Tigers find the formula

JACK and the Five-Footers.

It sounds like a dodgy pub cover band, but it has emerged as the secret to Richmond’s barnstorming success.

Say what you want about the Tigers’ finals performances in recent years, but they have never been particularly hard to play against.

Now coach Damien Hardwick is conducting an orches- tra that has two sections in perfect harmony: elite pressuring forwards and brilliant intercept marking defenders.

One complements the other, as Jack Riewoldt and five forwards under the old sixfoot mark (183cm) go to work.

He is joined by Shai Bolton (175cm), Dan Rioli (179cm), Dan Butler (182cm) Jason Castagna (181cm) and Sam Lloyd (180cm).

Bolton ranks fourth in the competition for forward-half pressure, Rioli eighth and Castagna 12th.

Butler and Riewoldt are both above average for forward-half pressure, with Champion Data saying it is unheard of to have five players who apply so much pressure.

But those five smaller forwards not only tick over the scoreboard, they relentlessly harass rivals into turnovers.

The Tigers have created 30 forward-half turnovers a game — No. 1 in the competition — and have laid the fifth most forward-half tackles.

Against North Melbourne they played high-octane playon-at-all-costs football that blew the Roos away.

But the Tigers are actually a low-scoring team (12th for offence) that is elite at stifling opposition ball movement (they are ranked second in defence).

Many of North Mel- bourne’s disposal issues were self-inflicted. But in the third quarter Ben Cunnington, Sam Gibson Lachie Hansen, Mason Wood, Taylor Garner, Ryan Clark, Todd Goldstein all went at zero per cent kicking efficiency.

When rivals do get past Richmond’s high press they hit Alex Rance, David Astbury and Dylan Grimes.

Rance is ranked No. 1 for intercept marks in the competit- ion and Astbury, exceptional again on Saturday, ranks sixth.

The new-look system means even when the Tigers do put together a shocker as they did against Fremantle, they are still in touching distance when they get their game going.

As Paul Roos has stated, it is football that could eventually win finals for Richmond.

Now that would be worth striking up the band for.