Watch the reborn Tigers, urges coach
richmondfc.com.au
By Mic Cullen Fri 12 June, 2009
NEW RICHMOND coach Jade Rawlings has urged supporters to turn out to see the Tigers in this weekend's clash with the West Coast Eagles.
Richmond players and officials have been saying all week that it's a new season starting this Saturday night, and Rawlings urged the Tiger army to turn out and see the side.
"I'm very much just looking forward to it – I can't wait to get out there," he said at Punt Rd on Friday.
"More of the players' sake, to get them out there, let them free their minds and go and play some footy.
"Hopefully it's an attractive brand for our supporters, and I encourage all our Melbourne-based supporters, and even the ones in country Victoria, to make their way down to have a look at us on Saturday night."
The game is also the first time that Ben Cousins will face up to his old side after being deregistered by the AFL in November 2007.
Rawlings was fulsome in his praise of the former West Coast skipper.
"He's unbelievable – I said to him this morning, 15 minutes before I came up here that he's been able to deal with adversity better than any person I've ever met.
"And I know that playing against this opposition he'll be excited, but I'm just confident that he'll deal with it.
"He's just so absorbed with dealing with what's happened away from footy – he just wants to play footy.
"So I don't have to give him too many instructions – he'll be excited, we'll help him out, he doesn't need a heap of help because he does it well himself, but it'll be good to see him out there."
While Rawlings refused to be definitive about Cousins' possible future at the club, he sounded positive about the concept.
"I won't get drawn into next year, but he has been a major acquisition to this footy club.
"He's still getting a few things wrong – the bird [a finger gesture before Fremantle match] probably wasn't a good career move – but the way that he supports his teammates, the way that he approaches his training has been fantastic.
"When I coached him at Coburg, he actually distracted me because he was walking around slapping his teammates' backs, encouraging them – he had no ego, no 'I'm just getting my game time up'.
"I've watched him on the bench at Richmond games – he wants to play for Richmond and win games of footy.
"I couldn't respect him any more for that."
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