One-Eyed Richmond Forum
Football => Richmond Rant => Topic started by: one-eyed on May 30, 2011, 02:43:47 PM
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Richmond players and coaches lost Darwin game against Port Adelaide, not their marketing department
By Gerard Healy
Herald Sun
May 30, 2011 1:00PM
The media reaction to the defeat at TIO Stadium has given the players the biggest alibi of the year. The excuse was that because they didn't wake up in their own bed, they fell to the Power. Port Adelaide, by the way, also slept in a Darwin hotel.
Yes, Port Adelaide have played there before, but a number of their players wouldn't have.
The Tigers were in front at quarter-time so any reference to venue, conditions or experience lacks credibility. Had they dished up the same workrate they produced after quarter-time at the MCG it would have also resulted in a loss.
The excuses made for Richmond also take away from one of the biggest wins in Matthew Primus's coaching career. He managed to turn a team, who have been a very sick and divided outfit over the last month into the cohesive single-minded group we saw on Saturday night.
Did Richmond cost themselves by selling a home game or pay the price for underestimating Port Adelaide? Have your say by leaving a comment below.
Port played for each other and were a far cry from the rabble that have represented the famous club in eight of the previous nine rounds this year. The spirit returned, the workrate returned.
Flying home from Adelaide last week, having watched Fremantle dismantle the Power while playing in second gear themselves, there seemed a very black picture of what was to come. I couldn't see them winning too many more games this year and wondered just how far down the easybeats path Port Adelaide were going to wander.
The Tigers obviously had similar thoughts, having just completed their best win of the year over a depleted Essendon. They fell for the biggest trap developing sides confront and that is not dealing well with your wins.
The hunger on display seven days earlier was obviously satiated by the back-slapping a win on the big stage brings.
To suggest that this loss was simply a function of the away 'home' game misses the point. The Tigers should have won whether they played at the MCG, AAMI Stadium, TIO Stadium or Kevin Sheedy's famous home venue, Mars.
Watch Gerard, Mike Sheahan and Paul Roos tackle Richmond and the big issues on Monday night On The Couch, 8.30pm (EST) on Fox Sports 1HD and Fox Sports 1.
Dealing with inequities in the draw is a fact of life in the AFL. Some sides travel 11 times, some sides travel 10 times, and yes Collingwood travel four. But so what.
Fifty per cent of flags since the inception of the AFL in 1990 have been won by sides outside of Melbourne that travel essentially every second week and have to win the grand final away from home at the MCG.
It's only a negative if you elect it to be a negative and given this game had no home crowd any travel inequity is greatly diminished.
Yes the Tigers gave up an opportunity to play in front of their home crowd, however, that's not a magic solution for winning as the previous decades have shown.
This was an opportunity lost by a side that may make the eight but won't if they continue to be distracted by their own successes along the way, a slippery ball in Darwin or an over-congratulatory press.
Selling home games is part and parcel of football for sides who haven't got the same financial resources as some. There are positives as well as negatives depending on how you view it.
Sheedy embraced the notion of taking the Bombers on tour to any part of the country in an attempt to build the brand of Essendon through the 1980s and 1990s. He saw the opportunity to make Essendon a national team with a national footprint. And not surprisingly their membership base grew exponentially, showing every other club in the competition the way.
He did so in the pre-season but Hawthorn have taken it a step further creating a new home in Tasmania that in part funded their success in 2008 and contributes largely to their burgeoning membership.
Richmond's financial position means that they, by necessity, need to pocket the $500,000 they received by playing in Darwin. It would also be linked to the hefty cheque written by the government to help fund the indigenous centre and club rooms, a major fillip for the football department.
The Darwin money contributes to football department spend that has a positive effect on results. That money contributes to recruiting department spend and medical department spend, that also have a positive effect on results.
So to sit back and read that the Tigers cost themselves four points because they decided to take advantage of an opportunity that Darwin presents lacks the vision that Kevin Sheedy embraced all those years ago and the associated positives that the money provides has on the overall football department that impacts on all games this year.
