AFL round 14 LIVE: Richmond v Carlton in Thursday night blockbuster

Key posts

  • The teams are in
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Round 14 teams are in

West Coast have made wholesale changes as they aim to salvage something out of their horror season, while St Kilda have wielded the axe for their clash with Essendon.

Check out all the ins and outs and how the experts see round 14 playing out.

If you’re a competitive type, have a look at our tipping competition and see where you’d be sitting. So much for tipping being a mug’s game. Former Geelong premiership star Mathew Stokes is making every post a winner.

AFL suspends Bulldog Bailey Smith for two matches

Western Bulldogs star Bailey Smith has been handed a two-match ban by the AFL for conduct unbecoming, after photographs and video emerged of him taking an illicit drug.

Smith will miss the next four games, having incurred a two-match ban for headbutting Geelong’s Zach Tuohy, and will be able to return in round 18. He was suspended for conduct unbecoming under the AFL’s broad-ranging rules for misbehaviour.

Bailey Smith.Credit:Getty Images

Smith, who has not been fined, will be allowed to train with the Bulldogs during his ban and is likely to be at training on Friday.

The AFL confirmed the penalty on Thursday afternoon in a statement. The widely anticipated two-match suspension will see Smith miss the Dogs’ crucial games against Brisbane (round 16) and Sydney (round 17), the headbutt suspension having already forced him out of their next two matches against Greater Western Sydney and Hawthorn.

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What’s an acceptable crowd?

The round one clash between these teams drew 72,179, I doubt we will get such a turnout tonight.

That game was also a Thursday night but on a much warmer night in March whereas conditions today have been typical of a Melbourne winter – so there will be many who will prefer to watch this one from the comfort of their living room.

I would think anything over 50,000 would be a good crowd given the weather. There’ll be a lot of talk about the future of Thursday night footy in Melbourne in winter if it’s below 40,000.

The teams are in

There had been a rumour doing the rounds on socials today that Patrick Cripps would miss tonight with a hamstring injury. That mail is off.

The teams are in and both clubs go in as selected last night. Maurice Rioli is the sub for Richmond, and Lachie Fogarty the sub for Carlton.

It had to be a secret’: The tactical ambush that sparked a famous Carlton-Richmond rivalry

Jon Pierik takes a trip down memory lane to the 1972 grand final.

Carlton legend John Nicholls has opened up about one of the greatest tactical ambushes witnessed on a football field, revealing he devised a secret plan weeks earlier before informing the Blues of how they planned to seize the 1972 premiership, intensifying a rivalry that still burns bright 50 years later.

Crushed by 41 points by Richmond in the second semi-final replay of 1972, the Blues, led by Nicholls, their indomitable captain-coach, knew a revised and bold game plan built on quick ball movement was needed if the Blues were to meet the Tigers again a fortnight later in the grand final.

The Blues were confident of beating St Kilda in the preliminary final, which they did by 16 points. However, for this, they maintained their traditional game plan and positions, ensuring the Tigers – enjoying the week off- had no inkling of what was to come.

Nicholls, despite the Blues finishing top of the ladder, had worn the wrath of supporters and the media after a dour drawn second semi-final at VFL Park and a losing replay a week later at the MCG, confirming that the only way to beat the free-scoring Tigers was at their own game. So, in what remains one of the great grand final masterstrokes, he made up to eight positional changes, including loading the forward line with his best players.

Players were sworn to secrecy at Princes Park on the Sunday morning after the loss to the Tom Hafey-led Tigers at the MCG.

“We knew we couldn’t keep playing the same way, we had to do something different,” Nicholls told The Age.

“Tommy’s attitude about kicking 100 points or more and outscoring the opposition led me to believe that we had tried that several times and led by six goals at half-time and three-quarter-time and got beaten each time. Playing a semi-attacking, semi-defensive game, we probably couldn’t beat them like that, but we could defeat them if we outscored them.”

Carlton legend John Nicholls has opened up about one of the greatest tactical ambushes witnessed on a football field, revealing he devised a secret plan weeks earlier before informing the Blues of how they planned to seize the 1972 premiership, intensifying a rivalry that still burns bright 50 years later.

Crushed by 41 points by Richmond in the second semi-final replay of 1972, the Blues, led by Nicholls, their indomitable captain-coach, knew a revised and bold game plan built on quick ball movement was needed if the Blues were to meet the Tigers again a fortnight later in the grand final.

The Blues were confident of beating St Kilda in the preliminary final, which they did by 16 points. However, for this, they maintained their traditional game plan and positions, ensuring the Tigers – enjoying the week off- had no inkling of what was to come.

Nicholls, despite the Blues finishing top of the ladder, had worn the wrath of supporters and the media after a dour drawn second semi-final at VFL Park and a losing replay a week later at the MCG, confirming that the only way to beat the free-scoring Tigers was at their own game. So, in what remains one of the great grand final masterstrokes, he made up to eight positional changes, including loading the forward line with his best players.

Players were sworn to secrecy at Princes Park on the Sunday morning after the loss to the Tom Hafey-led Tigers at the MCG.

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Welcome

Good evening everyone, thanks for joining me for Thursday night footy between Richmond and Carlton.

The stakes are huge for both clubs. A win for the Tigers would most likely lift them into sixth tonight while a loss would keep them a game out of the eight.

For the Blues, victory would keep them in fourth with only percentage separating them from top spot. Drop this, and they could fall to seventh – and with a game next week against Fremantle – by the end of the round if other results do not fall their way.

The rain has cleared but conditions will be slippery. Who will that favour more?

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