Can the Tigers overcome the "footballing grief" of Prelim loss?By Nic Negrepontis
SEN
23 Sep 2018Former Western Bulldogs captain Bob Murphy isn’t too worried about Richmond after their Preliminary Final loss to Collingwood last night.
The Tigers won the minor premiership and 22 games in a row at the MCG, but were blown out of the water by the Pies.
Murphy said the mental aspect will be their biggest challenge.
“You become acutely aware of all the things and all the work that had to go right to get this point and you think wow, we have to do it all again. It’s a sobering thought,” he told SEN’s Crunch Time.
"It's a footballing grief.
“Right from the start Collingwood unsettled them, I’m not doom and gloom at all about Richmond, even after the game with the one ruck and the one key forward, it’s like, hang on a minute, they had a terrible night.
“They’ve been the admiration of the competition for two years with that side. They’d cracked the code on this even footy season.
“They’re still in good shape.”
Five-time premiership player Dermott Brereton believes Richmond’s hold on the moniker of best team in the competition is tenuous.
“I feel they’re the best team – but they’re a fragile best team,” Brereton said.
“If you can somehow nullify one or two of their star five players, that shows that they’re vulnerable.
“It’s a fragile best because you only need an injury in-match to one or two players and they’re fragile again.
“It just shows you how even the competition is.”
https://www.sen.com.au/news/2018/09/22/can-the-tigers-overcome-the-footballing-grief-of-prelim-loss/