Dylan Grimes: From overwhelmed to All-AustralianPeter Ryan
The Age
3 September 2019As May turned into June, Richmond were battling to hold their feet in defence.
Alex Rance, with his big personality and rabid football, was absent. His sidekick, key defender David Astbury, was out with a hamstring injury.
The Tigers conceded 99 points to a rejuvenated North Melbourne, 104 points to Geelong and 101 points to Adelaide, losing all three matches to limp to the bye.
Suddenly, after winning six of seven games between rounds four and 10, the Tigers were wobbling again and, although his demeanour remained stoic, premiership defender Dylan Grimes was concerned.
Not only had he underestimated the size of the hole Rance left, he felt like he was failing in his attempt to fill the void.
Instead of hiding his worries, or bottling up the emotion he was feeling as footballs flew over his head and teammates moved around him in unfamiliar patterns – as he might have five years earlier – he decided to be honest.
"I had a lot of those games where I felt completely overwhelmed and I came in on a Monday and told the players that I was really struggling with the extra responsibility on field," Grimes said.
"Honestly from there I felt a huge lift from my teammates and they were able to really give me a chop out."
In trying to replicate Rance, the 28-year-old Grimes had struggled to complete his basic job, which was to beat his opponent – something he had done with monotonous regularity since becoming a mainstay in the team from 2014 onwards, after his troublesome hamstrings became trouble no more.
"'Rancey' is a phenomenal communicator and how he is able to get the best out of his teammates is really incredible," Grimes said.
"I found it really challenging to do that ... I think your tendency as a back when things aren't going well is that you try to control more and try to influence more of your teammates and try to get more help and help others as well.
"By doing so you tend to detract from your actual role, which is beating your opposition."
Since the bye, Richmond are unbeaten and have only conceded more than 70 points in a game once, their winning streak taking them from ninth on the ladder to third place and a qualifying final at the Gabba against the Brisbane Lions.
So good did Grimes become he earned All-Australian selection, deserved recognition for the understated No.2.
Grimes, right, celebrates the Tigers' win over the Lions with his teammates.Credit:AAP
He admits his teammates "were over the moon" at his selection and he was humbled by it, knowing that it was only through their support he had overcome his doubts to flourish in the second half of the season.
He ended the season averaging 13.2 disposals, 2.3 intercept marks, seven intercept possessions and 5.8 spoils and, as Lions dynamo Charlie Cameron found out in the final round, became as little fun to be around during a game as a grumpy dad packing the car for a family holiday.
Grimes credits coach Damien Hardwick and captain Trent Cotchin for turning around the way a football club deals with doubt and those feelings of vulnerability that are common to many elite sportspeople.
It's a feature of the club Richmond have become proud of and has underpinned their consistent performances in the past three seasons.
"The tendency of most athletes is to not want to show weakness and struggle and I was going through both of those things at the time and I thought opening up and sharing that with my teammates was the best thing for me and the team," Grimes said.
The approach is consistent with that espoused by New York Times bestseller Brene Brown, who was in the Richmond rooms after their round 20 win over Melbourne while she was touring Australia and is held in genuine esteem by the club.
Reading Brown's books has helped Grimes deal with the AFL furnace, as has his ability to step away from the city to his winery near Mt Macedon.
In the end it has allowed him to flourish.
His unique ability to read the play is a quality that has coaches trusting him to sit on the last line of defence as a virtual goalkeeper when the Tigers have the ball in their front half. It's hard to imagine a place on a football field where someone could feel more vulnerable, but Grimes takes it in his stride.
"It's contradictory to what you want to do and counter intuitive to how you really want to play the game, but we have found it really useful," Grimes said.
"Sometimes you get the benefit of being able to see everything but sometimes you can see the tsunami coming as well.
"I love the position I play in but it can get a bit lonely down there sometimes if the ball is either flying in or it's staying down the other end. Either scenario you can tend to feel really isolated as a back."
Of course that sense of isolation is now mainly felt in a physical sense, his decision to open up to teammates about how he was feeling ensuring he knows they have his back, whatever happens.
On Saturday night his battle at the Gabba against Cameron will be essential viewing, the pacy, creative forward against the veteran defender, wily, tough and quicker than most realise.
Grimes knows that catching Brisbane's roadrunner is not going to be easy.
"He really keeps you on your toes with the way he plays the game. He has energy, speed and is terrifically competitive as well. Combine those things and the quality finish he brings to the game as well and you have a dangerous player on your hands," Grimes said.
An opponent Grimes knows will be impossible to beat without a little help from his friends.
https://www.theage.com.au/sport/afl/dylan-grimes-from-overwhelmed-to-all-australian-20190903-p52nbv.html
