Foley taking control of his journey
Courtney Walsh | April 19, 2008 | The Australian
THE above line, taken from Li Cunxin's international best seller Mao's Last Dancer, should resonate with Richmond forwards whenever rapidly emerging Tiger Nathan Foley sprints from the midfield.
For when Foley, who proudly owns a signed copy of the Melbourne-based Cunxin's memoir, has the ball, life is definitely more fun as a Tiger forward because more often than not they find themselves with a shot at goal after another crisp delivery.
Consider last week's surprise dismantling of Fremantle. Foley, promoted to Richmond vice-captain at the tender age of 22, finds himself manned by quality Docker Josh Carr, a renowned hard man of the west.
But by quarter-time at Subiaco Oval, Foley has set the tone for an outstanding Tigers win by gathering 11 touches to Carr's four and, more importantly, had set up four of Richmond's scoring shots.
The damage had been done. By full-time Foley has assisted in almost a fifth of Richmond's scoring shots, his tally of seven falling just one shy of Jonathan Brown's league record set against Carlton last year.
It levels Foley at the pointy end of the table with players the calibre of Simon Black and Barry Hall, but last week's effort was not a one-off, with Foley performing a similar feat against Melbourne last season.
"I didn't know about that," he said.
"But it is all about trying to be as damaging as possible. That is the idea for all midfielders, not just gathering a lot of possessions but being able to make those possessions count. It is something you have to do."
While Mao's Last Dancer was compelling summer reading for Foley, it was another form of study that shows just why he is rated highly among the league's best young midfielders.
The Tiger, who enjoyed a stand-out year in 2007 that almost clinched him the Jack Dyer Medal as Richmond's best and fairest, hit Punt Rd's video suite to analyse the habits of the league's best midfielders.
It was not the despairing ritual of every opposition midfield coach and tagger trying to find a way to derail a star, rather Foley was hoping to get a better understanding as to how Gary Ablett and co shake those run-with players after finding himself in a similar position late last year due to his outstanding form.
"I have watched a lot of videos of Gary Ablett Jr and Chris Judd and Daniel Kerr to try to learn tricks off them, because they get sat on heavily each week," he said. "They are blokes that get tagged week in, week out.
"You look at how they handle that, what tricks and tactics they have got that allows them to win the ball. It's something that is handy to be able to watch."
Foley's last fortnight is proof the pre-season cramming has paid off. The classy Carr is renowned for his close-checking tactics, yet Foley was able to slip him from the start.
A week earlier against Collingwood, Foley was outstanding in a disappointing effort by Richmond despite being targeted pre-match by Magpies star Dane Swan, who said the youngster had all the attributes of a top midfielder.
Tomorrow's clash against the unbeaten Bulldogs presents another challenge for both Richmond and Foley, particularly given the brilliance of midfield rivals including Adam Cooney and Ryan Griffen.
http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,23562654-5012432,00.html
