Mark Williams thought he had seen it all in terms of crowd involvement throughout four decades of top-level, highly-successful football as both a player and coach in South Australia and Victoria . . .

‘Choco’, however, was blown away by what he witnessed at the MCG on Sunday, September 8, 2013 – the day of Richmond’s first finals appearance in 12 years.

“I played with Port Adelaide, when they were the Magpies in the SANFL, and they were the biggest thing in town.  I played in the 1981 Grand Final for Collingwood (against Carlton) and there were 112,000 there.  But the noise that we had at our game against Carlton a few weeks back, was just out of this world,” Williams told ‘Roar Vision’. 

“I sit on the bench, and stand there, and honestly, I feel like jumping on top of the fence and get the crowd going because they are so good.

“I tell Jack (Riewoldt) and a few of the others – even ‘Dimma’ (Damien Hardwick) to waltz down to the Punt Road end (of the MCG) at three-quarter time and get the crowd going, because it’s amazing.  I reckon they can add five goals to us and get us over the line.

“If our crowd can keep understanding how valuable they are, and what they might be able to do as far as chanting is concerned, I think they could really add to the atmosphere and get the boys going.”

Williams has thoroughly enjoyed his first year at Richmond, in the role of development manager, and is genuinely excited about the Tigers’ prospects for 2014, although he did issue a warning.

“The Club is brilliant and moving in the right direction, with so many supporters, and so many great sponsors,” he said.

“Dimma and ‘Benny’ Gale have done a great job and there’s really a solid base for us to springboard off now.

“It’s all good to talk about it, but we have to get out there and deliver . . .

“We can’t stand still, we can’t just expect that next year we’ll go up.  We have to grab the early games, get on a roll, and make sure that we nail the close-finish games, so that we can win 16-17 (games) and finish in the top four.”

Williams cited Richmond captain Trent Cotchin as a prime example of striving for continual improvement.

“I suppose our best player is Trent, and to see him in the gym now, saying he’s going to put some size on, because he wants to be a bit stronger when  he gets tackled, and a bit more resilient when people are tagging him, just shows you that even the best players need to improve,” Williams said.

“I think the quality of the group is that no-one’s satisfied, and when you hold that desire within the group, it’s amazing where you can get to.”