One-Eyed Richmond Forum
Football => Richmond Rant => Topic started by: one-eyed on June 30, 2020, 12:24:03 PM
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Some Tigers a 'genuine chance' to opt out of hubs, says Cotchin
Jon Pierik
The Age
30 June 2020
Richmond captain Trent Cotchin has conceded there is a "genuine chance" he will have teammates who will opt not to go into an interstate hub should the Tigers be required to in a season of uncertainty.
As the AFL grapples with the ongoing fallout of COVID-19, the Tigers have already had their round five clash against the West Coast Eagles on the Gold Coast postponed because of the Queensland government's concerns over Victoria's rising coronavirus infection rates and will instead face Melbourne at the MCG on Sunday.
The AFL may need to send teams away – two per destination – for weeks on end, creating mini-hubs across Australia, to ensure an already truncated home-and-away season is completed.
This will mean players could have to spend significant time away from their families, and Cotchin, with a young family of his own, said this could mean some opted not to go.
"I think it's going to be a challenge. Every person in our footy club – no doubt our footy club will be there and will want to partake and do what we need to do to continue the season," he said.
"But there are going to be a number of individual cases and scenarios, we have got guys with pending babies, other challenges, things going on in their life that we will have to just manage accordingly and that will be something that we manage inside the club to make sure everyone is comfortable and happy.
"I think the most important thing is that our partners feel supported and have the required help that is going to be needed with players and coaches and staff going to be away for a period of time."
Asked is this meant there could be players who opted out, he replied: "That would be a genuine chance".
https://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/sport/afl/some-tigers-a-genuine-chance-to-opt-out-of-hubs-says-cotchin-20200630-p557gw.html
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Some players have opted out of the Melbourne hub already
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Depending on which players it could well be a blessing in disguise... :shh
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I think RFC would be more than happy if the pin was pulled in 2020. I love my footy but I must say I wouldn't care in the slightest right now.
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Harden up Vic AFL players
Josh Garlepp
PerthNow
June 30, 2020 3:51PM
West Coast and Fremantle are in their fourth week in the Queensland hub away from families, friends and the normality of Perth - so why is the same so hard for Victorian AFL players?
All available Dockers and Eagles made the journey to the Gold Coast but today Richmond captain Trent Cotchin admitted there was a “genuine chance” some Tigers would find the hub life too demanding and wouldn’t take part.
The West Australian’s chief footy writer Mark Duffield and the Sunday Times editor Glen Quartermain responded to Cotchin’s comments and argued Victorian players owe their interstate counterparts for the sacrifices that allowed the AFL restart to take place.
“I see Trent Cotchin this morning saying Richmond are no certainty to have their first team on the road if they go into the hub, because players don’t want to leave their family units,” Quartermain said.
“That’s their call, they’re entitled to do that, we’ve said that all along
“But I think Trent should probably realise that there’s been a couple WA clubs and a couple South Australian clubs that have been doing that for some time.”
“What Trent needs to realise is by the time Fremantle gets back to Perth Freo will have played 6 games, zero at home. West Coast will have played just one at home.” Duffield replied
The Eagles and Dockers are winless since entering the Queensland hub but one team that has thrived in unfamiliar surroundings are top-of-the-ladder Port Adelaide.
The pair agreed in this week’s episode of the Duff and Quarters podcast that the Power were clearly taking advantage of the hand dealt by the COVID-19 outbreak.
“What we see from Port Adelaide is a sense of opportunity,” Duffield said.
“At the end of this weird season there is going to be a premier.
“I think Port have looked at it and said well it’s better us than someone else.
“I wonder if the significance of the early-season struggles of West Coast and Richmond is that they have won flags recently and maybe that extra drive and hunger just isn’t there at the moment.”
https://www.perthnow.com.au/sport/afl/duff-and-quarters-victorians-clubs-need-to-harden-up-and-get-used-to-hub-life-ng-b881594435z
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JACK BACKS CAPTAIN COTCHIN’S COMMENTS
Star Richmond forward Jack Riewoldt has thrown his support behind captain Trent Cotchin over his comments around the hesitancy of some Tigers players to relocate to a hub.
Cotchin, who has a young family, emphasised the Tigers were prepared to head to a hub but said there was a “genuine chance” some teammates wouldn’t relocate indefinitely due to family reasons. The Herald Sun reported expectant parents Shane Edwards and Bachar Houli were weighing up whether to join a hub and leave their partners at home.
