Where and when: MCG, 7:25pm (AEDT)
Last time they met: R1 2020: Richmond 16.9 (105) d Carlton 12.9 (81)
The Tigers’ 24-point win was architected in the first term, where they booted the opening five goals of the match to lay the foundations for their comfortable 16.9 (105) to 12.9 (81) victory. Carlton kicked six of seven goals on either side of three-quarter time to ensure the contest was given late life, but the reliability of Richmond stars like Jack Riewoldt, Dustin Martin and Trent Cotchin ensured the Tigers won their 10th straight outing over the Blues.
Match Preview: Since the AFL’s annual round one clash between arch rivals Carlton and Richmond began back in 2007, there has been nothing unpredictable about the League’s traditional blockbuster season-opener.
The Blues won the first, the Tigers won the second, then a pattern set in. Carlton would win the next four consecutive round one fixtures against its old enemy, as part of a run that included 11 total victories over Richmond in 12 matches.
The run stopped, then emphatically turned in the other direction. Now, the Tigers enter Thursday night’s upcoming encounter having won seven straight round one games against the Blues and 10 successive matches against them in all fixtures.
Yes, the 2021 version might seem like it’s going to go the same way. Richmond heads into the clash having claimed three of the last four premierships, and with everyone from its 2020 Grand Final side bar Bachar Houli – who is still dealing with a calf injury – fit and available.
But the Blues, primed for a realistic finals tilt following the off-season addition of ready-made talent like Adam Saad, Zac Williams (who will miss round one through suspension) and Lachie Fogarty, are setting themselves for a genuine push at a rare round one upset.
For the neutrals, anything close to that would be welcome.
It has been a barren seven years for the Blues when it comes to round one fixtures, so much so the club might have begun pencilling in an 0-1 start when the upcoming schedule is first released.
But with genuine optimism seeping out of Ikon Park that finals may soon be on the agenda again, so too should the hope of stopping the streak on Thursday night.
All footy fans just wanting a good game to start the year might be hoping likewise, too.
Richmond
How will the turbulent off-season antics of the coach affect the team if at all? Will the ‘real’ Dusty turn up or do we have to wait for the post-season for that?
Carlton
Will the club give supporters something to get behind? They don’t have to win but Blues fans will want to see every effort made to try. Looking forward to seeing big name recruit Adam Saad rebounding off half back and will be watching how not-so-big name recruit Lachie Fogarty slots into the forward line.
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Trent Cotchin (Illness) Out Replaced by Jack Ross
Late change Marlion Pickett in for Trent Cotchin.
Jack Ross as medical substitute.
Oscar McDonald will be on the bench tonight, as medical substitute.
I don’t know about all of you ladies and gentleman but I’m bloody excited! Great to have footy back and hope it’s a decent game tonight
Any reason why Dow is now on the extended 5 man bench???
Wouldn’t look too much into that, George. Usually young talented midfielders have their TOG strictly managed, eg. Brayshaw rarely cracked 80% last year. Looks like want to inject CBAs into Dow, play him inside but also be careful with his workload.
Managed game time does not equal SC points.
Pickett and O’Brien the emergencies, pretty sure. CT can fact check me on that one.
Hi GD, there was a late change Pickett in for Cotchin. Ross now sub.
Oscar McDonald is the other sub. Posted above.
So great to have footy back.
Just saw that. Swear he was named in the guts yesterday.
Worrying!
Yeah he was. Back to the bench and out of my team!
Back to a green check mark and back in my team. I should have stayed in bed! Yeesh.
A minute before the start Dow had no green tick so traded him out. Then he starts. A sham.
Their website goes haywire at the start of round 1 games. Sadly, expect similar tomorrow.
You were so lucky
Got a spare league spot you need to fill between now and the first bounce? LastMinuteMander: 133946.
I know not the exact forum, but three people have not logged into the SCTTL Tech Group or league and only have 20 minutes to do so !!!!
Chosen to take Dow based on CBA’s despite scoring issues in the AAMI match.
This means Dusty had to get the chop down to Butters.
Feels sort of silly doing this, even though $202k for a guy doing CBA’s is a bargain.
Hmmm. I may have made my first classic rookie error for the season, changing a player based on round 1 teams.
aaaaarrrrrgghhh!!!!!
Aaaaaand……. footy is back. Hurrah.
Is Dow playing im so confused now if not im getting a 0 right unless emerg
He started on the bench, was then in a wrestle after the first goal
Paddy Dow!!! That’s what I want to see
Sadly thus far, Dow looks a little lost out there … hmmmm
now that’s better Paddy!!
How could you doubt him.lol
You say lost then what happens lol
He’s made up for it with a great snap! He’s away!
Cripps and Walsh both on fire for the Blues! Both with 11 possies in the opening quarter
Short not so much so.
Don’t judge a season on one quarter though.
Who is looking ordinary is Saad. Could honestly ping him for a part in 2 of 3 Richmond goals as a minimum.
Doc has started off pretty average and I wonder if this will continue with Saad a new addition to the team.
