Tigers relish Cats rematch
Nick Sheridan | May 17, 2008 - 2:02AM
The Tigers will run out onto the MCG today with the intention of showing they have turned their fortunes around since their disastrous 157-point loss to Geelong in round six last year, Richmond's assistant coach Brian Royal said.
Much has changed since then. That win launched the then-maligned Cats on a 15-game winning streak that set them up for the 2007 premiership.
For the Tigers, that game meant more pain in the course of an incredibly tough year in which they lost their first nine games, and managed only three wins for the season.
Today, the Cats sit atop the ladder, undefeated, confirming the oft-repeated claim they are the "benchmark of the competition". For Richmond, too, the signs are good. With 21/2 wins from their first six games, and a couple of competitive losses, the Tigers are forcing many a pundit to rethink pre-season predictions they are bound for another wooden spoon.
Royal said yesterday that today's rematch with the team that, just last year, inflicted upon Richmond the greatest defeat in the club's history, is another step along the path to redemption.
"What we can measure is how much we've improved," Royal said. "No doubt that was a game that we'd like to forget . . . but we need to show our supporters that we have improved."
Another key difference between this match and last year's is the state of Richmond's playing list. After the first seven rounds last year, Richmond had the longest injury list in the competition, including big men Troy Simmonds and Trent Knobel, and forward dynamo Nathan Brown. Yesterday, Royal delighted in talking about the current depth in his side's playing list, with young players queueing up in the club's VFL affiliate, the Coburg Tigers, to get a run in the seniors.
That depth, Royal said, is illustrated by the absence of defender Joel Bowden, who returns to the side today after five weeks in the VFL.
Key-position player Graham Polak will also make his return after a run in the VFL, with Jay Schulz and Daniel Jackson making way.
http://www.realfooty.com.au/news/news/tigers-relish-cats-rematch/2008/05/17/1210765193497.html
