In a nice touch, Michael Gale was chosen as the former Richmond player to present the famous Yellow and Black guernsey to exciting, teenage debutant Hugo Ralphsmith in the rooms before last Saturday night’s match against Greater Western Sydney at Marvel Stadium.
Gale, older brother of Richmond’s CEO Brendon, played 91 games with the Tigers from 1994-98 and was a valuable contributor as a tough, determined, brave, hard-running, strong-marking wingman/half-back.
He also happens to be good friends with Hugo’s father, Sean, who had a 34-game AFL career all-up at Hawthorn and St Kilda from 1988-94.
“When he (Hugo) was drafted in 2019, I sent Sean a text to say that he’d gone to a great club and he’d be given every opportunity if he does the right thing. And I think tonight justifies he’s done the right thing,” Gale said in his guernsey presentation speech.
“He’s gone to a great club with a rich history. It’s an elite club.
“Tonight, he gets a chance to play senior footy, not just at an AFL club, but the Richmond Footy Club.”
The 19-year-old Ralphsmith certainly didn’t look out of place first-up at the game’s highest level.
He had 10 disposals in just 66 percent time on the ground throughout the match, provided the team with some impressive dash at times, and showed admirable composure when in possession of the ball.
As Tigers coach Damien Hardwick said after Ralphsmith was selected to make his senior debut for the Club last week: “We’re really excited about what he’s going to bring to the table”.
We got a snapshot of what Ralphsmith has to offer last Saturday night. It’s going to be exciting following his progress at Tigerland.
