To get over a dour side like the Swans while not playing an incredible brand of footy speaks volumes of how far Richmond has come in recent years and hopefully bodes well for the future.
What made it more special for me personally was that it was the first live game I have been able to attend this year, so to witness it in the flesh (and the opportunity to be in the rooms pre-game) was a real buzz.
The sheer amount of footy the boys were able to win, especially in the first half, was obviously a huge catalyst in the large margin early in the piece and in the end probably decided the match. Dustin Martin, Nathan Foley, Trent Cotchin and Brett Deledio were all amongst the possessions and any time your prime movers get a lot of footy you’re in for a good performance.
An area of the field that perhaps got overlooked for us previously is in defence, but it seems the media and its experts are finally seeing what most of us have seen for the past 18 months or so. Key position defenders Alex Rance and Dylan Grimes have both been revelations this season, not just for their defensive work but also for their new found ability to win and rebound the footy.
This has bred confidence into each other’s games and has helped them develop into genuinely dangerous players for our club going forward. This defensive partnership should last another eight or so years yet so it’s great that the club has been able to lock in these two as long term key backs.
They aren’t the only defenders that continue to impress however, as many of our smaller running defenders have also impressed recently. New mature-age recruit Steven Morris has got better with each game he has played and the way he attacks the ball often has me worried for his safety. He plays with much more experience than his seven games suggest and was a very astute pick up by the club given he came across for almost nothing during the week.
This week however will be an even bigger test for the Tigers. Beating Sydney has definitely eased the pressure on the outcome of this week’s performance, but if the boys can snatch a win here against another quality opponent in the Bombers it could help immensely down the track if we are in the hunt come finals time.
The Essendon midfielders in Jobe Watson and Brent Stanton have been winning as much ball as anyone in the competition, so it will be incredibly important to negate their influence if we are any chance to pull off an upset victory. Elsewhere on the ground I feel we match up favourably against our Essendon counterparts, but with Tyrone Vickery missing again Jack Riewoldt will have to perform well for us to kick a winning score.
Its set to be a grand final like atmosphere at the MCG, so if you are lucky enough to be attending make sure to lend your full support to the boys as they set out to crush the Bombers in Dreamtime at the ‘G.
Go Tiges!
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