Star Richmond midfielder Brett Deledio believes an emphasis on playing a tough brand of football is a major factor behind the team’s recent success.

The Tigers were lauded for their fierce attack on the ball, and midfield supremacy, in last Saturday’s convincing 41-point victory over Hawthorn – their seventh win in the past nine games.

“It comes down to the way ‘Dimma’ wants us to play our footy – putting our head over it and winning the contested footy,” Deledio told SEN.

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“We know that’s what we’d have to do in finals, so we try to emulate that in the home-and-away season, and it paid off for us yesterday (Saturday).”

An assessment of the team’s game style earlier this season, was the catalyst for a change in mindset, according to Deledio.

“After we played Essendon in Round 9, in the Dreamtime game, we sat back and we really questioned ourselves, and how we were going with our attack on the footy,” he said.

“From when we went over to West Coast, we set a standard within our group. 

“Pretty much since then, apart from a couple of games, we’ve attacked games pretty well, and attacked the opposition pretty well.

“It was a great win yesterday, but that’s the standard we want to set, and if you don’t live up to that, you won’t play, as Dimma has said.”