It’s widely acknowledged that Richmond have five gun players that all deserve their place in the upper echelon of the competition’s best – Alex Rance, Jack Riewoldt, Trent Cotchin, Dustin Martin and Brett Deledio.
There isn’t an AFL club where any single one of them wouldn’t be in the top five players on the list, and they are a balanced group in that you have a key forward, key defender, and midfielders with both an inside and outside game, and above average goal-kicking ability.
There is a strong case that no club in the AFL has a better collective group of five players, especially given that balance, so the question must be asked. Are the Tigers under coach Damien Hardwick making the most of their talents?
Hardwick has built Richmond from wooden spoon contender in 2010 to beaten elimination finalist across 2013-15. Twice they finished fifth on the ladder, in 2013 and 2015, but were unable to defeat the eighth placed teams in those elimination finals.
The loss to Carlton in the 2013 elimination final haunts the club still.
For all the progress made to get there, the events that transpired on that fateful day have their DNA imprinted on everything that has gone wrong at Punt Road since. The Tigers went in as prohibitive favourites, and built up a 33-point lead based largely off dazzling and unstoppable ball movement, before a Chris Judd-inspired third quarter sparked a comeback that took the Blues all the way to a famous victory.
In the aftermath, Hardwick and Richmond were roundly criticised for a game style that was too attacking, unable to stem the flow when the opposition got a run on and lacking a physical presence around the ball.
It seems those criticisms were taken to heart, and instead of trusting the years of build-up and 22 home-and-away games of football that put them one win outside a top-four finish, Hardwick instead decided to make changes based on two quarters of a final. Given that Carlton kicked five goals in eight minutes to get back in the game, those changes were perhaps made based on 500 seconds of football.
We all know that players and teams get rated on their output in finals, but often the balance is skewed, and overreactions are more commonplace than deductive reasoning. The baby gets thrown out with the bath-water.
Hardwick made a mistake by allowing Judd too much freedom at stoppages in that third term. Judd is in any conversation about the best player of this century, and he was a champion of the game for a reason. Sometimes they beat you, and this is more likely to happen when you leave them alone to run amok.
So bringing in players like Matt Thomas and Taylor Hunt, and elevating Ricky Petterd to the senior list on the basis of needing more toughness around the ball, was never the solution. How could it be? Imagine the thought process behind it. Talk about bringing tablespoons to a gun fight.
The 2013 final loss was only ever a question of inadequate match-day tactics, not a poor year-long gameplan.
This obsession with ‘hard, experienced bodies’, which is code for ‘slow and not good enough to make it at other clubs’ has continued through to the most recent off-season, with Jacob Townsend from GWS and Andrew Moore from Port added to the list. Both have struggled when given their chance at AFL level this season, as it was expected they would.
Even more destructive to Richmond’s future in the aftermath of that Carlton loss, Hardwick also implemented a slower game-style, nullifying the previous attacking instincts he had been honing.
In some ways, Richmond were three years ahead of their time, given they were playing 2016 football in 2013. If only the media-driven doubts hadn’t crept in, and the football department had believed in themselves, in much the manner that the board has believed in them.
Another common criticism of the Tigers in Hardwick’s early years was their reliance on Jack Riewoldt in the forward-line. Riewoldt won two Coleman medals in 2010 and 2012, and offered Tigers fans a beacon of hope in the dark periods, much as Matthew Richardson had done before him.
When your team is perennially down the bottom, supporters look for positivity through means other than wins, and are proud of individual awards or recognition their players receive.
Hardwick tried to build a forward-line that was less reliant on Riewoldt, and this became a microcosm for the entire team. The most consistent criticism of Richmond over the last three seasons, particularly off the back of those elimination final losses, was that the Tigers rely too heavily on their top end, and the bottom six falls away more markedly than at other clubs.
Like a lot of wisdom in the AFL, opinion and speculation quickly becomes fact.
