No repeat performance
10:12:21 AM Thu 6 April, 2006
Jennifer Witham
Exclusive to afl.com.au
Richmond big man Troy Simmonds has promised Tiger fans they won't be seeing a repeat of last week's dismal performance against the Bulldogs this Friday night when the club takes on the Saints.
Simmonds admitted the playing unit felt collectively embarrassed about the round one debacle - which was a 115-point demise to the free-running Dogs – and were intent on putting things right for both themselves and the club's supporters.
"I don't think Friday night is the way Richmond go about its footy. I think the players know that and we're pretty embarrassed by that," Simmonds said in an exclusive interview.
"This week the fans have been pretty good to us, they've been pretty lenient. They were pretty angry after the game and they have every right to be.
"We just owe it to ourselves and the fans to put in a really good and strong performance, and so far, it's been really good on the track."
The ruckman admitted the Bulldogs were a class above the Tigers when it came to work ethic, which is what allowed for them to amass such a large lead.
"We played on Friday night and everyone went into the weekend feeling pretty flat and it was embarrassing actually. Everyone felt on the same side and didn't want to show their face too much," Simmonds said.
"It was our work ethic compared to the Bulldogs. They just ran so much harder than us, and once they got five or six goals ahead, I think we all just dropped our heads, it went through the entire team and no one stood up."
Simmonds did put an end to any suggestion that the round one result had smothered any hope the Tigers had of success this season, and said the only way to look was forward.
"A 100-point loss really isn't the best way to start a season, but we were in similar situation last year where we came off a good preseason and then we were thrashed by Geelong," he said.
"We went through the review and we've put it behind us now. We talked about the situation and really had a good week on the track, we had a good session on Tuesday.
"So I think the guys will come out really firing this week and play four quarters of competitive football."
http://richmondfc.com.au/default.asp?pg=news&spg=display&articleid=255239
