Tom Sims’ first involvement on debut was a horrible miskick that at least went in the right general direction and enabled Seth Campbell to trap the Sherrin and slot a point-blank goal.
The giant forward-ruck became the seventh Tiger this year to make his AFL debut on Sunday as Adem Yze’s Richmond continued to overachieve with a fighting and thoroughly entertaining two-point victory – their third from nine rounds – over still-winless West Coast.
It took a game-saving tackle in the last minute from Tom Brown on Eagles fourth-gamer Tom Gross, who took a bounce and surged inside 50m, only to be run down in the pivotal moment in a contest with 15 lead changes.
“I came forward in the centre and missed the spoil, so I really had no choice,” Brown told Fox Footy. “If I didn’t chase him down, I was getting smoked in the review.”
There were pre-season predictions that Richmond, who won only twice in 2024 before losing the likes of Dustin Martin, Daniel Rioli, Liam Baker, Shai Bolton, Dylan Grimes and Jack Graham, might fail to win a game.
Rioli, Baker – who copped some early boos on Sunday – and Bolton were traded for a strong return, resulting in the Tigers scoring a mighty draft haul that only the Suns and Giants have ever surpassed.
The Tigers Kane McAuliffe lays a bonecrunching Tigers tackle that slows West Coast’s Harley Reid.Credit: via Getty Images
They ended up picking six players in the first round then grabbed Sims with the No.28 pick to start the second round. Four draft-mates – No.1 selection and budding star midfielder Sam Lalor, Luke Trainor, Harry Armstrong and Jonty Faull – are among Richmond’s debutants this season.
Armstrong, a key forward like Sims and Faull, was the only one who did not play on Sunday. Trainor is a tall defender who has made an instant impression with his aerial prowess and neat skills.
Sims, who turns 19 on Monday, showed enough against the Eagles to suggest his future is bright, too.
His biggest moment came in the second quarter when he snatched a strong pack mark before caressing a wonderful set shot through for his maiden goal, which was fittingly celebrated with gusto.
Only minutes later, the 199-centimetre teenager proved he was capable of much better than that original miskick, lacing out Tom Lynch in the pocket with a superb pass. There was another perfectly weighted pass in the fourth quarter to Jack Ross to avoid two West Coast defenders.
“It’s amazing, on Mother’s Day, too. My mum’s out here somewhere, probably crying, so to get the win is unreal. First game, first ‘dub’ – it’s unbelievable,” Sims said.
“I didn’t think I was going to get it [before I kicked my goal] because I led, and then ‘Lynchy’ [Tom Lynch] burnt me, so I thought I might as well go back … [and] go up [for the mark], and I clunked it. I’m like, ‘OK, calm yourself down, go through your routine’ – and I slotted it, which was good. I carried on a bit.”
There were other Tiger cubs who contributed even more to the result.
Richmond’s Rhyan Mansell celebrates.Credit: Getty Images
Sam Banks, a 22-year-old midfielder, amassed a career-high 28 disposals; small forward Seth Campbell, 20, kicked two goals; Trainor, 19, gathered 18 touches; and Lalor, 18, had 15 disposals, including a kick to Toby Nankervis on the tick of three-quarter-time that helped Richmond grab back the lead.
Trainor took off inside 50m in the first term and hit the post while taking aim at his first AFL goal before putting his head over the ball and barrelling a long kick forward to set up a Rhyan Mansell goal right before that Nankervis one.
Lalor went head-to-head occasionally with the previous year’s draft dux, Harley Reid, who brushed off his second-year blues to show some encouraging signs.
Reid kicked a spectacular goal on the run from beyond 50 metres to put the Eagles in front only 71 seconds into the fourth quarter, but not long after, he gave away a 50-metre penalty to gift Hugo Ralphsmith maximum points at the other end.
West Coast never led again.
Yze was all smiles afterwards, whereas the man he beat to the Tigers job, Andrew McQualter, who instead accepted the Eagles gig a year later, cut a forlorn figure in the opposite coaches’ box.
Lynch, who will mentor this group of next-generation key forwards at Punt Road, was a strong performer with 17 disposals, eight score involvements and 2.2, including the go-ahead behind in the dying minutes.
Ex-Giants Tim Taranto (27 disposals) and Jacob Hopper (24)were also important.
Whether Sims, Faull, Trainor and co. develop into the next Jack Riewoldt and Alex Rance remains to be seen, but these new-age Tigers are giving their fans hope sooner than they probably thought.
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