Richmond’s 16-game winning streak at the MCG points to Crows facing a tough assignment in their second grand final rematch with the Tigers
PLAYING Richmond at the MCG has become the toughest task in the AFL - with Adelaide on Friday night entering the grand final rematch with the Tigers looking to their 17th straight win at the G
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ADELAIDE has known some tough road trips in its 28 seasons in the big league AFL. But until now, the MCG was hardly considered the toughest.
Two decades ago - before Collingwood joined the rush to the MCG - the Crows were tormented at the Magpies’ inner-suburban home at Victoria Park (0-6 win-loss record with a 123-point loss on the first visit in 1991).
Of the currently active Victorian grounds, Geelong’s Kardinia Park remains the venue that challenges the Crows the most. Adelaide has a 3-17 record at Corio Bay where it has not won since June 1, 2003 - and lost in the past 10 visits.
The Crows are not alone in finding that trip along the Princes Highway delivers little joy while Geelong has won 78 of 87 games at Kardinia Park since the start of the 2007 AFL season (that brought an end to the Cats’ 43-year premiership drought).
This includes 29 consecutive wins at Kardinia Park from the start of 2008.
But Geelong is no longer in an extraordinary category for creating a fortress at its home ground.
Richmond - with its second grand final rematch with Adelaide tonight (Friday) - will seek to extend its consecutive run of wins at the MCG to 17.
This sequence, that includes three consecutive finals last season, is more impressive considering the Tigers now share the MCG with six other AFL clubs.
The last time Richmond was so imposing at the MCG was in 1974-75 when the ground was shared solely with its original tenants, Melbourne. As Hall of Fame coach Tom Hafey was master of the Tiger dynasty, Richmond won 12 consecutive games at the MCG from round 11, 1974 to round 10, 1975 - including the 1974 VFL grand final against North Melbourne.
The current 16-game record is more impressive considering home-ground advantage in
Melbourne has been diluted with ground rationalisation since the 1990s, removing the suburban bastions such as Victoria Park, Moorabbin and Windy Hill.
So the Crows tonight (Friday) are dealing with a rival that - as Richmond proved in last year’s grand final while holding the AFL’s highest-scoring team to its lowest score of the season - has designed its game for its home ground.
North Melbourne premiership player - and former Richmond assistant coach - David King notes the Tigers send opposition teams into the greatest trap on the 138-metre wide cricket ground.
“There’s a science to how they defend. Nothing is random,” King said. “They’re a really well organised machine. The key to their defence is they defend inside-out — they force you wide.
“You can switch (play) out of the backline at (other grounds) in one-and-a-half kicks. At the MCG it might take three kicks.”
And then the famed Richmond pressure game from its “different” forward system - of just one tall forward with Jack Riewoldt - seeks to achieve more turnovers as the opposition handles the ball more often.
Adelaide has a 21-1-49 win-draw-loss record at the MCG, but no win in its past three visits to the ground. It has become a much tougher road trip when Richmond is the host.
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