Livewire forward Jason Castagna is in a positive space as he gears up for his third finals campaign in as many years.
Speaking to RSN on Thursday morning, Castagna said he expects his past finals experience to hold him in good stead this September.
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“My first season really playing consistent footy in 2017 and going on to win a flag was pretty amazing,” Castagna said.
“Last year…once we dropped out of the prelim it was a bit of a realisation that it’s not that easy.
“This year, with a fair bit more experience in the game, I’m pretty keen and feel like I’m in a better place this year to tackle the finals.”
The 23-year-old played all but one of Richmond’s home and away games this year, averaging 14.6 disposals and 5.9 score involvements per game.
He has booted 24 goals in 2019, highlighted by a career-high five-goal haul against Gold Coast in Round 16.
Castagna has long made up a part of Richmond’s dangerous ‘mosquito fleet’.
He has, however, relished the change up in the Tigers’ forward line this year, headed by the addition of Tom Lynch pairing up with fellow tall Jack Riewoldt.
“Personally, I’ve found it great…I can get front and centre and know that the ball is going to come to ground, and if not, that they’re going to mark it,” he said.
“I love playing with both of them.”
As the Tigers prepare for their qualifying final against Brisbane on Saturday night, Castagna said Richmond has taken plenty of learnings out of their Round 23 meeting.
“I think we gained a lot (from the win over Brisbane), it was a good win but we still came away thinking that we didn’t play to our full potential and took a lot of learnings out of it,” he said.
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“I think there’s still a lot we can improve on, so we’re pretty excited to come up against them again.
“We’re pretty confident if we stick to our best footy (throughout finals), we’ll give ourselves the best chance.”
