Richmond forward Sam Lloyd is no stranger to kicking a big goal in a clutch situation.
His match-winning, set-shot goal after the final siren, against Sydney at the MCG in Round 8 last year, is indelibly etched into the hearts and minds of the Tiger Army.
Fast forward 16 months, and Lloyd, playing for the Tigers at VFL level in Saturday’s elimination final against Collingwood at the North Port Oval, produced another moment of goalkicking brilliance to lift his team to victory.
After the Magpies had hit the front for the first time all match late in the last quarter, following a quick-fire, four-goal burst, it was Lloyd, with a brilliant, set-shot six-pointer from a tight angle, who regained Richmond’s ascendancy on the scoreboard.
Lloyd, playing predominantly through the midfield, was superb throughout the match, finishing with 33 disposals, including 20 contested possessions, five inside-50s, and, although a bit wayward with his kicking for goal (1.4 overall), converted the crucial one for Richmond.
“I was a bit ‘yippy’ in front of the goals in the first quarter,” Lloyd said.
“I couldn’t really judge the wind . . . it was a bit funny.
“But I kicked that last one when it mattered, and it was a good feeling to go through.
“I didn’t think we had that long left, but it turned out to be about four minutes or so.”
Lloyd liked the way the Tigers went about putting their stamp on the contest early, and were then able to steady the ship late in the encounter.
“I think we came out really hard. Our defensive pressure was really up, our tackling was good, and we had numbers around the ball,” he said.
“We then slipped a little bit after half-time, and they raised the fight a bit in that area as well and caught us off-guard.
“We were up against it, but credit to us, we’re a strong team and we came back well.”