So far this week we as supporters have been told that the Richmond we watched play last Saturday wasn’t the real Richmond.
But having been let down, let’s be honest, a lot by this club over the past decade it’s hard to simply brush a loss like that aside and treat it as a one-off.
After being told numerous times by coaches and players alike that the Richmond Football Club jumper would never hit the floor, we had just about 22 contributors who all did exactly that against Carlton.
But they not only let the jumper hit the floor, they also stamped on it and wiped their feet across it.
Apologies for the over-dramatization, but the lack of respect paid to the club by the majority of the players that ran out in our beloved yellow and black last week was just appalling.
I was truly starting to believe that performances like this were a thing of the past at Richmond, but unfortunately I was wrong.
The boys rolled over when the going got tough against the Blues, which was bitterly disappointing given that is one facet of our game this year that hasn’t been too bad, we kept on fighting.
One positive we as Richmond supporters can take out of this though is how the team responds against arch rivals Essendon this Saturday night.
Essendon have obviously come off a huge upset win against the Cats and have gotten their season back on track. They will also be out for blood given the touch up we gave them almost seven weeks ago.
If the club wants to challenge for a finals berth this season and wants to regain some of the respect it lost from last week’s loss against the Blues, then there is no better time than now to put in a good performance.
One problem that the match committee faces this week is that there aren’t a whole lot of changes that can be made due to our injury list. There are a few players in my mind though that should come in to replace those who did not offer a yelp last week.
Without knowing where he stands with his personal issues at the moment, I think Mitch Morton is a must to be included. He has played a few games now at VFL level since his hiatus and will give us that touch of class up forward that we really need.
Shane Tuck must also surely be after a recall. Has been consistently racking up 30+ possessions at VFL level and you know that he is going to give his all. Reece Conca should be ready to come straight back in also after having a week’s break.
I’d expect ruckman Angus Graham to also get another chance this week, possibly for Andrew Browne who found the going tough against Robert Warnock and Matthew Kreuzer last week.
The fallout from Saturday night’s ‘Clash of the Sash’ against Essendon is going to be very interesting to see. If the players can give a good account of themselves and bounce back with a win after a loss like that then we may be able to believe that the Carlton match was indeed a one-off.
However, if there is a repeat performance of last week I’d imagine some serious questions will be asked of the entire playing group and coaching staff at Tigerland.
Either way, we will learn a lot about our footy club come 7:10 Saturday night.