The Tigers may finish ninth and many in the media and no doubt some of their supporters may look for an excuse that Darwin presents as to why they're not playing finals.
But Damien Hardwick, one of Sheedy's pupils, won't. For he knows that when they do make the eight - whether it be this year or sometime in the future - they'll have developed mentally enough as a group to deal with whatever is thrown at them, including a night in Darwin.
http://www.foxsports.com.au/afl/afl-premiership/richmond-players-and-coaches-lost-darwin-game-against-port-adelaide-not-their-marketing-department/story-e6frf3e3-1226065496910
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Pretty fair article.
We would have lost anywhere with that attitude and effort on Saturday night.
Port were no way polished but won.
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Perfectly summed up.
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Gerry Healy is absolutely spot on
Time for excuses are over
As I posted yesterday bottom line is good teams win anywhere at anytime
We played crap, weren't desparate enough and lacked the effort and commitment that we've shown the last month and a bit. We copped what we deserved for not (1) showing our opponent resepct and (2) not showing up to play with the right mindset
We have to make sure we learn from it
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Good article
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Nah, bullcrap it was a good article. It's just the typical sort of build 'em up, knock 'em down cliche that the media delights in when it comes to Richmond. They like to keep us in what they assume is our place, which is under everyone else's boot.
And as far as the loss goes, I'll say it 'til I'm blue in the face. We would have won if we'd played in Melbourne. The league wouldn't dare try this kind of garbage on Collingwood, and we shouldn't stand for it either.
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The league wouldn't dare try this kind of garbage on Collingwood, and we shouldn't stand for it either.
The league? We shouldn't stand for what
The league didn't force us to sell the game, that was the Club's decision.
The RFC playing a home games in Darwin and Cairns is solely the RFC's choice. We live with the consequences of the decisions we make and of our actions.
Blaming the league ....pluuuuuuuuuuuuzzzzzzzzzzzzzzeeeee
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Ditto.
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The league wouldn't dare try this kind of garbage on Collingwood, and we shouldn't stand for it either.
The league? We shouldn't stand for what
The league didn't force us to sell the game, that was the Club's decision.
The RFC playing a home games in Darwin and Cairns is solely the RFC's choice. We live with the consequences of the decisions we make and of our actions.
Blaming the league ....pluuuuuuuuuuuuzzzzzzzzzzzzzzeeeee
I couldnt believe what i was seeing at the ground. 5 minutes before the start Benny Gale walking over to the groundsman pointing toward the lights. Their mind was not focused even before the bounce.
If you ask me the RFC just thought everything would work itself out over here and didnt do their due dilligence from an administration point of view.
It was just plain rubbish all round.
The only positive i can draw is they will go up a night before when we play in Cairns and train at night before game proper. This can only be a good thing against the Suns.
That is an absolute given not stick to their usual interstate routine as some people suggest.
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I guess the way we will all know whether or not the club considers they made a mistake this time will be whether or not the preparation is the same next time.
It will be interesting to see what happens.
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I couldnt believe what i was seeing at the ground. 5 minutes before the start Benny Gale walking over to the groundsman pointing toward the lights. Their mind was not focused even before the bounce.
The lights were out daniel, at that point no one had a clue if the game was going to start on time
He was actually doing his job as the most senior "NON" football person there, he wasn't playing so prior to the game who cares what Gale is doing
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I guess the way we will all know whether or not the club considers they made a mistake this time will be whether or not the preparation is the same next time.
It will be interesting to see what happens.
there was no way the club would come out publically and admit they made an error, and nor should they, but internally if i were a betting man id say many questions would've been asked. Many!!
Like i said positive is, it puts us in good stead against the Suns and next year in Darwin.
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I guess the way we will all know whether or not the club considers they made a mistake this time will be whether or not the preparation is the same next time.
It will be interesting to see what happens.
there was no way the club would come out publically and admit they made an error, and nor should they, but internally if i were a betting man id say many questions would've been asked. Many!!
