Make Richmond great again? Well, the Tigers weren’t great but they were pretty good on Friday night in their 19-point win against Adelaide.
Damien Hardwick borrowed the famous line from the US president during the week and there was enough evidence in the 0.14.8 (92) to 0.10.13 (73) win to suggest they’re taking steps in the right direction.
In addition to a number of encouraging individual performances, Richmond appeared intent on moving the ball quickly and displayed impressive intensity around the ball.
Recruits Dion Prestia, Josh Caddy and Toby Nankervis all showed enough to suggest they would make their new team better.
Prestia and Caddy gathered 21 disposals each, while Nankervis was a strong presence at the stoppages.
Jason Castagna caught the eye with three goals, his third capping a lightning-quick piece of ball movement from defence that would have warmed the hearts of Tigers fans.
Jack Riewoldt was held by Daniel Talia for most of the evening but he was let off the chain late to finish with three goals.
David Astbury did an outstanding job on Crows skipper Taylor Walker, who finished goalless, with the Tigers’ defence doing well to blunt the visitors’ vaunted attack.
Shaun Grigg led the way with 24 possessions, while Brandon Ellis and Trent Cotchin were also prominent with 23 and 22 touches respectively.
For Adelaide, Rory Laird was outstanding with 32 disposals and Matt Crouch important with 26.
With 23 possessions, young Crow Harrison Wigg won plenty of the ball but would need to add a little more polish to his disposals before he forces an AFL debut.
Luckless defender Andy Otten played his first game for 929 days and showed enough to suggest he could resurrect his career after two knee reconstructions.
Josh Jenkins top-scored with four goals.
Both sides had key players out – Shaun Hampson, Alex Rance and Bachar Houli for Richmond and Rory Sloane, Scott Thompson, Brad Crouch and Jake Lever for the Crows to name a few.