Better times ahead
By Matthew Richardson
realfooty.theage.com.au
July 25, 2004
It's been an extremely long and disappointing season for Richmond people, and about the only publicity we have attracted this year has been for negative reasons.
So it's worth looking at some of the positives that have emerged this year; the things that give the Tigers something to look forward to next season.
My first point is about Joel Bowden, one of the most maligned players at our club, if not in the AFL.
Hopefully, he has made some people change their minds about him this season - and not before time - and 2004, in time, might be looked back on as the one in which he took his football to the next level.
I reckon Joel cops it so much because, at his absolute best, he has sublime skills and can do things on a footy field that only a select few can manage.
He makes it look so easy.
The problem is that people expect this to be the case every time he gets the ball, which is obviously an unrealistic expectation.
You also hear comments about him not going flat out, or not trying his hardest, which is absolute rubbish. He simply has a smooth and fluent style, which might give watchers the wrong impression.
I know Joel well, and I can assure you that he's a strong character who drives himself hard to succeed. He is aware of this perception that he cruises, and of the negative criticism that he receives, but he is a really positive and level-headed guy, and he never lets it get him down.
Some players struggle with their confidence when they are dropped back to the reserves, but when it happened to Joel in round six, he bounced back to average more than 26 possessions for Richmond over the next 10 games.
Through necessity, he also has played at centre half-back for us over the past six weeks, and has been our best player. He even managed to shade Brisbane Lions forward Jonathan Brown at the Gabba three weeks ago. Joel loves a challenge, and it's another one of his qualities that isn't recognised nearly enough.
Kane Johnson also has gone up a notch this season. He finished second in Jack Dyer Medal voting last season but might have been even better this year, and his importance to the team was underlined by his elevation to the captaincy in Wayne Campbell's absence.
Not bad recognition at all for a bloke who has played only 35 matches with the club.
Since coming over from the Crows, he has delivered everything the club could ask for, and I believe the captaincy will be handed to Kane in the near future.
His consistent work-rate and desire to succeed make him another excellent role model for the younger guys.
It doesn't happen for Kane by accident. He is our hardest worker on the training track and he treats every training session as an opportunity to improve.
Sunday morning recovery sessions aren't only for jogging out a few aches and pains as far as Kane is concerned; they're an opportunity for him to improve his endurance.
Nathan Brown has been another great acquisition for our club, and probably would be leading our best-and-fairest voting.
Anyone can see that he is absolute silk in the skills department, which gives the younger players at the club a level to which to aspire.
The character he has shown to perform the way he has despite the pressure that accompanied his move to the Tigers early in the year also deserves praise.
You might think that his game revolves purely around his natural ability, but he puts in a lot of extra time working on various parts of his game, including a lot of extra sprint work that has helped with his ability to burst away from opponents.
With summer just around the corner, we also expect him to do a bit of extra work on the biceps and beach muscles.
Our overall form has been disappointing, but on the flip side, it has allowed us to get plenty of game time into some young players.
Brent Hartigan has shown some poise and skill in defence; Kelvin Moore has done enough to earn promotion from the rookie list and to warrant a spot on next season's list; Jay Schulz has shown an ability to do some freaky things, including bagging six against the best defence of the modern era, and looks capable of developing into a key-position player; Daniel Jackson now has played for his school, VFL club and Richmond this year, and is a fierce competitor who won't back down from anything; Tom Roach has played more football than he would have expected and he has brought pace and enthusiasm to the team.
Today will provide one of the rare feel-good stories for our club this season, when Marc Dragicevic runs on to the MCG against Melbourne. Draga has inched towards the 50-game milestone (today will be game No. 47), having been through two knee reconstructions, dropped off the list, rookie-listed and finally promoted for the rest of the season following Duncan Kellaway's retirement.
He has shown great persistence and determination, and has had a great attitude throughout. He can also play a bit, so hopefully this will reignite his career.
Let's just hope today proves to be a feel-good story for Richmond.
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