For some of the Roys, Citizens Park was their first home ground. That was back in the under-10 days when grounds were scarce and Fitzroy spread itself among the inner suburbs. But normal transmission had been restored in the intervening years, and Richmond juniors had reclaimed the ground that is surrounded by the sounds of the W class trams rolling down Church St and the urgent sirens of the paramedics on their way to some Sunday morning emergency.
And it didn’t take long for the Roys to feel the heat – Richmond was out of the blocks and running like they had not been outside since Jack Dyer was around. The Tigers bombarded the goals and it took a smother from Dom and a strong tackle from Nick N on the goalsquare to make sure it wasn’t a bigger margin confronting the Roys at quarter time.
Terry might have been in a bit of a retro mood and urged the Roys to “wrap their arms around them’’, but his intention was clear: tackle and tackle hard. And the Roys lifted. Atticus, who plays tall and strong, was in his element. So too was Adam the Dasher, and Lewis, working hard in close, Patrick winning some contested ball and Sebastian, whose tackling was fearless.
The Tigers’ run started to slow and the Roys squeezed the ball out of packs and made sure there was no space for the Richmond runners. Jesse J took a strong mark in defence and James T cleared with a couple of long roosts down the ground. It was tough footy and Richmond added only two behinds for the quarter. The Roys managed a point and the game seemed to be played on Fitzroy’s term.
But it was hard work and Richmond, refreshed after the long break, came again. Kent was calm in defence, and Sam, reliable and poised, knew what to do in a crisis, but the Tigers kept finding their way forward. Suddenly Elia latched on to a loose ball in the centre of the ground and booted it forward for Josh to grab it, pivot and bounce through the Roys’ first goal.
But the Tigers increased their lead and went to the final quarter
with a 35-point lead. It was always going to be too much, and
although the Roys tried had to stem the flow, Richmond ran in another couple of goals to clinch the match.
ENDS
