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2005 - AFL Home and Away Season

Round 16 - Pregame Articles

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Round 16
Richmond vs St Kilda
M.C.G. Sat 16 July 2005,
2:10 PM AEST
Radio: ABC - All States (plus)
TV: CH10 - 1 hr 30min Delay Melb- Live other States
Sportingbet: Richmond $1.60, Saints $1.54

Peckett, Guerra return
St Kilda has rushed back veteran Justin Peckett and forward Brent Guerra for Saturday's clash with Richmond at the MCG after both players were late withdrawals from last Sunday's thumping win over Carlton. Peckett missed with a hip injury while Guerra was sidelined with a calf problem. The Saints have dropped youngster Andrew McQualter and midfielder Mark McGough, with both players listed as emergencies, along with goalsneak Allan Murray. McQualter has played seven matches in his inaugural AFL-listed season, while McGough has made nine appearances since crossing from Collingwood where he played 37 games from 2002-04. Richmond has named skipper Kane Johnson after the dual premiership player was sidelined with a knee injury last round.
The Article saints.com.au/14Jul05
ALL TEAMS - ROUND 16 HeraldSun/14Jul05

Johnson named pending test
Richmond has named skipper Kane Johnson for Saturday's clash against St Kilda at the MCG after the dual premiership player was sidelined with a knee injury last round. Richmond football operations manager Paul Armstrong said Johnson would need to complete the team's final session before lining up against the Saints.
The Article RichmondFC/saints.com.au/14Jul05
Kane close to able for Saints Michael Horan/HeraldSun/14Jul05

Milne: the umpires' enemy No. 1
Cheeky St Kilda forward Stephen Milne has the worst free-kick ratio in the AFL - and the Saints are unhappy about it. The opportunist forward who makes a career of getting under the guard and the skin of opponents, seems to have also annoyed the umpires. The pacey small forward has received only five free kicks this year but given away 25 for a net deficit of 20 free kicks. Fellow opportunist forward Fremantle's Jeff Farmer has a similarly poor net free-kick result - in negative territory by 18 frees. Farmer has received 10 frees this year and given away 28 in his 15 games. St Kilda refused to comment on the Milne free-kick ratio, but was unsurprised at the statistic given the club's frustration at the treatment he has received. An official said the club had previously complained to the umpiring department about different players, but would no longer do so because it would have no effect.
The Article Michael Gleeson/TheAge/15Jul05

Knobel endeavour boon to Tigers
Trent Knobel talks of a quiet resolve to further prove himself against his former club, St Kilda, tomorrow but must still be suffering a rawness following his humiliating departure from Moorabbin late last year. The Richmond ruckman is eternally grateful for another opportunity and will lead the Tigers' ruck division in a match so important it is likely to decide which of these two topsy-turvy sides will play in the finals this season. While Knobel insists he only wants to look forward and constantly refers to how much he is enjoying life at Punt Road, there was a time, however brief, when he must have wondered if he still had a league career. For not only did St Kilda coach Grant Thomas sack Knobel, it is lore that Thomas laid a disproportionate amount of blame on his ruckman's broad shoulders for the Saints' one-goal preliminary final loss to eventual premier Port Adelaide.
The Article Malcolm Conn/TheAustralian/15Jul05

Plugger: hounds first
When it comes to football functions or celebrations, Tony Lockett's form is more reliable than any of his greyhounds: like the late Marlon Brando on Oscar night, he seldom shows up. Tomorrow night's 40th anniversary of St Kilda at Moorabbin is merely the latest occasion that Lockett will miss. In recent times, he has declined to attend the Lockett-Coventry Cup between Sydney and Collingwood, the St Kilda Hall of Fame and the Hall of Fame celebration for his junior club, North Ballarat. It was his refusal to visit the grassroots club that prompted another North Ballarat alumnus, Mick Malthouse, to lash Lockett for his supposed unwillingness to give back to football.
The Article Jake Niall/TheAge/15Jul05

Hird, Riewoldt slam Dome
Essendon captain James Hird and St Kilda skipper Nick Riewoldt last night added their criticism of the Telstra Dome playing surface. "It's been a problem since its inception," Hird said on The Footy Show last night. "We've all said it's a problem and nothing has been done about it. And they've all put their heads in the sand. It's not (good) and everyone knows it." Riewoldt asked: "Why won't the people in charge there admit that there is a problem? "If they admitted that there is a problem and that they are trying to rectify it, they are out doing research - which I think they are actually doing-– then it would make the argument null and void." The Dome's surface has forced Sydney to rethink its ferocious approach to tackling for tomorrow night's clash with Melbourne.
The Article HeraldSun/15Jul05

