Tigers surprise Cats
02/27/2010 08:45:02 AM
Richmond has handed defending premiers Geelong its second straight pre-season loss, while Essendon had a comfortable win over Melbourne in Saturday's round of AFL practice matches.
New Tiger coach Damien Hardwick enjoyed his first win for his new club in the rural surrounds of Yea as a young Richmond team thumped the Cats 15.12 (102) to 7.9 (51).
Despite the unflattering scoreline Geelong would hardly be panicking considering the 11 first-choice players who missed the hit-out such as new skipper Cameron Ling, Gary Ablett and Joel Selwood.
However, Bomber Thompson would be disappointed that the young Tigers often outmuscled the Cats and exerted more defensive pressure than their more highly-fancied opponents.
Brett Deledio and Richard Tambling got plenty of midfield ball for the Tigers while Jack Riewoldt kicked four and Mitch Morton snagged three goals of his own.
Geelong supporters can be pleased with the form of experienced stars Paul Chapman and Corey Enright, who were two of the best for 2009 premiers.
At Visy Park, the Bombers looked in good touch against the youthful Demons, with ruckman Davd Hille making a successful return to footy after a year out due to a knee injury.
Fellow bigmen Jason Laycock and Paddy Ryder (three goals) were amongst the better players as was the evergreen Dustin Fletcher.
Alwyn Davey, Brett Stanton, Tom Lonergan and Jobe Watson all kicked two goals.
The Demons were good in patches with the form of youngsters Jack Grimes (two goals) and Jack Trengove a highlight for last season's strugglers, while Ricky Pettard kicked four.