Tigers deny infighting, as Eade defends and counsels Griffen
By Caroline Wilson and Rohan Connolly
The Age
April 4, 2006
New Richmond president Gary March last night backed his club captain Kane Johnson and denied young Bulldog Ryan Griffen's allegations that the Tigers were "arguing between each other" during last Friday night's humiliating loss to the Western Bulldogs.
Admitting he was still shell-shocked by the 115-point capitulation, March said the Richmond players were "the most bonded I've seen during four years at the club". "We'd be expecting Kane and the leadership group to be leading from the front on Friday night because they were disappointing the other night and they know that."
While the Tigers have refused to respond to 19-year-old Griffen's stinging criticism that the team "gave up" after half-time in the record loss to the Bulldogs, Johnson assured the Richmond hierarchy that the players had not turned on each other.
The match committee's concern after yesterday's lengthy meeting was the opposite - that the players had not been vocal in a crisis.
March said: "As a footballer, I've been in that embarrassing situation and what you are doing is yelling at your teammates to mind their man, which they obviously hadn't been doing. I would say that the Bulldogs were the ones doing all the talking. They were simply outstanding. They beat us physically and psychologically. They were in our ears after half-time and chatting to the players, rubbing it in. I must say I saw the writing on the wall before half-time.
"What I would say to our supporters is that it is one week. It is an aberration. I certainly don't think our season is over . . . I'd be utterly disappointed if we put in another performance like that this season, let alone this week."
If Nathan Brown's return from a broken leg was one rare positive, another was Brett Deledio's long-term commitment to the club.
Last year's Rising Star has agreed to a new three-year deal which will keep the No. 1 draft pick at Richmond until the end of 2009.
Griffen's comments have not been lost on the playing group, with all players being made aware of the Bulldogs' disdain.
It is believed that Johnson, along with his leadership group of Joel Bowden, Brown, Matthew Richardson and Darren Gaspar, privately addressed the team following coach Terry Wallace's team meeting on Saturday.
March said he had been heartened by the response of some Richmond fans. "It's funny but as they say, it sometimes helps when you are rock bottom as much as when you won a premiership that you galvanise support," he said.
"It's a tough week for everyone involved at Richmond. Even today, a few of us are still shell-shocked."
After St Kilda, Richmond travels to Subiaco and then the Gabba to take on West Coast and the Brisbane Lions, respectively. "We know we can be competitive," March said. "We just didn't come to play last Friday night."
Western Bulldogs coach Rodney Eade defended Griffen, after he was roundly criticised for having offered Richmond unnecessary motivation next time the teams meet. Eade said yesterday he had reassured Griffen about the comments, the explanation naivety rather than arrogance.
"I didn't go crook at him. It's just an education for him," Eade said. "I just said to him: 'You've just got to learn how to work your words next time.'
"He hasn't had any training or practice at it, and that's something we've got to get better with and help him through that.
"I was more worried about how people are going to perceive him because what he said wasn't meant to come out in that context. It wasn't a malicious thing, just naive."
Eade wasn't concerned by the likelihood of Richmond resurrecting Griffen's comments when the sides meet again in round 18. "I reckon if you need motivation like that to play at this level, you've got some issues," he said.
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