Tigers keen to atone
Short confident Richmond can bounce back after loss
MCG, TONIGHT, 7.30PM AEDT Watch on Fox Footy, Kayo
Jayden Short has assured Tiger fans they will see a far more competitive, greater contest-based Richmond in Thursday’s MCG clash against old rivals Carlton.
The sting of an “embarrassing” opening round loss to Gold Coast, some heated criticism of a few experienced players, including himself, a series of challenging internal conversations and three big inclusions have boosted Short’s confidence that the Tigers can bounce back.
For once, the 28-year-old is happy with the short turnaround since Saturday, given he and his teammates are eager to play again after the disappointment of the loss to the Suns.
“The boys really want to get to work,” Short said as he prepared to take on the Blues.
“They are embarrassed with how we started (against Gold Coast, where the Suns kicked 11 of the first 12 goals) and it is something we want to get to work on straight away.
“We have only had five days to get ourselves back out there, so that presents another opportunity. It’s not the way you want to start a season, but there were certainly positives during that third and fourth quarter.”
Some of the reviews for the Tigers in Adem Yze’s first game as coach were scathing, with Leigh Matthews labelling the club’s 39-point loss “horrible”, while Kane Cornes criticised some of Richmond’s senior players for their lack of defensive pressure.
Cornes pinpointed a missed tackle from Short, who was stand-in skipper last week in Toby Nankervis’s absence, as evidence of the Tigers’ lack of early pressure.
Short doesn’t shy away from the criticism, saying he knows he and his teammates need to be better in front of a packed MCG on Thursday.
“I’m always looking to get better and improve as a player,” he said when asked about the criticism of Richmond’s defensive efforts.
“There were some honest conversations, some tough conversations (following the game) … they needed to be had.
“If you watched the game, you can tell it is not the way we want to play. I don’t think Adem (Yze) needs to come in and yell and scream because the boys know how they want to play.
“They (Carlton) are definitely going to bring the pressure … They are a great contested team as well, so they will bring the heat and we will have to match it.
“We’ve got to bring our contest (game). We have seen their (the Blues’) contest work and the boys will need to match it and get to work on it.”
Short will happily hand over the captaincy on Thursday to
Nankervis, who will return along with Dustin Martin and Tom Lynch, in a selection boost to the Tigers.
He conceded the Tigers were still learning part of the new game style Yze wants them to play, a change he has found reinvigorating in the six months since the new coach arrived at Punt Road.
“As an athlete, you want to get better and improve your game, and when a new coach comes in, it provides a real opportunity for that,” he said.
“Even the way we move the ball and set up around the ground, we have had the same or similar stuff for nine years.
“(It’s good) to have someone new come in and challenge you to try and get better.”
Essendon will unleash the full quartet of players traded in at the end of last season in Saturday’s round 1 showdown with Hawthorn on Saturday.
Coach Brad Scott said veteran ruckman Todd Goldstein, Xavier Duursma, Jade Gresham and Ben McKay would all play the Hawks while conceding there could be some “growing pains” as the Bombers seek synergy.
But Scott said while it was “tempting” to play the club’s top draft pick, Nate Caddy, but he was unlikely to make his debut after hurting his back last month in a training mishap.
‘That’s our best-laid plans,”
Scott said. “They have had terrific pre-season and have slotted in well, albeit I still expect some growing pains when it comes to team synergy.
“When you bring in four players, new players in, it takes time to adjust. I’ve been pleased with what we have
Carlton plans to build on the momentum and the maturity derived from last week’s come-from-behind win over grand finalist Brisbane at the Gabba, with last year’s semifinal hero Blake Acres eager to tackle Richmond before a packed MCG house on Thursday night.
It’s the first time the Blues have been back at the ’G since that famous victory over Melbourne last September, with Acres kicking the matchwinning goal.
“We’re really excited,” Acres said. “We were so happy to get the job done last week and now we get the chance to play in front of all our fans (against Richmond),” he said.
“It’s another opportunity to display what we have worked on during the pre-season and to hopefully do it in front of 90,000 fans. We’d love to see the ’G packed with Blues brothers.”
The Blues trailed the Lions by 46 points at one stage before a stunning revival broke a longstanding winning drought at the Gabba.
“I don’t know if you want to win like that all the time,” Acres said.
“It showed a bit of maturity and showed how far this group has come in the past few years. In the past, we might have got rolled up there (at the Gabba), but we had a lot of guys step up and play some really important roles.”
The heartbreaking loss of Sam Docherty to a third ACL impacted the group, but ruckman Tom De Koning said as much as they felt for the 30-year-old defender, the club’s squad mentality meant his loss will provide an opportunity for someone else.
“It’s shattering what happened to ‘Doc’,” De Koning said. “But since ‘Vossy’ has come in, we have had that ‘next man up’ approach.
“Traditionally, we look forward to playing this game as a (season) starting point, but it was good to go up to Brissy and get that win.” seen from them in the pre-season.”
Scott was full of praise for Goldstein, who he coached at North Melbourne, given the role the 36-year-old will play to help No.1 ruckman Sam Draper who had an interrupted preparation after postseason surgery last year.
He said there was no preconceived plans on how much Goldstein would play.
“I have known Todd Goldstein for along time. If you didn’t have his birth certificate you’d think he’s 26 not 36,” Scott said.
“He’s training like he was training 10 years ago. The sky is the limit for Todd.”