Thursfield wants Riewoldt rematch
30 June 2007 Herald-Sun
WILL Thursfield has waited a long time for another crack at St Kilda's Nick Riewoldt.
The young Richmond defender did a good job keeping the Saints star in check 15 months ago before suffering a knee injury that ended his 2006 season and delayed the start to this campaign.
Thursfield would like to stand Riewoldt again at Telstra Dome tonight and hopefully finish the job he couldn't complete in Round 2 of 2006.
"I'd like it," he said. "I like playing on any of the good players. It's a good challenge and I'd be happy to."
Thursfield admitted he could not help but recall the devastation of rupturing the anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee last year in the lead-up to tonight's game.
"I'm trying to put it aside, but St Kilda at the Telstra Dome is the exact same game as last year," the 21-year-old said.
"Once I'm out there, I won't think about that, but I have thought about it.
"I played on him (Riewoldt) for three quarters, and at the start of the last quarter did my knee, and he ended up kicking a few goals and they ended up winning the game."
The setback also meant Thursfield went almost two years before again experiencing the thrill of playing in a winning Richmond side.
The Tigers won in the first two games in which he played, midway through the 2005 season, but he did not sing the club song until last weekend's win against Melbourne.
Having finally broken through for their first win, the Tigers are keen to have a say on the finals aspirations for several sides, starting with the 12th-placed Saints.
"We said we'd like to, in the second half of the year, scare a few finals sides, so that they're worried about playing us because we've got nothing to lose and we can go out and play attacking football," Thursfield said.
Thursfield has strung five games together since his return, taking his career tally to 12. He has been considered the successor to Tigers fullback Darren Gaspar, who retired earlier this season.
The two are good mates and speak regularly, which includes swapping notes on likely opponents.
"I'll tell him who I'm playing on and he'll give me a run down on what they're like and how he went on them," Thursfield said.
"He's a really good help, even though he's not around the place any more."
The enforced layoff allowed Thursfield a chance to become a better student of the game, as he watched a lot of football and focused on the tactics elite defenders use to keep their opponents quiet.
It's something Thursfield would like to do for a long time on the last line of defence.
"I've been given the opportunities to play there this year, and hopefully I can keep playing there over the years," he said.
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