SEN analyst David King believes stopping Richmond from creating ground ball gets inside 50 is at the core of beating them.
Jack Riewoldt may have won the Coleman Medal, but King believes his number one asset to the team is creating the chaos the Tigers thrive off.
“It’s worth talking about what creates Richmond’s chaos game and it’s Jack Riewoldt,” King told SEN’s Whateley.
“He was targeted 12 times inside the forward 50 on the weekend – they had 66 inside 50s – Jack took two marks.
“The (targets) he doesn’t mark, always go to ground. It always creates a ground ball. It creates a haphazard, random event where the players know that if Jack doesn’t mark this ball it is coming to ground. That is Jack’s role.
“It creates chaos, but the players know chaos is coming so they get there. Their numbers swarm in.
“They had 27 ground balls inside the forward 50. It’s a massive number. You pick up a ground ball inside your forward 50 and you’re likely to be having a shot at goal or giving it to someone in a better position.”
King said most coaches are aware this is Richmond’s strength, but haven’t worked out how to stop it.
“That’s how it starts. How you solve that problem is providing all sorts of headaches for opposition coaching staff,” he said.
“How do you stop that? How do you stop Jack Riewoldt just bringing the ball to ground?
“It’s a real challenge and something totally unique. When was the last time a forward was asked just to bring the ball to ground?
“I don’t think we talk about that enough. We don’t talk about the one thing that makes Richmond unique and it’s just bringing the ball to ground.”
Richmond will enjoy a week off before hosting either Collingwood or GWS at the MCG in a Preliminary Final.
LISTEN TO DAVID KING ON SEN’S WHATELEY HERE.