Round 10 Preview: Eagles Heading for 5 in a Row

It's been a long time between games. Over 2 weeks. 16 days to be precise. I know we performed a training clinic last weekend, but in terms of an actual contest it's been a while.

The Tigers should provide that contest. Like us they are 5-4. They've beaten Port, Melbourne, WB, Carlton and St Kilda. They've lost to Freo, Geelong, Essendon and Collingwood. Sound familiar? They've lost every real challenge they have faced, whilst playing convincing football against weaker teams. To be fair, they could have won the Fremantle game. But you don't get points for could have. If you did, then we would be 7-2.

In terms of their team, they're very solid down back. Although I don't think any backline matches up well against our forward line, the Tigers backline is generally fairly good. Maybe a little undersized, but they have a good balance of young and experienced defenders. Up forward, in my mind, they're still overly reliant on the 'man' with a face like a 6 year old and emotional maturity to match.

.....

To be fair he did kick a few goals against us a few years ago, but since then he really hasn't done much at all. Infact, he's probably best known for his impassioned plea for the rights of his people.

Jack "Gingers Have Souls" Riewoldt

The real strength of the Tigers and my biggest concern is the midfield. Cotchin, Deledio and Martin headline a quick, powerful and skilled unit. If they play with flair and confidence they could really stretch us. Yet, nothing they've done in big matches this season suggests they will win. They played a horribly boring, staccato style last week. It's like someone told them the 'Dreamtime' game means you have to send spectators to sleep.

Two senior Eagles return in Selwood and Embley whilst Dalziell and Brennan are omitted. I would've thought Waters would return, but I guess he was actually injured...and not in a 'GWS-injured' sense.

West Coast
B: Eric Mackenzie, Darren Glass, Sam Butler
HB: Shannon Hurn, Mitchell Brown, Matt Rosa
C: Andrew Gaff, Scott Selwood, Daniel Kerr
HF: Mark LeCras, Jack Darling, Chris Masten
F: Dean Cox, Josh Kennedy, Josh Hill
Foll: Nic Naitanui, Matt Priddis, Luke Shuey
Int (from): Patrick McGinnity, Mark Hutchings, Brad Sheppard, Andrew Embley, Bradd Dalziell, Adam Selwood, Jacob Brennan
In: Andrew Embley, Adam Selwood
Out: Dalziell (lack of zeal) Brennan (omitted)

Richmond
B: Steven Morris, Alex Rance, Bachar Houli
HB: Chris Newman, Troy Chaplin, Nick Vlastuin
C: Shaun Grigg, Trent Cotchin, Daniel Jackson
HF: Sam Lonergan, Shane Edwards, Jake King
F: Tyrone Vickery, Jack Riewoldt, Dustin Martin
Foll: Ivan Maric, Brett Deledio, Nathan Foley
Int (from): Aaron Edwards, Matt White, Matthew Arnot, Brad Helbig, Jake Batchelor, Matt Dea, David Astbury
In: Aaron Edwards, Matthew Arnot, Brad Helbig, Matt Dea, David Astbury
Out: Robin Nahas (Omitted), Luke McGuane (Omitted)

Did you know?

The Eagles have played 37 times against the Tigers, winning 23.  

 We've won 4 in a row to claw back to 5-4. I agree with the coach that we must win this and next week's clash against the woeful Saints to have any slim, distant chance of winning a premiership. But I think these next 2 weeks are more about boosting our top 8 chances. I've already written about our difficult second half of the season. It's after the bye where we will see if we're good enough to challenge for a premiership.

Or to put it another way, win the next 2 and we have a statistical chance to win the premiership. Whether that chance is purely statistical remains to be seen.

But in the meantime, let's hope the team can continue to build confidence and really blow the Tigers away.