prodigy
Taj Hotton Loyalist
- Jun 20, 2013
- 19,183
- 62,408
- AFL Club
- Richmond
We needed a preview thread so here I am again.
I was having a think about the theme I wanted to go for this week. Yes, I could have done the stock standard preview thread talking about match ups etc etc. But, as it appears we are already being written off by all a sundry, I felt we needed a bit more of an inspirational piece.
It's round three and we are up against the old rival, the other biggest club in Victoria, the renewed Collingwood Football Club under one of our favourite sons Craig McRae.
Admittedly, it's not a familiar sight. They have a likeable coach and they have a game style that is increasingly entertaining to watch. Albeit, very similar to our own of years gone.
That comes with the territory though, when you build a dynasty and win three flags in four years, you will be hunted, you will be copied and you will be hated.
Collingwood are now outright premiership favourites after dispatching last year's premier Geelong and a Port Adelaide side that destroyed one of the premiership fancies Brisbane.
They have a second year player by the name of Nick Daicos that has sent the footy world into a frenzy asking the question "What can you do to stop Nick Daicos?".
It's a valid question, the kid is scary good, but I don't think Damien Hardwick will be asking that question to our players and coaching staff.
What has been the messaging in his post match press conferences so far this year? It's whether or not the game looked like a Richmond game.
We don't go out each week to stop another team's system or their specific players, we go out each week with the intention of playing our system, a Richmond brand of footy. And we ask the question of the opposition "can you break down our system?".
When we played Adelaide, our system got tested in the third quarter and the first instances of the final quarter, and we got scored against heavily. Yes, that is concerning, but I prefer to look at it in a way where we can now analyse what went wrong and learn from it.
We had learnings from the Carlton game as well. Our ball use going inside 50 was atrocious and we lacked an end product. That wasn't an issue against Adelaide.
We learnt on Monday that we have a few key players under injury clouds. Short will miss with a niggling calf complaint and we may be without Hopper and Dustin Martin. Not to mention Broad who will be suspended. Just add it to the list of things going against us in the lead up to this game. Should we be concerned? No, I don't believe we should be. Our game style is based on our system. One soldier goes out, another soldier comes in. We have players running around in the two's who would be walk up starts at clubs like Collingwood.
Friday night we will walk into the MCG as outright underdogs. Whether it be in betting, in tipping, office banter, chat groups with friends, hell even a portion of our own supporter base won't be backing us to get the win.
In recent memory, I can't recall a game where we haven't been in it up to our eyeballs. Especially, when we go in as underdogs.
Collingwood hasn't experienced a Richmond game since the last time we met where Tom Lynch made a fool of Darcy Moore and the entire Collingwood defence. We will put a level of pressure on them that they didn't experience in the first two rounds.
I have no doubt that the team we put out there on Friday night can get the job done.
A lot has changed for both teams. Step up Collingwood, let's see what you got.
I was having a think about the theme I wanted to go for this week. Yes, I could have done the stock standard preview thread talking about match ups etc etc. But, as it appears we are already being written off by all a sundry, I felt we needed a bit more of an inspirational piece.
It's round three and we are up against the old rival, the other biggest club in Victoria, the renewed Collingwood Football Club under one of our favourite sons Craig McRae.
Admittedly, it's not a familiar sight. They have a likeable coach and they have a game style that is increasingly entertaining to watch. Albeit, very similar to our own of years gone.
That comes with the territory though, when you build a dynasty and win three flags in four years, you will be hunted, you will be copied and you will be hated.
Collingwood are now outright premiership favourites after dispatching last year's premier Geelong and a Port Adelaide side that destroyed one of the premiership fancies Brisbane.
They have a second year player by the name of Nick Daicos that has sent the footy world into a frenzy asking the question "What can you do to stop Nick Daicos?".
It's a valid question, the kid is scary good, but I don't think Damien Hardwick will be asking that question to our players and coaching staff.
What has been the messaging in his post match press conferences so far this year? It's whether or not the game looked like a Richmond game.
We don't go out each week to stop another team's system or their specific players, we go out each week with the intention of playing our system, a Richmond brand of footy. And we ask the question of the opposition "can you break down our system?".
When we played Adelaide, our system got tested in the third quarter and the first instances of the final quarter, and we got scored against heavily. Yes, that is concerning, but I prefer to look at it in a way where we can now analyse what went wrong and learn from it.
We had learnings from the Carlton game as well. Our ball use going inside 50 was atrocious and we lacked an end product. That wasn't an issue against Adelaide.
We learnt on Monday that we have a few key players under injury clouds. Short will miss with a niggling calf complaint and we may be without Hopper and Dustin Martin. Not to mention Broad who will be suspended. Just add it to the list of things going against us in the lead up to this game. Should we be concerned? No, I don't believe we should be. Our game style is based on our system. One soldier goes out, another soldier comes in. We have players running around in the two's who would be walk up starts at clubs like Collingwood.
Friday night we will walk into the MCG as outright underdogs. Whether it be in betting, in tipping, office banter, chat groups with friends, hell even a portion of our own supporter base won't be backing us to get the win.
In recent memory, I can't recall a game where we haven't been in it up to our eyeballs. Especially, when we go in as underdogs.
Collingwood hasn't experienced a Richmond game since the last time we met where Tom Lynch made a fool of Darcy Moore and the entire Collingwood defence. We will put a level of pressure on them that they didn't experience in the first two rounds.
I have no doubt that the team we put out there on Friday night can get the job done.
A lot has changed for both teams. Step up Collingwood, let's see what you got.