Like i said positive is, it puts us in good stead against the Suns and next year in Darwin.
Yeah that's what I was getting at, the only way we will know is by watching the routine next time.
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Good article Gerard. :thumbsup
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Like i said positive is, it puts us in good stead against the Suns and next year in Darwin.
Well I know I'll be doing things very differently for my Darwin trip next year :thumbsup
I'll be going up earlier, staying an extra day and chosing a much better hotel than the one I stayed at ;D
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Like i said positive is, it puts us in good stead against the Suns and next year in Darwin.
Well I know I'll be doing things very differently for my Darwin trip next year :thumbsup
I'll be going up earlier, staying an extra day and chosing a much better hotel than the one I stayed at ;D
where you stay?
we stayed at the Palms resort esplanade. Great little Villa. Well priced too.
we come up Thur night and at the airport now. You gotta stay 4 nights up here and hit up the waterfalls
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Nah, bullcrap it was a good article. It's just the typical sort of build 'em up, knock 'em down cliche that the media delights in when it comes to Richmond. They like to keep us in what they assume is our place, which is under everyone else's boot.
And as far as the loss goes, I'll say it 'til I'm blue in the face. We would have won if we'd played in Melbourne. The league wouldn't dare try this kind of garbage on Collingwood, and we shouldn't stand for it either.
On what basis do you draw that conclusion?
We lost to them in Melbourne last year, in cousins' last game with Docklands packed to the rafters with tiger heads,
while we belted them in Adelaide in game that was a big celebration for the Port football club.
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where you stay?
we stayed at the Palms resort esplanade. Great little Villa. Well priced too.
we come up Thur night and at the airport now. You gotta stay 4 nights up here and hit up the waterfalls
I flew up Sat morning and came home yesterday afternoon
Stayed at the Mirambeena Resort (Travelodge) cheap in $$$ and in cheap in nature, unfortunately my first choice was booked out so I ended up staying where the rest of travelling mates stayed
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Okay WP let me spell it out for you. The AFL wants to grow the game in these far flung outposts, so they offer clubs who are over the barrel financially a big cash payout to sell off their home games. Yes, you can damn us for taking the bait, and I most definitely do.
But the AFL are a disgrace for putting us in that position in the first place. Would they do that to Collingwood? You bet your ass they wouldn't. And if they did Eddie would quite rightly spit in their eye, as we should have done.
This administration is just RIFE with inequity and compromise, with Collingwood being gifted 16 games at the G every year, never having to go to Geelong, and seldom travelling interstate. I was just told today that they will be given ALL their home games at the G next year, because Eddie jumped up and down about the 1 or 2 they got at Docklands.
In closing, I don't think it's too much to ask for EVERY team to be playing to the same rule book. But obviously Demetriou and a lot of people on this forum disagree.
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I couldnt believe what i was seeing at the ground. 5 minutes before the start Benny Gale walking over to the groundsman pointing toward the lights. Their mind was not focused even before the bounce.
The lights were out daniel, at that point no one had a clue if the game was going to start on time
He was actually doing his job as the most senior "NON" football person there, he wasn't playing so prior to the game who cares what Gale is doing
I care, if your president is out on the ground 5 minutes before the game starts, something is terribly wrong, it's not something you want to see. And yes if that's happening as a supporter I would like to know what's going on. I think even if we won there would have been a serious review of this whole debacle.
It's lucky for Benny that he has accrued a lot of credits with Tiger fans and I dare say that they will give him he benefit of the doubt on this.
I am more upset with what Caro reported on FC tonight, that selling our game to Cairns has cost us the ability to get 2 games against the Gold Coast this year, if that is true then the whole policy of selling off games has to go!
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Caro is making an assumption
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Nah, bullcrap it was a good article. It's just the typical sort of build 'em up, knock 'em down cliche that the media delights in when it comes to Richmond. They like to keep us in what they assume is our place, which is under everyone else's boot.