Richmond’s second tier, which comprises Shane Edwards, Shaun Grigg, Bachar Houli, Brandon Ellis, Anthony Miles, Nick Vlastuin, Kane Lambert and Dylan Grimes have all proven they can play excellent football and have proven integral parts of an in-form Tiger unit that was able to finish fifth on the ladder twice in three years. There are a number of younger players that have shown more than enough too.
What if the truth is that Richmond actually don’t rely enough on their gun players?
Let’s start with Riewoldt, who has been in superb form playing further up the ground over the last year and a half, including winning All-Australian honours last season. He won his first Coleman medal as a 21-year-old, just as Lance Franklin did before him. It’s a tremendous achievement that speaks to a special talent.
Riewoldt has as much influence when the ball is in his hands as any key forward in the game. Highly skilled on either side of his body, a beautiful field kick, steady set shot for goal, with creativity and vision also counted among his strengths.
Yet Hardwick chose to develop a gameplan that attempted to spread the load among other key talls like Tyrone Vickery and Ben Griffiths, two players far less talented, hard-working and consistent, and much more one-dimensional.
What’s the point of having a gun forward if you don’t utilise his talents? Sydney have been facing questions over whether they rely too heavily on Lance Franklin, but so they should ask a lot of him. If he’s not the best player in the game he’s in the top three. Why wouldn’t they use him to devastating effect?
The last three Coleman medal winners, all key forwards, have played on grand final day. It’s not the evil that some commentators will have you believe.
If you compare Riewoldt’s stats as a 21-year-old from 2010 against the more mature 2015-16 version when he has played further up the ground, he only averages two more disposals and one more mark per game, along with one less goal.
He averages 14 touches, 6.4 marks and 2.4 goals per game across 2015-16.
Josh Kennedy, who plays a deeper role for West Coast, gets the same amount of the ball as Riewoldt, but takes more marks and kicks more goals. Lance Franklin, yes, a freak, pushes up like Riewoldt does, but gets a lot more of the ball, and still kicks the goals. The Eagles and Swans have a gun forward, and so use them appropriately.
Are Brett Deledio and Dustin Martin being used to maximum effect?
Brett Deledio is all but the flawless specimen for AFL football. The perfect frame. Penetrating kick, strong hands, good decision-making, acceleration and skill.
Sit back for a second and imagine Deledio, with his skill set and the way he plays, in the Hawthorn machine over the last few years. He’d be a 40-goal-a-season mid-forward who sweeps across half-back from time to time, a multiple All-Australian, probable best and fairest and possible Brownlow winner.
Deledio has been very good for Richmond, but his talents aren’t allowed to shine under a go-slow regime. Picture him in any one of the fast-moving midfields we’re seeing this season, carrying it 40 metres and kicking 60-metre bombs into open forward-lines, or switching play across the field with penetrating 50-metre passes to break the game open for his side.
Instead, Tigers fans have had to witness him chipping the ball around half-back or going cold up forward waiting for the ball to arrive.
No wonder he is so important to the Richmond line-up, as has been well documented. His ability to break the game open sees him rise above the stodgy Tiger game style from time to time. If only he had the luxury of doing so more often.
Dustin Martin was an inside ball-winner in his first year at Richmond, but gradually became a more outside player that spent significant time in the forward-line. In the last six weeks he has taken up a more inside role once more, but the goals have dried up.
In his first season, he recorded contested possession percentages and clearance numbers (ranked 17 in the AFL) that haven’t been replicated since. His second year saw goals (33, which would have won the goal-kicking at five other clubs and was the most by a midfielder in the competition) and goal assists (ranked 16 in the AFL) that still stand as career-best.
So in his first two seasons, Martin established himself as an inside beast with a lethal outside game and unmatched goal sense, but Hardwick hasn’t been able to tap into all of those facets since.
Instead he was sent to half-back for a while and made to work on his defensive side because, you know, no point letting an offensive weapon loose when you have them. Much better to train that potency out of them and have 22 even contributors.
