Richmond Coach Terry Wallace addresses his players during the AFL Round 14 match between the Richmond Tigers and the Carlton Blues at the MCG. GSP Images
By the end of it all, it was just another week in the magical mystery tour which is Richmond’s 2009 season. This week was a cross between EDtv and Monty Python’s Flying Circus.
At this stage, does anyone believe Terry Wallace will be coaching the Tigers next year?
An extension of his five year deal was contingent on Richmond making the finals and at 1-7 they will have to win at least 11 of their final 14 matches to have any chance of doing so.
So why not decide and state now that he won’t be coaching next year?
Otherwise the speculation and innuendo which has been building since after Round 1 and hit fever pitch following the Melbourne loss will only escalate – if that is possible.
Wallace is a lame-duck and will continue to be one for the rest of the season. The Richmond Football club needs to get on the front foot and not let the media dictate the agenda. They may feel like they don’t want to be sucked into the media’s game but silence allows everything to fester.
Ultimately, what is the difference between making an announcement now, in four weeks or at season’s end? The end-game will be the same: that Wallace won’t be the coach of Richmond in 2010.
They may not want to write off 2009 yet but at 1-7 they shouldn’t worry about that, especially when the whole Wallace era at Richmond has been a waste.
In the competitive AFL you need to be keeping moving forward just to stay where you are and Richmond have not only stood still but have gone backwards.
Once the new coach takes a broom through the club, who knows what is going to be left? A very pressing concern is that the culture is changed. Richmond’s underachieving since the 1982 Grand Final is well-documented and something must be done to break the cycle.
Wallace was meant to come in and do just this and for nine weeks in 2005 it looked like he was going to actually do the impossible, but then Nathan Brown broke his leg and everything has pretty much gone pear-shaped since then.
The opening match this year against Carlton would have to go down as one of the biggest letdowns in sport and the injuries to Ben Cousins and Matthew Richardson have badly affected the side both on and off the field.
Who knows what will be the next installment in this saga? One thing for sure is that you are going to see, hear and read all about it.
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