Finals the main game for hungry KingBy Jennifer Phelan
afl.com.au
Thursday, July 4, 2013TIGER forward Jake King would rather talk about the prospect of playing finals this year than his upcoming 100th game.
Sixth on the ladder with nine wins, the Tigers face a crunch game against North Melbourne on Saturday at Etihad Stadium.
King knows there's still work to be done to make sure Richmond sews up a spot in the final eight but is pleased their destiny is in their own hands.
"I think we're in a position now where it's up to the players to make sure we do [play finals]," King said.
"If you're not driven to play finals or in that premiership, then it's not the sport for you.
"I haven't played in finals so I don't know what it's like and it's not an individual game but that's something I'd like to look back on in time, as well as playing 100 games, and say, 'I played in finals or I got to do this or we had the opportunity and we made it to here'.
"That's something I'd like to sit back and talk about too because I haven't played finals in the seven years I've been here so it would be nice to actually do it."
King and Shaun Grigg will play their 100th games against the Kangaroos, which is a milestone the fiery forward says will only mean something if they win.
King conceded finals were a "touchy" subject – given the Tigers' lack of September action for the past 12 seasons – but said the prospect of playing in them was something every player craved.
"My thing on finals is, if you start a season or if you play football and you don't want to play finals, or you can't admit that you'd like to, then don't play the game because that's what you play for," he said.
"Everyone plays to make finals and everyone plays for that premiership.
"If you don't want to play in finals, why are you playing the game?"
King conceded there was still work to be done for the Tigers.
After 14 games, they are ranked 18th in the competition for tackles.
With tough games against current top eight teams Fremantle (round 17), the Sydney Swans (round 18), Hawthorn (round 19) and Essendon (round 23) to come, King said tackling was an area that could prove the difference.
"There's no excuse for it. We say it's a mindset thing so we've got our boys doing a fair bit of extra training to help it out; we're doing a lot more tackle technique," he said.
"We've noticed it's something we really need to improve and pick up on and I guess it's one of those things – we need to add as much pressure as you can and the game now is built around the pressure.
"Whoever can bring the heat most to a game, generally you'll find, will win.
"It's something we're going to have to continue working on for the rest of the year because we don't want to be known as a team that doesn't tackle.
"We are putting the work into it so hopefully it starts to show in the next month."
http://www.afl.com.au/news/2013-07-04/pushup-king-reaches-the-ton
