THE SURGE OF THE TORTOISES

by J.V. McKay

It was Malcolm Blight who famously said after his Cats were trounced by the Demons to the tune of 10 goals in the opening round of 1994 that football's "not a sprint, it's a marathon". He was pointing out that the old cliché from Aesop's fable about the Hare and the Tortoise applied very aptly to AFL football,

"Slow but steady wins the race!"

History tells us that the tortoise Geelong steadily improved its position throughout that season and made the grand final where unfortunately, it was devoured not by a hare but by an eagle which turned out to be swifter and steadier than Blight's team and far superior to the hares that jumped out at the gun but during the course of the season lay down by the wayside and fell fast asleep.

One senses that a similar thing is happening in 2006. This time the two tortoises are Melbourne and Richmond which appeared to be rather short in the legs early, each giving away a significant start.

This is how things looked after Round 3:-

Position Club Wins Losses Drawn Points Scored For Scored Against Percentage Points

15 MELBOURNE 0 3 0 259 332 78.0 0

16 RICHMOND 0 3 0 219 391 56.0 0

The following weekend Richmond broke the ice by winning against the Brisbane Lions at Carrara. Tiger coach Terry Wallace told the story this week about how he contacted Neale Daniher after the win and wished him good luck for his team's game the following day against the reigning premiers in Sydney. At that point in time, the Demons were sitting at the bottom of the ladder, the only winless team in the competition.

It would be fair to say that both these clubs, which I have designated as the "tortoises" of the AFL have improved their positions on the ladder since that time. The Demons have won 10 of their last 11 while the Tigers' 8 from 11 is an excellent achievement given their horrible start. What we are witnessing at the moment is a gradual realignment of positions as the teams jostle for their places in the top eight. Melbourne and Richmond have moved slowly up the ladder as some of the "hares" are starting to fall by that wayside.

This is where they stand now:-

Position Club Wins Losses Drawn Points Scored For Scored Against Percentage Points

3 MELBOURNE 10 4 0 1434 1238 115.8 40

8 RICHMOND 8 6 0 1184 1359 87.1 32

The Tigers haven’t been as consistent as the Demons during this run. The losses they suffered have been quite shattering including a 115-point thumping from Sydney at the Telstra Dome and a belting by Hawthorn in Tasmania. Their wins have however, been impressive. They were the last side to prevail over the Crows – also at the Dome and their form in the past fortnight has been hot. Those wins against Collingwood in the wet and Port Adelaide at AAMI Stadium stand up well compared to the recent performances of just about any club in the competition.

They certainly compare favourably to Melbourne’s recent efforts which, while you wouldn't call them shaky, were hardly convincing against teams outside the top eight in Essendon, Port Adelaide and Brisbane. Indeed, some have even compared those efforts with the club’s run in 2004 leading up to its fall from grace after it hit top of the ladder at the end of Round 18. I think that's a harsh judgment but time will tell…

In the meantime, the "hares" of the competition are starting to drop back a little. Where will Collingwood, West Coast, the Bulldogs and the Swans be in a few weeks' time if they don't wake up from their recent slumbers? The only club that stands out from the rest is Adelaide, much like the Eagles of 1994. But there's still a fair way to go.

The game between the AFL's tortoises is shaping up as a real blockbuster. The Demons have had the wood over their opponents in recent years and the Tigers would like to forget last year's encounter at the Telstra Dome when Adem Yze booted five goals and the Tigers' Nathan Brown unfortunately smashed his leg in an accidental clash with Matthew Whelan.

However, past matches will count for little this time around. Richmond is a far better side now than it was last year and the year before. It has some excellent young players coming up through the ranks and a few of the old hands are starting to play at the top of their games. Their defence and on ball brigades are improving every week and, as Terry Wallace keeps telling us, they have the guaranteed All Australian ruckman in Troy "Snake" Simmonds ready to wreak havoc against the Melbourne big men. What I like about Melbourne however, is their persistence, skill and tackling. It should get them home once again this week but not by much.

Melbourne by 19 points

Thank you very much.

RICHMOND v MELBOURNE

Where & When: MCG, 7.40pm, Friday 14 July, 2006

TV & Radio: Channel Nine (Melbourne, Adelaide, Perth, Sydney, Brisbane), 3AW, Triple M, ABC Radio, NIRS

Head to Head: Played 171, Richmond: 95, Melbourne: 74, Drawn 2

Last time they met: Melbourne 20.11.131 d Richmond 11.8.74 Round 10 2005, at Telstra Dome

The betting: Richmond $2.80 Melbourne $1.38

The Teams:

RICHMOND

B: Raines Gaspar Kellaway

HB: Tivendale P Bowden J Bowden

C: Hyde Tuck Deledio

HF: Polo Richardson Pettifer

F: Tambling Brown Krakouer

FOLL: Simmonds Johnson Foley

I/C: Moore Pattison Schulz White

EM: Meyer Oakley-Nicholls Rodan

IN: Moore

OUT: Oakley-Nicholls

MELBOURNE

B: Whelan Carroll Holland

HB: Ward Rivers C Johnson

C: Davey Johnstone Green

HF: Sylvia Bruce Pickett

F: Robertson Neitz Yze

FOLL: White McLean McDonald

I/C: Bartram Dunn Jamar Wheatley

EM: Bell Ferguson Godfrey

IN: Dunn Wheatley

OUT: Miller (Hip Flexor) Read