Unfortunately both my parents are away overseas at the moment, so I attended this week’s match solo. However, I had the opportunity to sit next to a group of international students attending their very first AFL game with their university. In the half time break one of them asked if he could interview me about why I love football, and more specifically why I barrack for Richmond. I rattled off a few explanations on how the game is interesting and exciting, and how I admired the skill and fitness of the players as a whole, but then I really started to think about why I love Richmond. I explained to the student that it was the passion of our boys that made me proud to barrack for them, especially of late. There’s a winning feeling in the air at Richmond, I said. We are no longer willing to settle for ninth. If we are challenged in the game, as we have been in almost all the games this season so far, we don’t give up like we might have done previously. As our fantastic club song puts it ‘We never weaken ‘til the final siren's gone’ and this has certainly been the case in every game. Against teams we were not expected to win against, we fight until the very last second, always believing we can be winners.
The best thing is that all the boys are beginning to think and act like winners. In the Sydney match we only had three players who did not get into the double figures with disposals, and one of those was the sub Brandon Ellis. Rather than relying on our ‘key’ players to fire up the team when it comes to the crunch, other players have stepped up. Tuck, Foley, Grigg, Houli, Conca. All these boys have taken their games up a level and this has improved our depth to no end. Instead of having four or five ‘star’ players, we have worked on bridging the gap and now the difference between our best on ground and our worst grows less and less each week. I am particularly pleased with the efforts of Grimes and Rance in the backline. They both have progressed excellently and can now be confidently matched up to any key forward in the league. The addition of Ivan Maric has also added a great deal to the team and I am pleased with how he has slotted into his role so smoothly.
The boys are certainly challenging the stereotype that has surrounded the club for too long. That we finish ninth, that we cant beat any decent clubs, that we’re a good chance to finish bottom. We’re no longer a club that people can call losers. We’re a team of winners, and we know it. We’re no longer ‘stirring’, we’re roaring. We don’t settle for ‘honourable losses’. We only settle for hard fought wins. That’s why I love this club and that’s why I’m excited to see how we go against an in-form Essendon side this week at the Dreamtime match. I’ll see you all at the ‘G.
Meg.
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