In the wake of Richmond’s elimination final loss to North Melbourne last Sunday, ‘Roar Vision’ recorded the views of several Tiger players on that disappointing defeat, and the team’s 2016 prospects.
Dylan Grimes
“To finish the way that we did, the third year in-a-row, is really disappointing. We had some players that were down . . . They’ll be the first to admit that as well, but at the end of the day, we’re a team and we rely on every player, as much as any other player. We didn’t bring our best game and North did . . . that was pretty much it. Our (2016) season starts now. Individually, we get better, as a group we get better, our game plan gets stronger, we mature, and we go further.”
Anthony Miles
“It’s a long wait until we get another chance now, which is probably the most disappointing thing. Look, it’s got to hurt, and the driving force behind our improvement has got to be that hurt.”
Brandon Ellis
“It just didn’t feel like our time was supposed to be up. Three years in-a-row now we’ve been kicked out in an elimination final, which is just not good enough. When you go down in contested ball by 35, there’s no way you’re going to win the game. I think we wish we could have another crack at North Melbourne tomorrow and try to rectify what happened. But the season’s over now. It’s going to be pretty hard watching other teams battle it out over the next three weeks, especially Grand Final day. It’s all about our journey, it’s all about writing the story and, as disappointing as it is to lose three in-a-row, we’re pretty confident going into next year and really excited. We know what we need to do to get to that next step.”
Bachar Houli
“We started the game pretty well, I thought. Just upset to see how we went about things, particularly in that last quarter.”
Nick Vlastuin
“It was a real weird feeling on Monday . . . weren’t expecting to be there (out of the finals). No one really had anything planned . . . just a weird mood.”
Shaun Grigg
“Bitterly disappointed about it, but we’ve just got to keep getting better . . . That’s what it comes down to. We showed this year our best footy’s more than capable against the best teams. So, another year of playing together, trying to play that way (best football) for four quarters, and sustaining it for a season, that’s our biggest challenge.”
Reece Conca
“To go out in the same circumstances as previous years is very disappointing, and we want to bounce back from that. We know that we’ve got the right squad together, got the right coaches, and everyone’s on the same page. There’s plenty of fire in the belly, personally, and I know most of the other guys are feeling the same way.”
Alex Rance
“You always have to put it in perspective . . . it’s a game at the end of the day. It means a lot to a lot of people, but there are worse things that happen in the world. We have achieved a lot this year, we have improved, so there’s that to be looked at as well. But you can’t get too happy with the season when you get bailed out in the final again. There’s no doubt that we’re on the upward trend, and we’ve got a lot of talent in our team that can go the right way. But every team’s talented. It’s a matter of the mental side of the game . . . that you can cope with pressure and respond. We’ve never lost faith in the whole time that ‘Dimma’ (coach Damien Hardwick) has been here that we’d be a consistent finals side, and to play three finals in-a-row is a good effort in itself. But we want more. You don’t get prizes just for making the finals – you’ve got to win them.”
