Saturday nights feature AFL Round 6 match is between Richmond Tigers and Geelong Cats with the game to be played at Melbourne Cricket Ground. The opening bounce is set to commence at 7:40pm local time with away team Geelong Cats currently holding favouritism although the Tigers played very well last week despite losing. View our AFL live scores, odds and results for the game between Richmond Tigers and Geelong Cats.
WHERE AND WHEN: MCG, Saturday May 4, 7:40pm
Opening Odds:
Richmond Tigers $2.90 vs Geelong Cats $1.43 at Sportsbet Australia
Richmond Tigers $2.80 vs Geelong Cats $1.45 at Luxbet Australia
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Preview:
Richmond take on Geelong on Saturday, 7.40pm at the MCG. The Tigers have had a bad couple of weeks with two recent losses, deflating the three wins that started off their season. This match is a must-win for them if they want to stay on the right side of the top eight and avoid the stress that comes with the middle of the pack. Geelong will be very hard to beat however, with an unbeaten record in 2013 and lots of in-form players giving them the favourite status for this match.
Teams:
Richmond Tigers: 
B: Steven Morris, Alex Rance, Troy Chaplin
HB: Dylan Grimes, Ricky Petterd, Bachar Houli
C: Chris Newman, Trent Cotchin, Matt White
HF: Brett Deledio, Shane Edwards, Dan Jackson
F: Luke McGuane, Jack Riewoldt, Ty Vickery
Foll: Ivan Maric, Dustin Martin, Nick Vlastuin
Int: Brandon Ellis, Jake King, Shaun Grigg, Chris Knights
Emerg: Jake Batchelor, Shane Tuck, Robin Nahas
IN: Steven Morris, Troy Chaplin, Jake King
OUT: Brad Helbig (hamstring), Robin Nahas, Jake Batchelor
Geelong Cats:
B: Andrew Mackie, Tom Lonergan, Corey Enright
HB: Joel Corey, Harry Taylor, Taylor Hunt
C: Mitch Duncan, Jimmy Bartel, Steven Motlop
HF: Allen Christensen, Steve Johnson, Billie Smedts
F: Paul Chapman, Tom Hawkins, James Podsiadly
Foll: Mark Blicavs, Joel Selwood, James Kelly
Int: Cameron Guthrie, George Horlin-Smith, Trent West, Mathew Stokes
Emerg: Jackson Thurlow, Jordan Murdoch, Mitch Brown
IN: Paul Chapman, Tom Hawkins
OUT: Jared Rivers (knee), Josh Caddy
Cats’ Chapman ruled out of AFL match
Richmond gained a significant boost a day out from their AFL match against Geelong when Paul Chapman was a late withdrawal from the Cats lineup.
The triple premiership star was expected to return from a week out with hamstring tightness.
But the Cats announced on Friday that youngster Jordan Murdoch would take his place.
Geelong are unbeaten and will still start warm favourites against the Tigers, who keep finding ways to blow close games.
By contrast, the Cats appear to have forgotten how to lose.
A controversial goal umpiring incident and Jack Riewoldt’s form aside, the simple fact is Richmond suffered a one-point loss to Fremantle last week.
Tight losses cruelled their finals chances last year and the Tigers had been confident they had fixed that problem.
By contrast, Geelong have staged big comebacks against Hawthorn and North Melbourne in their flawless start to the season.
Richmond are 3-2 and certainly look capable of returning to the finals, but coach Damien Hardwick said they must play better.
“They’re a formidable outfit and we’re certainly looking forward to the opportunity to play them,” Hardwick said of Geelong.
“We think it will bring out our best footy and we think we’re capable of getting a result.”
The Cats have won their past eight games against Richmond, dating back to 2006.
But only one of those matches was at the MCG, Saturday night’s venue, and four were at Simonds Stadium, otherwise known as Fortress Geelong.
Richmond must lift their tackling, an area where they are ranked last in the AFL.
Hardwick noted their tackle count was up against Fremantle and said it was a question of the players’ defensive mindset.
“It will be something we’re looking forward to, especially against a rampant Geelong side,” he said.
“They play very fast footy. They’re upbeat – they play on very quickly.
“No doubt the tackle pressure will be a big one for us this week.”
The criticism of Riewoldt this week means there will be plenty of focus on the key forwards, with Cats star Tom Hawkins also returning from a tight back.
Jared Rivers’ knee injury means Cats utility Harry Taylor will likely have to stay in defence and support Tom Lonergan against Riewoldt, Luke McGuane and Ty Vickery.
But any advantage the Tigers might have with their key forwards is balanced by concerns about their defence.
A fortnight ago, Collingwood’s Travis Cloke monstered the Richmond backs with seven goals and, no doubt, the Cats have taken careful note.
“Defensively, we think we’ve been pretty capable in all those games – the Collingwood game, the third quarter, the glaring exception,” Hardwick said.
“Overall, there are some things going okay, but we still have to make sure we tick a few boxes to get us back to playing the footy we know we can.”