Riewoldt said it was “inevitable” Victorian teams would have to move interstate at some stage to keep the season alive.
Asked if he’d be personally prepared to go into a hub indefinitely, Riewoldt told Fox Footy’s AFL 360: “I’m not going to speculate on what the hub looks like because you don’t want to put yourself in concrete with an answer. But it’s something that obviously has to be weighed up by every player in every team about whether their current situation allows them to be away from family, which is the biggest issue, and personal issues as well that players find themselves in as everyday people do.
“Every case is judged on its merits, but I think the fact that every club is strong in its support to keep the season continually moving on shows that all 18 clubs are pulling in the same direction.”
Riewoldt said no club would “hold a gun to any player’s head to say ‘you have to play’ if there is a personal reason”.
“No organisation is going to tell someone to go away from their family if they’ve got an impending birth or a personal matter like that,” he said.
“We’re all probably around that time where guys are starting families and things bob up here and there that you’ve got to take into account. For us, family comes first, players’ welfare comes first – and then football is after that.”
Source: Foxsports. (https://www.foxsports.com.au/afl/afl-news-live-updates-steele-sidebottom-fixture-teams-collingwood-covid19-protocols-breach/news-story/7ced67399ecb7f803846e9d1089f25c3)
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So who are our players with kids on the way?
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So who are our players with kids on the way?
No idea of those with kids on the way but Cotch and Brooke have 3 kids under 5 while Jack and Carly's daughter Poppy is just over one year old. Bachar said publicly this time last year that his family comes first ahead of footy. Grimesy and Elisha got married late last year (is a baby now on the way?). Pickett of course has kids as we saw post-final siren on GF day.
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So who are our players with kids on the way?
Read the Article about Jack on 360. It quotes the ever reputable HUN that there are 2 bubs on the way
Cotchin, who has a young family, emphasised the Tigers were prepared to head to a hub but said there was a “genuine chance” some teammates wouldn’t relocate indefinitely due to family reasons. The Herald Sun reported expectant parents Shane Edwards and Bachar Houli were weighing up whether to join a hub and leave their partners at home.
So it has to be right; right? ;D
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Sorry didn't read the article just watched 360 last night when Jack said a few players were expecting kids but didn't name them... don't read the HUN ..no Murdoch fan here....actually read The Age more...though these days that's mainly because it isn't behind a paywall.... :shh
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Players who live in 'hotspot' postcodes have to move out tonight to a teammate's place or a hotel otherwise they won't be able to travel to and play in NSW. We're one of the 7 Vic clubs affected.
https://www.sen.com.au/news/2020/07/01/afl-players-in-victorias-covid-hotspots-to-leave-amid-nsw-jail-threat/
https://www.stuff-but-all-10-may-be-forced-interstate/news-story/08d474f09386a01a18ad64ed3ce195e5
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So who are our players with kids on the way?
Edwards is one that has been mentioned previously, due in August IIRC
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Players who live in 'hotspot' postcodes have to move out tonight to a teammate's place or a hotel otherwise they won't be able to travel to and play in NSW. We're one of the 7 Vic clubs affected.
https://www.sen.com.au/news/2020/07/01/afl-players-in-victorias-covid-hotspots-to-leave-amid-nsw-jail-threat/
https://www.stuff-but-all-10-may-be-forced-interstate/news-story/08d474f09386a01a18ad64ed3ce195e5
Tom Morris just said on AFL Tonight that we're one of three Vic clubs who aren't affected...Melbourne & Hawthorn were the other two.... :huh
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Players who live in 'hotspot' postcodes have to move out tonight to a teammate's place or a hotel otherwise they won't be able to travel to and play in NSW. We're one of the 7 Vic clubs affected.
https://www.sen.com.au/news/2020/07/01/afl-players-in-victorias-covid-hotspots-to-leave-amid-nsw-jail-threat/
https://www.stuff-but-all-10-may-be-forced-interstate/news-story/08d474f09386a01a18ad64ed3ce195e5
Tom Morris just said on AFL Tonight that we're one of three Vic clubs who aren't affected...Melbourne & Hawthorn were the other two.... :huh
Geelong is the third club along with Melbourne & Hawthorn that aren't affected according to The Age as well as Caro and Eddie on Footy Classified tonight.
