Richmond spearhead Jack Riewoldt has revealed a moment of inspiration from 2019 that has become “player folklore” at the club and helped turn the side’s fortunes around in the 2020 grand final.
The moment came in the 2019 preliminary final against Geelong, with the Tigers trailing by 21 points at the start of the third quarter.
After the opening centre bounce and with Geelong ruckman Rhys Stanley in possession, a desperate tackle from then-captain Trent Cotchin turned the tide.
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“This has sort of become player folklore, this little contest here from Trent Cotchin,” Riewoldt said on AFL 360 Plus.
“It was really put on us (at half-time) that we weren’t tough enough. There’s a little half-battle there, we get the ball forward and Tom Lynch kicks a goal from this passage of play.”
Lynch ended up with five goals on the night as the Tigers stormed back into the contest before eventually winning by 19 points.
The Tigers went on to thrash Greater Western Sydney in the grand final the following week, delivering them their second premiership in three years.
A year later in the decider at the Gabba, the Tigers once again found themselves trailing Geelong at half-time.
Cotchin’s 2019 moment, Riewoldt said, played a part in their eventual comeback and second consecutive premiership.
“We went back to this moment in the middle of the 2020 grand final. We were like, ‘we’ve done this before, we’ve got evidence’,” he said.
“As a captain, to stand up in that moment and just do that little one-percenter, get that tackle, turn the ball over in the middle of the ground when we’d been beaten pretty comprehensively out of the middle in the first half.
“It swayed the momentum in our favour. That’s a part of Richmond folklore and player folklore at our football club, that moment.”
