How Dimma put Tigers on highway to finalsJon Ralph,
Herald Sun
25 July 2019Last week Damien Hardwick took his Richmond side to the moon and back.
Not long before that they were on AC/DC’s Highway to Hell.
A team that won the 2017 premiership through a series of cathartic honesty sessions is now inspired via Hardwick’s literal gifts that keep giving.
Not only has Hardwick used pop culture, music and science to set weekly motivational themes for each round, they come with individualised gifts each week to his players.
As a result, Dion Prestia has an assortment of the most bizarre trinkets and gifts in his home along with that shiny 2017 premiership medallion.
The 26-year-old says Hardwick finds a way to integrate each week’s theme into a football message, even if has no way to use some of presents from his senior coach.
“We get weekly gifts going on a theme Dimma has given us for the week,” he said.
“The gifts are always about something unrelated to footy. Dimma loves music so I have six records at home. I don’t have a record player though.
“If the theme is (rock band) AC/DC he shows us clips of the massive concerts they went to and what they felt and why they were so good.
“We always get little things. I have got a hockey puck, a cricket bat, a baseball, a Rubik’s cube, a whole lot of random stuff.
“Last week it was Apollo 11. It just gives you a different insight and something to think about going into the game. It was about the team behind the guys that went up into space. So 400,000 people worked on the project but three went into outer space and only two went on to the moon.
“They get the praise but everyone plays their role. One of them drove the space ship (Michael Collins) and he could have easily jumped off, but that was his role to drive the space ship and he knew it and he did it well.”
The man who used to terrorise opponents as a feared defender now has his players free and easy before games, according to Prestia.
Those weekly themes are reinforced in the pre-match meeting along with photos electronically posted on the walls of the actual gifts to remind players of their symbolism.
“It’s a pretty relaxed environment pre-game in the rooms. It’s about enjoying yourself and not getting too stressed or worried about what is going to happen.”
Last year the Tigers were almost too relaxed, resulted in a preliminary final ambush against the Pies.
On Friday night a midfield that battled to stay competitive in that final with Dusty Martin lame will throw a new look at the Pies.
Prestia is in career-best form, averaging 26 possessions and would likely be leading Richmond’s best-and-fairest after playing every game this year alongside only good mate Tom Lynch.
He says dashing runner Shai Bolton and even Sydney Stack in small cameos in recent weeks have added new dimensions to the Tigers onball brigade.
“We have seen since the bye Shai has played some awesome footy. He is not a big bull like Dusty or Trent Cotchin but he gives us flair and excitement on the outside and he has got forward and kicked goals. So our balance in the midfield has been really good. Jack Graham is in there as a pressure beast. Our list depth and the culture that has been created has been awesome.”
Mid-season draft pick Marlion Pickett’s Richmond VFL debut could be debuted another week by a family tragedy back home, but Prestia has seen him shine on the track after finger tendon surgery.
“You can see the class in him. You can see how he finishes goals well, finishes his work well. When he is back in the team who knows? We have seen it over the last couple of years, blokes put their hands up at the right time and anything can happen for Marlion, that’s for sure.”
Three years into a five-season deal with the Tigers, Prestia credits a flawless pre-season and extra responsibility with his excellent form so far.
He isn’t into fancy yoga classes or extra boxing — “I can’t throw them so I avoid that at all costs” — instead sweating it out in the club’s heat room early in the week to set up his program.
His good mate Tom Lynch has followed him south from the Gold Coast, Prestia bemused by some of the early criticism of a player fifth in the Coleman Medal on 40 goals.
Jack Riewoldt this week remarked on Lynch’s white line fever after he sprayed Tom Jonas for milking a free kick and it hasn’t escaped Prestia either.
“It’s pretty crazy it’s only me and him to have played every game this year at Richmond,” he said.
“It shows all the work he was doing while everyone was away on holidays. He was getting two defenders at stages and hopefully now with Jack back he gets the second defender or less attention.
“It’s interesting with Lynchy, he is so nice and quietly spoken off the field but he ran through (Karl) Amon on the weekend and he always seems to be in scuffles.
“It’s one of the reasons he has been able to play well, he’s so competitive and hates losing. He’s pretty hard on himself and that’s why with no pre-season he’s been able to play heaps of footy.”
https://www.heraldsun.com.au/sport/afl/teams/richmond/dion-prestia-reveals-damien-hardwick-has-been-motivating-his-players-with-weekly-presents/news-story/9646312a4cb66564998690eb054338e0
