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Why do Richmond bother?

Roar Guru
18th April, 2010
8

Another week, another game where Richmond get belted. I am not a Richmond fan – which is just as well, because if I was I I’d be in therapy.

Richmond’s performances this year have to been, to put it bluntly, disgraceful.

Yes they have a young side, but this is a club that has been rebuilding for 20 years. They have the worst recent record of any AFL club (their only rival would be Fremantle).

Since the 1990s their only two seasons of note were preliminary final appearances in 1995 and 2001. In both games however they were hammered by Geelong and Brisbane respectively.

No excuses, it is simply not good enough.

But why has such a proud club done so poorly?

They aren’t short of money. They consistently get solid membership numbers and they get the same concessions and priority draft picks that every other side does. So what gives?

Perhaps it’s the administration and recruiting department that are to blame?

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Maybe the culture in the footy club is not one that produces successful teams or players?

Maybe the players just need to harden up?

Most people who follow footy would have heard of the drunken incident at Sydney’s Intercontinental Hotel involving several Richmond players (including role model Ben Cousins).

The thing that staggered me about the whole incident was the fact that a team playing that poorly was staying at a 5 star hotel.

Call me old fashioned but they should have been staying at the PYYC hostel in Kings Cross. The Intercontinental could have been used as a reward for a good performance. Seems to me Richmond (and perhaps footballers in general) these days are spoilt babies whether they win, lose or draw.

I sometimes think it’s a shame the AFL doesn’t have a relegation system, because it may teams work just that bit harder to earn some respect.

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