Tigers of 2012 are always ones to watchMartin Flanagan
The Age
May 12, 2012THIS Tigers team is worth watching. Why? Because they have class and comedy and characters. Class? Brett Deledio, 30th minute of the first quarter last weekend, Richmond v Port Adelaide, AAMI Stadium. Deledio can win the ball inside packs, the first requirement of a top midfielder, but this time he appeared as a fleeting shadow on the outside.
Taking the ball, he ran another 15 or so metres during which no one got near him. In the course of this fluent, high-speed motion, he delivered a superb 55-metre pass that bent away in the air so that it arrived at precisely the moment Jake King did, softly smacking into his hands.
King dropped it. In the earlier description I gave of the Tigers as a team containing class and comedy and characters, King appears under the heading of characters.
The Tigers have more class in Trent Cotchin. Cotchin is both brave and bright, a footballer of the James Hird type. He runs as if his hands are tied to his bootlaces, which means he is masterful in packs where the ball is commonly around his ankles.
Last week, Port Adelaide tagged him with its captain, Domenic Cassisi. Their duel was the most absorbing part of the match, and freed up Deledio, who cut Port to pieces.
The Tigers have even more class in Dustin Martin. Players being given the numbers of former club greats can lead to the sort of thundering anticlimax that followed Tom Scully's departure from the Dees after being awarded Barassi's No. 31. What does it say, then, that when I watch Martin play I no longer think about Royce Hart? He has made the number his own and thus extended a tradition.
Last weekend, commentator Tim Watson called Martin ''a young bull''. The old bull at Richmond was Alan ''Bull'' Richardson, father of Matthew ''Richo'' Richardson.
He did some of what Martin does in packs, flipping bodies off his back, shooting out long handpasses. But Martin kicks like Hart, long and straight. He's quick when it matters and a natural thinker of the game.
The one player who qualifies under all three categories - class, comedy and character - is full-forward Jack Riewoldt. Last weekend, my notes for Jack's first 30 minutes read: dropped mark; goal (hacked the ball out of the air); shot for goal, missed the lot; free against (unrealistic attempt); outmarked by opponent; abuse of umpire (50 metres). There is something childlike about Jack, although that is not to suggest he lacks keen intent. Remarkably, like his predecessor Richo, he is one of those players the crowd can read. What is it about Tasmania that turns out full-forwards with personality for the Richmond Football Club? Jack, Richo, Michael ''Disco'' Roach. In the '80s, ''Disco'' took a famous mark in which he flew over the top of a pack like Evel Knievel without the motorbike.
Another player who keeps you watching is Robin Nahas. He does not have the build to play AFL footy. He is too light, but he moves like a butterfly and stings like a bee, because he has fine skills and a lively football brain.
Not a naturally fearless player, he shows a lot of courage. But every time he goes near the ball you wonder if this is the time he gets broken. So Nahas keeps you watching, too.
In the characters category, comes the Tigers' new ruckman, Ivan Maric. His defiant adherence to the mullet declares him to be his own man. He is large, muscular, good-looking, brown-skinned. If you threw a bearskin on him, he could conquer Hollywood. Maric is also a useful footballer, playing with plenty of nous, even in the West Coast match when Nic Naitinui was regularly using him as a stepladder at centre bounces.
Then there is Bachar Houli. The fact he is a Muslim interests me in the way that Michael Long being Aboriginal interests me, and Malcolm Blight being South Australian interests me. Houli is important to the future of the game. Also appearing among the characters is Daniel Jackson, the red-haired former private schoolboy who speaks French and does not mind a bit of aggro at the bottom of the packs.
The argument that Richmond lacks height in defence and that the difference in quality between its best six and bottom six - as demonstrated by the Deledio pass to King described above - is too great.
I reckon the Tigers have got more ''good, ordinary players'' (Jack Dyer's famous classification) than they are given credit for: Nathan Foley, Shaun Grigg, Steven Morris, Dylan Grimes, Alex Rance, Chris Newman etc.
Today the Tigers play the Swans. At times this year, Adam Goodes has looked like a 15-year-old playing in the under-13s. Too big, too strong, too smart, too experienced. Goodes is out. Historically, the broader reaches of the MCG reveals the Swans' lack of pace.
The stage is set for the Tigers. The stage has been set for the Tigers before, but I reckon this team knows it is within reach of doing something significant, and hungers to do it.
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