Despite being a three-time best and fairest winner and potentially the owner of the 2012 Brownlow medal, Trent Cotchin has been much maligned in recent years, unfairly so for the most part.
Over 2014-15, he averaged 26 disposals per home-and-away game, but only 25 disposals total in his two finals. That reputation of failing in finals is a tough one to shake, even if he was Richmond’s best in that 2013 final against Carlton.
Cotchin has played his football the hard way, winning his own ball and taking a battering when doing so, but his best football was in 2012 when Richmond first started playing a more attacking style that they carried into 2013. It was a style that was good enough to beat both of that season’s subsequent grand finalists, Hawthorn and Sydney, by a combined 15 goals.
Cotchin won 45 per cent of his touches in the contest and laid career high tackles in 2012, yet still averaged a goal and five inside 50s per game, also career highs. There was a freedom about his own form that paralleled the team, when running in waves and ballistic ball movement was commonplace.
The seeds of on-field kinetic energy that Hardwick planted in 2012 bore fruit in 2013, again until the third quarter of the elimination final, which we keep coming back to. There was every reason to expect the Tigers would refine and enhance that exciting game style in 2014, instead of hitting the brakes and putting the club in reverse.
The best years of Riewoldt, Deledio, Martin and Cotchin have been wasted on a futile plan that hasn’t made the most of their talents, and in actual fact has diluted them. Their combined strength is almost seen as a negative.
Alex Rance has played career best football in the last few seasons, to become widely acknowledged as the best key defender in the game, and by a margin. He does everything at full pace, and would be even more complemented by a game style that went with those instincts rather than against them.
The AFL industry is over-obsessed with high draft picks, because that is where a lot of special talent lies that you can build a club around. After drafting Deledio in 2004, but flopping badly with the rest of that draft and 2005’s, Richmond did this successfully from 2006-2009, and brought in Riewoldt, Cotchin, Rance and Martin.
From 2010 the drafts were compromised due to the expansion sides, but even so the Tigers have been unable to land another rolled gold game-changer, and in the meantime six and a half years of Hardwick’s tenure has amounted to nothing.
It’s all well and good to spread the load among a young side on the rise, to give players a taste of responsibility and see what they can handle. But once you’re in a place to contend, which Richmond has been in the last three years, your best players need to take you to the top.
The time for paralysis by analysis at Richmond must come to an end. It’s not too late yet for these players, but it will be with another 30 months of restriction, which is how long Hardwick’s contract has to run. There must be an immediate change.
The coach needs to let freedom reign once more if he is to see his tenure through. Let them loose and back them in. All footballers are not created equal, so don’t treat them that way. Let the best players play the way they were born to do, and watch them bring the others along.
If Hardwick can’t release the brakes, Richmond will keep living their Groundhog Day in 2017, and not only will he feel the cold steel of a guillotine on the back of his neck, he will have singlehandedly seen to it that five of the best players to ever wear the yellow and black couldn’t fulfil their true potential.
Stewart Coff
Guest
The two years previous , we have been beaten by better teams in the finals . The reason for making the finals was a good draw and timing of playing teams who where due for a loss and other teams like Geelong and Port dropping off . The team list and age of players coming into this year made it harder for us to be consistently competitive . The standard of the game has improved this year from the last two years making it harder for us to win games
TigerMan
Roar Rookie
Excellent points Milo and like you, I have a bit of hated respect for what Carlton has done this year. They bit the bullet and stayed hard at the trade table and it has worked. We never seem to do that. We throw in a good hand whenever someone else bluffs us. Again, I must lay this at the feet of Hardwick. He is the man at the top. He is the one who sets the tone, the eventual plan, the motivation and he should be the one telling the recruiters what he wants. If he is not and Richardson/Hartley & co recruit what they feel then again, he needs to go as he doesnt have the control. If he is the one giving the orders then he has made far too many bung decisions such as Corey Ellis and Lennon as first round picks. Sure, I would have drafted them but NOT as first rounders. Dont get me wrong, I am more than pleased with what Hardwick has done. He took a complete rabble and turned them into a competitive team but as we have seen over the past 3 years, he has probably taken them as far as he can. Time he was moved on but of course, thanks to Peggy and Gale, it will cost us $1.5M. However, if we dont make a move and IMHO, we wont as we are too scared of what the media will say, then we have lost a window of opportunity for at least another 5-7 years.
