Richmond’s prized 2019 key-forward recruit Tom Lynch was a special guest on Fox Footy’s ‘AFL 360’ program late last week. Here’s what he had to say on a variety of topics relating to his successful transition from the Gold Coast to Tigerland.
On the build-up to his first AFL final
“It’s exciting to still be training this time of year . . . I’m looking forward to it. The Club’s really good, gave us a few days off early in the week. Obviously, having the bye, we’ve still got a long way to the game. I’m sure it will ramp up, that excitement. Just trying to let the game come next week and not get too excited, too early.”
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On playing the final in familiar territory in Queensland
“Obviously a bit of irony, but I’m looking forward to getting up there. I saw their (Brisbane) last game against Geelong up there and they were super. The Gabba’s been packed and it’s great to see for Queensland footy.”
On Damien Hardwick’s strong support
“Going into it (the season) I thought I’d improve. Obviously hadn’t been with a new group, first and foremost, and not doing a lot of pre-season and training with the boys. So I knew I was going to build. And ‘Dimma’ was awesome, especially probably six weeks in, when I was copping a little bit of criticism with how I was going. He rang me up . . . I remember it was a Tuesday night, about seven o’clock, about to have dinner, and he said, ‘We love you. We’re really happy with how you’re going at the moment. Just keep going’. It was great from Dimma. It’s seven o’clock at night, he’s with his family, and he worried about ringing me, which just shows the amount of care he has.”
On his impressive progress during the season
“I had a chat in my mid-season review, ‘How do you think you’re going?’ I said I think I could be playing better than I am and I want to be playing better than what I am. And Dimma again said, ‘Look, you’ve been fantastic. We know your best footy’s in front of you’. He’s said that all year with our side, to be honest. It was good to finish off strongly in the back half (of the season).”
On Jack Riewoldt’s return from a lengthy injury lay-off
“You could just see every week his improvement and getting more confidence . . . similar to me coming back, both with lower-leg injuries. It takes a bit of time. It was great to see him on the weekend (four goals v Brisbane). It’s exciting for me, when he’s come back in. It’s really let me play better footy.”
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On his relationship with Riewoldt
“To be honest, he’s been amazing ever since I got to the Club. He’s made me feel so welcome, and so have the rest of the players as well. It’s just been great to learn off him. First time in my career I’ve had a senior guy in the forward line that I can learn off. You can say we’re building, but I feel like we’ve got great chemistry already.”
On playing in MCG blockbusters
“I remember the Anzac Eve game against Melbourne, I just looked up and thought, how good’s this! This is amazing. It’s good fun playing at the ‘G’. Obviously we’ve been winning a few games and it’s been awesome. So I would say it’s everything I’d imagined.”
