So that's why they call it the BluesMatt Murnane, Alice Springs
February 22, 2012IT'S time for Richmond to play finals, but avoiding the diabolical starts that have sucked the life out of so many seasons looms as the crucial first step, the players have declared.
Richmond has not survived the first six weeks of a season with a winning record since 2005, and its round one wipeouts against Carlton in the past three years have been a recurring bad omen.
Tigers young guns Ty Vickery and Alex Rance have stated that opening night against the premiership-contending Blues in front of 70,000-plus fans at the MCG is the game the players most want to win this season.The key position duo, who finished fifth and sixth respectively in last year's best and fairest, have also revealed the burning desire that is driving the players to end the club's 10-year finals drought.
"It's been enough time now and I think it's definitely time that we stood up," Rance said.
"It's time to walk the walk. We are confident enough in our game plan now that it's definitely time. We are mature enough to play finals and we should be playing them. We definitely want to be that competitive beast this year. 'Dimma' [coach Damien Hardwick] has drummed it into us. There is no more playing around, we've got to earn our ticket into the finals."
Richmond has beaten Carlton once in round one since the clubs began their blockbuster to open the season five years ago and its average losing margin in the past three matches sits at almost 60 points.
Speaking to The Age at Richmond's "Outback Tigers" community camp in Alice Springs, Rance and Vickery described the round-one clash as "massive" to the club's fortunes this year.
"Not only for the group's confidence, but also you underestimate how much the supporters come into it," said Rance, who enjoyed a coming-of-age season in 2011.
"For a game to go from 25,000 Tigers fans when you're playing say Melbourne, to 35,000 when you're playing Carlton, that gets behind you and it helps you grow an extra leg," he said. "So if we do have a good start and we can take that game out against Carlton, we will have that support through the season. And you never know, it could be the difference for us later on."
The Tigers have not won a game in the first four rounds of a season since 2008 and have another tough first month this year - playing the Blues, and then grand finalists Collingwood and Geelong, either side of a round three clash with Melbourne.
Richmond had a similarly brutal start last season, emerging with just a draw against St Kilda among losses to Carlton, Hawthorn and Collingwood.
Given the Tigers finished 12th, but only just off the top-eight pace, breaking even in the first month could have made a difference.
There have been countless examples of other clubs that have finished the season strongly, only to end up just outside the finals and rue a sluggish start to the year, such as North Melbourne in 2010 and 2011, Adelaide in 2010, Hawthorn in 2009 and the Brisbane Lions in 2008.
But the Tigers are confident they have addressed the defensive and contested ball issues highlighted pre-season, and Vickery said the players were gearing themselves for a big challenge first-up.
"We don't want to be playing catch up again a month into the season. We want to have a winning ledger early on," said Vickery, the Tigers second-highest goalkicker last year.
"We're looking to set ourselves up for a good, consistent year and it will start with a tough month where we have to play well.''
Rance said it was important the Tigers at least broke even out of the first month, with the games against Carlton and Melbourne the most crucial.
"If we could take three wins out of that lot then it would be a great start to the season for us. But I think probably two wins would be an OK result," Rance said.
"We had a good crack at Melbourne last year, so we'd fancy our chances against them.
"And round one is always fantastic and something the Tigers fans always love to come and watch, so if we can put in a good performance against Carlton, it would be ideal."
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