Muz
Guest
The main culprits of the latest Tigers demise are O'Neil, Hardwick, Dan Richardson, Francis Jackson and Blair Hartley and they should be removed. Here's why: (I will spare Brendan Gale for now because he is CEO and seems capable enough and we still need at least 1 person to steer the ship. But he does not escape criticism because it was he who extended Hardwick's contract when it wasn't required and it was he that said the club needed money and resources to compete against the top clubs. We gave him all the money he needed and has it been well spent??) Peggy O'Neil - President. Was the person who extended Hardwick's contract when she didn't need to which has now painted us into a ugly corner. You could say we're stuck between a rock and a Hardwick. Now we have a lame duck coach who will need to be paid out 2 years or $1.5 million. That's money Richmond fans donated to the Fighting Tiger Fund to get the club out of it's debt hole. She also blocked change agent/agitator Joe Russo from a Board position. There are too many stale, uninventive lawyers on the Richmond Board and she's just another one of them. Hardwick. Has no Plan B in coaching and his current game plan is a total stinker. Over the years we were told by him "the Richmond jumper will never hit the ground" which means the players will have respect for the club and supporters and never give up. I'm not seeing much signs of this as we endure thrashings. Another famous Hardwick quote is we need to be "harder for longer". Well that's a fail. Or how about his quotes "We need to get better". Instead we're getting worse. Or how about we want to play "the Richmond Way". What is that, anyway? He's a clueless coach with a poor game plan that doesn't inspire anyone. Good coaches don't need 7 years to get us to where we first started - back to the bottom. Good coaches like Beveridge and Bolten get immediate results and have their team playing the right way from the start. Dan Richardson - Football Manager. Has promised us a "big fish" recruit over many years but never delivered. Instead he got Hampson who is an incapable footballer, and Yarran who they already knew was having personal troubles and has not played and game and perhaps never will. We're sitting on supposedly a "war chest" of money to land a big fish but it looks like it will be spent paying out Hardwick when he's sacked. Francis Jackson - Chief Recruiter. Has shown an inability to pick talent during drafts. Picked Conca when the next pick was Heppell. Picked Ben Lennon instead of Patrick Cripps. Picked Corey Ellis who looks like another Aaron Fiora. Where are McBean and Elton at? The have been on the list for many years and have barely played. Jake Bachelor is a struggler. Griffiths and Astbury are average. He can't identify a good second rounder or beyond (do McDonnough and Arnot ring a bell just to name a few?). Our VFL side is near the bottom and lose every week. Blair Hartley - the architect of the recycled players strategy - Maric, Grigg, Houli, Hampson, Hunt, Thomas, Pettard, Chaplin, Yarran, Moore, Townsend, Lambert, Morris. His only success was Miles and that was a fluke. Apparently they didn't want to get him. For years we have needed a small high pressure forward and Jeff Garlett was cheap. They didn't take him.. Port's Aaron Young wanted to come back home to Victoria last year - instead they chose Moore. Mistake after mistake after mistake. We have now wasted 17 years of rebuilds (Frawley, Wallace, Hardwick) and we are no where near closer to winning a final or even contending for a Premiership. THE SOLUTION IS JASON DUNSTALL. He's a great footy brain and fixed Hawthorn all those years ago. Use our supposed "war chest" to get him to Richmond so he can put in place the right coaches, recruiters, player list and development and training staff.
