Talk about a weekend of mixed emotions. Every team I support or play in got a win – except Richmond. I managed to watch my San Antonio Spurs move deeper into the NBA play-offs, I watched Coburg cruise to its fifth-straight victory in the VFL, and I even managed to pilot my basketball team to our first win of the season.
Unfortunately, the Tigers could not come up trumps. It was our eighth loss in-a-row, but after reflecting on our performance against Adelaide last Friday night, I’m not really too sure what else we can do. The team is obviously struggling with injuries to the nucleus, and some costly skill errors. At times, however, we are still managing to play some pretty exciting football . . .
The final margin at AAMI Stadium was the Crows by nine points, but it would be quite reasonable to suggest the Tigers could have won had ‘Richo’ not been kicked in the eye when our momentum was reaching a crescendo in the final stanza. His injury was indicative of the season as a whole – as the drought was about to be broken, our leading goalkicker cops a boot to the face . . . from his own teammate, Andrew Krakouer, and the game was lost.
The football gods are against us, there’s no denying it. They have been since January, when Mark Coughlan slipped in the shower and immediately ruled himself out of the 2007 season. Richo’s injury was just another chapter in a long line of rough luck.
Believe me, I’m not trying to make excuses here. But things are definitely not going our way. Even at Coburg, fate is doing its best to destroy our season. Luke McGuane was the victim last weekend, having had his VFL match at full-back against Tasmania at Bellerive Oval momentarily cut short as he and his Tassie Devils opponent ran straight into the goal post. The post proceeded to snap, and crash right onto McGuane’s shoulder.
Not only are the football gods shining elsewhere, but the Devil is now pushing goal posts onto our players. Oh, the irony!
But through thick and thin, our Tiger players have kept their heads high. They showed great determination last Friday night, again managing to avert a possible blow-out and seriously challenging one of the league’s best sides.
The first quarter was another slow start as the Crows had a scoring spree of seven goals to three. We had a real fight on our hands, as it began to look a lot like a clash of men against boys. Too often, the Tigers were simply out-bodied and out-muscled, but when you consider most of our players would be lucky to have 50 games and a couple of pre-seasons under their belt, there is plenty of time for them to bulk up in the gym.
Much like the Port Adelaide game the previous week, I was decidedly nervous at the first break. We could easily have just sat down and suffered another big defeat, but instead the team rallied together and looked to break the lines and create goals. Shane Edwards, the 18-year-old in his debutant season, was showing everyone how it’s done, consistently running up the wings and dodging opponents at will. He turned it over a few times, but was an excitement machine in full flight. With a bit more size, it’s not hard to imagine him having a big say in the next 10 years of the Richmond Football Club.
We managed five goals for the quarter as the game turned into a bit of a shoot-out. I was very excited at what I was seeing, with some moments giving me the shivers – although that could have been the cold Melbourne night. However, Adelaide started playing more tempo-footy in the third quarter, as the game slowed right down. Nathan Foley was important in this period . . . His overall performance was extremely impressive as he tore Tyson Edwards to shreds in the centre, and added some more Jack Dyer Medal votes to his name (and perhaps some Brownlow ones as well). He is a true Tiger, with amazing endurance, skill and strength, despite his lack of size.
The game rolled into the final stages soon enough, and despite a long day at school, I was wide awake – I could taste a win. The stage was set perfectly, with Terry Wallace shelving the ultra-flood of 2006 and telling his players to take risks and attack, no matter what the cost. Jake King and Cam Howat were among those to heed his words, putting in top-notch efforts that belied their former status on the Richmond rookie list.
Momentum was on our side and we were looking all set for our first win of the ’07 season. Then it all went pear-shaped – Richo got injured, Dean Polo popped his shoulder, Adelaide slowed it down and took the four points. However, we never gave up even when the result appeared certain. Graham Polak drilled a great goal late, as did Brett Deledio, to cap off another impressive display.
It was Adam Pattison, however, who typified the night. He tried and tried and tried, putting in the best game of his AFL career despite fighting below his weight in the ruck against Ben Hudson. His numbers were superb – 21 touches, 14 hit-outs and six tackles – but what really stood out was Patto’s work-rate right to the final siren. Once seen as a key-forward prospect, I now truly believe that he can make it as an AFL ruckman.
Dean Polo was another to impress, holding Scott Thompson to his worst game of the year and playing through a dislocated shoulder. Chris Newman was also influential, while there were some exciting signs from the returning Will Thursfield and Andrew Krakouer.
In the VFL, Jack Riewoldt put his hand up for Richo’s spot with another solid game. Cleve Hughes and Kent Kingsley will also come into contention, while Matt White should wear the Yellow and Black again soon. Names like Casserly and Connors are also becoming important players – currently for Coburg, but higher honors loom.
This Saturday night is ‘Dreamtime at the G’. This is fast shaping as our most important game of the year. The effort has been improving weekly, and finally our kids are starting to get the hang of AFL football. Can we get everyone on the same page against one of our arch rivals? Get down to the MCG on Saturday evening and find out – you won’t be disappointed . . .