There may be no other team facing more pressure in 2016 than Richmond.
After three straight finals appearances, leading to three straight finals losses, the Tigers simply have no choice but to win a finals game in 2016.
They haven’t lost any talent, instead they’ve added some in Chris Yarren and Jacob Townsend.
Coach Damian Hardwick is in the hot seat this season, as it is well known that CEO Brendon Gale and the Tigers have high expectations. That is one of the by-products of being one of the biggest clubs in Australia.
Hardwick’s job has been questioned year after year but Richmond have stayed loyal to their headman with mixed results. Obviously making three straight finals appearances is nothing to laugh at but time after time the Tigers have had their dreams dashed with finals losses.
Richmond had multiple marquee wins in 2015, as the yellow and black showed glimpses of a potential premiership threat, with victories over Fremantle, Sydney and Hawthorn. Despite those wins though, no one will remember the 2015 Tigers for those home and away wins.
Richmond have proved they can win primetime matches in the home-and-away season but when the pressure of finals football is on, the Tigers have crawled into their dens.
With an AFL landscape that is becoming more competitive year after year, Richmond are walking the fine line between being a legitimate premiership threat or falling back into the stacked shuffle of mediocre teams fighting for seventh and eighth spot.
Richmond’s list still possesses a bundle of talented players. From undoubtedly the game’s best defender in Alex Rance to the stacked midfield crops of Brett Deledio, Trent Cotchin, Anthony Miles, Brendon Ellis, Shaun Grigg, Dustin Martin and Shane Edwards, the Tigers definitely have a list capable of competing with the AFL’s best.
Questions arise with the Tigers’ second-tier players though and their depth.
Players such as Dylan Grimes, Nick Vlastuin, Ben Griffiths and Jake Batchelor have yet to prove they can be counted on to perform in the pressure games.
The players below the level of the superstars help teams win finals games, and the likes of Hawthorn and Fremantle always seem to find underrated players that shine in the finals pressure. The Tigers have yet to find those types of players and they desperately need someone to step up if they wish to extend past the first week of the finals in 2016.
Best 22
B: Dylan Grimes, Troy Chaplin, Nick Vlastuin
HB: Bacher Houli, Alex Rance, Chris Yarren
C: Shaun Grigg, Trent Cotchin, Brendon Ellis
HF: Dustin Martin, Jack Riewoldt, Shane Edwards
F: Ben Lennon, Tyrone Vickery, Ben Griffiths
Foll: Ivan Maroc, Brett Deledio, Anthony Miles
INT: Kamdyn McIntosh, Jake Batchelor, Corey Ellis, Jacob Townsend
MVP: Alex Rance
As mentioned, Rance is the AFL’s best defender and it isn’t even a question. Rance had a sensational 2015 season that led to him being named the Tigers’ best and fairest and for good reason. His innate ability to read the play before it happens and then take an intercept mark and use his athleticism to run the ball out of defence has become a staple of Richmond’s game.
Rance averaged 17.4 disposals per game last season but he was ranked first in the entire league in one percenters. Those types of intangibles truly separate Rance from the rest, as his hard-hat mentality allows him to get involved in and under the packs and establish himself as the best player wearing a yellow and black jumper.
Future Star: Anthony Miles
Miles had a breakout year in 2014 and followed that up with an even better 2015, proving his spot as the Tigers’ best young player. Miles averaged 23.6 disposals a game last season and finished 12th in the league in clearances, as his ability to use his running speed to clear the ball and move Richmond forward gives the Tigers an added element in their midfield.
Miles has also proved he can play in the big games, as he was one of the Tigers’ best players in their elimination final against North Melbourne last season, where he had 22 disposals, leading the team. Miles has established himself as one of the leagues best young midfielders and the sky is the limit for the 23-year old.
Make or Break: Dustin Martin
Now, it isn’t make or break for Martin due to his play. He is one of the AFL’s most electric players and can change a game within the space of five minutes. He’s got everything you could ask for in a goal-kicking midfielder and is a fan favourite who averaged 26 disposals per game last season and also finished third in the AFL in kicks.
Martin’s on-field accomplishment cannot be questioned but it is his off-field antics that makes 2016 such a critical year for him. After his chopstick incident over the off-season, Martin faces a huge amount of pressure to clean up his act off the field from this point on and if he doesn’t, the consequences could, and should, be worse than just a fine for Martin.
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