Roar Guru
Saturday Afternoon footy at Etihad Stadium sees the 1-1 Tigers go up against the winless Bulldogs. Join The Roar for live scores and commentary from 1:45pm (AEDT).
Richmond find themselves in ninth on the AFL ladder, while the Bulldogs are propping it up from position 17.
The Tigers began their season with a poor showing at Metricon against the an improving Suns outfit, but backed that up with a spirited win over Carlton in Round 2.
The Bulldogs have had a very disappointing start to season 2014, losing big to the Eagles at Patersons Stadium before suffering a fourth quarter capitulation against the Roos in Round 2.
The Tigers have made 3 changes from their Round 2 squad, with Shaun Hampson and Brett Deledio both missing with injury, and Nathan Foley copping the boot. They’re replaced by Daniel Jackson, Orren Stephenson and Nathan Gordon.
The Bulldogs have named an unchanged squad.
This matchup was dominated by the Tigers last year, who won the two meetings by 67 and 60 points, with both clashes coming at Etihad Stadium.
Throw the 70 point win the Tigers achieved in 2012, and the average margin between these two sides over the past three meetings is 66 points. The Tigers hold a 3-2 advantage in the last 5 clashes between these two sides.
Prediction:
The Bulldogs have built one of the most talented young midfields in the competition, and it wouldn’t surprise me at all if they outplayed their Richmond counterparts, particularly with the loss of Deledio.
However, the Dogs forward and back lines are amongst the worst in the competition, and the Tigers have enough class at both ends of the ground to take advantage of this.
Tigers by 24.
Join The Roar for live scores and commentary from 1:45pm (AEDT).