RICHMOND defender Luke McGuane was feeling the pain of Sunday’s final-quarter fadeout to the Western Bulldogs, but believes his young team has plenty to look forward to.
The Tigers blew a 25-point lead in the last term to eventually draw with the Bulldogs, having conceded three goals in the final three minutes.
“It’s a hollow feeling, it’s not a great feeling,” McGuane said.
“It’s pretty painful, especially after we had them on toast and we should have beaten them.
“We lost it in the last four minutes, which was very, very disappointing obviously, but there are positives there because they were undefeated and we know we can beat them.
“We should have beaten them … it’s a big negative to only get a draw out of it when we should have got the full four points.”
McGuane said “a couple of fundamental errors” had cost his side late in the game, while fatigue had also set in for a few Tigers.
Despite the somewhat disappointing result, Richmond had plenty to smile about on the day.
The biggest plus was the wave of newer faces that kept the side in the game and ultimately edged them in front in the second half.
“It’s a real positive we’re getting a real changeover off the bench now as well,” McGuane said.
“We’re getting young kids like Shane Edwards and Jack Riewoldt in the forward line who can come on and cause a bit of trouble for the opposition.
“So if they’re going to keep going and continue to blossom and get better and better, then we’re going to have a pretty good side, I think.”
Riewoldt, 19, impressed with three goals, while Edwards, also 19, was lively with two majors. Another youngster to stamp his mark was 21-year-old Matthew White, who had 14 touches and kicked a goal.
Richmond plays undefeated Hawthorn at the MCG next Sunday, and McGuane says the Tigers can cause an upset.
“It’s another big challenge but we haven’t even played the Dome that well [today], so with the side we’ve got we think we can knock off the Hawks,” he said.