Tony Greenberg
richmondfc.com.au
3:00:52 PM Thu 17 April, 2003
Tim Fleming became the 1034th player in Richmond's league football history when he made his debut for the Club in last Sunday's eight-goal victory over Fremantle at the MCG. And, it's fair to say, his was no run-of-the-mill first-up appearance.
For starters, the circumstances that enabled Fleming to force his way into the team were a bit out of the ordinary. He was originally named as an emergency for the game, but received a late call-up when star Tiger forward Matthew Richardson was ruled out following surgery to repair a fractured cheekbone.
The speculation surrounding Richo's availability also served to tighten the knot in Fleming's stomach in the lead-up to the Round 3 match.
"I wouldn't have been surprised if Richo did play. You know what he's like -- he's a pretty tough customer," Fleming said.
"On Friday night I thought he was actually going to play, but then on the Saturday, I spoke with the 'doc' and he said that he (Richo) might not.
"As it turned out, I was in the physio room getting a bit of work done myself, while Richo was behind the curtain getting assessed. So I was sitting there feeling a little bit nervous.
"It was a pretty awkward feeling because I wanted him to be alright, but I was also pretty excited at the prospect of playing my first game.
"Then, Richo walked out and after a fair bit of conversation between him and the doc, he came over, shook my hand, and said 'Congratulations mate, you're in'.
"It was an amazing feeling. I couldn't really get too excited until Saturday afternoon when I found out Richo definitely wasn't going to play, so I suppose I didn't really have enough time to get myself too wound up."
Once the news was official, Fleming tried to prepare for the game as calmly and normally as possible.
"I let everyone (family and friends) know and then the phone went mad for a while, so I turned it off later on that night," Fleming said.
"I rocked up to the ground really early because I was worried I was going to be late and I just didn't want the stress of that. I was lucky because Leon Cameron rocked up at pretty much the same time and I respect him very highly.
"So, I sort of followed him round for a while. We went out on the ground together and I was just looking around at the 'G' thinking, 'how good is this'!
"Then Leon was going for a rubdown, so I went for a rub with him . . . I basically just copied everything he did."
The pre-game instructions from coach Danny Frawley to the Tiger debutant were straight to the point . . .
"Spud just said play on your instincts and do what you do best," Fleming said.
"He put confidence in me by saying, 'Just go as hard as you can and, if you make a mistake, I won't come down hard on you'. That really made me feel like I had nothing to lose, which was good."
Then came the moment for which the 25-year-old had seemingly been waiting all his life -- running out on to the MCG with his teammates to play his first game of league football.
"I'd never run through a banner before . . . it was a strange feeling, but it was great, especially it being Cambo's 250th game.
"Over the years I'd watched so many players run through banners and I'd just been itching to get the opportunity myself. It was such a thrill to actually run through the banner with all the blokes. Looking beside me there was Campbell, Stafford, Cameron . . . all these guys who I have so much respect for."
Fleming started the game on the interchange bench, but got a very brief taste of the 'big-time' action just before quarter-time.
"The first couple of seconds when I came on, it was just amazing. I was involved in one contest before the siren sounded . . . it was just a one burst sort of thing, but it helped get all the crap out of my system, sort of thing.
"Then, through the quarter-time break, I was thinking, wow, that's the best feeling ever . . ."
Fleming returned to the fray about 10 minutes into the second term and almost immediately made his presence felt.
"My first touch, I kicked it to Leon Cameron who scored a goal. Then in the third quarter I kicked a goal, and all the boys came over the congratulate me. I was just rapt to see them do that," Fleming said.
By game's end, Fleming had racked up six kicks, three marks, four handballs, one goal -- and he'd certainly won over the Tiger faithful with his aggressive style of play.
What made Fleming's AFL debut even more special from his perspective was that it happened at the mature age (in football terms) of 25 following a successful amateur career with Old Xaverians and then a stint on the Carlton rookie and supplementary lists.
"That's why it was such a big day for me. I felt that everything had just built up to this. It's taken so long to get here, but it makes it all the more worthwhile," he said.
Another memorable aspect of Fleming's first game, was the torrential downpour that hit the MCG late in the second quarter, prompting a return to good, old-fashioned football for the rest of the match with the ground more resembling a lake.
Such conditions might be a rarity in these days of closed roofs and droughts, but Fleming and his Tiger teammates thrived on them.