Milo
Roar Rookie
Talk of trading Lids is dumb. The fact it was generated by the likes of King and that bozo Robinson from the Hun says enough. The latter usually has no clue what day it is. Firstly, the message it sends to the players and the members is unnecessary and akin to some of the coach sacking mistakes we made in the 80s. Dermie was right about the damage it can do to a club. Secondly TC I think you're right - throw out the baby with the bathwater and there's no guarantees they'll get the right quality pick in return or even if they did, they probably wouldn't be able to develop them anyways given the lack of footy nouse in the football dept today. Carlton were smart not to push the panic button and trade out their no1 picks last year and look how quickly things can turn around with a new outlook (and coach). Full credit to them (that leaves a sour taste saying that!), and SOS that they held firm and believed in the quality of the core group. I think Menzel was the highest traded out being a top 12 pick, but they were very aggressive at the table, got four top 20 picks and a handful of young Giants and the full fruit of that trade period hasn't even begun to ripen. Geez they must still be chuckling over the Yarran trade and that will certainly be one for a few laughs over a couple of froffees in future years. Id be looking to trade Edwards, Vickery, B Ellis (unless he can turn it round in 2HY) Conca, see if you can get something for McBean and Astbury. Delist A Moore, Townsend, Chaplin, Hunt, Morris & Elton. Ivan too unfortunately but id love to think that we could keep him in a role around the club. As for the coaches, assuming Hardwick stays, Lade, both Williams, Mellor & Smith must go. (They'll probably need a new boxing coach too). Hartley and Jackson must be on shaky ground now as well, and their teams must be looked at now rather than end of season. Tim Livingstone's probably at the end of his time too. Make a majority of these changes and lets see what can happen. However Im really starting to feel that whatever happens, the fish rots from the head and Hardwick who's overseen most of the current build really must be on borrowed time.
Milo
Roar Rookie
Not sure who you follow but youre clearly not a Tiger supporter. Probably a cats fan.
Muz
Guest
I'll tell you what I would do - I would remove President Peggy O'Neil, coach Hardwick, football manager Dan Richardson, recruiters Francis Jackson and Hartley. After such a long time it is obvious they don't know what they're doing. The only one I would keep is Gale as CEO and tell him to do whatever it takes to get the best footy brain to the club - JASON DUNSTALL - he fixed the Hawks all those years ago and look at them ever since - and HE can fix the Tigers by assembling the right coaches, recruiters, playing list, and training and development people. Get it done - GET DUNSTALL.
TigerMan
Roar Rookie
I hate articles like this. You can see the problems, we the supporters can see the issues and most of the football media can see them but for some strange reason, Hardwick and his band of merry men cant. I have been to matches where the crowd is screaming the voices off to move the ball quicker yet we continue to chip and retain, chip and retain whilst the opposition run their numbers back to plug the holes that Jack may run into. North Melbourne are the masters at taking advantage of us and that is why they have won 8 of the last 10 games. We are now playing an outdated brand of football. I recall 3 years ago, my father saying how much he enjoyed watching the Tigers but now, he gets up to make a nice bland cup of tea like our style. Personally, I think Hardwick and his cronies, including the list managers and recruiters have run their race but have now set us back 5 years at least. I would hate for us to trade off Deledio at seasons end for two reason. First, becausl I am selfish and feel that he is so crucial to our future but secondly, I have no confidence that even if we got two prize picks in trade for him, that we have any idea on who to pick and less idea on how to develop them. Our recruiting seems to always be 172 to 177 cm tall in the weight range of 72 to 76 kg who supposedly have great foot skills IF ( and its a big IF) they can hold of the ball. Yep, a well written and researched article but I bloody hate it!!
Jason weller
Guest
I think after watching the Tigers for 40 years this team has been wasted .clearly we can play at the highest level,this article is spot on let the boys play no more chipping around.perhaps hard wicks time is up we keep hearing the same things maybe mark Thompson or Brett rat ten could take the shackles off here's hoping for a miracle go tigers
Neil Wedd
Guest
Unfortunately I believe that the coaches have not been able to instill mental toughness in the players. Both the seniors and reservres are playing like rabbits in the spotlight. Panic, poor execution are all marks of a lack of confidence. To blame players is to deflect attention from the psychological state. From a club that played in 3 finals to have fallen away yet again is disappointing. The kids are not developing, and Hardwick is like Nelson. Looking through only one eye at things. When they are confident they can beat anybody.
