One-Eyed Richmond Forum
Football => Richmond Rant => Topic started by: one-eyed on January 05, 2011, 02:08:19 PM
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Jack out of the box
richmondfc.com.au
By Steve Lavell
1:37 PM Wed 05 Jan, 2011
RICHMOND coach Damien Hardwick hopes key forward Jack Riewoldt can spend more time up the ground in 2011 after dropping three kilos in his recovery from finger surgery.
The 22-year-old played out last season and October's International Rules Series in Ireland with a damaged finger tendon in his left hand, and has done little more than run throughout the Tigers' summer program.
Riewoldt, whose breakout 2010 season won him the Coleman Medal as the competition's leading goalkicker and the Jack Dyer Medal as Richmond's best and fairest player, returned to full training just before Christmas.
"He's down to about 90 (kilos) now. He came in at 93 and probably got a little bit heavy towards the end of last year," Hardwick said.
"With the way the game's going to go this year - he played a lot of game time anyway - but we'd like to see him a bit more up the ground.
"His running today was outstanding. I think he finished in the top four or five in the 500m test, which was great."
Richmond kicked off its year at the Tan Track at Melbourne's Royal Botanical Gardens on Wednesday, with midfielder Matt White and former Bomber Bachar Houli the standout performers over distance.
Seven players posted personal-best times, with Hardwick impressed with the general condition of his group.
However, he expected it would be close to the end of the month before the five players on modified programs would rejoin their teammates.
Nathan Foley continues his recovery from the lower leg injuries that have hampered his last 18 months, while fellow midfielder Trent Cotchin will be eased back in after a strong pre-Christmas block.
"We're just going to take our time (with Foley)," Hardwick said.
"As we've said, we were never going to rush Nathan. When he's ready to go, he'll let us know.
"He's doing a lot of training and will come in fit and firing. We've just got to persevere and take some time with him."
Hardwick has been particularly pleased with the contribution of Houli, Shaun Grigg (Carlton) and Brad Miller (Melbourne), who all joined Richmond in the off-season.
He said the three players were quality characters who - in various roles - would complement the side as it built on its 15th-place finish of 2010.
"We've just got to improve in every facet of our game; not only our football, but the Richmond Football Club in general," Hardwick said.
"If we strive for that continuous improvement, we'll get to where we need to go. We still realise we've got a hell of a long journey in front of us, but we're making small steps, which is a positive.
"If we get incremental improvement into players, that's when we start to make progress. When we get that ... that's when we'll start making steps up the ladder."
http://www.afl.com.au/news/newsarticle/tabid/208/newsid/106599/default.aspx
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Jack Riewoldt ready to fire, says Hardwick
Greg Buckle
January 5, 2011 - 12:44PM
AAP
The slimmed-down version of reigning Coleman Medallist Jack Riewoldt is set for a big 2011 AFL season and will spend more time up the ground.
Richmond coach Damien Hardwick couldn't hide his delight on Wednesday at seeing the 195cm key forward among the leading runners in time trials at the Tan Track.
Riewoldt had finger surgery following his 78-goal season and has returned in excellent shape.
"Yeah he's great. He's dropped about three or four kilograms," Hardwick told reporters at Melbourne's Botanic Gardens.
"He's down to about 90 now which is great.
"He probably got a little bit heavy towards the end of last year.
"The way the game is probably going to go this year, we'd like to see him a bit more up the ground.
"His running today was outstanding. He finished in the top four or five in the 500-metre test which is great."
Midfielder Matt White led the field around the 3.87km Tan Track in 13 minutes and 12 seconds with former Bomber Bachar Houli second.
"We've got to improve, there's no doubt about that," Hardwick said.
"We finished 15th on the ladder so we've got a hell of a lot of hard work to go.
"We've got to improve in every facet of our game."
The second-year coach said he was excited to see how the new substitute rule would work, suggesting it could lead to more elite midfielders rotating through the forward-line.
In the 2011 AFL home-and-away season, all clubs will field three interchange players and one substitute, with the sub able to be used at any time and the player he replaces not eligible to return to the field.