Short was on fire for the first 5 minutes but then wasn’t really noticed for the rest of the quarter. Wonder how he’ll perform when Houli makes a return
Will Houli make much of a return? Big ask at his age with his injuries.
Motts is loving it lol, he’s got em’ all!
Got Walsh and Cripps myself 😉
they were handballing to each other there for a bit
was great.
Dow… is abit of a concern
Was tinkering with Oliver to Cripps right before lockout and figured it’d ruin the weekend if it backfired. Well, here we are anyway. Cripps looks amazing!
Opening centre bounce for the 2nd quarter and the 3 Carlton players was Dow, Cripps and Walsh
Cripps looking great, already making me regret not picking him.
Feeling the same but can’t have them all.
Two very generous umpiring decisions for Richmond changing the flavour of the game.
Pity, I thought we might have left that crap behind.
Doesn’t take long for the worst parts of the AFL to get re-established in the new season.
The umpires favouring Richmond? I’m shocked by this development…
Gibbons basically tagging Short…who I of course brought in two hours in order to free up some cash to improve my DEF rookies – amazing.
Well, in one half of footy we’ve blatantly seen how umpires will choose winners this year.
I’m hoping for a lot better for the rest of the weekend, but this is looking like another farce created by Hocking.
Why can’t we make simpler rules that are clear and not open to interpretation?
Because the bookies own the competition
All in all still been very entertaining so far. Walsh, Cripps and Dusty all looking in great form.
Lambert on 19 possies at half time is looking great too.
Am I the only person finding the game very long now?
he he Thommo …just buy more beer 🙂
Can’t drink on a Thursday night these days, I’ll never get to work tomorrow.
Not saying it’s a bad thing, decent game so far.
Half time (~>5%)
Dusty 67
Prestia 57
Short 51
Bolton 41
Cripps 62
Walsh 60
Dow 51
Saad 51
O’Brien 44
Doc 30
Carlton defence been awesome just a few decisions didn’t go thier way.. that’s footy..
Happy with Dow and Cripps in my team. Walsh looks good too and still Williams to come back to the midfield if I was a blues supporter I’d be happy
Just got Cripps and dusty in this one. Last minute Rowell to Cripps.
Reckon Short finding a few people short.
Short’s picked up now. second highest player in AFL Fantasy.
It was pretty much blaze away and little actually being kicked out early. as they players get a bit more tired and a bit more inaccurate the defenders will score more and more.
Short is not making me feel short Wighty.
He’s the new budget Seagull.
What happened to Dow ?
We may have to rename him Doh!
Cripps very solid but…Walsh looks like superman.
Congrats to those that started him.
Yeah a few of us started Walsh over Cripps like Catta and I and is a handy POD at only 8-9% ownership. Gather Mottsy started Walsh as well along with Saad.
Oscar Mcdonald come on for Silvangi????????
I’m really confused by this!!!!
Silvangi hurt his shoulder and is out of the game so medical sub activated.
I was thinking the sub was only for concussions, since that was the topic it was brought up on
But that’s not what was agreed to.
Why Clarkson got his way? Because too many other coaches didn’t turn up.
Bevo can complain all he wants but if he won’t put the effort in then others will make the decisions in the absence of dissenting opinions.
Yeah. it’s another farce. It should have just been concussions, but injury/OHS risk is OHS risk.
It will get abused by coaches. Should have made it minimum 14 days. On early starts like Thursday night games it is just begging to be abused.
He’s starred ever since…
Bugger took out Walsh! i regret it now Rookie Mistake
Astbury reported for striking
Zero doubt on that one. I used to pull that move all the time playing Double Dragon 🙂
The injury sub really didn’t need to return to the AFL and is too easily exploited. Why couldn’t they just stick with a concussion sub with a mandatory 12 day lay-off?
Ross in for Vlastuin. Both subs have been used in the 1st game
This will likely be abused for sure
Already has been if Vlastuin plays next week.
It should have been a mandatory 12 days off for anyone subbed out or the whole thing is a joke.
Does Dow know there are 2 halves?
He got confused and thought that he was subbed off!
I wonder whether with Silvangi subbed off, whether that has changed Dow’s position. Haven’t really seen him all 2nd half
Brilliant run down by Saad. That’s more like it.
Pity it looks like it’s cost him dearly.
‘Gut running’ isn’t a thing – it’s just ‘running’.
Neither is ‘leg speed’. Unless you also run on your hands.
Paddy Dow you needed to kick that! If you did Carlton then take the lead and you get a massive SC boost!!!! nooooooooooo
Dow looking like an iffy choice it seems … involvement is lacking, coach sitting him on the bench a lot, … not good factors …
Add Williams to that for next week
cripps also disappointing …
too many handballs, low DE at 67% – looks like Walsh is definitely the one to have … the opposition possibly focus too much on Cripps to I guess, which helps Walsh
For Dow – he basically scored nothing in the second half. He looks off the pace, limited effort plays, almost like a deer in headlights when he should be getting stuck in etc … all bad signs especially at $200K …
edit – posted this in the wrong spot!!
Making me reconsider all my 200-300k pics.