And as far as the loss goes, I'll say it 'til I'm blue in the face. We would have won if we'd played in Melbourne. The league wouldn't dare try this kind of garbage on Collingwood, and we shouldn't stand for it either.
I often agree with your posts RR but I can't agree with you at all on this one.
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Like i said positive is, it puts us in good stead against the Suns and next year in Darwin.
Well I know I'll be doing things very differently for my Darwin trip next year :thumbsup
I'll be going up earlier, staying an extra day and chosing a much better hotel than the one I stayed at ;D
where you stay?
we stayed at the Palms resort esplanade. Great little Villa. Well priced too.
we come up Thur night and at the airport now. You gotta stay 4 nights up here and hit up the waterfalls
Or do it my way - stay 5 nights with family, catch a footy match, a few beers with old mates, day's fishing on the Elizabeth River, quiet afternoon drinks at the Trailer Boat Club (spectacular sunset views if you stay late enough) - all for the price of food and drinks. :cheers
Now if only I can convince my missus to move there..................................... :woohoo
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I am more upset with what Caro reported on FC tonight, that selling our game to Cairns has cost us the ability to get 2 games against the Gold Coast this year, if that is true then the whole policy of selling off games has to go!
I would be more worried about it once we became a top side. At present, it's just as important to improve our off-field position and selling games makes perfect sense while our team of kids learns about the game. Even the extra travel now will bring good lessons for the future years when it really matters.
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I care, if your president is out on the ground 5 minutes before the game starts, something is terribly wrong, it's not something you want to see. And yes if that's happening as a supporter I would like to know what's going on. I think even if we won there would have been a serious review of this whole debacle.
It's lucky for Benny that he has accrued a lot of credits with Tiger fans and I dare say that they will give him he benefit of the doubt on this.
I am more upset with what Caro reported on FC tonight, that selling our game to Cairns has cost us the ability to get 2 games against the Gold Coast this year, if that is true then the whole policy of selling off games has to go!
Gale is CEO not president and you are right he should have been out on the ground sorting out the fiasco of the lights
But him being out on the ground has absolutely no bearing on the team and its preparation, he's the CEO not a coach
Okay WP let me spell it out for you. The AFL wants to grow the game in these far flung outposts, so they offer clubs who are over the barrel financially a big cash payout to sell off their home games. Yes, you can damn us for taking the bait, and I most definitely do.
But the AFL are a disgrace for putting us in that position in the first place. Would they do that to Collingwood? You bet your ass they wouldn't. And if they did Eddie would quite rightly spit in their eye, as we should have done.
This administration is just RIFE with inequity and compromise, with Collingwood being gifted 16 games at the G every year, never having to go to Geelong, and seldom travelling interstate. I was just told today that they will be given ALL their home games at the G next year, because Eddie jumped up and down about the 1 or 2 they got at Docklands.
In closing, I don't think it's too much to ask for EVERY team to be playing to the same rule book. But obviously Demetriou and a lot of people on this forum disagree.
"Putting us in the position "? The offer was put to ALL clubs (FACT), the only ones who look at it are the ones who need the $$$. Sadly we fall into the category. The bulldogs have after a number of years turned their back on it. We made the choice to do the deal we live the consequences
As for Cairns got a newsflash for you that was an intiative of the RFC who then went to the AFL to get it OK'd - so is that the AFL's fault as well?
You blaming the AFL is a cop out. The AFL didnt' force us to sell the bloody game to Darwin. We did the deal end of story
Bottom line is whether you like to admit it or not with our recent history we are not in a position like the Pies to demand anything. Become a consistent winning team and we will be in that position but we aint there yet.
I agree there seems to be different rules for different fools and I am all for giving the AFL a kicking when it's deserved but on this debacle the AFL isn't to blame
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"Putting us in the position "? The offer was put to ALL clubs (FACT), the only ones who look at it are the ones who need the $$$. Sadly we fall into the category. The bulldogs have after a number of years turned their back on it. We made the choice to do the deal we live the consequences
As for Cairns got a newsflash for you that was an intiative of the RFC who then went to the AFL to get it OK'd - so is that the AFL's fault as well?
