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Malthouse and Hardwick: Heads already on the chopping block in 2015

29th March, 2015
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29th March, 2015
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It’s only Round 1. I know there is so much football to be kicked and handballed, marked and spilt between now and September.

But just looking at the opening clash of the season, I wonder if both, just one, or maybe neither coaches of the two clubs will be around this time next year.

I know, I hear you now: “Give them a break, they haven’t even lost a game yet.” But, that’s the harsh reality of football, and I reckon those two coaches – Carlton’s Mick Malthouse and Richmond’s Damien Hardwick – are the two coaches under the most pressure in 2015.

I know many supporters of other clubs will be crying out that Nathan Buckley is the coach most under threat right now. He has after all taken Collingwood from grand finalists in 2011, Malthouse’s final season, to a preliminary final the following season, then sixth in 2013 losing their final, to missing the finals all together and finishing 11th in 2014.

The succession plan hasn’t quite worked out how the Magpie faithful had hoped.

And there is pressure on the powerful club to succeed again, but their favourite son won’t be going anywhere unless he chooses to in 2015.

I don’t think that’s the case with the other pair.

The Mick era hasn’t turned out the way Blues fans envisaged either. Finals just once in three seasons, and that was only because Essendon were banned from competing in 2013, allowing the ninth placed Carlton a start in September.

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And last season they recorded just seven wins, their worst performance since 2007 – the season they battled Richmond for the wooden spoon.

Admittedly they were competitive in a lot of those losses, and as their rebuilding continues, they will probably again be ‘competitive’ in many games in 2015. However, just how many wins, and what ladder position is needed to be considered a pass mark this year? And if that mark isn’t achieved, what does it mean for the coach?

The eight seems out of reach, but what if they finish closer to 18th than 9th? Mick is a legend, and icon, an ornament to the game, but perhaps it might be time for fresh blood. Or is he untouchable?

Anyway, that’s a long way off isn’t it? It’s Round 1. Let’s revisit this come Round 15 or 16.

There will be no such leniency for Hardwick. He needs some success in September in 2015. It is that simple.

He was like the Messiah in 2013. He had taken over after the 2009 season when they were the second worst team in the AFL, and steadily he had improved the players, the results, and the ladder position each year until it finally happened in 2013. The Tigers were back in the finals for the first time since 2001.

After that fifth-placed finish – despite being bounced out in the opening final – all anyone could see for Richmond was a bright, immediate future. The top four beckoned with a young group not only hungry for success, but now with the taste of it on their lips.

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But last year they scraped into the eight. They won 11 games and lost 10, including four losses to teams which didn’t make the eight – Collingwood, Gold Coast, Western Bulldogs and Melbourne.

They made the finals, but were there under sufferance, and were humiliated in week one.

I admit injuries were not kind to Richmond in 2014, but alas, that is footy. It can, and often does happen. You need to develop depth to get over it.

So where to now?

Well this is a crunch year for the club and the coach as far as I see it.

That promise they gave at the end of 2013, was greeted with disappointment from their supporters in 2014, however it was forgivable. But will it be tolerated again?

I doubt it.

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This is the season the Tigers need to step right up, make the finals, win a final, and push the powerhouses of the competition in September.

They have the list, they have the talent, they now have the experience and they have a smart coach. It has to happen now, or by the season’s end someone will probably have to pay the price.

We all know that usually means the coach.

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