Former Hawthorn football director Jason Dunstall is scathing of Richmond’s AFL plight, saying if he was a Tigers board member he would be nervous.
Dunstall said the Tigers must acknowledge their mistakes and quickly reassess where they stand, otherwise they risk setting themselves back by several years.
He went so far as to declare that every Richmond player should be a “tradeable commodity” at the end of this season.
“Go heavy at the trade table, go heavy at the draft,” he told Fox Footy’s On The Couch.
“I would be trading to get early draft picks.
“If they don’t admit they’ve made mistakes and reassess where they’re at, they will set the club back a number of years.”
Richmond’s 38-point loss to Port Adelaide last Friday night left them wallowing at three games out of the top eight.
Coach Damien Hardwick said the loss showed they are off the top-eight pace.
The Tigers had high hopes this season after three-straight elimination finals appearances, but they have struggled for consistency.
Dunstall joins a long list of commentators who have weighed into Richmond since the Port loss.
But his opinion carries particular clout because he was one of the main architects of Hawthorn’s current four-premiership dynasty.
He was a key figure in the Hawks hiring coach Alastair Clarkson, which was a controversial choice at the time.
Dunstall said it was “very odd, very strange” that the Tigers do not have a football director position on their board – the role he served at Hawthorn.
He praised Richmond for their solidarity in their current plight, from president Peggy O’Neal down.
But Dunstall added if he was a Richmond board member, he would be nervous.
“The decisions that we’ve made, as in committing to the coach for another two seasons … and agreeing that we have a strong-enough list to actually get to where we want to go, I’m second-guessing those decisions,” he said.
“They’ve grossly overestimated the quality of that playing list.
“I’m not trying to shout down these players, but they’ve had long enough and it isn’t working.
“The game style isn’t working and I haven’t seen a plan B, let alone a plan C.”
Dunstall was also asked if he was a board member, would he be comfortable with Hardwick as coach for next season.
“I’d need to see a very clear vision going forward,” he said.
Floyd Calhoun
Guest
Nobody 'owns' Richmond Carl. But, anyway, please give us your highly valued analysis of the current board and the reasons why you deem them all to be unworthy.
Pumping Dougie
Guest
heehee
Penster
Guest
"Politically correct" meaning they've got a sheila in a senior position? Yeah, dig deeper .......
Carl Spackler
Guest
Richmond took the "politically correct" choice of who is on their board and who their coaches are. If I was the owner of that club like an NFL, NBA or EPL owner, the whole lot would be gone as of last Monday. They are out of their collective depth.
Mocca
Guest
Indeed, what would the off-field architect of the club that has won the last three flags know about putting together a successful playing list and football department? I'd much prefer to hear what David King is told to think about this issue.
Pumping Dougie
Guest
What would Dunstall know?
Slane
Guest
I've already commented on the other Richmond article but feel like this might be a better spot to expound on my position that the Richmond list isn't what is holding the Tigers back this season. If we were to formulate an opinion on what is going wrong down at Tigerland by simply looking at the ladder this season the simplest answer would probably be that the players aren't good enough. But looking at this seasons ladder in isolation would be a ridiculous suggestion. The only way we can examine where Richmond are at is by looking at the differences between a 'successful' season (2015) and the current season. We must ask: 'What has changed at Richmond between 2015 and 2016?'. There are 4 main changes between last season and this season: The list, the opposition, the rules and the draw. Richmond's list has barely changed over the off-season. The only real difference being that both Troy Chaplin and Ivan Maric are struggling to break into the side. Unless anybody is willing to suggest that the two aforementioned players are worth 10 ladder positions, it seems like the players aren't the biggest problem. By far the biggest change would appear to be how the opposition are playing. We have seen a fundamental shift in the way the game is being played by the competitions best teams.