Rob Greaves
Guest
This is a very insightful, thoughtful and positive article. The logic is well developed and i really appreciate that it's not full of bluster and talk of trade! It actually gives me (a supporter since 1954) some hope that maybe all is not lost with this current group - well not with many of them. I think it lays the issue of recovery at the feet of the coaching staff. Yes the player MUST be the one's to play - but it is apparent Richmond is not getting the most out of the talent they have!
Milo
Roar Rookie
"I strongly believe we can be again competitive in the next two years. By competitive I mean premiership contender" $450 for jousting sticks??? Seriously, good post. Agree on playing who we have for the next 11 games and finding out who can make it and who wont. Vickery, agree also. He's got to go. Maybe get a second round pick. Griffiths has more upside but FFS how much longer do we persist? Some of the other names im not so sure. McKenzie may never play again and don't count on Yarran either. Markov, Drummond Broad, C Moore I haven't seen the potential at least not yet. Townsend hopefully will be gone by season's end together with Elton and probably McBean unless he can perform miracles if he get his chance in the ones. On the plus side, Menadue must be played as too C Ellis, Vlastuin in the guts and Lennon when he gets fit (probably gets no more than four games at end of season the way things are looking). Jenkins im not sure he's that good, just the other guys around him get so much more attention he looks better than probably what he is. O'Meara & Prestia could be guns but need some support in the development dept which itself needs an overhaul. I don't think we'll get either if we couldn't get Treloar. Hurley, in the conversation because of his manager and the media but I don't really believe he'll leave Esserdon. Wait for an announcement within a few weeks. Naish? Really I have no clue about his potential but he'd want to be a helluva lot better than his old man to justify a first round pick. I wished I shared your optimism TI, but frankly I think the road ahead's a lot tougher.
Cameron Rose
Expert
"So he's just undersized with stupid hair" :O I think one of the main problems is what you touch on - as individuals we see enough in a lot of players to suggest the team should be much better than it is. We are less than the sum of our parts, I believe because they are shackled.
TIGER IMPOSTER
Guest
As Coburg Assistant coach and regular tiger know it all its plain and simple Success consists of going from failure to failure without loss of enthusiasm. Winston Churchill
TIGER IMPOSTER
Guest
he greatest difficulty in this whole 're-build/ mini re-build' stuff is that one positive or negative move in the trade/ free agency period can change our whole perspective. What if Yarran comes back (as I'd expect he will), fit firing and ready and Josh Jenkins agrees to a deal as does say Prestia and/or O'Meara? Surely that changes what we should do if we can't get those guys? The greatest difficulty with this whole situation we find ourselves in (and I know the OP alludes to hypothetical scenarios) is that it is not static. The first thing that we have to do is look at our coaching staff. I'm a Hardwick supporter, and where he has gotten us too in the time he has, is an achievement. You look at some of the teams that were around us when he became head coach (Melbourne and even to a degree North Melbourne), and with exception of this year we have finished above all those teams. But, my support is on the basis that he is currently the best man for the job. If there is someone that can take us to a premiership level team quicker and more efficiently than Hardwick, then I am all for making that change. I simply don't know who that would be, because I simply do not know who is available out there. My issue with Hardwick and the coaching staff is that (from the outside in at least), it looks as if they are not innovative, but merely copy cats. As it is said in coaching circles, one coach creates, everyone else steals. But you look at the success of teams like the Doggies and their slingshot game plan and how it helped to propel them up the ladder. West