Clash With Magpies Has Tiger Players Buzzing

The Sunday Age

Sunday April 6, 2008

Thomas Arup

RICHMOND assistant coach David King expects the Tigers to get a "real buzz" out of their rivalry-round clash with Collingwood today.

King said that playing in front of the crowd expected to be up to 70,000-strong would have a finals-like feeling and would be the perfect stage for Richmond's stars to show their wares.

"When you have the opportunity to play in front of 70-plus thousand people, and some of these guys haven't played a lot of finals football either, so to get that opportunity, it just gives you a real buzz to be able to be able to put your skills on show," King said yesterday.

"I think if I was a Nathan Brown or a Matthew Richardson or even a (Brett) Deledio or Kayne Pettifer, guys who can impact the scoreboard, just the enjoyment of being able to do your thing in front of those vast numbers of people is excitment itself.

"The rivalry of team to team, and suburb to suburb, is something quite special."

King said Deledio, who is named at full-forward, would probably have a mix of roles during the game as the Tigers seek to capitalise on his ability.

"Last week, he was fantastic in the second half in the midfield and across half-back. We are a better team when he has the ball in his hand, there is no doubt about that," King said.

The Tigers are coming off a 41-point loss to the Kangaroos in a performance King said showed that the Tigers needed to play with more consistency across the entire game.

Collingwood will be desperate to win after being overrun by the Lions by two points in Brisbane last week after giving up a 16-point three-quarter-time lead. The Magpies will be without midfielder Tyson Goldsack, who is recovering from a broken nose.

Young Magpie defender Nathan Brown has been named to play on star Tigers forward Richardson. If the match-up does eventuate, it will cap a remarkable set of challenges for the young defender, after playing on Matthew Pavlich and Jonathan Brown in his first two games of AFL football.

The Tigers have included captain Kane Johnson, back after a self-imposed suspension, and Mitch Morton, who kicked seven goals in the VFL. But the club chose to leave out young forward Jack Riewoldt, who kicked six goals in the VFL last week.

© 2008 The Sunday Age

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