Re: The 2012 PREmier Fighting Tiger Award-Round 20 vs Bulldogs - RESULTS
2012 PREmier Fighting Tiger Award
Voting Results for Round 20 vs Western Bulldogs
RICHMOND 6.4 10.10 17.16 22.18 (150)
WESTERN BULLDOGS 2.3 6.4 12.5 12.8 (80)
GOALS
Richmond: Riewoldt 5, Edwards 4, Cotchin 3, McGuane 3, Grigg 2, King 2, Martin, Nahas, Newman
Western Bulldogs: Giansiracusa 3, Skinner 2, Lake 2, Addison, Dickson, Hooper, Smith, Wallis
| Rank | Change | Player | 3 VOTES | 2 VOTES | 1 VOTE | RD TOTAL | TOTAL | VOTES | AVG |
| 1 | - | Trent Cotchin | 59 | 0 | 0 | 177 | 1530 | 59 | 80.5 |
| 2 | - | Brett Deledio | 0 | 14 | 5 | 33 | 1157 | 19 | 60.9 |
| 3 | - | Shane Tuck | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 766 | 0 | 40.3 |
| 4 | - | Ivan Maric | 0 | 2 | 2 | 6 | 741 | 4 | 41.2 |
| 5 | - | Shaun Grigg | 0 | 2 | 4 | 8 | 411 | 6 | 21.6 |
| 6 | - | Alex Rance | 0 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 315 | 4 | 16.6 |
| 7 | - | Nathan Foley | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 310 | 0 | 31.0 |
| 8 | - | Steven Morris | 0 | 2 | 7 | 11 | 306 | 9 | 17.0 |
| 9 | ↑2 | Shane Edwards | 0 | 29 | 17 | 75 | 281 | 46 | 16.5 |
| 10 | ↓1 | Dylan Grimes | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 240 | 0 | 26.7 |
| 11 | ↓1 | Jack Riewoldt | 0 | 2 | 4 | 8 | 237 | 6 | 12.5 |
| 12 | - | Reece Conca | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 175 | 0 | 9.7 |
| 13 | - | Dustin Martin | 1 | 5 | 4 | 17 | 161 | 10 | 9.5 |
| 14 | - | Robin Nahas | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 139 | 0 | 7.3 |
| 15 | - | Brandon Ellis | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 54 | 0 | 2.8 |
| 16 | - | Jake Batchelor | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 43 | 0 | 3.6 |
| 17 | - | Bachar Houli | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 36 | 1 | 1.9 |
| 18 | - | Chris Newman | 0 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 31 | 3 | 1.6 |
| 19 | ↑5 | Jake King | 0 | 3 | 10 | 16 | 22 | 13 | 2.0 |
| 20 | ↓1 | Daniel Connors | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 20 | 0 | 10.0 |
| 21 | ↓1 | Daniel Jackson | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 17 | 0 | 1.1 |
| =22 | ↓1 | Luke McGuane | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 13 | 0 | 2.2 |
| =22 | ↓1 | Matt Dea | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 13 | 0 | 1.1 |
| 24 | ↓1 | Ben Griffiths | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 0.9 |
| 25 | ↓1 | Brad Miller | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 0.6 |
| =26 | - | Tom Derickx | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 1.5 |
| =26 | - | Jayden Post | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0.6 |
| =26 | - | Matthew White | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0.6 |
| =26 | - | Addam Maric | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0.3 |
Total Voters=60
MATCH REPORT
by Panthera tigris FC
Unfortunately I was unable to attend the Tigers' biggest win of 2012 (to date), but did manage to catch much of the game, albeit with some interruptions. The Tigers came out of the blocks well against a side that we have struggled against in recent years. I still have fond memories of sitting in the old Olympic stand watching Richo kick 10 against the Dogs, but that felt like a long time ago prior to the match on Sunday. The first 6 goals of the match seemed to herald a big Tiger victory on the cards, however a couple of late goals in the quarter to the Dogs kept them in the hunt. The second quarter was more equally balanced with both sides kicking 4 goals, but the buffer established in the first quarter still had the Tigers as comfortable leaders at half time. Riewoldt and Edwards were looking dangerous up forward and Cotchin was absolutely blitzing in every position he played in.
As we have become accustomed to over the years and particulary this year, the Tigers had a massive defensive lapse in the 3rd quarter and the Dogs happily obliged by narrowing the margin to a single kick. The Dogs had all the momentum and their young side looked hungry for an upset victory over a Tigers outfit that looked ripe for taking. Cue Trent Cotchin and to a slightly lesser extent Brett Deledio, Dustin Martin and Jake King. This quartet played an enormous role in wresting the game back from the Dogs in the latter stages of the third quarter and what had appeared to be another upset loss on the cards blew out to a 41 point lead a three quarter time. Considering they had narrowed to the lead to 6 points it was a commanding response from the Tigers engine room and the commentators were full of superlatives for the side, especially Cotchin.
The final quarter turned into a procession as the young, vanquished Dogs failed to kick a goal and the Tigers banged on an additional 5 to run away as 70 point victors. It does raise the question as to why we allow teams to get a sniff in these games when we can outscore our opponents by 64 points over a quarter and a half. Either way that 'mathematical', 'miracle' chance of finals is still alive, although, realistically these victories will just help set the team up with a winning mentality come a proper tilt at the 8 in 2013.
In the voting this week we saw one of the most, if not the most, one sided ballot in the history of this award. Trent Cotchin was absolutely stunning in his 35 possession (14 contested), 3 goal effort. The beauty is that those 35 possessions are almost all damaging. He uses the ball beautifully on both sides, by hand and foot, isn't afraid to put his head over the ball, is hard to tackle and is super-evasive in traffic. In other words, as a late comer to the AFL game, Trent Cotchin is the best player I have seen in the yellow and black. Considering he is coming off his first full pre-season and his young age, it is scary to think what he could be capable of in the coming years. I just thank our lucky stars we didn't have to decide between Kreuzer and Cotchin (or Morton!) back in that draft. His maximum 3 votes in 59 of 60 ballots seems a tad harsh.
The other major contributors in the eyes of the PRE voters, were Titch Edwards who has continued his rise as an evasive, smallish forward that can rotate through the midfield. It is a role that he is really growing into as his 4 goals on the weekend attest to. He just needs to get a little more composure in front of goal and he could be extremely damaging. His ability to play in the midfield for stints also increases his value to the side. Brett Deledio has also continued his great form this year. In my view and the view of the PRE voters it is a 2 horse race for the best Tiger this year and although it appears that one of them is starting to bolt ahead the other, in Deledio, continues to respond with some of the best footy of his career. His consistency this year has been a real standout, featuring in the top 3 Tigers afield in 11 of the 20 matches this year (compared with 13/20 for Cotchin). Either way a good healthy competition between these elite players should see them strive for bigger and better things in coming years. With Dusty showing signs of improvement the midfield is looking great for the coming seasons. Now just to continue to build on the depth.
This week sees the Tigers heading west to try to put a dent in the finals aspirations of Freo. We have a pretty good record out west and I look forward to seeing how the players go at it considering their upset loss to the Dockers recently.
Carn' the Tiges!