Coasts' cluster (in part) helped to propel them to a Grand Final. Hinkley's game plan at Port Adelaide took a team that really didn't have a great deal of talent, and morphed it into a serious finals contender because it was a fairly innovative game plan. I never have seen that with Hardwick, as much as I hate to say it. He was a great coach to get us to this point, but maybe we need someone new to take us further. Whether that's a new head coach or a new series of assistant coaches I cannot say, though you'd suggest that any major change would include both. Insofar as list management, as I've said in previous threads, let's not throw the baby out with the bath water. Our age list isn't too bad. We've got Drummond (I included him as he is still on managed duties in the VFL), McIntosh, Lennon and McKenzie all of whom may (or equally may not) be best 22 in 2017 and beyond. We will see McBean hopefully in the next 1 or 2 games (at the least) covering for Griffiths, and we have Menadue, Short, Butler, Castagna, Chol, C. Moore, Townsend, (who I think will be handy), Elton, Markov and Broad who I would hope all get some opportunity between now and the end of the year to demonstrate what they can or can't do. Obviously not all of them will prove to be worthwhile persisting with (Elton and McBean may prove to be this), but it will give more clarity as to what we should persist with and what we should abandon. The fact that we have been linked to both Hurley and Jenkins, and that Vickery's contract has not been renewed may mean (and hopefully does) that the club are allowing him to explore free agency. I may be wrong but if we sign Jenkins or any other free agent, and allow Vickery to walk, I think they off-set each other? So it would be unlikely that we would receive any picks in that scenario (stand to be corrected though). The club needs to be ballsy this off-season, especially with the knowledge that a likely father/ son recruit in Patrick Naish may be a first round selection in 2017. The way the bidding system works (and again, I stand to be corrected), we could trade next years first, and then combine our second round/ third round picks to obtain enough points to be able to select him when he is bid on. It would mean that we would get a first round talent that's proven (whomever we trade 2017 round one for), a first round talent (Naish, if it proves to be the case) and diluted later picks, which we may be able to manage through either this off-season or next. It's a big risk no doubt, but it would maximize the return on our current assets. I also would love to see Griffiths played strictly as a forward. I know posters will harp on about his 5 versus the Swan's as the only real thing he has done, but I have seen a lot more than that in Griffith's over the last few weeks. His leading is better than Vickery's, as is his aerobic capacity. Even is ability to impact an aerial contest is greater. Play Vlastuin in the middle. All the time. Play Lennon on the half forward flank. All the time. Play Markov on the half forward flank. All the time. Play Menadue on the wing. All the time. Play B.Ellis as an inside midfielder exclusively. It won't be to the teams benefit, but if he can't develop that side of the game, I think he has every chance of being overtaken as a winger by others. Look to trade if he fails. This year was done after the Port Adelaide loss. Even if we somehow make finals, what's the point? There is clearly not the talent in the list to propel us to a premiership contender team; which after all is what it is all about. But by rolling the dice on youth this year, not making knee-jerk reactions at the end of this year and getting rid of the few genuinely talented players we do have, be ballsy in using our assets this off-season (and next) with our 'war chest' and the draft picks we will have (ballsy, but smart) and have an open and honest view through our Footy Department, and compare it too what is currently out there an attainable (no point in making FD appointments for the sake of change, it must be for better people in those roles), I strongly believe we can be again competitive in the next two years. By competitive I mean premiership contender.