VC on martin my first and likely last masterstroke of the year. Going to lock him in for double points, sit back and enjoy the weekend.
Cheers dusty!
very nice … not the player I would have chosen for VC … great call!
I feel he may have a point to prove this year.. that hes not just good in the finals, right up there for my brownlow picks this year. Keep him in mind for future rounds.
I don’t know mate I feel like if Dusty had anything to say he would have said it a long time ago. The bloke has more than his fair share of accolades, he’s a media darling, and loved by Richmond if not most AFL fans.
At this point I reckon he’s just enjoying playing footy.
I was so close to going the VC on Dusty this morning but decided to roll the dice on Caleb Daniel instead.
So Many Ragrets
I VCd Dusty as well…who needs Grawndy?!
Excluding the subs Dow has spent the least amount of time on the field for any Carlton player. He spent 69% TOG
Half -> Full time (~>5%)
Dusty 67 -> 157
Prestia 57 -> 83
Short 51 -> 100
Bolton 41 -> 82
Cripps 62 -> 89
Walsh 60 -> 121
Dow 51 -> 59
Saad 51 -> 113
O’Brien 44 -> 51
Doc 30 -> 101
Dow played 3 ordinary games last year , what were people expecting, a premo for 200k???
After how he started, many expected for him to still contribute and reach something like 80, but getting only 8 points that whole 2nd half is not something you want to see
What does FD say about returning to mean.
Let’s hope that Danger can score well enough to me not to hate myself too much for changing from Dusty.
Im a tigers man but Martin always starts well, dont jump on yet!
Great job on nabbing the 25 point margin Motts
1/1 for 2021…pressure on tomorrow!
Thanks mate. Jagged an early one.
I now hope that 60 for Dow is just the start and it will improve. Since it round 1 that score only counts for 1 round in the player pricing.
Since Dusty had a massive score I can gladly say that score won’t effect his price too much and hopefully still get him in at a reasonable price
CBA’s – Round 1 Game 1 – Carlton 30 – Marc Pittonet 26, Patrick Cripps 24, Sam Walsh 21, Ed Curnow 21, Paddy Dow 11, Zac Fisher 7, Will Setterfield 6 & Levi Casboult 4
CBA’s – Round 1 Game 1 – Richmond 30 – Toby Nankervis 24, Dion Prestia 22, Dustin Martin 19, Shane Edwards 17, Shai Bolton 16, Jack Graham 10, Jack Ross 6 & Noah Balta 6
I think all those about to jump off Paddy Dow need to just take a breath. Carlton obviously were running low on interchanges in the second half, hence more time on bench for Dow. They were also smashed around the stoppages the longer the game went. That won’t happen every week. A 60 from that game time isn’t great, but it’s not devastating and doesn’t warrant a trade. I think Dow is still likely to be a great pick and could easily average 75-80 based on what I saw tonight. Was 50 by half time which in a win could easily translate to a ton.
Also I think Lochie O’Brien goes out of the side before Dow for sure…
Dow is owned by 45% of supercoaches what are we even worried about everyones copping the same score from him this round
and…..he was playing against the premiership midfield…..I’ve got him and for $202k……he’ll make his money
The game rules are designed so that any game can have a fixed result. The umpires have the ability to control the flow of the game and give the bookies their satisfaction
Please don’t be the same Adam from last year… He was nothing but a troll.
Why couldn’t Dow just get a rubbish score spread nicely over four quarters. That 50 in the first half is killing me.
Watch him knock out a solid 80 next week so we hold and wait patiently. Only for him roll out a 60 average from then on.
Anyone worried about ruck scores?
Pitt and Nank are sub-par rucks. Nothing to worry about so far
Just out of interest what were people realistically expecting from Dow. 18 touches and a 60 is going to be commonplace I’m sure.
61% DE and 5 Clangers didn’t help.
Plus at his price, it could be an easy downgrade to a cheap rookie if any of them fly these first 2 rounds.
At least for me, Dow was selected based on his AAMI pre season match and the fact he was supposed to be playing more mid and on ball. He was then named on ball at team lists. And changed to bench an hour before kickoff.
He also facilitated the other players in the structure, and in theory should have been a better option than a rookie and greater JS.
Scoring is always accelerated early on in matches and then their averaging system pulls scores back as the game progresses. The fact he had an early score including the goal is the only reason he scored as well as 60.
If you then watched the match, he looked hesitant, lost at times, not sure if himself and what he should be doing etc – any of those types of adjectives- basically he looked indecisive and I may be corrected but he cost them a couple of goals from turnovers.
I think those factors are what led to him being sat on the bench for longer period, rather than the interchanges – I think coach not happy – all of these factors are what I am considering and what I am sure many others are to.
Depending what happens with the other rookies over the weekend and the need for corrective trades, will depend on what happens with him, at least for me.
These first two weeks it’s imperative to get your team right and the best cash generators in – no good waiting until 3rd week with only two trades if you have three fixes needed!
But each to their own – his score not the issue for me per se it’s how he looked which was the concern
Yep, dow could be a great down trade. Let’s wait and see what he does next week