would have been close to best on ground. His teammates were meaningless. His efforts were not.

I am surprised MFC did not seek to make him more accountable

[mo64 5,278]

And yet he's kicked 800 goals in his career, one of only 11 AFL/VFL footballers to do so. Clearly not a star.

I'm a bit torn on Richo. No doubting his best is sensational and you can't question his effort, but he can have a demoralising affect on his teammates.

When his teammates don't pinpoint a pass, he outwardly castigates them, yet he's consistently sprayed shots at goal over his career. IMO, missing easy shots for goal has a more demoralising affect on a team that's struggling to win, than an errant pass, because the team aren't getting reward for effort.

And I agree with what many have said about our performance. We weren't good, we just weren't as bad as Richmond.

[Je Roos Salem 661]

Richmond are just [censored].

They're not hard at the ball, they don't win many contests and the only time they can hit targets is when there kicking 20 metres backwards.

They suck.

[old55 21,843]

When you take into account that we went into the game without McDonald, Robertson, Whelan and Wheatley and lost Green in the first quarter that only leaves Bruce of our 6 most experienced players - it's a great wn for us and a damning loss for the Tigers.

[iv'a worn smith 1,979]

I am not sure why we are even talking about this. OK.....OK, I know it is a forum for discussion on all footy topics, but to paraphrase Malcolm Blight, I couldn't give a rat's toss bag about Richmond.

The only observation I make is that the media try and grind us down as a club and we get a raw deal on fixturing, while the Toigs - a poor excuse for an AFL club - go through 12 coaches in 27 years, continually under achieve, re-cycle has beens and yet still get Hollywood Wallace to get lot's of publicity for them.

Let's just focus on the Dees eh?

[deanox 8,945]

richo has kicked 799 goals and 549 behinds in his career for an accuracy of 59.2%.

Not the best accuracy. But 799 career goals is a fantastic achievement, and he has continued to kick large number of goals over the course of his career.

My question to anyone who doesn't rate him a star, is how do they compare him to David Neitz?

[H_T 2,941]

richo has kicked 799 goals and 549 behinds in his career for an accuracy of 59.2%.

Not the best accuracy. But 799 career goals is a fantastic achievement, and he has continued to kick large number of goals over the course of his career.

My question to anyone who doesn't rate him a star, is how do they compare him to David Neitz?

I rate him as a great competitor who gives 100%+ for his club. He's definitely a 'star' IMO and worth watching despite his wayward kicking at times. What an athlete. Terrific mark. I know alot of footballers love watching him play.

[1858 265]

When you take into account that we went into the game without McDonald, Robertson, Whelan and Wheatley and lost Green in the first quarter that only leaves Bruce of our 6 most experienced players - it's a great wn for us and a damning loss for the Tigers.

Yep I agree.

Of course the Tigers were ordinary and we weren't exactly on fire but the way the younger players came together and fought for the win was a massive step forward IMO. We also had many efficient passages of play from the back line to the forward line. Not just the experienced players were missed either, we couldn't pick from Aussie, Grimes, Garland or Buckley either so I think we should pay a bit of credit here to the young brigade that stood up. Losing Green early meant only 3 on the bench so the players had to really put in and they did. Regardless of how we evaluate the win (based on the opposition) the players thoroughly deserved it.

[titan_uranus 23,134]

Tigers have Cotchin as their future, and that is it.

The only kid that did anything for them was that little midget , cant remember his name, but he gave us some trouble today.

Agree re: Cotchin. He looks like a brilliant player in the making. Depending on the severity of these injuries he's been getting of course.

I think you are referring to Robin Nahas. A rookie. Which says a lot about Richmond's senior list.

I was waiting for their standard, play 20 crap games a year but turn it on against us.

Ha, so was I 45. So it's not just me...

I would not get too carried away with performances today. We made heaps of mistakes but were not made to pay by a rabble that made more.

Yeah, but the point is we won. Against terrible opposition, we did what was required. Obviously we can't hang our hat on this win, and we'll have to improve considerably to contest against almost every other team (Freo being the exception) but at least we can be proud of the fact that we were able to play better football on the day.