Richmond ‘Immortal’ and new Australian Football Hall of Fame ‘Legend’, Royce Hart, has given a unique insight into what made him the consummate big-occasion player throughout his illustrious league career.
Hart tells Tiger great Matthew Richardson, in part two of a special ‘Roar Vision’ interview, how he thrived when the mercury in the match-importance barometer soared.
“I always thought that if you could play a bit that playing in front of a crowd, a lot of people would see you,” Hart said.
“A lot of players haven’t got confidence in their own ability and get nervous before big games, but I wasn’t like that.
“I thought I could play a bit and I could show 100,000 people in a final what I could do.”
In the second half of an absorbing interview, Hart also outlines what made Tommy Hafey such as successful coach at Tigerland.
“I think Tommy might have been before his time because of the fact that he concentrated heavily on fitness,” he said.
“I can recall training here at Punt Road before a final against Collingwood, and the Press would go to Victoria Park for training, and then they’d come across here, which would take 10 or 15 minutes, and we’d be halfway through a training session!
“We would train twice as long as any other side and I think that was the secret to winning finals.”