You blaming the AFL is a cop out. The AFL didnt' force us to sell the bloody game to Darwin. We did the deal end of story
Bottom line is whether you like to admit it or not with our recent history we are not in a position like the Pies to demand anything. Become a consistent winning team and we will be in that position but we aint there yet.
I agree there seems to be different rules for different fools and I am all for giving the AFL a kicking when it's deserved but on this debacle the AFL isn't to blame
Well I don't believe the AFL should be putting this offer to ANY clubs full stop. It's another compromise in an already severely compromised fixture. If clubs need a bit of money now and again, it's up to the AFL to dish it out. They're rich enough and their money comes off the back of the players efforts and the fans wages. And it's not as if we're constantly going cap in hand to them. We have been recording operating profits for several years now, and the FTF is as much about keeping free agency at bay as anything (another great league initiative :banghead) And as for us being in a similar position to the Pies before we receive the sort of perks they do, it's the old chicken and the egg story isn't it? Are Collingwood rewarded because they are strong, or is their position of strength derived from the continued leg up they get from the AFL? This has been going on for more years than I care to remember. Long before their drought breaking flag. In fact you could argue that with the armchair ride the AFL has been giving them for years, they should have won a string of flags. Sadly, it looks like they're about to.There is no doubt that the fixture is manipulated to keep Collingwood in the top four because they are the AFL's cash cow, and it stinks. We're all equal, but some are more equal than others.
Edited to correct quote
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Like i said positive is, it puts us in good stead against the Suns and next year in Darwin.
Well I know I'll be doing things very differently for my Darwin trip next year :thumbsup
I'll be going up earlier, staying an extra day and chosing a much better hotel than the one I stayed at ;D
where you stay?
we stayed at the Palms resort esplanade. Great little Villa. Well priced too.
we come up Thur night and at the airport now. You gotta stay 4 nights up here and hit up the waterfalls
Or do it my way - stay 5 nights with family, catch a footy match, a few beers with old mates, day's fishing on the Elizabeth River, quiet afternoon drinks at the Trailer Boat Club (spectacular sunset views if you stay late enough) - all for the price of food and drinks. :cheers
Now if only I can convince my missus to move there..................................... :woohoo
we watched sunset though from the beach at those Sunday markets which was nice.
Its far from the lofty heights of the Santorini sunset , but its okay nonetheless
Drove up to Litchfield that was great but in all honestly Smokey i need a beach where i live and that thing you cant swim in so you might as well not have one.
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we watched sunset though from the beach at those Sunday markets which was nice.
Its far from the lofty heights of the Santorini sunset , but its okay nonetheless
Drove up to Litchfield that was great but in all honestly Smokey i need a beach where i live and that thing you cant swim in so you might as well not have one.
Mindil Beach markets I'm guessing Daniel, good markets for a cosmopolitan feel and feed but a bit pricey for most craft and clothing stalls and very 'touristy' nowadays. Sunsets are much better in the wet season but I'm sure there are better around (not been to Santorini so I can't comment). I hear what you are saying about the beaches and there is no beach in Darwin that comes anywhere near the beaches in northern NSW and Qld but just on the can't swim bit - you can if you're brave enough!! ;D To be honest, the thing I like about Darwin more than anything else is the relaxed lifestyle - it really works for me at my current point in life.
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actually plenty of people swim at the beaches in the dry season. The wet season is stinger season so those with a bit of intelligence stay out then.
then there is the man made beach at waterfront precinct :P
someone got bitten by a fish there last year though :laugh:
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actually plenty of people swim at the beaches in the dry season. The wet season is stinger season so those with a bit of intelligence stay out then.
then there is the man made beach at waterfront precinct :P
someone got bitten by a fish there last year though :laugh:
I thought piranhas were only native to the Amazon. :lol :rollin :lol