Future is bright for Tigers: HartBy Adam McNicol
afl.com.au
Wednesday, June 5, 2013RICHMOND'S dazzling win over West Coast at Patersons Stadium on Monday provided compelling evidence that Damien Hardwick's team is moving in the right direction.
And club great Royce Hart, who was announced as the 25th 'Legend' of the game at Tuesday night's Hall of Fame function in Canberra, has urged the Tigers to avoid looking back as they endeavour to make the finals for the first time since 2001.
"When I first went there they hadn't won a premiership for 20-odd years," Hart told AFL.com.au.
"We were always taught by Tommy Hafey to not look back on the past, to just think about the present and the future.
"If today's Richmond players keep thinking that way it will be a big step towards where they want to go."
Hart was among the leading lights in Richmond's golden era that ran from the late 1960s until the early 1980s.
He played in the 1967, '69, '73 and '74 premierships, captaining the last two.
A high-marking centre half-forward, Hart is the third Richmond player from that era to be conferred Legend status.
The previous two were Kevin Bartlett and Ian Stewart.
But Hart is tired of being mentioned as a member of Richmond's last great group.
He dearly hopes that the players leading the club today, like Trent Cotchin and Brett Deledio, can create their own success story.
"I think this year they've definitely improved and are showing signs that they might be a lot better in the next five or six years," Hart said.
The Tigers are currently eighth on the ladder, having won six of their 10 games so far in 2013.
They have a bye this weekend, then play Adelaide at the MCG on Saturday, June 15.
http://www.afl.com.au/news/2013-06-05/future-is-bright-for-tigers-hart