Riewoldt hopeful on early comeback
The door is ajar for Nick Riewoldt to make a sooner-than-expected return to the field after the St Kilda skipper re-injured his collarbone 10 days ago. It was initially thought the young champion would miss up to another eight weeks after being slung to the ground after taking a contested mark against the Western Bulldogs at the MCG. The 22-year-old originally broke his collarbone in round one against the Brisbane Lions at the Gabba, missing five matches from rounds 2-6.
The Article Scott Spits/Sportal/saints.com.au/13Jul05
Saints skipper eyes a date with the Demons Chip Le Grand/TheAustralian/14Jul05
Riewoldt injury not too bad HeraldSun/14Jul05
Riewoldt a chance for early return Dan Oakes/TheAge/14Jul05

Penny fails to train
St Kilda's injury woes may not be eased for at least another week after key defender Luke Penny failed to train at Moorabbin on Wednesday. Penny has been troubled by a knee injury all season, restricting him to just five matches. He was a late withdrawal from the Saints' 80-point win over Carlton at Telstra Dome last Sunday, along with Justin Peckett (quad) and Brent Guerra (hip).
The Article Scott Spits/Sportal/saints.com.au/13Jul05

Round 16
Richmond vs St Kilda
M.C.G. Sat 16 July 2005,
2:10 PM AEST

Tigers better-prepared: Wallace
Richmond coach Terry Wallace is hopeful his players learned some valuable lessons from the 68-point drubbing they received the last time they played St Kilda. The Tigers were on a three-game winning streak before the Saints demolition, with the game a highly-anticipated contest that Wallace now feels his young side wasn't ready for. Richmond faces off against St Kilda again this Saturday, but this time the Tigers coach believes his side will prove to be a much tougher proposition on its home turf at the MCG. "We're hoping that we've learned a bit and it gives us an opportunity to see if there's been any improvement so far throughout the year," Wallace said. "There were a lot of lessons to be learned out of the game. They were just far more ready for a pressure-based game at that stage than what we were."
The Article Jason Phelan/saints.com.au/12Jul05

Saints are a test for Tigers
St kilda provided a harsh reality check for Richmond when it thrashed the Tigers by 68 points in round five, and Terry Wallace reckons Saturday's return match at the MCG will be a measure of whether his side has improved. Wallace said the Tigers learned valuable lessons from the loss, and applied some of them as they won the next four games. Now, the question is whether they can apply them against St Kilda on Saturday. "They were just far more ready for a pressure-based game at that stage than what we were," Wallace said at his weekly news conference yesterday. "This time round got a lot more games under our belt, gained a bit of confidence. Hopefully on the MCG, where we believe we play our best football, we can put up a better showing." The first meeting between the clubs was at Docklands, where St Kilda has built an imposing record in recent years. "The MCG is our home and we look forward to playing there as often as we can. It is our last home game there this year which, this far out, is probably a bit unusual," Wallace said.
The Article Len Johnson/TheAge/13Jul05

Koschitzke rapt with chance to lead
Justin Koschitzke needed to know and found out in spectacular fashion - he is a leader. In his seventh game of an injury-interrupted season and the 65th of his career, the 22-year-old captained St Kilda against Carlton on Sunday in the absence of Nick Riewoldt. There have been more captains at Moorabbin than in the navy, since coach Grant Thomas instituted an annual rotation of the job to nurture his players leadership skills. Koschitzke embraced the job on Sunday.
The Article Michael Horan/HeraldSun/12Jul05

Saints are a test for Tigers
St kilda provided a harsh reality check for Richmond when it thrashed the Tigers by 68 points in round five, and Terry Wallace reckons Saturday's return match at the MCG will be a measure of whether his side has improved. Wallace said the Tigers learned valuable lessons from the loss, and applied some of them as they won the next four games. Now, the question is whether they can apply them against St Kilda on Saturday. "They were just far more ready for a pressure-based game at that stage than what we were," Wallace said at his weekly news conference yesterday. "This time round got a lot more games under our belt, gained a bit of confidence. Hopefully on the MCG, where we believe we play our best football, we can put up a better showing." The first meeting between the clubs was at Docklands, where St Kilda has built an imposing record in recent years. "The MCG is our home and we look forward to playing there as often as we can. It is our last home game there this year which, this far out, is probably a bit unusual," Wallace said.
The Article Len Johnson/TheAge/13Jul05

