Premier Cricket 2024-25: Richmond’s resolve to ‘Take that next step’ after prelim heartbreak

The curtain may have fallen on the Tigers' flag dream, but the captain says frustration simply cannot get the better of his side in its hunt to take the next step after a fourth-straight finals exit.

James Doherty made 80 for the Tiges in the weekend’s prelim. Picture: Valeriu Campan

The curtain may have fallen on Richmond’s season in dramatic fashion, but captain Sam Mills says frustration simply cannot get the better of his side in its hunt to take the next step.

The Tigers’ Premier Cricket flag dream came to a screeching halt on Sunday in the form of a six-wicket defeat to St Kilda – despite putting up a handy 260 runs off the back the dominance of opening pair Dan Scholz (53) and James Doherty (80).

St Kilda, which finished the home-and-away season in first, rattled home with tons to Harry Dixon (111) and Jon Merlo (114*).

“We played pretty well ... but they were just too strong, really,” Mills said.

“We grappled a little bit about whether we should bat or bowl first, but we gave ourselves a chance, put up a decent score.

“It would’ve been nice to get a few more runs a bit quicker, but at the end of the day, I don’t think it would’ve mattered too much – they’re a very strong team and hard to beat at the Junction (Oval).”

St Kilda wicket keeper Adam Crosthwaite and Richmond batter Dan Scholz. Picture: Valeriu Campan

The result marked a fourth finals exit in as many years for the Tigers – including a second preliminary final defeat – following a third-placed finish to the home-and-away campaign.

“It’s been a little bit frustrating to keep falling short of the granny, but I think we’ve still got a lot of good cricket ahead of us,” Mills said.

“It’s disappointing to lose, but making a prelim is a good effort.

“We’ve been pretty consistent across the last four years now, we’ve gone prelim, semi, semi, prelim, so it’s just about trying to take that next step.

“It was pretty clear-cut that St Kilda were in the best two sides this year, so it’s about elevating ourselves to get to that level.”

Occupying the top of the ladder for parts of the season, Mills lamented his side’s loss of momentum late in the campaign, owing to a lapse in consistency.

“We probably didn’t string together three or four really good weeks of cricket in a row,” Mills said.

“From a team perspective, we showed that when we play our best cricket we definitely can compete with the best sides.”

The skipper said there was plenty to highlight from individuals with bat and ball this season – including Jono D’Rozario (684 runs, 13 wickets), Dan Scholz (576 runs) and Brendan Rose (29 wickets).

“There were some clear standouts,” Mills said.

“Bowling-wise, Brendan Rose had another consistent year, and younger bowlers like Austin Anlezark and Reiley Mark continued to get better.

“James Doherty (395 runs) who came across from Footscray had a really strong first year at the club – there’s plenty of positives to take out of it from an individual point of view.

“I’ve got absolute faith we’ll continue to improve.”