Richmond great Matthew Richardson highlights six points arising from the Tigers’ 23-point victory over Brisbane at the MCG last Saturday.
- The win again highlighted the greater spread of talent now evident at Tigerland.
As good as captain and star midfielder Trent Cotchin again was, it was the valuable contributions made by so many Tiger players, across the board, which stood out for me last Saturday. In recent seasons, Richmond needed its big guns – Cotchin, Brett Deledio, Jack Riewoldt and Dustin Martin – to fire, to ensure team success. Nowadays, however, the depth of playing talent within the group is such, that there isn’t that same reliance on individual brilliance. The fact that the Tigers are unlikely to have a player in this year’s All-Australian side, despite making the finals, is a real positive, as it highlights their evenness. It’s the improvement displayed by older players such as Daniel Jackson, Matt White, Nathan Foley, Bachar Houli and Alex Rance, plus the emergence of talented youngsters like Reece Conca, Brandon Ellis and Nick Vlastuin, along with the acquisition of Troy Chaplin, that’s really made a significant difference.
- Troy Chaplin is the mature-age recruit of the year.
I know I’m a bit biased, but I can’t think of another older recruit, from another league club, who’s had more of an impact than what Troy Chaplin has had at Richmond this year. From the moment Chaplin walked into Punt Road, following a 140-game, nine-season career at Port Adelaide, he’s exerted a considerable influence, both on and off the field, due to his football ability, nous, maturity and excellent character. The 27-year-old has played a major role in tightening a Tigers’ defence that’s now ranked No. 3 in the competition for least points against. In last Saturday’s clash with the Lions, Chaplin patrolled Richmond’s back half superbly, constantly cutting off opposition attacking thrusts. He finished with a game-high 10 marks and picked up 21 disposals in a performance that, in my opinion, encapsulated his value to the Tiger team.
- Ivan Maric sent the Tiger Army into a frenzy with his Ray Gabelich impersonation.
The Yellow and Black fans leapt out of their seats when the big bloke took a handpass on the members’ wing and then, instead of dishing it off in customary fashion, decided to embark on a bit of a run. By the time he took his third bounce, and was heading into the forward-50 area, memories of burly Collingwood ruckman Ray Gabelich’s famous multi-bounce, running goal in the 1964 Grand Final against Melbourne were rekindled. Unfortunately, however, rather than attempting a shot at what would, undoubtedly, have been a strong goal of the year contender, Maric opted to pass the ball to a teammate. Hopefully, though, he might just be inspired to go on another Gabbo-like goal “sprint” at some stage.
- Jack Riewoldt again stepped up to the plate when most needed by the team.
Just as he did late in the Round 16 match against Gold Coast at Cairns, Jack Riewoldt kicked the match-sealing goal for the Tigers after marking tight on the boundary line in the Punt Road end forward pocket, and then steering the ball through for full points with his non-preferred left foot. Riewoldt had kicked only four behinds up to that stage of the match, although he had given several away to teammates, but come the crunch, he again delivered big time, much to the sheer delight of the Yellow and Black faithful. By the way, I’m more than happy to give up a bit of my time over the next few weeks and help Jack out with some goalkicking practice, if he’s interested . . .
- Matthew White has developed into a real weapon for the Richmond side.
With his explosive running, Matty White’s value to the Tigers has never been greater. Earlier in the season, I wrote about the significant impact White was having in what had become a regular substitute’s role for him. Well, he’s no longer wearing the green vest, because the Tiger team needs his swift run-and-carry right throughout games. As we saw again last Saturday, White can cause plenty of damage when he is released with the ball out of tight traffic. He had 19 disposals against the Lions, including six inside-50s, and kicked a typically team-lifting goal. Matt White’s league football story has been one of perseverance. He reached the 100-game milestone in this, his eighth season at Richmond, and I’m rapt to see him doing so well now, as he’s a Tiger through and through.
- There is no ceiling on Richmond’s 2013 finals campaign.
Having clinched that long-awaited finals berth last Saturday, with win No. 13 for the season, there’s no reason for the Tigers to rest on their laurels. Sure, Tiger supporters have every right to feel delighted and very proud of the team. But the playing group now has an opportunity to push as far as they can over the remaining weeks of this season. The injury list, touchwood, isn’t too severe, there are quite a few players at VFL level with Coburg strongly pressing their claims for AFL selection (Lonergan, A. Edwards, Batchelor, Dea, Helbig, McBean, McDonough, etc.), and there is a growing confidence within the Richmond side. Who knows how far the Tigers can go in September? Now that they have secured their spot in the finals, they just need to give it their very best shot.