Matt
Guest
I saw them play Box Hill in the pre-season and move it like it was stolen. "Hello" I thought, "this could be beautiful to watch this year". Came back from 6 weeks away to be 1:5 and punting it slowly across the backline. Definitely have lost their nerve, and it's awful to watch. Listen to the crowd - they HATE it (and it's not the opposition supporters booing). Fair play, he's currently missing Houli, McIntosh, Maric, Conca, Yarran(?) and arguably Menadue from his ideal team with Edwards, Chaplin, Grimes, Deledio, Batchelor all either missing for parts, slow to get going or having a bad season. None of them are A-gradersn (save Deledio's slow start), but you could argue there's a slab of B-graders there who have missed plenty; which means the guys who normally sit them are having a field day minding C-graders, or bothering the A-graders. I've heard it said that Dimma relies too much on the hope of everything clicking: Richmond's best B-graders plus their A-graders playing their brand of keepings-off is certainly compelling, high scoring and tasty. A few injuries/form lapses to the B-graders, and suddenly there's 6 C-graders in the team instead of the 2 or 3 the best teams can carry/blood. We all enjoyed watching Jack sit on heads deep in the 50, but I LOVE the way he's playing right now. The trouble is with Jack upfield, we rely on Griffiths or Ty to kick a bag, and both of them are required up the ground covering the weak ruck stocks we have; so I suspect there's no fluidity in their forward play when they get back there. I liked Vlaustin's games in the middle a few weeks ago: more of that. I reckon he, Lambert, Griffiths, Lloyd, C.Ellis, Menadue and McIntosh have all got reasonable upside to them, played consistently in position and with a consistent gameplan. Edwards, Grimes, Grigg, Miles are all doing well with what they've got, and are good enough in context. (i.e. with other similarly skilled players around them) You could argue Brandon Ellis is good enough in context - steaming outside in a straight line - great. Ask him to turn and everyone hates it. No left, and his sideways get-out-of-jail kick on his right brings down rain, weather balloons and the occasional satellite. Batchelor is a good intercept mark, but loses his nerve when he's playing someone too big or fast for him, so then he's undersized but without Joel Bowden's amazing read and kicking ability. So he's just undersized with stupid hair. If Chaplin hadn't suddenly aged 10 years in the last 2, Batch would look better. Imagine if we'd landed Treloar. I have hopes for Yarran, but a year of him sitting on the bench is not what this coach needed. I agree with the thrust of what the article is saying; I feel a bit for Dimma; there's still time, perhaps? But for the love of my poor membership card, please start attacking.
Train Without A Station
Roar Guru
If a great player isn't a loss to the team when they aren't there then you aren't using them to their capabilities. Or they aren't a great player.
Train Without A Station
Roar Guru
Is he a proven coach?
Gecko
Roar Pro
Cam I think there's room for debate about all four of those players you mentioned. Certainly worth experimenting a bit now that the Tigers are struggling, so playing Riewoldt closer to goals is worth a try. I wonder whether you're romanticising a bit about Deledio and Martin a few years ago. A few years ago, they were both pretty inconsistent, even from quarter to quarter. I don't think Deledio's any better or worse now. I think, like Hardwick, that he should have a regular run through the midfield but lacks the intensity to be a full-time midfielder. Where do you think he should be play? As for Martin, his consistency has improved. The only reason he's not kicking as many goals is because his improved tank means he's playing upfield more often, so I wouldn't call that regression. You can put him back up forward but then you'd just get him playing bursts again. I'd prefer the current Martin than the burst player. I'm sure Deledio, Cotchin and Riewoldt can play better (not sure Rance and Martin). A change of coach may give the team a temporary boost but the key gaps re a bullocking midfielder and a classy rebounder (unless they put Deledio or Martin there) would still be problematic.
rusty
Roar Rookie
Really? No offence but I have always thought of Richmond as the opposite. To me they seem to have drafted too many less than solid citizens and nice guys in the last decade. Obviously this is very hard to quantify. A few more people of the character of Alex Rance wouldn't go astray and not just on the field. To the outsider, Richmond come across as so dysfunctional (and as a freo fan that is saying something). The whole organisation seems to scream mediocrity and it starts at the top. In an equalised competition even if your awful for fifteen to twenty years, at some point you should spend a few years challenging at the top. Hardwick has never come across as particularly competent or compelling, and neither do Gale or O'neal.
big four sticks
Guest
Hardwick has to go. He has been a failure. With the list we have, a good coach would have brought us finals and premiership success by now. We have a top four list but are coached by someone whose heart does not pump yellow and black blood. Mick Malthouse is available and he is a Richmond man. Malthouse could take us back to the glory days. Not only does Hardwick not have a plan b but he has no plan a either. Hardwick has done wrong by all Richmond fans. Enough is enough. If he is not sacked by the end of the season I will microwave my membership.