Tigers on new high
12 April 2005
Herald Sun
Rebecca Williams
RICHMOND vice-captain Nathan Brown says the Tigers are restoring a winning culture at Punt Rd.
Brown, who captained the team in the absence of the injured Kane Johnson on Sunday, said narrow wins over Hawthorn and the Western Bulldogs had fuelled the Tigers' confidence.
A thrilling four-point victory over the Dogs at Telstra Dome gave Richmond its second win of the season, and a place in the eight.
"To win the close games two weeks in a row is fantastic," Brown said at the team's recovery session yesterday.
"I think you create a winning culture. We haven't had that here for a while.
"We have to beat sides like Hawthorn and the Bulldogs because they finished around where we did last year."
Brown said the players were relishing the up-beat atmosphere at the club after a horror 2004 season.
"The feeling around the club has been terrific these two weeks," he said.
"It's a shocking place to be around the club when you're losing. You get down on yourself and down on everyone else. You have a win and everyone is up and happy, it's a good feeling."
Richmond faces Fremantle at the MCG on Sunday, desperate to avoid a repeat of last year's humiliating Round 12 loss to the travel-weary Dockers.
In a result Brown described as season-breaking, the Tigers relinquished a 39-point lead late in the second term to lose by 10 points.
"It was probably the straw that broke the camel's back last year," Brown said.
"We were seven goals up and we lost the game and I guess the bottom fell out of the club after that game."
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