Richmond’s successful forward setup is changing the way footy is played

RICHMOND has risen from 13th a preliminary final by winning in a way no team has done before. Will other teams try to copy the Tigers — and is that good for footy?

Richmond’s Jason Castagna in action. Picture: Michael Klein

RICHMOND has risen from 13th a preliminary final by winning in a way no team has done before. Will other teams try to copy the Tigers — and is that good for footy?

It’s accepted wisdom that you can’t win in September without a second key forward target, but the Tigers blew that idea out of the water on Friday night.

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They played with one — Jack Riewoldt — and he didn’t kick a goal until late in the last quarter as Richmond romped to a 51-point win.

Instead, an army of small forwards chased, tackled and harassed their way to a winning score even though they didn’t get much of the ball.

“Five of their forwards had less than 10 possessions,” Mark Robinson marvelled in the SuperFooty Podcast.

“Rioli had seven, Jacob Towsend had three, Butler had nine — it’s their pressure. Richmond has changed the game a little bit.”

Geelong premiership captain Cameron Ling saw something similar from the commentary box.

“Maybe we’re seeing the evolution of the new forward line — just one tall, lots of small blokes being able to put pressure on and kick goals,” he said on Channel 7.

Riewoldt has kicked 51 goals this year to finish sixth in the Coleman Medal, nine more than Jake Stringer managed last year as the Bulldogs’ top goalkicker.

Daniel Rioli tries every trick in the book to put opponents under pressure. Picture: Michael Klein

But while Stringer had Tory Dickson (40 goals) as a sidekick, Richmond’s next best goalkicker is midfielder Dustin Martin (32). Butler, Castagna and Rioli are next with 27, 24 and 21 respectively, but they say they are judged on pressure, not possessions.

“It’s always good to kick goals and get some crumbs, but our main role would definitely be just putting on pressure,” Castagna said after winning the Round 19 Rising Star nomination.

Jason Castagna gets away from Lachie Henderson. Picture: Michael Klein

Robinson suggested a move further away from traditional full-forwards isn’t the best look for the game, but it might not last — which means the Tigers have to strike this season.

The Bulldogs perfected their handball game last season and won the premiership but missed the finals this year as other teams figured out how to combat it (among other factors), while the Eagles made it to the Grand Final in 2015 on the back of their unique “web” defence then were knocked out in an elimination final the next year.

“Richmond have got this weapon and they’ve got to use it, this has got to be the year,” Robinson said.

“They might not get back there and they’ve got something really going for them.”