12:48:04 PM Fri 27 June, 2003
Andrew Browne
afl.com.au
The Sunshine State finally lived up to its name for Richmond’s Queensland visit as the Tigers trained in clear and warm conditions on Friday ahead of their clash against the third-placed Brisbane Lions at the Gabba on Saturday night.
In contrast to the cold and wet conditions since arriving on Wednesday, the Tigers relished the sunny conditions during the 45-minute session and according to coach Danny Frawley the time has been well spent being away from Melbourne.
“It has been terrific, the boys have trained well Wednesday and today, now we start honing in and focusing on what is going to be a huge job for us,” Frawley said on Friday.
Frawley has been careful with his players though, juggling the emotions and ensuring the team does not peak too quickly before such a big assignment.
“You have to be able to do that when you play interstate,” he said
“It’s really important to be able to bring yourself up and down – we just have to make sure we keep building towards game time.”
Despite missing key personnel for this contest, such as Darren Gaspar, Duncan Kellaway and Ray Hall, Frawley is looking forward to welcoming back vital midfield ingredients such as captain Wayne Campbell, Kane Johnson and the long-awaited return of Mark Dragicevic who has not played for two years, but has been flying in the VFL for Coburg.
“I think it is a great story for not only Richmond supporters but for football fans in general, because the kid can really play,” commented the coach on Dragicevic’s comeback.
Frawley adding that during the time off, the 22-year-old has been able to add considerable bulk to his body.
There is also no questioning the fitness of Ben Holland, with Frawley saying he could have played two weeks ago when Gaspar was injured.
“He (Holland) has had six games in the VFL now, so we think he is ready to go.
“He can hold down either a key post down back or up forward so he adds another dimension to our game,” assessed Frawley.
Rumours of powerful forward Brad Ottens rolling an ankle earlier in the week were also cast aside by him running out the session strongly.
Now the talking and waiting is almost over, as the Tigers are out to arrest the four-game losing streak and they are under no illusions about the task that is ahead of them.
While Frawley is ruing the narrow losses of recent times, he only wants to look forward and not concern himself with previous encounters with the Lions.
“You can’t look at the past – I don’t think you can even look at last week,” he said.
“It is a different mindset - it is a different challenge. I don’t think you can ever look at how you improve or how you go backwards. It’s too hard to quantify.”
Andrew Browne
afl.com.au
The Sunshine State finally lived up to its name for Richmond’s Queensland visit as the Tigers trained in clear and warm conditions on Friday ahead of their clash against the third-placed Brisbane Lions at the Gabba on Saturday night.
In contrast to the cold and wet conditions since arriving on Wednesday, the Tigers relished the sunny conditions during the 45-minute session and according to coach Danny Frawley the time has been well spent being away from Melbourne.
“It has been terrific, the boys have trained well Wednesday and today, now we start honing in and focusing on what is going to be a huge job for us,” Frawley said on Friday.
Frawley has been careful with his players though, juggling the emotions and ensuring the team does not peak too quickly before such a big assignment.
“You have to be able to do that when you play interstate,” he said
“It’s really important to be able to bring yourself up and down – we just have to make sure we keep building towards game time.”
Despite missing key personnel for this contest, such as Darren Gaspar, Duncan Kellaway and Ray Hall, Frawley is looking forward to welcoming back vital midfield ingredients such as captain Wayne Campbell, Kane Johnson and the long-awaited return of Mark Dragicevic who has not played for two years, but has been flying in the VFL for Coburg.
“I think it is a great story for not only Richmond supporters but for football fans in general, because the kid can really play,” commented the coach on Dragicevic’s comeback.
Frawley adding that during the time off, the 22-year-old has been able to add considerable bulk to his body.
There is also no questioning the fitness of Ben Holland, with Frawley saying he could have played two weeks ago when Gaspar was injured.
“He (Holland) has had six games in the VFL now, so we think he is ready to go.
“He can hold down either a key post down back or up forward so he adds another dimension to our game,” assessed Frawley.
Rumours of powerful forward Brad Ottens rolling an ankle earlier in the week were also cast aside by him running out the session strongly.
Now the talking and waiting is almost over, as the Tigers are out to arrest the four-game losing streak and they are under no illusions about the task that is ahead of them.
While Frawley is ruing the narrow losses of recent times, he only wants to look forward and not concern himself with previous encounters with the Lions.
“You can’t look at the past – I don’t think you can even look at last week,” he said.
“It is a different mindset - it is a different challenge. I don’t think you can ever look at how you improve or how you go backwards. It’s too hard to quantify.”
.