Johnson rallies the troops
7:09:01 PM Wed 15 March, 2006
Jason Phelan
Exclusive to afl.com.au
Richmond skipper Kane Johnson has rallied his troops ahead of the coming season, calling on them to eliminate the inconsistency that has dogged the team in recent years.
Speaking at the annual pre-season meeting of club captains at Telstra Dome, Johnson was asked if there was a particular area the Tigers needed to improve upon this year and he answered without hesitation.
"We need to have a more even performance throughout the year from every player - not just a good performance one week and then down the next," Johnson said.
"We need everyone to be consistent and if we can get that, we can get our 12 or 13 wins and get in the finals it's going to be a big improvement.
"I think it's just about being more consistent. I think at Richmond we've been very up and down in the past - we might have started the year well and dropped right away - I think that's been the case since I've been at the club.
"We can play good footy and we've shown that, but if we can be consistent with it, I think it's going to take us a long way. I think at times we've been found out by good sides' pressure and that's something we need to get better at and I think we will this year with the amount of work we've done."
It's often one thing to identify a problem area and quite another to rectify it, but Johnson feels the players are well-equipped to improve on that aspect of their play.
"It's just about not getting overawed with your wins and not getting too down about your losses," he said.
"In the past because we hadn't one won for a while, we'd win one and be that 'up' for it and then the next week we'd drop off a bit. We just need to keep very calm and if we have a win we enjoy it, but then get onto the next week and if we have a loss then we don't get too down on ourselves and lose confidence.
"We have to just push through and make sure that we stick to our structures and gameplans."
Just over a year into the Terry Wallace era and his own captaincy, Johnson believes the team will begin to benefit from the continuity and familiarity that can only come from spending time with the group.
"I think after 12 months with Terry, it's only now that his plans are starting to kick in," he said.
"You can see the boys actually using them and being a bit smarter with their football, so I think that'll stand out in the first few weeks.
"I'm quite confident that I can have a good year and I think I need to, to lead the way, with so many young blokes you need your leaders to play good football and that's what I'm aiming to do."
http://richmondfc.com.au/default.asp?pg=news&spg=display&articleid=251123
