Youngsters' close bond a key to the future
6:09 PM Tue 26 June, 2007
By Catherine Murphy,
for richmondfc.com.au
TIGER Jake King says that the strong bond of the young playing group at Richmond would form a good core group of players in the future.
“The one- to four-year players stick together,” King said.
“We’re pretty tight… every second Tuesday we go out and have a feed together and we’re starting to be really close. And you can certainly see that there’s a good feel around the club because of the win (against Melbourne).”
However the 23-year-old believes that the influence of more senior players in the club is vital to the younger players. He singled out Nathan Brown, who returned from injury to kick three goals against the Demons, for a special mention.
“He (Brown) helps us a lot off the track. Even when he’s not playing and he’s down, he helps us enormously. So to have him out there and get that first win, it’s just good to see a smile on his face again.”
King says that on a one-to-one level Brown has really helped with the development of his own game.
“He helps me with the defensive side of my game. Being a forward roughly my height, we do a lot of marking and kicking,” he said.
Coach Terry Wallace reiterated the importance of having the star player back on the field.
“It’s great to have him out there. You saw how St Kilda played with Harvey out there. The Kangaroos will be like that with Glen Archer this weekend … players just like to run alongside the great players in the game,” Wallace said.
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