Young Tiger muscles in on senior action
The Age
July 13, 2006
Nathan Foley has grown into his role at Richmond. Len Johnson reports.AS DEBUTS go, Nathan Foley's was an inauspicious one. Two kicks, six handballs, a hint of desperation with three tackles, but whatever the former Colac youngster did, he would have been overshadowed by other events on the night.
First, Richmond lost the round-10 game last year against Melbourne by 57 points. Even worse, the Tigers lost one of their talisman players, Nathan Brown, to a horrific broken leg during the game. It wrecked Brown's, and the club's, season. Seven and two coming into that game, the Tigers won only three more games for the season.
Foley continued to grow, however, both literally — the 177-centimetre tall midfielder has put on almost 10 kilograms since arriving at Punt Road Oval after being selected in the 2003 rookie draft — and figuratively.
He played five of the last six games last season, was promoted to the full list off the rookie list, and has played 13 of 14 games so far in 2006.
"I worked pretty hard at it last year," said Foley, "and I put on a bit (of muscle)." The club website still shows him at his rookie draft weight of 71 kilograms, but he is now a more robust 80.
An injured hamstring sidelined Foley after his debut, but he broke back into the team with some irresistible form for Coburg in the VFL, including a 47-possession game.
Dropped again after the round-17 match against Port Adelaide, the youngster notched up another 30 possessions to cement his place for the last four rounds of 2005 (it did not hurt that his teammates lost to Carlton in his absence).
Last year was Foley's second on the rookie list. Clearly, he was determined not to remain either there or at Coburg. Determination has been a constant in Foley's development.
Richmond director of football Greg Miller recalls that Foley missed out on being drafted straight on to a senior list, despite performing well in the TAC Cup competition, for two reasons. "First he was small," he said, "and second he wouldn't run and spread. He did most of his work in tight."
Once at Punt Road, injuries held Foley up. He had persistent tendonitis in his knee. "He had to work so hard to get around it," Miller said, "knowing that if he didn't play he ran the risk of getting the flick (off the list) and if he did he was restricted."
This season, one game for Coburg aside, Foley has played every game in the senior side. With the likes of Kane Johnson and Shane Tuck to play the main in-and-under midfield roles, Foley has started off the bench at times.
On the ground, his work-rate ensures he gets plenty of the ball. In both of the significant recent wins over Collingwood and Port Adelaide, his possession count has been up around 20.
Richmond's win over Collingwood was in a Sunday game at the MCG before 60,000. But the Tigers were surprise victors. Though they may not start favourites against Melbourne tomorrow night, it is a marquee game between one of the competition's form sides and one seen as a rising challenger. "Friday night in a big game at the 'G, it's something you dream about," said Foley.
With Melbourne's depth of polished midfielders, Foley is sure to see plenty of action. His attack on the ball will be an asset, too, with the Demons having worked over several seasons to hone a sharper edge to their skills.
Foley says he has relished the opportunity to play alongside teammates Troy Simmonds — "he's taught me a lot about playing around the stoppages" — and fellow midfielders Mark Coughlan (now out for the year injured), Johnson and Tuck. "We do a lot of work together as a group," he said.
Right now, Foley is about consolidating his place in the side and continuing to progress. "I want to keep on improving and just play as many senior games as I can," he said. Finals "would be massive. We're striving towards it."
One thing you can say about Nathan Foley is that he is prepared to keep on striving until he gets to where he wants to go.
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