Winless season for Tigers? We’ve got five and counting
Justin Chadwick |
Five victories isn’t bad for a team that was predicted to go winless this season, but Richmond coach Adem Yze is far from satisfied ahead of his team’s daunting clash with ladder leaders Collingwood.
The rebuilding Tigers took another step forward on Saturday night when they unleashed an eight goal third-quarter blitz to defeat West Coast by 49 points at Optus Stadium.
The 16.9 (105) to 8.8 (56) triumph marked back-to-back victories for the first time since 2023.
A bigger test awaits next Sunday when they take on ladder leaders Collingwood at the MCG.
Richmond won just two games in Yze’s first season last year.
At the end of that wooden spoon campaign, the Tigers lost premiership stars Shai Bolton (Fremantle), Liam Baker (West Coast), Jack Graham (West Coast) and Daniel Rioli (Gold Coast) to rival clubs, while superstar Dustin Martin, Dylan Grimes and Marlion Pickett all retired.
It led many to question whether Richmond would even win a single game in 2025 – a doubt the Tigers blew out of the water with a shock win over Carlton in round one.
And while this season has still been tough, it’s fair to say they have exceeded expectations.
Yze said the dire predictions of a winless season hadn’t weighed on the playing group.
“We didn’t really care what other people thought, and it’s easy to say that now that we’ve won five games, but it’s not about that,” Yze said.
“Five games isn’t enough. We’ve got a game against Collingwood next week, and we’ll go there hoping that we can put on a performance that our Tiger army are proud of.
“Right now we’ve got five wins, and we’re looking for more.”
Maurice Rioli’s inspiring first-quarter chase down on Brady Hough helped set the tone early against West Coast.
Rioli also produced a memorable smother to set up a goal for Toby Nankervis in the second quarter.
Star midfield duo Jacob Hopper (33 disposals, eight clearances, two goals) and Tim Taranto (30 disposals, seven clearances, three goals) led from the front, while Jack Ross (25 disposals) restricted Harley Reid to just seven disposals in the second half.
Yze was also excited by the form of the club’s younger players – the long list including Jonty Faull, Luke Trainor and Taj Hotton.
“Then you’ve got Tyler Sonsie, who hasn’t played 50 games yet, and Rhyan Mansell and Seth Campbell, Sam Banks,” he said.
“So there’s that core group that are almost getting to that 50-game barrier.
“When we combine all those things together – our youth get better, the middle part of our list keep improving, and our leaders lead – we will be competitive.”
Campbell, who kicked two goals, will miss the match against Collingwood due to concussion.
AAP
