Two straight weeks being Richmond’s sub has been a blessing in disguise for Tiger wingman Kamdyn McIntosh.
After two injury-riddled seasons, McIntosh has played every game for the Tigers in 2015 so far, with a recently-reduced match-day load helping him freshen up at the midway point of the season.
Initially disappointed to not start in the games against Sydney and GWS, McIntosh is now fit and firing after playing every game so far this season.
“It’s definitely helped me freshen up going into this game. I was starting to get a little bit sore a couple of weeks ago,” McIntosh told Matthew Richardson on Roar Vision.
“The Sydney game, being sub there, gave me a chop out. I only played half a quarter. On the weekend, I only played a quarter and a bit.
“I’m definitely fresh, and ready to go this weekend, so we’ll just see how we go.”
WATCH: The best of Kamdyn McIntosh so far
After two injury-riddled seasons at Tigerland, McIntosh made his debut in Round 1 this year, against tonight’s opponent, Carlton.
He has since reveled in his role as a hard-running wingman, averaging 14.5 disposals per match.
In the past fortnight though, he has developed a new-found appreciation for the important role of the substitute.
“With the Sydney game, I was a little bit disappointed that I was sub at the start, but then I realised how important that sub is to the team when he does comes on,” he said.
“I looked back to a couple of years ago, when Matty White was here, and how much of an impact he made when he came on.
“I tried to think of it that way, as a positive, and I tried to get out there and just make an impact – run as hard as I could. I felt pretty fresh when I got out there.
“The next week, when I was sub again, and I just went in with the same mindset.
“I wanted to just get out there and run to as many contests as I could, because I wasn’t out there for long and I knew I had a lot of energy to burn.
“That’s where I’ve been working with ‘Ladey’ (assistant coach Brendon Lade) to get to the contest and either win it or halve it, and be composed, and I felt like I was doing that on the weekend.”
