Is it 'Mission Impossible' for the Tigers? Matt Murname
The Age
August 13, 2014 - 7:36PM Richmond captain Trent Cotchin might not believe in finals fairytales, but the ‘‘Mission Impossible’’ his team embarked on two months ago has been achieved once before, and with the type of confidence and belief currently fuelling the Tigers’ drive.
Only one team has ever completed the challenge facing Richmond – it jumped from third last late in the season to make the finals – and a member of that team says the momentum behind the Tigers’ surge could be dangerous in the run home.
Brisbane in 1995 is the only team since the top eight system was introduced to match the kind of back-from-the-dead comeback Richmond is attempting. Under coach Robert Walls, it went from third last after round 14 to tear into the finals just eight weeks later.
The Tigers were in almost the same position at the end of round 14 this year, sitting third last and five games behind eighth-placed Gold Coast before winning six straight.
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St Kilda in 2011 is the only other team to come close to the feat recently, going from fourth last after round 14 to make the finals.
Star midfielder Cotchin stressed on Wednesday that Richmond was not looking at the massive task ahead of it – needing to defeat Adelaide (away), St Kilda (MCG) and Sydney (away), realising that the latter two matches will become irrelevant if the Tigers cannot upstage the Crows at Adelaide Oval on Saturday night.
“There is a lot of hype around in the papers and the supporters obviously get excited by it,’’ he said.
“Talk about fairytales and so forth, we’re not really interested in that, we just want to perform for four quarters against a quality opposition on Saturday night and then who knows where [we go] from there.’’
Former Richmond player Craig Lambert, also a member of the Brisbane team in 1995, recalled on Wednesday how there was a point two-thirds through the season where the players had given up on finals.
But a turning point in round 16 when the club staged one of the biggest last-quarter comebacks in its history to beat Hawthorn. It ignited the team’s belief and led to wins against top four teams Essendon and Richmond in the last three rounds.
The Tigers are aiming for a similar surge in belief, in particular to perform well in the round 23 match against second-placed Sydney, a team the Tigers have performed well against in the past six games – squaring the ledger at 3-3.
‘‘We started to win a couple of games against opposition that were more highly ranked than us, and then it was incredible how much belief came with us,’’ Lambert recalled.
‘‘Momentum and confidence in football ... it is a very powerful thing and it doesn’t matter who you are.
‘‘And especially now with the competition being so even.’’
Cotchin said the Tigers’ season also hit a turning point not long ago when the club challenged its own internal standards.
‘‘Then a number of our senior players came back into the side and started to get some continuity into their game and we just started to play with that desire and belief that we know that we can,’’ he said.
Lambert, now the player welfare manager at GWS, was a senior figure in the Brisbane 1995 team that included such young talent as Michael Voss, Chris Scott, Justin Leppitsch, Nigel Lappin and Jason Akermanis.
He recalled how Brisbane snuck into eighth position but was one of the form teams. In the first week of the finals the Bears went close to upsetting eventual premier Carlton, a team that lost only two games that season.
‘‘Up until early in the last quarter, we nearly had Carlton on the ropes that year, and that was against a side who that year were like the invincibles,’’ Lambert said.
‘‘It just seems at the moment Richmond have really good belief, and they’ve got players who are really starting to find some good form, they will be dangerous for any side.’’
Lambert said even if the Tigers missed the finals, the strong end to the season would be of benefit, just as it was to the 1995 Brisbane team that went on to play a preliminary final the following season.
‘‘Middle of the year there were a lot of people getting into Richmond, so any time you can change that momentum, and actually build like they have, it can only help you going into the following year,’’ he said.
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