St Kilda Coach Alan Richardson is wary of Carlton’s ability to control possession and prevent the opposition from scoring, ahead of Saturday’s clash at Etihad Stadium.
Brendon Bolton’s team might not be the most prolific scoring team – they are ranked 18th for points for (73.6) – but what they do well is restrict the opposition from turning the scoreboard over and they hold on to the ball as well as any team in the AFL.
The Blues are ranked No. 1 for kicks (228.1), kicking efficiency differential (+3.1 per cent) and kick to handball ratio (1.79) and No. 2 for marks (104.6).
Richardson praised the Blues for their organised game style and their work through the middle of the ground, led by elite running ruckman Matthew Kreuzer and experienced midfield stars Marc Murphy and Bryce Gibbs.
“They’ve been pretty consistent the Blues. They’re very hard to score against; defensively they are really sound,” Richardson told reporters at Trevor Barker Beach Oval on Friday morning.
“It’s hard to execute what you want to do because of the way they setup. ‘Bolts’ has done a terrific job there with how organised and how coordinated they are.
“Kreuzer is giving them a lot of impetus from the middle of the ground, not only with his ruck work but with his engine.
“They’ve got some real experience and class that goes through their midfield; they’re playing some good footy.”
Seven days after claiming the biggest scalp during his time at Linen House Centre, Richardson said his side had taken confidence from their performance against premiership contenders Greater Western Sydney and had prepared well for the Blues.
“We’ve trained well and we’ve prepared well (for Carlton). We were really pleased with the performance (against Greater Western Sydney),” he said.
“It was a performance that saw our guys in a situation we’ve been in a couple of times now where against strong teams we’ve been in the game late but haven’t been able to close the deal or go to another level, so that was really pleasing against a really positive team in GWS.
“I would imagine they’ve got a little bit more belief in our method and our way from that.
“Really what we look at as a coach is how have we prepared for Carlton? And I’m really pleased with the way we have trained, we’ve had a little bit more time and we’ve been able to do a little bit more training.”
In light of Koby Stevens’ one-game ban for a sling tackle on Giants defender Nathan Wilson, Richardson implored his side to continue to be strong with their tackles but to be mindful of player safety at the same time.
“Just where we can wherever possible, in the last little bit of the tackle, be a little bit more careful,” he said.
“We need Koby to be strong and aggressive; we need all our inside mids, in fact every player that gets an opportunity to tackle to be strong and aggressive. But obviously, make sure there’s a bit of duty of care at the back end of that.”
