One-Eyed Richmond Forum
Football => Richmond Rant => Topic started by: one-eyed on March 08, 2016, 11:34:09 PM
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Richmond’s four-point plan to win a final under re-signed coach Damien Hardwick in 2016 AFL season
Riley Beveridge
Foxsports
March 9, 2016
CONTRACT extensions are meant to ease the pressure on their recipients.
However, for Richmond coach Damien Hardwick, his looming new deal is another reminder of what the club simply must achieve under his tenure.
Without a finals victory since 2001, the Tigers have lost three consecutive elimination finals during Hardwick’s reign.
Yet still, as reported by foxfooty.com.au on Monday, the Tigers coach is set to receive a two-year deal that will take him through to the conclusion of the 2018 season.
Hardwick has been firmly backed as the man to take Richmond to that elusive September victory. Now the onus is on the 43-year-old to find a way to break that longstanding and unwanted hoodoo.
The third longest-serving coach in Richmond’s rich history, Hardwick is still yet to taste finals success during his time at Punt Rd.
It’s a statistic the often underrated coach would love to correct going into his seventh year at Richmond.
Following a summer where the Tigers have again been forced to lick their wounds and lament what could have been, building blocks are in place to ultimately right the wrongs of the last three years.
KEEP ON KEEPING ON
Plenty of what Richmond has done under Hardwick has been positive and will ultimately form the foundations for how they improve this season.
The subtle decision to adopt a more calculated and clinical method throughout the back half of 2015 inspired crucial victories over Fremantle, Sydney and Hawthorn as the Tigers climbed to fifth on the ladder following a disappointing 2-4 start.
The team had a significant increase in kicks, marks and kick-to-handball ratios after Round 6, playing on from just 26 per cent of all marks during the remainder of the season.
It was the lowest of any team in the competition and, although it meant the ball entered their attacking 50 less often, it did so with far more purpose and gave their forwards a greater ability to convert on the scoreboard.
The Round 6 defeat to North Melbourne in Hobart was the catalyst for such change. On that day, the Tigers conceded 92 of 109 points purely from turnovers in a 35-point loss to the Roos.
It was an erratic display, one that Hardwick simply couldn’t afford to repeat. And he didn’t.
Throughout the remainder of its 2015 campaign, Richmond conceded an average of just 35 points per game from turnovers — the least in the competition.
BUILDING THROUGH YARRAN
Game plans continually develop and, while Richmond will continue to try and control matches this season, they must find different ways to probe opposition defences.
According to Champion Data, the Tigers had a transition speed of 22.6 seconds following their change of tactics last season — the third-worst in the AFL.
Such a methodical approach was found out in the elimination final, with Richmond struggling to gain control of its clash against North Melbourne and, consequently, lacking any type of penetration moving forward.
Enter former Carlton speedster Chris Yarran.
There was a clear reason the Tigers targeted Yarran in last year’s trade period, eventually giving up pick No. 19 for the running half-back after weeks of negotiating.
The 25-year-old suits Richmond’s playing style thanks to his elite kicking ability, but also fills an open vacancy at Punt Rd due to his speed, dash and dare.
Champion Data stats show that Yarran has the highest kick-to-handball ratio of any player in the competition, with the second-best retention rate.
It perfectly suits the manner in which Hardwick’s men played last season, but his natural leg speed will also provide the Tigers with an X-factor where they can take the game on.
“He just kicks it so fantastically and he’s smart,” Yarran’s defensive teammate Bachar Houli said on Tuesday.
“Every time we transition the ball from the backline and we are both involved, I look at him and I just smile.
“I say, ‘This is us, bro. This is us this year’. We’re just trying to give him the confidence to say that we really, really need you this year.
“We just needed more flair and speedy drive from the backline and we feel like he’s got that. I’m not the quickest person. I can break a line or two and take half a bounce and I’m probably caught. But with Chris, if you give him the ball you are confident he will do something special.
“I’m really looking forward to his presence.”
HIT THE SCOREBOARD
Although Richmond’s slower ball movement in 2015 resulted in more control over matches and ultimately more wins, it limited the team’s output.
According to Champion Data, the Tigers scored only 89 points per game from Round 7 onwards — a worrying trend considering 15 of the past 16 premiers have averaged over 100 points per game.
Therefore, having a greater impact on the scoreboard is crucial in 2016. Though finding where those extra goals comes from would remain an issue for Hardwick.
Jack Riewoldt kicked 54 goals in 2015 and had an increased influence in terms of assisting and pressuring higher up the field. But a lack of support was telling at times.
Ty Vickery became a solid contributor, rated 15th for goals per game for key forwards by Champion Data and having the second-best kick rating in front of goal. But his consistency often let him down — as frequent frustration from Richmond supporters would suggest.
Recently re-signed forward Ben Lennon could also make a position in the forward line his own this year, with his marking ability a particular strength.
But perhaps the issue is not necessarily a personnel one.
Tigers players need to be freed up by the game plan before they can have more of an impact going forward.
Notably, Richmond scored more than 100 points in three of the first seven weeks of last season.
After their tactical tweak, they did so just three more times from the 16 remaining matches.
STAND UP TO BE COUNTED
The pressure resulting from Richmond’s downfalls can’t all be heaped on the doorstep of Hardwick.
At some stage, the club’s on-field leaders must stand up to be counted as well.
In last season’s elimination final, captain Trent Cotchin had just nine disposals. Brandon Ellis had only 10, while Shane Edwards had eight.
