Tigers Are Left Wanting

by Paul Clarke, reporting for AFANA from Melbourne

In modern day football, winning margins of 100 points or more are fairly few and far between. There are provisions for leveling the competition with a draft in which the lowest place team benefits by getting the best young talent in the country. The sport is professional, with all players playing football as a full time job. We have top notch medical teams, trainers and coaches. Things, for whatever reason happen. A team will no doubt be beaten by 100 points every now and again. When it happens twice in 7 weeks, surely you need to start the soul searching. Surely the questions need to be answered. Unfortunately for Richmond, this is exactly what happened as the Swans team, who some may say have struggled with a case of the post premiership blues, traveled to Melbourne today and comprehensively smashed Richmond Football Club by 118 points.

Richmond's day started woefully, as experienced defenders Andrew Kellaway and Ray Hall both withdrew pre-match with injuries, making their defense both young and inexperienced. It showed as the Swans capitalized early kicking the first 4 goals of the game before most fans had even taken their seats. From that point on, it was the Swans show.

Barry Hall was back to sensational form, kicking 5 goals from 14 marks, although it must be pointed out that due to Richmond's injuries, his opponent for the day was the shorter, slighter figure in Joel Bowden, who must have been wishing he'd stayed at home. Hall was backed up nicely by 100 game player, Ryan O'Keefe, who kicked 4 goals to go with his 24 possessions for the day. The Swans midfield dominated proceedings on the day. Brett Kirk gathered 27 touches, while Amon Buchanan was also a class above with 26 possessions and some 4 opponents.

While today will go down in the history books as the Swans biggest score for some 15 years, it will also go down as a day Paul Williams is not likely to forget in a hurray. In a career that has spanned 2 clubs in 2 states, the former Collingwood champion suited up for 300th game of AFL football today. It was a somewhat quiet day for Williams; his team mates ensured it was memorable. Paul Roos said post game it was "pleasing in Willo's 300th game" and that "it was something he'll be able to look back on with fond memories".

Paul Roos was understandably happy with his team's performance after the game. He said it was pleasing that everyone involved (the Swans had no less that 13 goal kickers) and talked about the team's strength in numbers and over all unity that they showed. With around a third of a season behind them, it certainly is a good base on which to begin mounting a defense of the premiership cup.

On the other side of things, it is very hard to pin point a highlight for Richmond as they struggled all over the ground. Along with the losses before the game, the Tigers are also without full back Darren Gasper, the recently returned from injury Nathan Brown, who by all reports is really struggling with his ankle, and of course club captain Kane Johnson. It is however a great time to blood some new talent, and it was younger players such as Raine (5 kicks, 11 handballs) and Foley (13 kicks, 5 handballs) that showed the most today and last week's Rising Star Nomination, Dean Polo who followed up with a much more subdued effort, only managing the 8 touches. Luke McGuane (2 kicks 1 handball) also made his debut and was taught a football lesson by Michael O'Loughlin.

The Tigers never really recovered from the opening onslaught as Wallace lamented later "it looked like that really took the air out of a lot of our boy's tires" and said that it was now time to reassess and go "back to the drawing board" to try and salvage something from the season.

RICHMOND: 4.2 6.6 8.7 9.8 (62)
SYDNEY: 8.0 15.4 21.6 28.12 (180)

GOALS - Richmond: Richardson 2, Pettifer 2, Simmonds, Stafford, Hyde, Hughes, Tambling
Sydney: Hall 5, O'Keefe 4, Malceski 3, O'Loughlin 3, Ablett 2, Goodes 2, McVeigh 2, Buchanan 2, Davis, J Bolton, Richards, Kirk, Williams

BEST - Richmond: Foley, Raines, Hyde, Richardson
Sydney: Kirk, Buchanan, Hall, O'Loughlin, Goodes, Ablett, Kennelly, O'Keefe, Malceski

INJURIES - Richmond: Nil Sydney: Nil

CHANGES - Richmond: Hall replaced in selected side by Jackson. Kellaway replaced in selected side by McGuane. Sydney: Nil.

UMPIRES: McBurney, Grun, Jeffery

REPORTS - Nil.