Tigers aren't far off roaring in 2012Dan Lonergan
abc.net.au
May 03, 2012We know Richmond supporters are a passionate lot and over the years they have been impatient, as success has eluded their team for too long now. They have just two finals appearances in 30 years.
It's early days for the Tigers and winning just one of their first five isn't a great sign that they will play finals in 2012. But their efforts over the last fortnight against reigning premier Geelong and only losing by 10 points flag front-runner West Coast indicates they are making giant strides to becoming a consistently good team again in this competition.
Richmond seems to lack the two Ps at the moment - "poise" and "polish" - to claim a decent scalp, but the club's desire, commitment and self belief couldn't be questioned.
In both matches, the Tigers' more highly credentialed opponents threatened to take the game away, but they fought back tenaciously and had chances to win. Damien Hardwick's men, however, lack the finishing touches and composure.
On Sunday against the Eagles at Docklands, the Tigers came from four goals down in the first half to draw level in the final quarter and should have hit the front in time-on, only for out-of-form full forward Jack Reiwoldt to miss a shot he would slot most of the time.
He is struggling so far, with just eight goals for the year. If he was in better form I believe the Tigers would have won those two games, but give credit where credit is due. Despite that loss to the Eagles, Richmond of previous seasons when down by that four-goal deficit would have probably lost by a big margin.
But under Hardwick the Tigers are made of sterner stuff and are starting to adopt a never-say-die attitude, which will make them hard to beat for the rest of the season.
With only one victory in their first five, they have left themselves plenty of work to do to stay in contention for the finals. Their draw over the next few weeks is challenging with the undefeated Sydney along with the inconsistent, but more experienced, St Kilda and Hawthorn among their opponents.
However, this Richmond line-up is a much improved outfit and it will claim a big scalp soon. When it happens, expect that massive Tiger army to stir and roar. As they say in the classics, that will be good for football!
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2012-05-03/tigers-arent-far-off-roaring-in-2012/3989922?section=sport
