Richmond supporters love reminding Tom Brown of one of the fondest memories of his young career.
Brown became an instant cult hero when he pulled off a game-saving chase-down tackle on Tom Gross to seal a victory for Richmond over West Coast last year.
Three of the defender's eight career wins, and his only victory this season, have come against the Eagles, who the cellar-dwelling Tigers host at the MCG on Sunday.
"I've had some good memories, a few of my wins - I haven't had many wins in my career, but they have been against West Coast," Brown told AAP.
THE GAME SAVING TACKLE! TOM BROWN! š pic.twitter.com/5tK08QPvcR
ā Richmond FC šÆ (@Richmond_FC) May 11, 2025
"That tackle was a moment that was pretty cool," he added.Ā
"Lots of kids love talking about it up to this day, which is good that I've given them some good memories - and also a good memory for me."
The Tigers could leap off the bottom of the AFL ladder with a victory over the Eagles.
"We match up well with them, we like to think we know how they like to play," Brown said.
"It's always a good game, good contest."
Brown, 23, is also excited to see plenty of familiar faces in ex-Tigers caretaker coach Andrew McQualter's Eagles.
While West Coast skipper Liam Baker (calf) is injured, Brown is ready for a reunion with midfielder Jack Graham and a close mate in defender Tylar Young.
"It's good running out and seeing those blokes, being able to feed a bit of lip to them," Brown said.
"But we know how they want to play because we played a bit of footy with them, so it's a good advantage for us.Ā
"And obviously, they'll be telling them things about us as well.Ā
"It's good for footy being able to do that sort of stuff, just to grow the game and make it more competitive, so I love it."
Brown says the two-win Tigers are focused on playing their way and building momentum into next year - but knows victories are priceless.
"If we can bank a few wins, I think that just will help consolidate what we're doing is working," he said.
"So it'd be good to do that for the young boys and consolidate us."
The skilful running defender has enjoyed good form, while he is excited to see the likes of Sam Lalor and Taj Hotton get a run at it after injuries ruined Richmond's season.
"Look at the age demographic now. I'm probably middle of the boat, towards the older end," Brown said.
"I do feel like I'm in that bit of a middle age group, and I can help the younger boys a lot.Ā
"But I'm just really excited to play footy together. All these injuries, it just has halted our development a lot.
"We just need to play together, and that's what's really exciting me."
