Rawlings aftermatch media conference / Rawlings praises young guns

[one-eyed]

Rawlings praises young guns
richmondfc.com.au
By Scott Beveridge 10:33 PM Sat 04 July, 2009

RICHMOND coach Jade Rawlings has vowed to stick with his young guns after the Tigers 17- point loss to Adelaide at Gold Coast Stadium on Saturday night.

Rawlings was delighted with the way his side came back from 46 points down in the early stages of the final quarter to challenge for victory against a quality opposition.

He says the young brigade is doing everything being asked of it and will continue to be rewarded for good form.

"Our young guys were terrific so why would we change it?" Rawlings asked.

"We nearly won a game against a very good football side with a couple of blokes down, so we will stick to our criteria with our selection about who's in form, who's prepared to do what we want, follow instructions and we'll keep going down that path."

Rawlings singled out 21-year-old Tom Hislop for praise after he gathered 19 disposals and a goal in an influential team performance.

"I've got a lot of faith in Tom Hislop and he doesn't have much in himself. I think ultimately he could end up as a reasonable midfielder, it's probably what he was drafted for initially," he said.

Rawlings lamented lapses in the first part of the opening and second quarters which led to eight goals for the Crows and set up their victory.

However he believed their final-quarter surge showed character.

"I was extremely pleased with how they ran it out," Rawlings said.

"I spoke to the group at three-quarter time about in the face of adversity what sort of performance can we put out?

"Who knows if we got some sort of roll on, because we have got an ability to score quickly."

The Tigers had 235 handballs to Adelaide's 179 and also outscored the Crows in disposals (393 to 387).

Rawlings admitted they were sometimes running in circles keeping possession.

"Whilst we scored, we probably just overdid the hands a little bit," he said.

"It was either through our turnovers or through their pressure, which was sensational from them, they're a very good team, very well drilled, their defence is excellent."

Nathan Foley left the ground in the third term with the effects of a calf injury he sustained during the week.

Rawlings said the calf was fine on Friday but became aggravated as the game wore on.

The coach is also feeling no pressure with Kevin Sheedy's declaration he would like the head coaching job at Richmond.

"I have remained undistracted," Rawlings said.

"I haven't heard a word mentioned about it from the playing group."

http://www.richmondfc.com.au/news/newsarticle/tabid/6301/newsid/80021/default.aspx

[one-eyed]

Rawlings praises team's late effort
Andrew Stafford | July 5, 2009

CARETAKER Richmond coach Jade Rawlings vowed to persist with his club's young players after the Tigers went down fighting against Adelaide on the Gold Coast last night, refusing to contemplate bringing back experienced campaigners in the weeks ahead as he lauded his side's willingness to run the game out in the last quarter.

"Our young guys were terrific, so why would we change it?" Rawlings said. "We nearly won the game, against a very good football side, with a couple of blokes down.

"So we'll stick to our criteria with our selection, about who's in form, who's prepared to do what we want and follow instructions, and we'll keep going down that path.

"I think it's the right one. If the more senior players play well at Coburg and an opportunity bobs up, then we'll reward them, but the younger players are doing a good job at the moment."

Rawlings praised the efforts of first-game player Jayden Post and especially ex-Port Melbourne player Robin Nahas, who kicked four goals to be easily among the Tigers' best. "I thought he was sensational … He's worked very hard to get himself on to an AFL list; there's no room for comfort for him."

The Tigers will likely be without Nathan Foley next week after the clearance specialist succumbed to a calf strain early in the match, risking further damage when he returned later in the second quarter. He was eventually forced from the field.

Adelaide coach Neil Craig was unflustered by his side's fade late in the last quarter, saying he wanted to "give some recognition to Richmond".

"I thought they played really well the whole night. They certainly didn't play like a side that's only won three games; it was an extremely high-quality game of football," Craig said.

http://www.realfooty.com.au/news/rfnews/rawlings-praises-teams-late-effort/2009/07/04/1246127741287.html