Richmond currently sits unchallenged on top of the ladder, having won their last 19 games at the MCG.
While they’re yet to win a game outside of Victoria, it doesn’t particularly matter considering they’ll have to be beaten at the home of footy in September.
Geelong got close on Friday night and Collingwood put up a great fight for three quarters, but neither got the job done.
Garry Lyon however believes he’s seen enough to work out the three things clubs need to do to give themselves the best chance to beat the Tigers at the MCG.
“Right now they’re clear premiership favourites and we’re working out how to beat them,” Lyon told the AFL Nation pregame show.
“I’m not a huge statistical analyst, but there’s a glaring statistical anomaly here that needs to be addressed and that is their stoppage clearance differential is ranked 18th. They’re the worst clearance team in the competition.
“We say it every week, they’re losing clearances, but it doesn’t seem to worry them. So taking that to the next step is, what happens once they concede clearances? Well we know they’re a fantastic intercept marking team.
“So rule number one for any side who play Richmond is never, ever allow them a plus-one in their back-half. Ever.
"Geelong was coming with a head of steam (on Friday night), they allowed Shaun Grigg to go behind the footy and he took a saving mark as the plus-one behind the ball.
“If you’re conceding centre clearances, all you’re doing is kicking to an outnumbered situation of great intercept markers in Alex Rance, Nick Vlastuin and David Astbury.
“Even up the match-ups, even if it means playing with seven forwards just to put it back on this Richmond side because they’re conceding clearances.
“The next thing is that the Richmond defenders have been far too comfortable for far too long, and that’s the greatest compliment you can pay them.
“They run into an area of the ground and own it where it should be the opposite. The forwards should own the territory.
“So I want violent contests in the forward half and I’m not advocating anything serious, but if Jayden Short or Vlastuin backs into a hole, as they do so often, there needs to be violence in the forward line. They need to hit the contest with violence.
“The last one is, and this could be a bit of a stretch, but make the defence from Richmond stationary, rather than trying to hit leads, because that mobilises them and then the ball is gone.”
“Kick it on their heads, get that violent contest and then let the smalls go to work. That’s where I’m at.”
So Lyon’s three tips to the coaches of the competition:
- Never allow Richmond a loose man behind the ball.
- Make Richmond defenders earn it whenever they go into a marking contest.
- Kick the ball on the heads of the Richmond defenders so they can’t get on the move.