The Big Men Fly And The Big Men Fall

Here we go again.

Saying Richmond has problems is possibly the understatement of the year. Last night we had our strongest team possible on the field, we were coming off a wonderful first round win and the club was not the centre of the football media spotlight for the first time in a fortnight. We were playing an opposition that had been in crisis, who had been thumped the week before and who we had defeated the previous five times we met.

All of this, of course, counted for nothing on the night.

I don’t mind that we lost, I guess I’ve grown accustomed to that, but it’s how we lost. It was an insipid, uninspired non attempt at playing football that nearly every man who had the honour of wearing the yellow and black last night should be ashamed of. It was frustrating to see them lose the physical attack on the ball, the drive to be first at the contest, the ability to pick a player and to watch them fall back on old ways (heads down, aimless running, poor skills, poor selection) just three minutes in to the game and three goals down.

Tigers are meant to fight and fight and win.

It’s only two games in but we all know what’s coming at Tigerland, and it ain’t gonna be pretty.