Getting under the radar
It's fair to say that if you didn't barrack for St Kilda, you wouldn't really know who Troy Schwarze is. The big defender gets under the radar of most fans and opposition coaches but there are a few who have enormous faith in the 23 year old. Recruited from Prahran U18s in the 1998 National AFL Draft, Schwarze made his debut in 2000 but it wasn't until 2002 that his career took another leap. He displayed tremendous poise for his size and fantastic foot skills to feature in 20 games. Last season was perhaps his best and personally his most satisfying. Bearing the weight of criticism, Schwarze showed the faithful he was deserving of his spot in the senior side. He was a part of the historic Wizard Cup triumph over Geelong as well as a major key defender in the fantastic streak in the opening ten rounds.
The Article Luca Giacobello/saints.com.au/13Jul05

The run home
ST KILDA:
SEASON RECORD: 8-7, 112.9.
TO PLAY: Richmond (MCG), Collingwood (Dome), Melbourne (MCG), Geelong (Dome), Kangaroos (Dome), Fremantle (Subiaco), Brisbane (Dome).
PREDICTED FINISH: 14-8. The Saints might not even be in the top eight at the moment but they are a genuine top four chance given their great run home, despite the continued unavailability of star forwards Nick Riewoldt and Aaron Hamill. With Melbourne down on form and Geelong struggling with injury, the Saints will be favoured to win their next six matches and their last round showdown against Brisbane will be a fantastic entrée to the finals.
Article and Teams Paul Gough/AFL/saints.com.au/12Jul05

Finals tickets hiked
Prices for AFL grand final and preliminary final tickets will rise this year. The cheapest adult grand final ticket will be $120, rising to $180 for premium seats, while preliminary final ticket prices will vary depending on which venues host the games. But the AFL has kept tickets for other finals at the same prices at last year. AFL chief executive Andrew Demetriou said the league's decision to keep ticket prices for the six of the nine finals matches unchanged showed its commitment to keeping big matches within the budget of rank-and-file fans.
The Article The Australian/13Jul05
Zero tolerance on umpire abuse Damian Barrett/HeraldSun/13Jul05
Player dissent warning issued Sportal/13Jul05
AFL stays tough on ump abuse Dan Oakes/TheAge/13Jul05

Agent warns of player betting crisis
The hysteria surrounding drugs has overshadowed the more destructive player problem of gambling, according to prominent player manager Ricky Nixon. In comments that will put "the punt" back on the AFL agenda, Nixon said last night betting on horses and casino gambling had ruined more AFL careers than illicit drugs. Despite assistance from the AFL Players' Association, Nixon said he wanted the AFL to acknowledge the issue and provide more help to problem gamblers. He said players gambled on horse racing and world sports and, against league rules, on AFL matches.
The Article Mark Robinson/HeraldSun/14Jul05

Riewoldt hopeful on early comeback
The door is ajar for Nick Riewoldt to make a sooner-than-expected return to the field after the St Kilda skipper re-injured his collarbone 10 days ago. It was initially thought the young champion would miss up to another eight weeks after being slung to the ground after taking a contested mark against the Western Bulldogs at the MCG. The 22-year-old originally broke his collarbone in round one against the Brisbane Lions at the Gabba, missing five matches from rounds 2-6.
The Article Scott Spits/Sportal/saints.com.au/13Jul05

The run home
ST KILDA:
SEASON RECORD: 8-7, 112.9.
TO PLAY: Richmond (MCG), Collingwood (Dome), Melbourne (MCG), Geelong (Dome), Kangaroos (Dome), Fremantle (Subiaco), Brisbane (Dome).
PREDICTED FINISH: 14-8. The Saints might not even be in the top eight at the moment but they are a genuine top four chance given their great run home, despite the continued unavailability of star forwards Nick Riewoldt and Aaron Hamill. With Melbourne down on form and Geelong struggling with injury, the Saints will be favoured to win their next six matches and their last round showdown against Brisbane will be a fantastic entrée to the finals.
Article and Teams Paul Gough/AFL/saints.com.au/12Jul05

Koschitzke rapt with chance to lead
Justin Koschitzke needed to know and found out in spectacular fashion - he is a leader. In his seventh game of an injury-interrupted season and the 65th of his career, the 22-year-old captained St Kilda against Carlton on Sunday in the absence of Nick Riewoldt. There have been more captains at Moorabbin than in the navy, since coach Grant Thomas instituted an annual rotation of the job to nurture his players leadership skills. Koschitzke embraced the job on Sunday.
The Article Michael Horan/HeraldSun/12Jul05

