FORM GUIDE
Past 5 games: Lions – 1 Tigers – 4
All games (since 1997): Lions – 8 Tigers – 12 (1 draw)
Last time they met:
Round 19, 2012 at the Gabba.
Brisbane Lions 12.12 (84) def. by Richmond Tigers 20.12 (132)
The recent form of the Lions has been more than promising, winning five of their past seven games, including wins against quality sides such as Geelong and North Melbourne.
The leading performer in that time period has been Tom Rockliff who has been a constant feature of this preview in recent times.
Rockliff has been the leader of the Lions’ midfield since Voss shifted him into a more prominent role through the middle.
He averages over 32 disposals a game in the last month with his prestige continuing to climb after a 39-disposal, eight-tackle master-class in the Lions’ 31-point defeat of St Kilda at the Gabba last Saturday night.
The Tigers, after years of sitting in the middle-tier of the competition, are now genuine premiership contenders and they showed that in last week’s 41-point demolishing of flag favourites Hawthorn.
Richmond currently sits 7th on the ladder with only a game and half separating them and 4th-placed Fremantle.
Trent Cotchin was the Tigers’ best midfielder in last week’s win, collecting 34 disposals along with nine tackles and nine clearances.
But it was the work of Alex Rance in defence that had Tigers’ supporters cheering.
Rance, who found 16 possessions of his own, kept Hawks’ danger man Lance Franklin to only one goal.
SELECTION TABLE
Stefan Martin returns to fill the void of injured skipper Jonathan Brown, while Brent Moloney and Ryan Lester return from a week out of the senior team.
Mitch Golby will miss after the Lions defender was suspended for one game for striking St Kilda’s Tom Curran last weekend.
Rohan Bewick was omitted.
The Tigers have made one change, with tall forward Ty Vickery coming in for ruckman Orren Stephenson who has been omitted.
KEY MATCH-UPS
Andrew Raines will have his work cut out for him when he moves to one of the Tigers’ many dangerous midfielders.
The former Tiger turned Lions’ tagger will likely be given the task of minding Cotchin, who is arguably the most damaging of the Richmond midfielders.
If Raines can limit Cotchin’s disposals in space where he can use the footy to the best of his freakish ability, the Lions’ defence will find it much easier trying to control the likes of Jack Riewoldt, Shane Edwards and Ty Vickery.
The glaring difference between this week’s game and the last time the two teams met last year is the inclusion of Lions big man Matthew Leuenberger.
Leuenberger missed a large portion of last season through injury and Ivan Maric, with 41 hit outs, was a major contributor to the Tigers winning the centre clearances 20 to 14 in last year’s encounter in which Leuenberger was absent.
Leuenberger (31.6) averages eight more hitouts a game than the Tigers’ big man this year while a returning Stefan Martin will be a welcome hand on the large expanses of the ‘G.
PLAYERS TO WATCH
An interesting observation is the stark mismatch between Lions’ small forward Josh Green and tall Tiger David Astbury who has been named to play on the Lions’ little man.
Expect the 177cm Green to be an excitement machine as he runs rings around the much taller Astbury (192cm).
While saying this, the versatile Brandon Ellis (181cm), who has been named on a half-forward flank, will likely go the Green if he becomes a handful for the Tigers.
When it comes to watching pure footballing class, there are players from either team who are hard to overlook.
Trent Cotchin at 62.7% may not have the best efficiency in the competition, but it’s his ability to squeeze out of tight situations and keep the ball moving for the Tigers that makes him so good to watch.
The 23-year old Richmond skipper has the ability to turn games off his own boot and will likely push the Tigers into premiership contention this year and beyond.
The player that has shown this year that he will be a permanent fixture in the Lions team, as well as the highlight reels, is first year player Sam Mayes.
Named on the wing this weekend, Mayes has shown, in roles through the midfield and up forward this season, that he has a kick to rival those of the best in the competition.
His 28-disposal performance against Melbourne in Round 5 and 3-goal effort against the Kangaroos in Round 16 are two particular games that showcased the skill that the 19-year old possesses.
Keep an eye on the youngster this weekend in what will be his first game on the hallowed turf of the MCG.
MISSING IN ACTION
Simon Black misses again this week with an ongoing groin injury that has kept him out of the side since round 14.
Lions’ Physical Performance Manager, Brett Burton had this to say in the BUPA Recovery Report earlier this week.
“Blacky’s tracking along well. He had a good session late last week and also trained (on Monday).”
“We’ll look to get a full session into him (on Wednesday), see how he pulls up, and make a decision from there.” Burton told LionsTV.
Jake ‘The Push-Up’ King is the only noticeable out from the regular Tigers’ line-up. King is expected back as soon as next week as he recovers from a hamstring injury.
RECENT HISTORY
It’s been tough going for the Lions in recent times against the Tigers.
The Lions last reached the finals in 2009 where they finished 6th, while the Tigers have not managed to finish in the top eight since they finished fourth in 2001, with the Lions eventually defeating them in a preliminary final.
Despite this fact, the Lions have won only one of their last 10 games against the Tigers.
The Lions have lost the last four games against the Tigers by an average of 31 points.
Brett Deledio and Dustin Martin have been the most damaging for the Tigers in those four games with an average of 27 and 26 disposals per game respectively.
Tom Rockliff has been the Lions best performer in his last four games against Richmond, averaging over 25 disposals per game.
Voss has labeled this week’s game as a very important one for his Lions as they travel to Melbourne for the last time this year.
A win against Richmond this Saturday would show the rest of the competition that Brisbane is on the move and a genuine Finals contender come 2014.
A Richmond win would strengthen their claims for an unlikely top four finish and they will be giving it all they’ve got, ably supported by the might of the Richmond faithful cheering their every move.
It is a game not to be missed.
The Bounce: MCG, 1:45pm AEST Saturday, August 10, 2013
If you can’t make it to the game:
TV: Channel 7; 3:00pm (delay), Fox Footy; 1:30pm (live),
Radio: Triple M, 3AW,
Online: www.afl.com.au, AFL Live Official App.
Lachlan Dyson is a regular contributor to lions.com.au. You can follow him on Twitter: @lachlandyson
