Wow, another interesting week in football!
We saw the début of the Gold Coast Suns. There were substantial wins, crushing losses and nail biters too.
But perhaps the most devastating event for us Richmond supporters was the draw on Friday with Saint Kilda. Many fans will have walked away feeling disappointed by the draw, no-ones song plays, there’s a stunned silence in the air and the points are split. It’s a weird feeling.
However, instead of losing heart in the team, we should instead look to the inspiring signs that the game brought. Three of our newest players in Conca, Helbig and Bachelor stood up again in this match and made their presence felt.
Firstly Reece Conca, a second gamer up against veteran player Stephen Milne. Milne is one of Saint Kilda’s most talented players and when he gets on a roll he can be a match winner. Yet instead of putting a more experienced defender on him, Hardwick and his team choose Conca.
And left him there for the majority of the match, even when it was clear Conca was struggling to hold his man. The Milne-Conca matchup was not a matchup based on the drive to win, but because Richmond wanted Conca to learn.
There is no better way to learn than by experiencing and Conca will certainly be better for the experience. This match up is indicative of how the club as a whole are growing this year. There’s a thirst at the club that hasn’t been there for awhile. The boys are keen to learn and keen to grow. No longer happy with losing, they don’t celebrate holding last year’s Grand Finalists to a draw. Instead they learn from each match and they better themselves.
Jake Bachelor is another player who is making a valuable contribution in his first year at the club. Showing signs that he will be important backman some day, Bachelor makes good decisions when he gets the ball and doesn’t panic as some new players can have the tendency to. Although he’s not the biggest man on the field, Bachelor stands his ground and makes his decisions wisely.
Finally, Bradley Helbig. As soon as he was subbed on for Jack Riewoldt, he kicked a crucial goal which rallied the team, who would have been feeling the loss of our star foward. Having prepared himself to be the substitute, I highly doubt he would have thought he’d be subbing on for Jack but that’s the way things played out and Helbig made the most of the opportunity, looking good going forward. He has strong hands and laid some excellent tackles. For an eighteen year old, he’s showing a bit of talent and hunger for the ball that will strengthen the club in future years. The game was in the balance and he didn’t look out of place.
While I’m on the subject of goals, we had ten different goal kickers in the match, none of them Riewoldt. While fans and players alike may have thought Riewoldt’s absence meant game over, this rejuvenated Tigers team showed that they are the real deal, kicking fourteen goals without their star forward. This should certainly hold them in good stead for the future.
These newest tiger cubs are helping to bring hope to the club again. “The Tiger is Stirring” isn’t just a catchy slogan thought up to gain members. It’s the mentality down at the club. The boys are growing, learning and gaining more confidence. They are hungry for the ball and for the win. They are tougher and stronger than previous years. And since we’ve had a loss and we’ve had a draw, it’s about time we had a win.
Until next time, Carn the Tigers!
Meg.
