Richmond did what they had to do

There is no doubt about it. Richmond supporters are angry. No, angry would be understatement at this stage, they are fuming and rightly so.

The Tigers have not had this poor a start since Damien Hardwick’s first year at the club when they had many convinced that they had turned the corner. They had begun to approach things differently to the ‘Tigers of old’ that drove the club into the ground for so many years.

The supporters are among the most passionate in the land and when things aren’t going their way, they make themselves heard and demand a change.

Don’t be surprised if the players come out to a load of manure dumped on Punt Road oval in the coming weeks or if stores have a record number of microwave sales.

It really is perplexing to see how a team that finished fifth last year and on the verge of a top-four finish could have such a disastrous start to the season. Although as we all know, anything is possible with the Tigers.

Richmond has had a tumultuous few weeks in the media with questions raised as to the decision to re-sign Damien Hardwick. Most recently however their recruiting policies over the last six years has come under the microscope, with the club being scrutinised for taking a short cut, not willing to do an ‘eight year re-build.’

While this quick fix is not often condoned, this is what the Tigers had to do. If Richmond had decided to not invest in a few mature age players and instead go all out with young players, there is a very good chance that the club would not have made the finals over the last three years.

Unfortunately for the club, the start of their rebuild came at a difficult time as this was when the Gold Coast and GWS first entered the league, falling victims to the compromised draft. With the best 15-20 players from the draft all going to these few clubs, teams like Richmond had to react and do so quickly if they wanted to be competitive before these new clubs began rampaging the league.

So when all the best players in the draft are taken by these clubs, you have to do the next best thing which is recruit what’s left or bite the bullet and bring in some mature aged players in the team or find some rough diamonds in the lower levels.

Richmond did both these things, however they are now being scrutinised as they have little success to show for this. The Tigers were very unlucky not to at least win a final to show for their impressive seasons.

The fact that this Richmond team won 42 games across three seasons is an impressive feat nonetheless.

It would be unfair to say that this has backfired because the club really didn’t have any other option other than to invest in these players.

The league almost stood still when these compromised drafts were in place. During these years the top and bottom teams hardly moved. It is only know that we are seeing a bit of movement on the ladder.

It is not the fault of the recruiting managers as they have, given the circumstances recruited well with what they have had. Players like Brandon Ellis and Nick Vlaustin are good players who need to take the next step. Whether they will be capable of doing so? Well only time will tell.

Most recently, the Tigers have recruited Corey Ellis, Connor Menadue and Daniel Rioli, three players that have only played a handful of games and are in the starting team. It is easy to forget that the Tigers do in fact field quite an inexperienced team, not to mention that they have been unfortunate with injuries and suspensions.

Albeit, there is still a decent core group of players that are certainly capable of beating Port Adelaide’s B team and a Melbourne side that played their grand final the week before against Collingwood.

Their performances of late have been nonetheless disgraceful, especially for a side that was considered contenders before the season.

So what to do?

A solution could be to follow West Coast’s formula. Ever notice how the Eagles always skip that awkward stage where they’re nearly there but not quite? The Eagles in one year can move from 14th to premiership contenders and that’s because they have a plan in action.

Richmond may need to sit down and decide that this year they will look get some games into players like Dan Rioli and Connor Menadue whom they believe are the future of the club as well as ensuring that their senior players are fully fit for the next year. Having your stars fit and bridging the gap between the best and worst can only bring good things right?

Rushing players into the side will only do more bad than good, so why not bite the bullet, see the year out and come out stronger next year?

The Tigers will also need to hit the free agency table hard and chase quality players like Michael Hurley and perhaps Jaeger O’Meara who is also coming out of contract.

Nonetheless, the Tigers are once again faced with a crossroads situation. How they decide to tackle it will define whether or not the club has truly moved forward and whether they can escape the stigma that has seen them labelled as mediocre outfit for the last thirty years.