The AFL season opener between Richmond and Carlton is on track to break attendance records
THE Tiger Army has been warned it must turn out in force if Richmond is to set the biggest Round 1 attendance figure in 120 years of football. JON RALPH looks at how close the Tigers can get.
Richmond
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THE Tiger Army has been warned it must turn out in force if Richmond is to set the biggest Round 1 attendance figure in 120 years of football.
The premiers say they are on track to set the Round 1 record and smash the 90,000-fan mark against Carlton at the MCG on Thursday night.
But while Carlton fans will also be out in droves, the AFL said hitting that mark for the 12th time in home-and-away history would be significant.
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Richmond will unfurl the premiership flag with a simple ceremony at the Punt Rd end of the MCG before Thursday’s clash.
Rather than a longwinded ceremony with a guard of honour from former players, it will feature video highlights, a short speech and a nod to the fans’ role in the premiership.
Richmond’s ticket pre-sale numbers are much stronger than for Round 5’s pre-Anzac Day contest last year, when 85,657 attended.
AFL spokesman Patrick Keane said breaking the 90,000 barrier would still be a challenge in the home-and-away season.
“We are hopeful we can get into the low 90,000s,’’ Keane said.
“To get there you need outstanding member turnout, you need both the MCC and AFL Members sections to be really full,’’ Keane said.
“You need everyone who has bought tickets to turn up, so we are hopeful but it will be a really big effort to get to 90,000.”
In 1995, Carlton and Collingwood drew a record Round 1 crowd of 87,119, with Ben Cousins’ Richmond debut against Carlton in 2009 watched by 87,043 fans.
As Dustin Martin prepares to repay Richmond’s investment on his seven-year contract, Carlton faces key questions on whether to send tagger Ed Curnow to his side.
In Round 1 last year he dominated the Blues with 33 possessions and four majors while also handing off several more goals to teammates.
In Round 14 Carlton’s Curnow was partially successful early as he tagged Martin for 70 minutes, the most of any player in the competition last season.
But with Curnow suffering a serious throat injury that would end his season, Martin rallied with 30 possessions in a game that won him maximum coaches votes and one Brownlow vote.
Carlton legend Anthony Koutoufides said on Sunday it was an impossible decision on whether to tag Martin.
“He is so unstoppable. You want to keep him in check and hope his possessions aren’t that effective,’’ he said.
“(But) if you focus too much on one person it can change everything.”
Richmond is unlikely to risk Dion Prestia (hamstring) and Bachar Houli (calf) and will not consider Nathan Broad (club suspension) and Daniel Rioli (foot).
Replacing them will be Shai Bolton and Reece Conca, with Jayden Short, Corey Ellis and Sam Lloyd among the other contenders.
Carlton coach Brendon Bolton will also have to decide how many kids to play as he hands a Carlton debut to former GWS mid Matthew Kennedy, with No. 3 pick Paddy Dow also likely to feature.
Dow has just signed a three-year extension, with No. 10 draft pick Lochie O’Brien about to pen his own extension through to 2021.
Bolton will have to prune four players from the 26 that beat Hawthorn in the JLT Series, the Blues’ second pre-season win of the year.
O’Brien has had only 13 possessions in two JLT encounters, while Cam O’Shea and David Cuningham could also make way at selection.
Big tall Harry McKay has had 15 possessions, 10 hit-outs and a goal across to JLT games, while Sam Petreveski-Seton (six possessions) only played the second JLT clash after quad tightness
Many of those players are high draft picks, but coach Brendon Bolton will want to blend experience in with his star youngsters early in the year.
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