meltiger said:
I still stand by that his average is comparable to the other champion CHF's of the game. For that matter, so is his accuracy, contrary to the commonly held belief that he can't kick for goal.
It is, but most CHFs have played to a different team structure wherein they are not the sole (or central) goalkicking forward. This has been a key factor in Richmond's struggles over the years, with an over-reliance on Richo rendering the side flimsy when he has been missing (or off his game).
meltiger said:
I wonder how many of the Hawthorn games were like last year, where he returned 8 goals from a total of 8 shots on goal...
I think you mean 4 from 8. As I've contended before, your overt privileging of scoring shots as a key factor as to how a game has played out is exceedingly misleading at times. Not only can this indicate that forwards from the errant side have been taking shots under extreme pressure, but it also ignores the state of general ground play. Its perfectly possible for a side to have much the better of general play (and have as many, if not more inside 50s), but have less scoring shots than the opposition. Its also not overly rare for a side to win with less scoring shots, simply because its forward setup has been stronger and more efficient, meaning it has generally been shooting from more favourable positions.
Aside from this, on that particular day Richmond ran 90%+ of its ball through Richo and had 64 inside 50s. This meant that the ball was in his general vicinity over 50 times, and yet he could only kick 4/4 on a very inexperienced opponent (who returned greater mark, effective possession and contested ball stats, and also provided plenty of rebound 50 ball the other way). Its also true that 1 goal was from a painfully soft free and another came when he was out of position and being temporarily manned by Hay, and the ball fell fortuitously in the right spot.
meltiger said:
More importantly though, if Richo was playing, Dawson and Roughead would be double teaming him, leaving the team wide open.
a) Dawson will most likely not play.
b) Hawthorn gave up the double-teaming approach with this pair after the Sydney game, given that it only caused confusion among both players.
meltiger said:
At the end of the day it's all irrelevant though, the team has shown over the last few weeks we can be competitive without Richo.
It has.
Although the wins have only been against sides ranked 14th & 16th on the table and enduring their worst periods in years.
It'll be more apt to see how a Tiger forward line (sans Richo) would fare in a conventional game plan against a genuine finals side.
That said, the signs are looking a lot better.