"Andrew Browne, one of our rucks, after the rule came in he sent me a rest-in-peace thing for the second ruckman," Hardwick said.
"We've got some time to trial it which is great, that's what the (pre-season) NAB Cup is for.
"We'll see what works best for us, whether it's an impact player off the bench or another runner.
"We're going to see probably more midfielders push forward which will be great, to see the better players on the ground for longer.
"We'll see how it goes. Hopefully it's a positive impact for our game."
Hardwick said Nathan Foley (leg) and Trent Cotchin (Achilles) were among those set to resume full training later in January.
"We're never going to rush Nathan," Hardwick said.
"We've just got to persevere and take some time with him."
Foley was leading the club's best and fairest count before suffering an ankle injury in round 14, 2009 and played only four games last year.
http://news.smh.com.au/breaking-news-sport/jack-riewoldt-ready-to-stuff-20110105-19fo0.html
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I think a lot of ppl (excluding tiger supporters) think Jacks 2010 was one out of the box and expect him to go back to status quo good average young fwd in 2011.
This guy is one of the most driven individuals at the club, I have no doubt he'll build on a coleman year and improve again.
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I'm actually hoping the goals are much more shared amongst the forwards and rotating midfielders. If this means Jack doesn't kick as many goals individually but as a team we increase our average goals, I would be wrapped!
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"If we get incremental improvement
http://www.afl.com.au/news/newsarticle/tabid/208/newsid/106599/default.aspx
Eff me ! Did Dimma go back and grab a literature degree over Chrissy ?
I've been driven incre mental just following the Tiges 4 eva ;D
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If Jack is going to play as a 'high' forward further up the ground then it'll be interesting to see how we structure up and who we play closer towards the goalsquare. I'd presume Vickery is one the coaches will hope can step-up playing the dual role of tall forward and 2nd ruck.
HF: Riewoldt Griffiths mid-size forward
F: small forward Vickery resting mid
Miller :-\ to be the stuff option if a young tall can't step up at FF.
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If Jack is going to play as a 'high' forward further up the ground then it'll be interesting to see how we structure up and who we play closer towards the goalsquare. I'd presume Vickery is one the coaches will hope can step-up playing the dual role of tall forward and 2nd ruck.
HF: Riewoldt Griffiths mid-size forward
F: small forward Vickery resting mid
Miller :-\ to be the stuff option if a young tall can't step up at FF.
Griffo and Jack might rotate through the forward line a bit?
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Please Mr Hardwick dont try and fix what isn't broken....., some of our other coaches have tried the same with some of our ex-players and it didnt work. I honestly thought Hardwick would have tried to bulk him up just a bit more and use him as a power forward...oh well lets hope it works, not sure who play his role at FF then..
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Please Mr Hardwick dont try and fix what isn't broken....., some of our other coaches have tried the same with some of our ex-players and it didnt work. I honestly thought Hardwick would have tried to bulk him up just a bit more and use him as a power forward...oh well lets hope it works, not sure who play his role at FF then..
What is broken is the fact that Jack kicked 78 goals last year then the next highest total was 15 from a player that's now listed by Carlton. I would think the reliance on Jack to kick goals would be more than a little bit of a worry for Dimma. If Jack goes down whose going to kick a score for us? Our resurrection last season was built fair and squarely on Jack's shoulders. We have been criticised for being too Richo-centric in the past, now we run the risk of doing the same with Jack.
I like the idea of getting Jack out of the forward line and making the other youngsters kick goals. Unfortunately if no one stands up then we may look like we've gone backwards. Hardwick has to hold his nerve and believe in his plan.
I share your sentiment, I hope it works. We'll be a better team if it does.
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I think your on the money there Oiafi.
It will interesting to see what role role Jack plays and how the forward line structures up, but ultimately we need more goalscorers and moving Jack up the ground may long term be of benefit, even if short term it is not. Time will tell.