Getting under the radar
It's fair to say that if you didn't barrack for St Kilda, you wouldn't really know who Troy Schwarze is. The big defender gets under the radar of most fans and opposition coaches but there are a few who have enormous faith in the 23 year old. Recruited from Prahran U18s in the 1998 National AFL Draft, Schwarze made his debut in 2000 but it wasn't until 2002 that his career took another leap. He displayed tremendous poise for his size and fantastic foot skills to feature in 20 games. Last season was perhaps his best and personally his most satisfying. Bearing the weight of criticism, Schwarze showed the faithful he was deserving of his spot in the senior side. He was a part of the historic Wizard Cup triumph over Geelong as well as a major key defender in the fantastic streak in the opening ten rounds.
The Article Luca Giacobello/saints.com.au/13Jul05

Riewoldt hopeful on early comeback
The door is ajar for Nick Riewoldt to make a sooner-than-expected return to the field after the St Kilda skipper re-injured his collarbone 10 days ago. It was initially thought the young champion would miss up to another eight weeks after being slung to the ground after taking a contested mark against the Western Bulldogs at the MCG. The 22-year-old originally broke his collarbone in round one against the Brisbane Lions at the Gabba, missing five matches from rounds 2-6.
The Article Scott Spits/Sportal/saints.com.au/13Jul05

Riewoldt sets sights on early return
St Kilda captain Nick Riewoldt is expected to make an earlier-than-anticipated return from his latest injury and could lead the Saints as early as round 18 against Melbourne at the MCG. Riewoldt will know more today when he visits the surgeon who performed the initial surgery on his fractured collarbone, during Easter. The star forward was expected to miss eight weeks and be unavailable until the finals, assuming St Kilda makes it, but the club is optimistic he could play the last five home-and-away rounds. Scans after the Western Bulldogs game last Sunday week reportedly showed a small crack in the right collarbone he fractured in the opening round of the season, but evidence is mounting that he has a sprain in the A/C joint, which is normally a three-to-four week injury. It is possible the scans were distorted because of the presence of a plate and eight screws, which were inserted after his round-one fracture. Medical opinions vary, but the subtle crack discovered last week could be the original break, rather than a fresh fracture.
The Article Greg Denham/TheAustralian/12Jul05

Saints re-sign Clarkes
St Kilda has received a mid-season morale boost, with the double re-signing of brothers Xavier and Raphael Clarke for the next two years. The Clarkes committed to the Saints until the end of 2007 on Monday, and the club emphasised its delight at the re-contracting of its two young speedsters. "Both Xavier and Raphael have important parts to play to the future of the St Kilda Football Club and we are delighted that they have shown their dedication to the team, our members, and other stakeholders in committing for a further term," club chief executive Jim Watts said in a statement. Older brother Xavier has played 63 games for the club since making his debut in 2002, and was a NAB AFL Rising Star Nominee in the same year.
The Article Jennifer Witham/Sportal/saints.com.au/11Jul05
Both Clarkes have just re-signed for 2 years saintsational.com

Can Koschitzke arrive Just-in time?
When I sat down with SportsAustralia's newly assigned Chief Football writer Brett Collett at the start of the year to thrash out the AFL's top 50 players, the name Justin Koschitzke was thrown up - and duly rejected. Collett asserted that the list would lack credibility if Koschitzke - a 'one season wonder' - was included among the elites of the game. Despite my protests about the versatility, strength and ability of 'Kosi', he was right. Potential has become a dirty word in football circles, and Koschitzke is surely the biggest case in point. A stellar debut season in 2001 has been proceeded by years of injury-plagued cameos, yet some of us still have a burning belief that he is ready to break out and claim the mantle of the league's most effective big man.
The Article Sebastian Hassett/Sports Australia/12Jul05

Nine, Saints call truce
A two-hour meeting yesterday has resolved the dispute between St Kilda and Channel Nine. The meeting established a truce between the two warring parties a day after St Kilda president Rod Butterss called for a boycott of Nine's The Footy Show and described Sam Newman on radio as a terrorist for the manner in which he 'ambushed' a press conference with Saints coach Grant Thomas. A meeting was called early yesterday by Channel Nine's Melbourne managing director Paul Waldron. Waldron and The Footy Show host Eddie McGuire met with Butterss and Thomas at Nine's Richmond offices and thrashed out their differences. Butterss did not resile from his spirited defence of his club and coach but admitted he was ill-advised in talking of terrorism in reference to a football spat.
The Article Michael Gleeson/TheAge/12Jul05
Saints, Eddie make up Mark Robinson/HeraldSun/12Jul05
Saints call for Footy Show boycott over Newman Michael Gleeson and Lyall Johnson/TheAge/11Jul05
Saints boss attacks Packer, Eddie, Sam Mark Robinson/HeraldSun/11Jul05