Pain of defeat clouds Tigers' bright futureBy Nick Bowen
afl.com.au
9:40pm AEST Sunday, September 8, 2013THE GREATER the expectation, the bigger the fall.
It's safe to say the hordes of Tiger fans who flocked to the MCG in record numbers on Sunday came with massive expectations.
We heard of one fan who started booking flights to Sydney on his iPad at half-time, confident the Tigers would convert their 26-point lead over Carlton into a semi-final clash with the Sydney Swans next Saturday night.
But such high hopes quickly began to plummet when it became apparent in the third quarter that Damien Hardwick's young team might just be overrun by the mortal enemy, Carlton.
The mere thought was too much for some among the masses adorned in yellow and back, with the tears starting to flow as Carlton began to look like it could claw its way back from a 32-point deficit.
Never mind that the Blues would not actually hit the front until the seven-minute mark of the final term.
These fans could see their dream taking a detour down Freddy Krueger's Elm Street. And this, after all, was their final so they would cry if they wanted to.
Later in the Tigers rooms, the nightmare had become a reality.
Those players who did not make the final 22 wandered aimlessly around the area in which the team had warmed up just hours before, or sat against the wall.
The likes of Robbie Nahas and Luke McGuane were decked out in club suits and stone-faced.
Those who had played were locked away in a meeting with the coach.
Captain Trent Cotchin later said Hardwick had drummed into them what had let them down against the Blues – their contested work in defence, and defence around stoppages.
As Cotchin spoke to the media, his disappointment was evident. He acknowledged it but tried to look for positives from a game that was the first final for 18 of the Tigers' 22.
"There's a lot of disappointment. If we want to find positives, we probably burnt ourselves today," Cotchin said.
"There were a lot of things that we were strong in throughout the season that we let ourselves down in today.
"Other positives are the amount of supporters that came out and cheered us on. They were loud, they were fantastic.
"They've been there all year and ... more importantly we've had a 15-8 season, which is a really positive result for us.
"We're shattered about the result ... it's going to hurt for the next three weeks, asking the question of 'What if?' and how far we could have gone."
Cotchin was content his team had not been overawed by the occasion, saying they had treated the week leading up to the elimination final like any other.
"I thought the boys came out and handled themselves really well," he said.
"We all knew we were going to feel a bit of nerves prior to the game but once you're five minutes into it, it just feels like another game with a little bit of noise."
Cotchin also said the Tigers' taste of finals football would stand them in good stead.
"We know that if you put your head over the footy and do the fundamentals well then you're going to give yourself a really good opportunity to win and we didn't do that today," he said.
The skipper said the Tigers were looking already looking forward to hitting pre-season training and preparing themselves to come back "better and stronger" in 2014.
Hardwick sang from the same song sheet when he faced the media minutes later.
He acknowledged it was hard to be positive about the future when his overriding emotion so soon after the game was "pure disappointment".
"It's probably a hard question to ask a coach after an elimination final loss whether there's a bright future, but there is. We know there is," Hardwick said.
"It's just disappointing because (after) the chance you have this year it's a long six months to sit and dwell on the 'what ifs' and that's the most disappointing thing for myself, our coaching group and the playing group.
"You put in an enormous amount of work and it all seems to come to nothing."
The Richmond faithful are no doubt feeling the same way.
But they can take comfort knowing their six-month wait will pass soon enough. And, more importantly, knowing their current playing list looks to have the depth of talent that will take them back to the finals year after year.
http://www.afl.com.au/news/2013-09-08/pain-clouds-tigers-bright-future
