Clean hands, composure, efficiency, work rate and a refreshing smile. That’s Richmond youngster Kamdyn McIntosh summed up in 10 words.
Prior to the season opener, nobody could guess what McIntosh would produce, but what he did got Richmond over the line.
The 21-year-old has been on Richmond’s list for a few years and has been working on his game, and on Thursday night it paid off.
His debut concluded with 23 disposals (eight contested), nine marks and four inside 50s. From intercept marks, rebounding out of defence, hitting the scoreboard up forward, taking five bounces down the wing, and hitting Jack Riewoldt inside the forward 50, he just about did it all.
He even got the better of champion Chris Judd on more than one occasion, which , as a Carlton supporter growing up in Western Australia, meant the world to McIntosh.
“To play on Juddy – I idolised him as a kid growing up when he was at West Coast and then when he changed to Carlton – so to line-up on Juddy was a pretty big thrill,” he told AFL.com.
A thrill it must have been, and yet not once did McIntosh seem overawed, intimidated or flustered by the great man’s presence, highlighted by a few plays where his direct opponent was the two-time Brownlow medalist.
One instance saw McIntosh burn Judd off, striding inside 50 and nailing a goal, and another where in a direct one-on-one battle without support from teammates, Judd was pushed off the ball and lost his footing while McIntosh tapped the ball to the advantage of a fellow Tiger.
A few among the Tiger faithful, including ex-Bulldog and Tiger Nathan Brown, have likened McIntosh to former player Shane Tuck. It’s no surprise that the boy from Pinjarra is Round 1’s Rising Star nomination. It would be hardly a surprise to see him feature in the Brownlow votes – the last time that happened was Brett Goodes with a single vote in Round 1 of 2013.
After a debut that rivals that of Mark McGough, Dean Polo, Bradd Dalziell, Michael Barlow, Ollie Wines and Brett Goodes’, Tiger fans will be hoping to see more performances of this sort throughout the season.
Damien Hardwick said post match, “He’s still got a long way to go, don’t get me wrong, there’s still some things in his game he can improve on.”
If he’s got improvement left, I can’t wait to see this kid’s development in coming seasons.
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