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Firstly, an admission. I was one of them. I was one who, last year, watched and celebrated, and while I couldn’t personally know what it felt like, I saw the significance to every Richmond fan.
Finally, those long-suffering Tigers fans who had so often planned their annual holidays in September had something to smile about, as Richmond qualified for the finals.
It was hard not to get carried away with one of the feel-good stories of the season.
Their stay in the finals may have been fleeting, but it represented promise for the future.
Now, another admission. I was one of them. I was one who, before the season began, thought and expected Richmond would take another step. Having reached the eight in 2013, in 2014 they would match it with the competition’s big guns: the Hawks, Dockers, Cats and Swans.
They had their share of player turnover in the off-season, but the nucleus of the team, their quality young players, remained intact. This was a year when the Tigers could push for and reach the top four, just like they did back in 2001.
I know the season is only hitting its halfway mark, but I have to concede: I was just so wrong.
There are clearly major problems at the Tigers. They are not playing like the team did – for each other – in 2013.
Three wins have been coupled with eight losses, and while the top eight may be only a handful of wins above them right now, only a dreamer would tip them to claw their way into the finals.
The previous round’s win over Greater Western Sydney Giants said more about the western Sydney boys than it did the Tigers. Beating an inept Giants outfit by over 100 points, was satisfying, and it did erase some of the humiliation of losing to the Demons a week earlier. But in reality, very few were convinced the 2013 Tigers had returned.
And wasn’t that rammed home on Saturday at the MCG.
Dreamtime at the G. Such a showcase for the game each season. How disappointing and embarrassing that the 2014 Tigers we have come to know turned up.
The margin was 50. It would have been more if not for a few consolation goals late in the contest, but the deficit doesn’t matter. Anyone who watched the game – without trying to denigrate the Bombers – knows exactly how poor the Tigers were.
But why? They have some injuries, but certainly aren’t ravaged like clubs can be. Their style of run-and-carry worked so well last year, why has it disappeared? Is it the players? Is it the coach?
Who knows, but something has to change swiftly or this season – with all its pre-season expectation – will be even more painful for the Tiger faithful than those when the club repeatedly finished one rung out of the finals when September rolled around.
Right now, while they might not be on the bottom of the ladder, there isn’t a club in a worse place than the Tigers. All of the clubs below them are right where they were expected to be. Most have upside, but significantly, none were tipped to push the very best teams in 2014.
Next weekend the Tigers have North Melbourne, a team they have beaten once in their past six outings, followed by last year’s grand finalists running into solid form, the Dockers, and then perhaps the hottest team in the competition at the moment, the Sydney Swans.
Tough? Hell yeah. But maybe, just maybe, it could be the testing time the Tigers need to get their season somewhere near being back on track.
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