The trio copped a barrage of criticism in the wake of their disastrous performances, which overshadowed each of their good individual years.
http://www.stuff/news-story/55b5eb086193396aba30a98c994d88dc
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Another year of "winning a final" rubbish. Win a flag for stupid stuffs
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Another year of "winning a final" rubbish. Win a flag for stupid stuffs
Although I agree with you Angus, you need to win at least 3 finals to end up with a premiership. ;)
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Point 1. Turn up to ground at correct time with a full team and entourage
Point 2. Have a higher score than the opposition 5 minutes after full time(allowing for post siren shots)
Point 3. See Point 2
Point 4. See Point 3
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Point - 5 is playing Chaplin in the forward line.
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Our success in winning finals in 2001 and 1995 led to premierships and multiple years in finals......
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The RFC.
The rich kid who gets told he can do anything he wants by putting his mind to it.
l m a oooooooo
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It's the elephant in the room, we crack that first one and the shackles will be off.
It's just a matter of achieving the first one!
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It's the elephant in the room, we crack that first one and the shackles will be off.
It's just a matter of achieving the first one!
I actually think we can make top 4 in 2016
Reckon we will lose our first final, win our 2nd one (semi) to go through to a Prelim from their who knows :thumbsup :gotigers
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It's the elephant in the room, we crack that first one and the shackles will be off.
It's just a matter of achieving the first one!
I actually think we can make top 4 in 2016
Reckon we will lose our first final, win our 2nd one (semi) to go through to a Prelim from their who knows :thumbsup :gotigers
I like yr thinking WP, hopefully we get off to a fier this season
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Our success in winning finals in 2001 and 1995 led to premierships and multiple years in finals......
Na they led to the belief that the list was good enough when clearly it wasnt. We adopted short term strategies at the end of both 95 and 2001.Trading out of the 2001 draft was just about the biggest mistake we have made.
One saving grace this time around is we have utilised our first round picks every year under Hardwick it is the only place we have found decent players. in saying that we have utilised all first round picks since 2004.
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It's the elephant in the room, we crack that first one and the shackles will be off.
It's just a matter of achieving the first one!
I actually think we can make top 4 in 2016
Reckon we will lose our first final, win our 2nd one (semi) to go through to a Prelim from their who knows :thumbsup :gotigers
The flip side is imo anyway we could just as easily miss the 8 altogether. This is the enigma of our list.
If we thought last year was a tough year, a year where we had few long term injuries basically had all of our better players on the park most of the time, a season where we struck teams mostly at the right time that is either injured or out of form throw in the Improvement across the board of most clubs and our serious lack of depth in key areas and yep no one in their right mind would pencil a top 4 finish.
Imo at no stage in Hardwicks tenure have we shown ourselves to be a top 4 side
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It's the elephant in the room, we crack that first one and the shackles will be off.
It's just a matter of achieving the first one!
I actually think we can make top 4 in 2016
Reckon we will lose our first final, win our 2nd one (semi) to go through to a Prelim from their who knows :thumbsup :gotigers
The flip side is imo anyway we could just as easily miss the 8 altogether. This is the enigma of our list.
If we thought last year was a tough year, a year where we had few long term injuries basically had all of our better players on the park most of the time, a season where we struck teams mostly at the right time that is either injured or out of form throw in the Improvement across the board of most clubs and our serious lack of depth in key areas and yep no one in their right mind would pencil a top 4 finish.
Imo at no stage in Hardwicks tenure have we shown ourselves to be a top 4 side
Any side can miss the 8 this year including Hawthorn.
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It's the elephant in the room, we crack that first one and the shackles will be off.
It's just a matter of achieving the first one!
I actually think we can make top 4 in 2016
Reckon we will lose our first final, win our 2nd one (semi) to go through to a Prelim from their who knows :thumbsup :gotigers
The flip side is imo anyway we could just as easily miss the 8 altogether. This is the enigma of our list.
If we thought last year was a tough year, a year where we had few long term injuries basically had all of our better players on the park most of the time, a season where we struck teams mostly at the right time that is either injured or out of form throw in the Improvement across the board of most clubs and our serious lack of depth in key areas and yep no one in their right mind would pencil a top 4 finish.
Imo at no stage in Hardwicks tenure have we shown ourselves to be a top 4 side
Apart from last year when we finished four points off fourth spot and a couple games off first
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Yes but we didn't finish first or top 4 - so at the end of the day - SFW?
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I reckon we were one Houli brain fart away from a top four finish
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If my aunty
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I reckon we were one Houli brain fart away from a top four finish
True Chucky ...though not losing to crappy Melbourne would have also helped our cause....
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Our success in winning finals in 2001 and 1995 led to premierships and multiple years in finals......
in saying that we have utilised all first round picks since 2004.
JON?
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I reckon we were one Houli brain fart away from a top four finish
yep & if we won that game the sensational 2nd best coach in the land would not have made top 4
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Our success in winning finals in 2001 and 1995 led to premierships and multiple years in finals......
in saying that we have utilised all first round picks since 2004.
JON?
Yes including JON. He was a first round pick was he not.
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Our success in winning finals in 2001 and 1995 led to premierships and multiple years in finals......
in saying that we have utilised all first round picks since 2004.
JON?
Yes including JON. He was a first round pick was he not.
Sorry Claw, utilized to me meant choosing a decent player as opposed to actually using it.
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Utilise is not a descriptive verb. you can utilise something successfully, or unsuccessfully.
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Utilise is not a descriptive verb. you can utilise something successfully, or unsuccessfully.
I get it now, so we utilized our first round draft picks, at times poorly as evidenced by drafting JON.