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Please Mr Hardwick dont try and fix what isn't broken....., some of our other coaches have tried the same with some of our ex-players and it didnt work. I honestly thought Hardwick would have tried to bulk him up just a bit more and use him as a power forward...oh well lets hope it works, not sure who play his role at FF then..
What is broken is the fact that Jack kicked 78 goals last year then the next highest total was 15 from a player that's now listed by Carlton. I would think the reliance on Jack to kick goals would be more than a little bit of a worry for Dimma. If Jack goes down whose going to kick a score for us? Our resurrection last season was built fair and squarely on Jack's shoulders. We have been criticised for being too Richo-centric in the past, now we run the risk of doing the same with Jack.
I like the idea of getting Jack out of the forward line and making the other youngsters kick goals. Unfortunately if no one stands up then we may look like we've gone backwards. Hardwick has to hold his nerve and believe in his plan.
I share your sentiment, I hope it works. We'll be a better team if it does.
yep good post - potentially 1 step back for 2 steps fwd in the future. We know Jack can play deep fwd and do it well, so does every other team in the comp now - we need to add more strings to the bow in order to be serious contenders and now is the time to experiment with fwd line setup bc lets face it we're not going to be playing finals this season so lets develop some other fwd options and make Jack a better more complete player.
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Yep good comments, I just hope Jacks development is not to the detriment of the team, I would have welcomed the change after this year, I mean Jack has really only shone last year. I would have liked to see our forward line develop more with him there. Perhaps Post, Goudis or a couple of others could have been experimented with up the ground first.
But I will wait, go Jack.
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Yep good comments, I just hope Jacks development is not to the detriment of the team, I would have welcomed the change after this year, I mean Jack has really only shone last year. I would have liked to see our forward line develop more with him there. Perhaps Post, Goudis or a couple of others could have been experimented with up the ground first.
But I will wait, go Jack.
Good point WAT. :thumbsup
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Cannot wait to see what Jack serves up for us this year. :clapping
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Trade him if he doesn't kick a 100+
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Seems the Tigers aren't the only ones looking for increased aerobic capacity with the new interchanges rules....
from the Sunday Mail in Adelaide....
Freo's sports science manager Jason Weber says players have been working hard on their running over the pre-season with an increase in aerobic capacity the key.
"Rotations will drop this season purely on the basis of now only having three rotating players," he told fremantlefc.com.au. "... Making sure our players can continue ... over a longer duration is going to require more aerobic strength."
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Personally I think that when you have someone whose stuff quality is their contested marking ability (or else bringing the ball to ground), then you want them to spend the majority of their time close to the sticks. I don't like the fad of having the likes of Franklin, Riewoldt taking cheap marks on the wing and then bombing it to no-one. Simple footy - get the ball, move it quick, kick long to Jack. I reckon the problem with our lack of a goal spread is the quality of our second and smaller forwards, not Jack's style.
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So you would have played carey, barker, hart, vanderhaar, the lesser Reiwoldt et al at full forward?
If marks on the wing were that cheap we would be getting a lot more of them.
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So you would have played carey, barker, hart, vanderhaar, the lesser Reiwoldt et al at full forward?
If marks on the wing were that cheap we would be getting a lot more of them.
Those blokes were true CHFs. The weren't leading up past true wing to take marks as a first option. Teams zone off and are quite happy for N. Riewoldt to take a mark 90-100m from goal if it means they have time to get blokes back into F50 to stop the contested mark. If you are waiting for your number 1 target to get back into F50 (as St Kilda were so often last season) I think he will become less effective and your structure breaks down.
That said, Collingwood won the flag and will be raging hot favourites again without a great marking forward.... I just reckon Jack is an elite contested grab, great core strength in one-on-one body contests and changing his game towards one suited for players with different qualities to Jack (and for players that don't have Jack's qualities) should be the least of our focus right now, develop a structure where we get it long to him early, and develop the smaller forwards to works off his tap-ons and soccer kicks.
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So you would have played carey, barker, hart, vanderhaar, the lesser Reiwoldt et al at full forward?
If marks on the wing were that cheap we would be getting a lot more of them.
