Gaspar plays down form
By Nabila Ahmed
May 16 2003
Richmond might be sitting pretty at No. 3 on the ladder, but nobody is mentioning the "F" word just yet.
According to Tigers defender Darren Gaspar, what matters for now is trying to sustain the consistency that has helped them to five wins from seven this year.
"It's only early (to talk about finals); no one's getting too carried away because things can turn around pretty quickly. You can't afford to let your guard slip because before you know it, that record's quickly gone," he said.
"We're 5-2 now, but every game's winnable and every game's loseable so it's hard to keep your head above water."
The Tigers' massive improvement this season has surprised many, especially in the face of an injury toll that has included, at various times, Matthew Richardson, Wayne Campbell and Brad Ottens, but Gaspar said the focus of the team had been trying to get every player to contribute.
"We expected to have 22 contributors every week and be consistent performers. The fact that we have achieved that consistency and that's translated to 5-2, that's good and well," he said.
"It could well be the other way around. We've just got to be consistent and we've just got to worry about being consistent, having those 22 contributors and then we've got to let the scoreboard worry about itself."
Speaking in the lead-up to tomorrow night's clash with Melbourne at the MCG, Gaspar said the team had worked hard on ensuring an even spread of the workload.
The defender, who has been criticised recently as being overpaid, said he took no notice of such talk, preferring to concentrate instead on his performance.
By Nabila Ahmed
May 16 2003
Richmond might be sitting pretty at No. 3 on the ladder, but nobody is mentioning the "F" word just yet.
According to Tigers defender Darren Gaspar, what matters for now is trying to sustain the consistency that has helped them to five wins from seven this year.
"It's only early (to talk about finals); no one's getting too carried away because things can turn around pretty quickly. You can't afford to let your guard slip because before you know it, that record's quickly gone," he said.
"We're 5-2 now, but every game's winnable and every game's loseable so it's hard to keep your head above water."
The Tigers' massive improvement this season has surprised many, especially in the face of an injury toll that has included, at various times, Matthew Richardson, Wayne Campbell and Brad Ottens, but Gaspar said the focus of the team had been trying to get every player to contribute.
"We expected to have 22 contributors every week and be consistent performers. The fact that we have achieved that consistency and that's translated to 5-2, that's good and well," he said.
"It could well be the other way around. We've just got to be consistent and we've just got to worry about being consistent, having those 22 contributors and then we've got to let the scoreboard worry about itself."
Speaking in the lead-up to tomorrow night's clash with Melbourne at the MCG, Gaspar said the team had worked hard on ensuring an even spread of the workload.
The defender, who has been criticised recently as being overpaid, said he took no notice of such talk, preferring to concentrate instead on his performance.
