Emerging Richmond back-man Alex Rance doesn't believe the Far North's heat will cause his team many problems during Saturday's AFL clash against the Gold Coast at Cazalys. Maximum temperatures have been hovering around the mid-teens in Melbourne this week, but the thermometer is expected to top 20 degrees in Cairns for Saturday afternoon’s match. The Tigers lost to Port Adelaide in warm conditions in Darwin earlier this season, but Rance said the club would handle Cairns’ climate better.
"We didn’t adapt as well as we should have (in Darwin). It was a little bit greasier than we originally thought it would be," he said. "It made it difficult to handle the ball, but I think definitely this time we’re going to be a lot more prepared for it. We sort of know what to expect and have a lot more mechanisms that we can use to combat things like the slipperiness."
The Tigers are also battling a form slump that has seen them drop their past two games against Carlton and Essendon. Rance said the Tigers’ young playing group was focused on becoming a more consistent unit.
"We’re an improving side, but there are going to be hiccups," he said. "The positives we have coming out of this season is that our game style does work when we execute it right. The defeats have been good in a way because you can always learn a lot more from your mistakes than you can from a win. It’s been a good year in terms of learning a lot, but we’d like to consolidate a bit more form."
The Tigers will be desperate for victory against the Suns to steady their faltering season.
"I think they’ve exceeded a lot of people’s expectations," Rance said of the Suns. ‘‘They’ve got some genuine superstars and it’s going to be a pretty tough match."
The Tigers will hold an open training session at Cazalys from 2.30-3.30pm on Friday. Following that, a free AFL super clinic featuring Tigers and Suns players will be run between 3.30pm and 5pm.
Read more at http://www.cairns.com.au/article/2011/07/13/173681_local-sport-news.html
Courtesy of The Cairns Post.
Last Modified on 13/07/2011 09:17