I’d be lying if I said I didn’t have a feeling of trepidation as we enter what is perhaps the most important year for this football club in the past decade.
The pre-season has been a solid one for the Tigers, winning three out of five matches including a thumping of reigning premiers Geelong down at Simonds Stadium. However, as we all know a great pre-season campaign does not necessarily equate to a successful regular season, which is why I can’t help but become nervous when the media begins to pump up our tyres.
Don’t get me wrong, I’m as excited as anyone when it comes to thinking about our future. I mean, how can you not when you have the likes of Cotchin, Martin and Deledio running through the middle with Jack Riewoldt and Tyrone Vickery up forward? But I think as Richmond fans we’ve seen this all too many times before, so it might be wise to not expect too much at this stage in the year.
It has been well publicised that Richmond has a horror start to the year playing Carlton, Collingwood, Geelong and West Coast inside the first five rounds, which leaves me a little suspicious as to why the media are all of a sudden pumping us up like never before.
Are they trying to build us up just to knock us down? The media has nothing to lose in that regard and nothing sells papers more than when Richmond is in trouble.
But enough with the negativity.
It’s quite clear that we are primed to knock off Carlton for the first time in four years given their pre-season form, injuries to key players and the confidence we have gained throughout the past month.
The result of the match will ultimately be determined from the midfield battle which will be the highlight of the night for me. It seems our midfielders are now mature enough to match it with the best, and they will have to be at their best when they face off against Judd, Murphy, Gibbs, Simpson and a whole host of others.
With Carlton going into the match with an understrength defence, it will also prove vital that Riewoldt, Vickery and our other forwards make the most of their opportunities when the time comes. Getting Carlton and its inexperienced defence on the ropes early will be key to any potential victory.
With such a huge build up to tomorrow’s game, its times like these where I wonder what must be going through the player’s minds. They have worked tirelessly for the best part of five months for this match, so here’s hoping for a great performance and a long overdue victory against the Blues.
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