Richmond star Brett Deledio is confident the experience the Tigers have gained over the past couple of years, being part of the September action, will significantly benefit them in this season’s finals, which start next week.
Although they were bundled out in consecutive elimination finals, Deledio believes the playing group learned some valuable lessons, and is now well equipped to put them into practice.
“‘Dimma’ (coach Damien Hardwick) is always on to us about acting like you’ve been here before, and that’s something that really helps, I think, having those previous two years, especially for our younger guys,” Deledio said on this week’s edition of ‘Talking Tigers’.
Tigerland takes over Etihad Stadium this Friday night, with Superstore outlets around the ground
”But even those younger guys have already played in one or two finals now . . .
“The beauty of playing for the ‘Tiges’ is that we play in front of big crowds.
“‘Dreamtime’ (this year), I think was 89-90,000, Round 1 (v Carlton) was similar.
“So, we’re used to that. But I think it all comes back down to playing our processes and getting them right.
“And, the team that can do them for the longest usually wins.”
Deledio also outlined another important factor in Richmond’s bid for finals success . . .
“Your good players are generally going to play well most weeks . . . It comes down to your next tier – your next 10-15 blokes,” he said.
“If they can play good, solid footy, you’re well on your way.
“Just keeping them going’s probably the key.”
