Former Richmond coach Danny Frawley believes the Tigers' forward line will be a key in helping them make the finals this season, but it could also very much be their undoing during September football.
Richmond have used a forward line consisting of a tall target in Jack Riewoldt, a mid-sized option in Sam Lloyd and four small players for most of the season, after Ben Griffiths (concussion) and Todd Elton (a mix of form and injury) couldn't make an impact as a second target.
The Tigers were smashed at the hands of St Kilda on Saturday night at Etihad Stadium, and while it could be seen as a one-off performance, Frawley believes it's the lack of Richmond's second option that could be their downfall come finals time.
โItโs going to get them there (finals) their team, theyโre playing really well,โ Frawley toldย SEN Breakfast on Monday morning.
โI just think in big finals, when youโve got a guy like (Jack) Riewoldt whoโs 6โ2 as your only key forward, when the game is more one on one and the ball comes in a lot higher, and youโve got five very good small fleet of foot players at ground level, I think itโs fraught with danger.
โEveryone says oh the Bulldogs won it last year, but I look at Jake Stringer as a similar player, a little bit smaller but not much to Riewoldt, but they had (Jordan) Roughead and (Tom) Boyd rotating through the ruck and forward line, so they always had that get out of jail free card.
โIf you have a look at the history of premiership teams and finals teamsโฆHawthorn had (Jarryd) Roughead, (Lance) Franklin, (Jack) Gunston. Geelong had (Cameron) Mooney, (Brad) Ottens, the Brisbane of the 2000โs you always had one or two basically and sometimes three (key forwards)."
Richmond are one of the best defensive teams in the competition, with only Port Adelaide and Sydney conceding less points this season.
It's their forward line that has become the problem of late, with poor efficiency inside 50 (13th in competition) and goal accuracy (17th) letting them down, especially given they average 56.1 inside 50s a game, which is the fourth best in the league.
Frawley says its only going to get harder in September for the Tigers, given most teams will deploy an extra intercept defender.
โThe solution is they need another tall, I donโt know where it is in the VFL. They might have to (play two ruckmen),โ Frawley added.
โTheyโll get in the finals, donโt get me wrong, but in the big games opposition are not going to take that key defender out now, theyโre going to leave him there as the interceptor.
โThey kick the ball high into the Adelaide back halfโฆ.Jake Lever (will intercept) just like taking cherries off a tree.
โHeโs just going to pick it out and we saw it on Friday night in the third quarter when the Bulldogs got it in quick.โ
