Sam Lonergan tipped this . . .
When the Richmond development coach presented young Tiger Seth Campbell with the Cosgrove-Jenkins award, as the Club’s best first year player at last year’s Jack Dyer Medal presentation night, he declared: “This young man is going to provide us with many highlights, I can assure you of that. He’s going to be a highlights package of energy and excitement. And he’s got great work ethic, dedication, along with great spirit . . . He’s going to be a long-term player and a key part of our future.”
Campbell’s scorching run and match-sealing soccered goal for the Tigers in last Thursday night’s Round 1 victory over Carlton at the MCG, followed by a spectacular celebration – a cartwheel and backflip – was an energetic, exciting highlights package of the highest order. And it sent the Tiger Army into raptures.
“I joked before the game that the right time I’d do the backflip . . . We spoke about it last year, but there wasn’t really a scenario to pull the backflip out . . . I thought that was the right place and time,” Campbell said on SEN.
“I’ve been doing back flips since I was a kid, but never really pulled it out in games . . . I was a bit up and about . . . I was pumped. So, I just pulled it out. Thought it was the right time.”
So, would he do it again?
“If there’s 80,000 at the ‘G, and it’s a scenario like that, probably yeah,” he replied.
Aside from the now famous match-sealing goal and dazzling gymnastics display, the talented forward was a valuable contributor throughout the match for Richmond with another goal and seven tackles.