For West Australian fans it’s fantastic to have the Tigers come to Perth, and what a treat it was to see them demolish the Eagles in Monday’s game. There was an even spread of contributors all over the park, and to see first year player Nick Vlaustuin score a few goals and work his magic was also pretty special.
Though Richmond managed to silence the crowd there were a number of Richmond faithful cheering on the tigers. As the game wore on jubilant tiger fans grew in voice, by the last quarter many were singing the club song sensing victory. Being an interstate supporter, you can be drowned out by the home supporter cheers, however, it’s nice to hear confirmation from former Captain Chris Newman that they could hear us out on the ground.
At quarter time I ran into a young family at the game who told me that they were taking their son to his first Richmond game, the little fella decked out in his yellow and black along with his sister and parents. When the siren had gone I looked back to see the whole family smiling while they were singing the club song. It was a win that meant a great deal to many fans for different reasons, and it may have been the beer, but it seemed to be a big moment full of emotion for everyone. Though I’m sure the feeling was a little different for Eagles supporters with whom I could relate their frustrations.
After the game we made our way to the Subiaco sports bar for the post game function, located inside Patterson Stadium. Greeted by the smiles of other Tiger supporters we sang the club song repetitiously until the moment of the big draw for the “Ultimate Tiger Weekend” which would see the winner in Melbourne for round 21 against Carlton. Unfortunately, I didn’t win the grand prize but congratulations to the winner, Geoff Bell. We hope you enjoy your trip.
After the draw we heard from past players Nathan Brown and Mark Coughlan who described their time at Tigerland and took questions about the club and what it was like to be a tiger.
We also heard from WA recruit Kamdyn Macintosh about his time at the club who said that he would aim to get a few games under his belt in his first season and through hard work break his way into the senior squad. I asked Kamdyn what it was like for him at the club and he said “It’s like being here with everyone singing the (club) song and getting around each other, it’s like that all the time and all the boys have been fantastic”.
The WA supporter group would like to thank the Subiaco Sports Bar for allowing use of their facilities and thanks to Nathan Brown, Mark Coughlan and Kamdyn Macintosh for speaking after such a stirring win.
We look forward to more performances like the one on Monday, with the draw after the bye that kind of form could see us play finals. There will also be round 21 packages available for people who would like to go to the match against Carlton by contacting the WA supporters group via email wa@rfcsupportergroup.com.
