David King talks Tigers draw, Menadue & TownsendJoshua Papanikolaou
SEN
19 Mar 2016, 05:54PMRichmond fans may need to buckle up for the first half of the regular season as their team manoeuvres through a very tricky opening schedule, says David King.
The Tigers should win their first game against Carlton but then come up against Collingwood, Adelaide, West Coast, Melbourne, Port Adelaide, Hawthorn, Sydney and Fremantle.
“Six and three would be a great result, that would be a huge result – I reckon they’d take four and five,” said King on SEN radio.
“I don’t think there’s any givens when you’re talking about that squeeze in the ladder, anything can happen.”
Senior coach Damien Hardwick must have mixed emotions as the seasons draws nearer as he recently received a two-year extension but also learned that new recruit Chris Yarran would be out for six weeks with a foot injury.
King suggests that Hardwick should turn to 19-year-old Connor Menadue, pick 33 in the 2014 national draft, who has impressed in the NAB Challenge.
“Richmond I think have had a big win, they’ve got a kid called Connor Menadue who I think has forced his way into the team,” he said.
“He’s exactly what they need an elite kick, averaged 13 touches in his opportunities last year.
“But in the NAB Challenge it was 21 kicks (per game) at 81 per cent and he goes for high-risk kicks.
“Now with Yarran going out he’s one player they need to stand up and really play a major part in their 18.”
Another new face at Punt Rd is Jacob Townsend who will aim to offer some hardness through the midfield.
“Very tough,” said King of the former GWS Giant.
“Look, there’s not a lot of polish there it’s all grunt and all aggression.
“I like the fact that he’s a big body in there, he doesn’t have to be a star he just has to play his minutes at the bounces and around the clearances to allow Edwards to play forward.
“He’s going to be a long-term player for them.”
http://www.sen.com.au/news/03-16/david-king-talks-tigers-draw-menadue-townsend#LRIwK0kDjRMiKfyz.97
