Valuable veteran Richmond midfielder Shaun Grigg has joined the Club’s official podcast ‘Talking Tigers’ as a regular contributor. ‘Grigga’ made an excellent debut on this week’s episode of TT, providing a terrific insight into several Tiger teammates. Here’s what he had to say . . .
On Dusty’s superb form this season
“Behind the scenes, he works really hard. His pre-season was very good, and his self-belief, as well, is pretty good. He’s got every attribute you’d want and he believes he’s one of the best players in the competition. He’s got that swagger . . . ‘Kick the ball to me and I’ll make it happen’. It’s good to see.”
On Dusty’s playing future
“He loves being around the boys, he loves the Club . . . I’d love to see Dusty in the Yellow and Black. I can’t picture him in other colours . . .”
On David Astbury’s improvement
“His belief with his hands is amazing. He’s a good contested mark and he makes ‘Rancey’s’ (Alex Rance) job easier. Dave’s been playing on some of the best forwards and Rancey’s been helping chopping out.”
On Shai Bolton v Sydney last Saturday
“In the first half, he was electric. His reading of the ball off hands was pretty good . . . and loved seeing him kick those goals. He’s got a little bit of swagger about him. When he puts on the pressure, as well, he catches up to them really quickly. He doesn’t look like he’s going very fast sometimes, but he is . . . His best is yet to come. I think he’s just going to get better. He’s going to be a good player.”
On playing with the Tiger cubs
“They’re a good, vibrant bunch of boys down there. They’re just having a crack. I saw some evidence late last year of what they could be . . . We blooded a lot of young players. Granted we didn’t get results, but we gave them an opportunity, and over the pre-season they took their games to a new level again. So it’s no real surprise for us (older) players to see it (their impressive development) . . . The hard work’s paid off.”
On his own form this season
“It’s been probably my most enjoyable season so far. I’ve really loved playing with the young boys. The vibrancy and energy that they bring is awesome. And I might have added another string to my bow in the ruck.”
On his part-time ruck role
“’Dimma’ (coach Damien Hardwick) just wants me to compete and enjoy it a bit, depending on who I’m up against. If it’s a smaller second ruck, then I can have a crack. But on the weekend (v Sydney) it was Naismith and Sinclair, who are pretty big units. Sometimes it’d be silly trying to compete against them in the centre bounce, copping a knee in the throat or something like that. I’m happy to do whatever’s asked. We just try and give ‘Nank’ (Toby Nankervis) a bit of a chop-out . . . He’s been unbelievable, the big ‘fella’. He shoulders a lot of the load now, so if I can just give him a five-minute chop-out, here and there, it’s going to be better for us.”
On his changed pre-game routine without good mate Brett Deledio
“I used to have dinner with Dusty and ‘Lids’ (Brett Deledio) at Brett’s house. He (Deledio) would cook for us, but Dusty’s taken on the responsibility this year. I go round to Dusty’s now pre-game and he cooks up. He’s a very good cook. It’s the same meal – honey mustard chicken and rice, with a bit of chilli in there. You’d be surprised . . . he’s pretty good.”
