Lions’ Berry ready to revisit Tigers AFL connection

Anna Harrington | June 27, 2023

When Andrew McQualter takes charge of Richmond at the Gabba, he’ll spot at least one familiar face among the Brisbane players standing in his way.

Midfielder Jarrod Berry and the Richmond interim coach have a connection going back more than six years.

When Berry was a fresh-faced teenager entering his draft year in 2017, he was sent to Richmond to spend two weeks in pre-season training as part of his time with the AFL academy.

Looking out for the young man from Horsham: then-assistant coach McQualter.

“I know ‘Mini’ pretty well. I had a couple of weeks with him when I was a 17-year-old,” Berry told AAP after the Lions’ win over St Kilda on Friday.

“He just took me under his wing when I was there. I was only there for two weeks so it was a very small time, but he was one of the guys that really reached out to me and looked after me. 

“He picked me up a couple times, taking me to training because I was catching the tram because I wasn’t 18 yet. 

“Those little gestures of kindness really stick with you. We send a message here and there and see how each other are going. He’s a good man.”

But it’s unlikely there’ll be too much friendly chat between the pair in this week’s lead-up.

On Thursday night, McQualter will attempt to extend Richmond’s three-game winning streak by claiming a crucial win in the Tigers’ once-unlikely push for finals.

“He’s certainly going to be revving them up and ready to go and I guess they’ll probably come to look to take a scalp at the Gabba and we’ve got to be ready for that,” Berry said.

“It is very important. 

“They’re probably that contested finals brand, that we need to test ourselves and keep improving our game against. So it certainly is important. 

“Another four points would be nice, just keep making that gap bigger and try and consolidate that top four spot.”

The third-placed Lions have won two games on the bounce and are eight points clear inside the top four.

Berry, who has built his way into this campaign after pre-season shoulder surgery, was confident Brisbane had grown from the team that has experienced several seasons’ worth of finals heartbreak.

“It’s just that extra season playing together, another finals series, hardened bodies,” he said. 

“It’s all coming together for us and we just need to keep everyone fit and keep improving our game and keep playing good footy. 

“So this is another step towards that direction.”