Tiger toughness shines through
Chris Riches
richmondfc.com.au
4:16:39 PM Tue 12 July, 2005
Toughness is a concept in football that can mean different things to different people.
There are so many different types of toughness, and so many ways a player can be seen as "tough", that pinning down a single definition is almost impossible.
One thing which is certain, however, is it’s often much easier talking tough off the field than it is displaying that toughness once you run out on to the ground.
There was a lot of talk about toughness in the lead-up to last Saturday's “Dreamtime at the G” clash between Richmond and Essendon – talk about how some players would have to be tougher and stand up for certain teammates, how both teams would have to match each other for toughness, and how the wet conditions were going to make the game a hard, body-crunching, energy-sapping slog.
But, as Richmond showed in its 26-point win over the Bombers, with toughness there needs to be discipline, teamwork, leadership, and a total commitment from all 22 players.
That toughness was on display from the opening minute when brave Tiger defender Andrew Kellaway barged head first into a contest, belting his head into an Essendon opponent and breaking his jaw in two places.
Eyes only for the ball, head down, willing to cop the "hit" – that's one measure of toughness, and it’s also classic Kellaway; willing to put his body (and ultimately his season) on the line for his team.
Who knows if the sight of Kellaway coming off after the collision, blood streaming from his mouth, further inspired his Tiger teammates, who had already pledged and committed to each other in the lead-up to this “crunch” game.
It certainly seemed to, as Richmond's first half was full of defining, inspiring moments of toughness – several of them in quick succession as the Tigers built a lead in the opening term.
With around five minutes to go in the first quarter, acting Tiger captain Joel Bowden ran to contest a disputed ball near the centre. Courageously, he bent down and put his head over the ball as Essendon's Mark Johnson charged towards him.
Taking the ensuing hit, Bowden then sprinted after the ball, which had skidded from his grasp, and again put his head over it as Bomber Paul Thomas slid in legs-first.
This pair of tough, inspirational acts, only weeks after suffering a fractured cheekbone, left Bowden rolling on the ground from a knock to the head and earned him a free kick.
Less than a minute later, it was the turn of former skipper Wayne Campbell to "wear one for the team". Campbell, who had already run hard to gather plenty of first-quarter possessions, gathered a loose ball on the Members’ wing and shaped to handball to a teammate in space as Essendon's Dean Solomon bore down on him at top speed.
Again, the Tiger player didn't flinch. Campbell took the hit and a knee in the back from Solomon, earning a free kick for his trouble.
This passage of play underlined the difference between the two sides early on . . . Richmond was tough, uncompromising and hard at the ball, while Essendon was less disciplined in throwing its weight around.
Ultimately, Campbell would show toughness of a different kind – bravely running himself to absolute exhaustion in the second quarter before returning during the second half to continue the fight. His 25 possessions and two goals were a highlight.
Soon after Campbell won his free kick from Solomon’s indiscretion, Matthew Richardson took a mark 15 metres out from goal and, against team rules, played on . . . and missed.
Coach Terry Wallace was resolute. It would have been easy to leave Richardson, who was starring at that stage, on the field to keep Essendon on the back foot. But rules are rules, and Wallace was tough enough to take his star forward from the field.
When he came back on, Richardson had to be mentally tough enough not to drop his head at his indiscretion, but instead show leadership and continue to swing the game in the Tigers’ favor. The fact he finished the game among the best-afield showed how much ‘Richo’ has improved in this area.
Throughout all this, Richmond’s young midfielders in Shane Tuck and Mark Coughlan fought it out against their big-bodied Essendon opponents, bravely standing up time and again in the absence of captain Kane Johnson, to win clearances and lay tackles. Ultimately, the Tiger midfield would win the day.
Another midfielder – Mark Chaffey – deserves a special mention. He again was strong enough and tough enough to sacrifice elements of his own game to shut down Essendon champion James Hird for the good of the Richmond side.
Even though Hird was restricted by a finger injury he sustained early in the match, it was Chaffey's tagging work that still cut the Bomber skipper out of the game.
Up forward, Richmond’s small forwards displayed their own kind of toughness. The likes of Rory Hilton, Richard Tambling, Kayne Pettifer and Andrew Krakouer time and again chased down an opponent or locked the ball in Richmond’s forward 50 area.
It was Krakouer, early in the second quarter, who again typified Richmond’s hardness at the ball. On the Members’ wing, Krakouer wore a hit as he dived underneath the bigger Mark Johnson to win the ball. Then, when he bounced up to dispose of the Sherrin, he copped one high from James Hird and received a free kick.
Late in the second term, as a healthy lead threatened to evaporate in the midst of a Bomber fightback, it was the Tiger defence that stood firm.
Young Will Thursfield and veteran Mark Graham showed their toughness through their willingness to stand in the hole in front of Essendon's leading forwards, prepared to wear some physical punishment in order to prevent an easy Bomber mark.
The rest of the Tiger defence regrouped and got back on top . . . Chris Newman, through a couple of key spoils, Darren Gaspar and Ray Hall through their hard work on Essendon’s key forwards.
Soon enough, Richmond was well on top again. Quick goals late in the third term built the Tiger lead to 35 points at the last change.
Particularly pleasingly, Chris Hyde was displaying his own toughness – ignoring the "attention" Essendon players were paying him, to get the ball and run hard.
Hyde’s bravery is undoubted, and his 21-possession game last Saturday was the best he has played since suffering a fractured skull in a horrific collision against St Kilda at Telstra Dome in Round 5.
Speaking of St Kilda, it’s going to be a desperate Saints’ side that the Tigers will confront again this Saturday at the MCG.
Sitting just outside the top eight, the Saints are sure to come out hard to try and knock Richmond off its game early, as they did in their 68-point win over the Tigers in Round 5.
Richmond, again, will have to be tough, to stand up to any initial attack St Kilda launches, and then to give as good as it receives, in a bid to win its third game in-a-row.
The stakes are huge, the atmosphere will be intense, and the pressure high. What another great opportunity for the Tigers to test their mettle . . .
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