Player focus: Debutant Kamdyn McIntosh becomes an instant Tiger heroTravis King
afl.com.au
April 3, 2015WHO IS Kamdyn McIntosh? That was the question on many people's lips during the season-opener.
It will be probably a question the Blues will be asking themselves all week after the 192cm debutant celebrated his 21st birthday one day early by upstaging some of the competition's premier midfielders to lead Richmond to a 27-point victory over arch-rivals Carlton at the MCG.
Performance against CarltonIn one of the most memorable debuts in years, McIntosh put two seasons of waiting to pull on the yellow and black behind him and ensured his relatives who travelled from Western Australia for the occasion wouldn't be disappointed.
Plucked with pick 31 overall in the 2012 NAB AFL Draft, the Pinjarra product arrived at Richmond with a soccer background, massive engine, a turn of pace and, clearly, a ton of composure.
Cut down by a shoulder injury in his debut season and foot stress fracture late last year, McIntosh was only offered a one-year contract extension to remain at Punt Road in 2015.
Early signs are a new deal might not be far away.
McIntosh belied his inexperience by producing an assured display that was death by a thousand cuts for the Blues.
He twice left none other than his idol Chris Judd in his wake in scintillating bursts.
Reading the ball off hands at half-forward in the second quarter, McIntosh burnt off the champ, steadied from 40m and banged through the first goal of his career that had the hallmarks of a Judd special.
The goal dragged the Tigers back to within 15 points after Carlton's initial burst had rocked Richmond.
Moments later, in a footrace with Judd on the Great Southern Stand wing, McIntosh held his feet while the champ went to ground then surged the ball forward for Jack Riewoldt to boot his first major and get himself into the game.
At half-time, McIntosh had collected 13 touches, booted 1.2 and been instrumental in the Tigers' fightback.
Despite his influence, the Blues refused to go near McIntosh during the third term.
Roaming through half-back, on a wing and into attack, the debutant did as he pleased - which was generally the best thing for the team - as he barked orders at his teammates and directed traffic from a kick behind the play.
The youngster perhaps ran out of steam during the fourth quarter, but McIntosh's damage was already done.
High pointIt's rare that a first-gamer produces more than one or two efforts for the highlight reel, but with McIntosh you could take your pick of about half-a-dozen. Was it when he burnt off Chris Judd on a wing, or held a goal-saving mark in defence? Or when he left the Blues champ eating his dust and nailed his first career goal on the run? Perhaps the watermark was when he took five bounces from half-back and streaked down the Great Southern Stand wing before lowering his eyes and hitting Riewoldt lace-out on the lead in the final term.
Low pointWith Richmond on top in the third quarter, McIntosh marshalled his teammates into position across half-forward to lock the ball inside 50, and found himself in space ready to intercept a rushed clearing kick. The scenario played out perfectly, only for McIntosh to drop an uncontested mark. Carlton gathered the spillage and raced the ball forward, but Bryce Gibbs gave McIntosh a reprieve when he sliced off the side of his boot out on the full at half-forward.
The stats sheet KICKS HANDBALLS DISPOSALS INSIDE 50s CLEARANCES CONTESTED POSSESSIONS GOALS BEHINDS
Q1 5 4 9 0 0 1 0 1
Q2 3 1 4 2 1 3 1 1
Q3 4 4 8 1 1 4 0 0
Q4 2 0 2 1 0 1 0 0
Total 14 9 23 4 2 8 1 2
What they said in the rooms"I'm pretty rattled that I played as good as I did. I've always dreamt of something like this and to play in front of a crowd like that. I was pretty nervous at the start. Growing up I barracked for Carlton. To play on Juddy – I idolised him as a kid growing up when he was at West Coast and then when he changed to Carlton – so to line-up on Juddy was a pretty big thrill."
– Kamdyn McIntosh"He was very good. We always knew we'd had a player. He's been three years in the making, he's been in our system a fair amount of time. His ability to work from contest to contest is very good. He's still got a long way to go, don't get me wrong, there's still some things in his game he can improve on. But overall he ticked that box tonight, [we're] pretty happy with it."
– coach Damien HardwickHow will he fare next week against the Western Bulldogs?The message behind closed doors post-match was to rest, recover and get ready for a testing encounter in nine days' time against the Dogs. McIntosh ran himself into the ground on the wide expanses of the 'G and Tigers' coach Damien Hardwick clearly wanted to remind the youngster the AFL season is a marathon.
There's no doubt McIntosh has done enough to earn a second game and he said he won't change anything about the way he plays heading into round two against a young Bulldogs midfield brigade.
http://www.afl.com.au/news/2015-04-03/player-focus-debutant-kamdyn-mcintosh-becomes-an-instant-tiger-hero
