New den for Tigers * Cheryl Critchley
* From: Herald Sun
* February 21, 2010 8:43PMTIGER fans flocked to the club's first family day at its new Craigieburn facility yesterday.
Ben Cousins proved his star power, attracting big autograph queues for the second year.
Cousins drew the loudest cheer when presented to the 5500-strong crowd until Graham Polak, still recovering from a brain injury, brought the house down.
No. 3 draft pick Dustin Martin also won a big roar, as did star Brett Deledio.
The crowd didn't come close to last year's Cousins-inspired 9000 at Jells Park, but was equal to if not better than previous efforts.
Fans travelled from all over Melbourne to Craigieburn's Highgate Reserve, where Richmond will do some training. Its VFL side, Coburg, will play there, starting on April 24 against the Box Hill Hawks.
Diehards braved the heat to queue for at least an hour for autographs, and probably more for the sunglass-clad Cousins.
Few seemed fussed the Tigers had finished 15th last year and lost yet another coach in Terry Wallace. Many still wore Matthew Richardson's No. 12, despite the star forward hanging up his boots.
Richmond president Gary March said while the club was rebuilding it would not be uncompetitive.
"It's about the future but we are still expecting to be ultra-competitive this year," he told the throng.
New coach Damien Hardwick vowed to build a strong side from the ground up.
"Every Richmond person must understand to get a successful side up and going, you need to build a strong foundation," he said. "There will be no shortcuts."
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