All those sides (with the exception of St Kilda's Barker) were teams that won premierships or played in GF's.
By implication, they had the support to send their Key Forwards up the ground.
You also had some teams with incredible midfields in the past 10 years that did not have elite forwards playing up the ground. Recently you have had Geelong with Mooney, WCE (in 2004-6) with Lynch and even the Swans with Hall and Lions with Lynch as predominate stay at home, leading forwards. All amazing midfields (with possible exception of Swans) who could run the ball deep inside 50 to a leading forward. Just no need for a roaming forward up to the wings.
To me, its a bit of horses for course. If there is a need for Jack to play up the ground and we have the support inside 50 to capitalise, I can see that ploy breaking up the congestion in our F50.
But until we have a Griffiths, Post or Vickery prove they can step up, we may just see the ball coming straight back over Jacks head which is what happened last year when team ganged their defence up on him.
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All those sides (with the exception of St Kilda's Barker) were teams that won premierships or played in GF's.
By implication, they had the support to send their Key Forwards up the ground.
You also had some teams with incredible midfields in the past 10 years that did not have elite forwards playing up the ground. Recently you have had Geelong with Mooney, WCE (in 2004-6) with Lynch and even the Swans with Hall and Lions with Lynch as predominate stay at home, leading forwards. All amazing midfields (with possible exception of Swans) who could run the ball deep inside 50 to a leading forward. Just no need for a roaming forward up to the wings.
To me, its a bit of horses for course. If there is a need for Jack to play up the ground and we have the support inside 50 to capitalise, I can see that ploy breaking up the congestion in our F50.
But until we have a Griffiths, Post or Vickery prove they can step up, we may just see the ball coming straight back over Jacks head which is what happened last year when team ganged their defence up on him.
The other way of looking at is they were top sides because thay had such quality players roaming around CHF. it could become a bit like the chicken and egg though, which leads on to the horses for courses, which i think is a fair call, particulary the part about breaking up congestion in the F50.
Either way though, as you hint at, we need other options.
Those blokes were true CHFs. The weren't leading up past true wing to take marks as a first option. Teams zone off and are quite happy for N. Riewoldt to take a mark 90-100m from goal if it means they have time to get blokes back into F50 to stop the contested mark. If you are waiting for your number 1 target to get back into F50 (as St Kilda were so often last season) I think he will become less effective and your structure breaks down.
That said, Collingwood won the flag and will be raging hot favourites again without a great marking forward.... I just reckon Jack is an elite contested grab, great core strength in one-on-one body contests and changing his game towards one suited for players with different qualities to Jack (and for players that don't have Jack's qualities) should be the least of our focus right now, develop a structure where we get it long to him early, and develop the smaller forwards to works off his tap-ons and soccer kicks.
I'm not sure what different qualities you look at for a CHF, but wouldn't elite contested mark and good core strength be highly sought after attributes for a CHF?
Nick's an interesting one. From what I've seen he really only gets up towards the half back when the ball is struggling to get down to him. It seems it's more of something he does off his own back as there doesn't seem to be any plan for someone else to push up forward to cover for him.
So if Jack does move further up the ground, if he is meant to be working as far back as CHB, hopefully there will be plans for someone else to push forward as he does.
I also have a suspicion that Jack will be asked to run deep into the forward line from CHF to create options in a similar vein to what he does at the 11sec mark in this video. (with longer kicks naturally)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5lpCcg5WSRM
(notice astbury also working deep forward to provide an option too)
I remember a couple of training reports early last year mentioned how there were drills specifically aimed at kicking to space and having someone run with the flight of the ball to mark.
Hardwicks reaction in this video could have the caption "I love it when a plan comes together".
I'm happy to see jack tried at CHF. If it doesnt work, so be it. I just don't want to see a game plan revolve around him, or any single player. You need to be more dimensional than that.
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I'm happy to see jack tried at CHF. If it doesnt work, so be it. I just don't want to see a game plan revolve around him, or any single player. You need to be more dimensional than that.
Richo, anyone?