Tigers' roar gets louder
23 May 2005
Herald Sun
Comment by Mike Sheahan
THE Richmond story becomes more intriguing, more exciting, more believable by the week.
Not only do the wins keep coming, the quality of the victims keeps rising.
Nine rounds into the 2005 season, the Tigers have seven wins, and the scalps now include Port Adelaide and the Brisbane Lions, the 2004 Grand Finalists.
Strange but true. Richmond is third on the premiership ladder; it will play in the match of the round next weekend; finally, it will feature on free-to-air television.
While Brisbane has a disturbing habit of dropping close games, who would have regarded Richmond talented enough, strong enough in the mind, to expose the Lions at the Gabba?
That's exactly what happened Saturday night.
Brisbane led at every change, yet the Tigers got home by four points.
For the second week in a row, the golden boots of Nathan Brown delivered when it mattered most.
Brown has 32 goals to his name before the halfway mark of the season. He kicked 26 from 20 appearances last year.
No one at Punt Road was keener to see Terry Wallace take the coaching job, and he has responded appropriately.
While Jed Adcock was a surprise choice as Brown's opponent, when Browny is on song, it matters little who plays on him.
James Clement contained him for three quarters the previous week, then one of the premier defenders in the competition could do nothing more than watch in anguish as the Richmond star booted five goals.
Wallace is a brilliant psychologist. He convinced his players, his club, that a win was up for grabs if they believed in themselves.
A dogfight should have suited the seasoned Lions, yet Richmond wouldn't lie down.
Shane Tuck, Mark Coughlan and Kane Johnson amassed 88 possessions in the midfield; Brown and Matthew Richardson shared seven goals.
Richmond's previous best win probably was the 13-point win over Sydney at the SCG in Round 7 last year, but it was Richardson rather than Richmond who won that game, booting seven of the team's 10 goals.
Richmond's self-belief will get a huge boost from Saturday night's win. The faithful already had the feeling, with a strong Richmond presence at the Gabba.
There have been a host of false dawns over the years, this time there is genuine warmth in the sun.
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