Young Tigers roam free without the chains of historyRohan Connolly
May 23, 2011RICHMOND'S army of talented youngsters is having an obvious impact on the Tigers' fortunes. But according to spearhead Jack Riewoldt, they are also helping overcome the cultural legacy of 30 years of relative failure.
Riewoldt, whose four goals in the win over Essendon at the MCG on Saturday night took him to the front of the Coleman Medal race with 33 for the season, says the Tiger cubs are creating a winning culture unencumbered by the sins of the past.
''It's good that we bring these young guys in who haven't had the culture that Richmond has had over the last 20 years, haven't played a lot of finals," he said yesterday on Channel Seven's Game Day.
''They [Richmond] have lost a lot of games and these kids don't know that. They come in here and they have blank canvases for minds and they just come out and they play footy because they love it.
''It spreads like wildfire in young teams. We've got a lot of kids who haven't played 50 games of footy. You get a few wins under the belt and the guys like the [Jake] Batchelors, the [Reece] Concas, the [Dustin] Martins, the [Trent] Cotchins, they really just grow an extra leg and they thrive on winning games of footy."
Richmond's fourth win of the season, and its fourth from the past five games, had the Tigers in the eight until West Coast last night defeated the Western Bulldogs.
While they won't play in Melbourne again until round 14, with three road trips and a bye to come over the next month, the Tigers are well-placed to make their stay in the eight more than a day trip, with games against strugglers Port Adelaide (in Darwin), Brisbane Lions (Gabba), then, on their return to the MCG, an out-of-sorts Melbourne.
Richmond captain Chris Newman said his team's consistency across the four quarters was the most pleasing aspect of the 16-point win over Essendon before a crowd of 83,563.
"We want to have an even contribution across the board, and I think that's what we got last night," he said on Channel Nine's Sunday Footy Show. "I think that will help us play consistent games. I think we've lacked that in the past. Last night was probably the first time we've been reasonably consistent throughout the whole game."
Newman also lauded the improvement in his team's skills, particularly by foot.
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