"It brings everyone together more when you slog it out in a game like that and you see your teammates really throw themselves into it," Fleming said.
richmondfc.com.au
3:00:52 PM Thu 17 April, 2003
Tim Fleming became the 1034th player in Richmond's league football history when he made his debut for the Club in last Sunday's eight-goal victory over Fremantle at the MCG. And, it's fair to say, his was no run-of-the-mill first-up appearance.
For starters, the circumstances that enabled Fleming to force his way into the team were a bit out of the ordinary. He was originally named as an emergency for the game, but received a late call-up when star Tiger forward Matthew Richardson was ruled out following surgery to repair a fractured cheekbone.
The speculation surrounding Richo's availability also served to tighten the knot in Fleming's stomach in the lead-up to the Round 3 match.
"I wouldn't have been surprised if Richo did play. You know what he's like -- he's a pretty tough customer," Fleming said.
"On Friday night I thought he was actually going to play, but then on the Saturday, I spoke with the 'doc' and he said that he (Richo) might not.
"As it turned out, I was in the physio room getting a bit of work done myself, while Richo was behind the curtain getting assessed. So I was sitting there feeling a little bit nervous.
"It was a pretty awkward feeling because I wanted him to be alright, but I was also pretty excited at the prospect of playing my first game.
"Then, Richo walked out and after a fair bit of conversation between him and the doc, he came over, shook my hand, and said 'Congratulations mate, you're in'.
"It was an amazing feeling. I couldn't really get too excited until Saturday afternoon when I found out Richo definitely wasn't going to play, so I suppose I didn't really have enough time to get myself too wound up."
Once the news was official, Fleming tried to prepare for the game as calmly and normally as possible.
"I let everyone (family and friends) know and then the phone went mad for a while, so I turned it off later on that night," Fleming said.
"I rocked up to the ground really early because I was worried I was going to be late and I just didn't want the stress of that. I was lucky because Leon Cameron rocked up at pretty much the same time and I respect him very highly.
"So, I sort of followed him round for a while. We went out on the ground together and I was just looking around at the 'G' thinking, 'how good is this'!
"Then Leon was going for a rubdown, so I went for a rub with him . . . I basically just copied everything he did."
The pre-game instructions from coach Danny Frawley to the Tiger debutant were straight to the point . . .
"Spud just said play on your instincts and do what you do best," Fleming said.
"He put confidence in me by saying, 'Just go as hard as you can and, if you make a mistake, I won't come down hard on you'. That really made me feel like I had nothing to lose, which was good."
Then came the moment for which the 25-year-old had seemingly been waiting all his life -- running out on to the MCG with his teammates to play his first game of league football.
"I'd never run through a banner before . . . it was a strange feeling, but it was great, especially it being Cambo's 250th game.
"Over the years I'd watched so many players run through banners and I'd just been itching to get the opportunity myself. It was such a thrill to actually run through the banner with all the blokes. Looking beside me there was Campbell, Stafford, Cameron . . . all these guys who I have so much respect for."
Fleming started the game on the interchange bench, but got a very brief taste of the 'big-time' action just before quarter-time.
"The first couple of seconds when I came on, it was just amazing. I was involved in one contest before the siren sounded . . . it was just a one burst sort of thing, but it helped get all the crap out of my system, sort of thing.
"Then, through the quarter-time break, I was thinking, wow, that's the best feeling ever . . ."
Fleming returned to the fray about 10 minutes into the second term and almost immediately made his presence felt.
"My first touch, I kicked it to Leon Cameron who scored a goal. Then in the third quarter I kicked a goal, and all the boys came over the congratulate me. I was just rapt to see them do that," Fleming said.
By game's end, Fleming had racked up six kicks, three marks, four handballs, one goal -- and he'd certainly won over the Tiger faithful with his aggressive style of play.
What made Fleming's AFL debut even more special from his perspective was that it happened at the mature age (in football terms) of 25 following a successful amateur career with Old Xaverians and then a stint on the Carlton rookie and supplementary lists.
"That's why it was such a big day for me. I felt that everything had just built up to this. It's taken so long to get here, but it makes it all the more worthwhile," he said.
Another memorable aspect of Fleming's first game, was the torrential downpour that hit the MCG late in the second quarter, prompting a return to good, old-fashioned football for the rest of the match with the ground more resembling a lake.
Such conditions might be a rarity in these days of closed roofs and droughts, but Fleming and his Tiger teammates thrived on them.
"It brings everyone together more when you slog it out in a game like that and you see your teammates really throw themselves into it," Fleming said.
