Richmond won’t make the mistake of looking too far ahead again as they prepare to travel to enemy territory for an AFLW elimination final against Port Adelaide.
Fuelled by their past finals flops, the Tigers on Sunday will look to snap the Power’s six-game winning streak when they play at the Alberton Oval fortress for the first time.
Richmond vice-captain Gabby Seymour knows all too well the pitfalls of losing focus at the business end of the season.
The Tigers embarked on their maiden finals campaign in 2022, only to be knocked out in straight sets, before missing out completely on the top eight last year.
“We learned an important lesson about not looking too far ahead and not starting to tell yourself stories around 'if we win this game, then this happens',” Seymour told AAP about her club's quest for their first finals win.
“What we took away from the last couple of years is maybe that was something that we spent too much time thinking about previously, like projecting four weeks ahead.
“Right now, the only thing that we can control is this game against Port Adelaide on the weekend, and putting our preparation in now to put us in the best position possible to perform.”
Port are the warm favourites heading into Sunday, given their winning streak and home-ground advantage, while Richmond are winless in their past three games.
Power defender Ange Foley declared earlier in the week the Tigers were scared, but Seymour was quick to shut down the suggestion.
After all, Port's previous loss was to Richmond in round five.
“If anything, we tend to see it more as an opportunity,” Seymour said.
“We're focused on playing our best footy. What we always say is focus on the process and the outcome will take care of itself.
“There's definitely little wins that you take from the last couple of weeks.
“Last week against the Hawks, (despite losing) we were really happy with big sections of that game.
“We felt like we were really in that game and put together three and a half quarters of really solid football.”
Port Adelaide will welcome back star duo Matilda Scholz (calf) and Abbey Dowrick (soreness) after the ruck and midfielder were late withdrawals from their round-10 clash against GWS.
Julia Teakle, the Power’s second-most prolific goal-kicker, will also return after missing out on three games with a knee complaint.
Richmond have made just one change, with Charley Ryan making way for defender Molly Eastman.
