Kids do Frawley proud
05 July 2004 Herald Sun
Jon Ralph
"I THOUGHT his effort to get injured was sensational, it really was."
This was no slip of the tongue from Richmond coach Danny Frawley post-match, just an honest assessment of a group of men that had finally decided to play for each other.
Midway through the second quarter, Chris Hyde was battered and bruised by his furious attack on the ball, but knew this was no time to give up.
He charged into another heavy encounter with Brisbane Lions defender Chris Johnson.
He came out hobbling with a badly corked leg and finally had to leave the field.
It might not have been the shoulder-wrenching sacrificial act Rory Hilton displayed several years back on the MCG but, for Frawley, it was enough.
"If he keeps giving those efforts he is going to win respect and the team is going to win respect," Frawley said.
"It's great to see that from up here. He took them on."
Brisbane was the shortest-priced favourite of the year for this match but the Tigers, given a licence to run and back themselves, were transformed.
There was no amazing bursts followed by capitulation – just a consistent effort across every line, starting in the middle with Nathan Brown, Kane Johnson and Wayne Campbell and finished by a couple of unlikely targets up forward.
Jay Schulz has gone from the sublime to the ridiculous several times this year with towering marks then costly skill errors, but Tiger fans have reason to think he came of age on Saturday night.
He got himself going with a leaping mark, running back and sideways at full stretch, in the first quarter. After he ran around to thread the goal, there was no stopping him.
On several opponents, including Mal Michael, he grabbed six goals playing deep alongside third-gamer Kelvin Moore, who ran hard and straight and showed signs.
With Brad Ottens a target at centre half-forward and Joel Bowden running off Jon Brown, the mix was finally right, even without big Richo as a target.
Shane Tuck found enough of the ball to earn his pay for the rest of the year, while a prospective coach would have liked the efforts of youngsters Chris Newman, Kane Pettifer and Tim Fleming.
Brisbane's midfield runners got on top early in the second quarter with Alastair Lynch hitting his straps, but the Tigers were not done.
Four goals in the third and fourth quarters saw them within six points 20 minutes into the last term when
Ottens and Rory Hilton goaled. It was not enough – it rarely is at the Gabba – but it was commendable.
Brisbane is purring.
As Frawley said, it brought back more than 700 games of experience for the match in Lynch, Blake Caracella and Shaun Hart, and should be in top form come finals time.
Lynch showed no signs of the ankle injury that has kept him out, Caracella's three goals and overhead marking were a highlight, and Hart's 14 touches were a good start.
They surged when they had to, the key players held their form, and when the game was up for grabs, a five-goal final quarter got them over the line.
The Tigers need to turn their temporary form spike into more, starting against an Essendon unit coming off three losses.
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