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Caro on Footy Classified criticised Cotch & Jack for their public statements about the hubs saying it reflected Richmond's poor attitude and results so far this year. They compared them to Lachie Neale & Travis Boak who said they are happy to do what is required to give back to the game and saw the hubs as an opportunity. Lyon said if there's a baby due that's fair enough but "other challenges in life" doesn't wash.
Caro said Richmond's 100k members who stuck by the club this year and didn't ask for refunds would be disappointed hearing from their captain and vice-captain that their team isn't fully committed to 2020.
Ross Lyon thought initially we would be one of the sides that would handle the challenges this year best but it hasn't happened. Port and Brisbane are desperate for a flag but both Richmond & West Coast players have medals in their pocket. It may be subconsious and you don't realise you're doing it but it's there.
Lloyd said Cotch and Jack as fathers may have been speaking from their personal point of view whereas a younger player like Tom Lynch may say he is all for the hubs. However, as leaders Cotch & Jack shouldn't have said it publicly as it ends up a poor message to their younger teammates.
So who are our players with kids on the way?
Edwards is one that has been mentioned previously, due in August IIRC
Caro mentioned tonight Edwards as having a baby due as well as Houli's wife giving birth as being "imminent".
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Tigers stars' 'worrying' hub mindset questioned
By Chris De Silva
Nine
2 July 2020
Veteran AFL columnist Caroline Wilson has questioned the desire and mindset of reigning premiers Richmond after comments made by captain Trent Cotchin and fellow veteran Jack Riewoldt about players attending hubs.
With the prospect of Victorian sides having to base themselves interstate for extended periods becoming increasingly likely amid the state's rising COVID-19 numbers, Cotchin and Riewoldt said the club would understand if certain players opted out.
"No doubt our footy club will be there and want to partake and do what we need to do to continue the season, but there's going to be a number of different individual cases or scenarios," Cotchin said.
"We've got guys with pending babies and other challenges or things going on in their life that we'll just have to manage accordingly."
"Every case has got to be judged on its merit. The club is not going to hold a gun to any player's head to say you have to play if there is a personal reason," Riewoldt added.
"For us, family comes first, players' welfare comes first and then football is after that."
However, Wilson, a Richmond Football Club member, said she was "disappointed" by the attitude of the reigning premiers.
"There are some clubs who have been outliers in this and it saddens me to say that Richmond has been an outlier in terms of attitude going forward," she told Footy Classified.
"Richmond have probably been the most disappointing in terms of their attitude.
"Richmond is a club that went into this season believing they were every chance of winning another premiership.
"I get the feeling they feel they've lost their competitive advantage. They've been really disappointed about the potential cuts to the football department soft cap, the players have come back in the wrong mindset.
"I watch those comments and it pains me to say this because Trent Cotchin and Jack Riewoldt have been champions at that football club for many years, I'm a Richmond member who's stuck around despite financial hardship, and I hear my captain say look I'm not sure everyone wants to go, that makes me worry about my football club."
Wilson also raised the question as to whether the playing group had been given too much autonomy in the absence of club CEO Brendon Gale and GM Neil Balme in the Tigers' COVID-19 approved "bubble".
"I don't think that sends a great message to the entire competition and I just wonder, is the tail wagging the dog a bit there?" she asked.
"The players seem to have been so empowered. I know Damien Hardwick is involved, but there's no Brendan Gale, no Neil Balme in their bubble at the moment."
Wilson's view on the comments made by Cotchin and Riewoldt were backed up by former Fremantle and St Kilda coach Ross Lyon.
While he believed that staying back for a childbirth was a valid reason, Lyon suggested other more vague reasons would raise questions in his eyes.
"The problem with that is they're the leaders of the football club," he told Footy Classified.
"They're the absolute pinnacle of their team and I think the birth (of a child) is okay, but when you say other challenges, it's a stark difference in the languages (between Richmond and younger rivals).
"Two teams that are dog-hungry, haven't got a premiership in the back pocket, they've got two, you'd like to see some different language publicly.
"Support the partner's baby, that's no problem, but when you throw it wider than that (it's a problem).
"At the end of the day, they're young men and this is an incredibly unique situation."
https://wwos.nine.com.au/afl/caroline-wilson-questions-richmond-mindset-after-trent-cotchin-jack-riewoldt-hub-comments/8f0c56f2-3958-46ed-b6d6-74e4ef4adc3b
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Lyon points out the irony in Richmond criticism
By Nic Negrepontis
SEN
2 July 2020
Garry Lyon believes Caroline Wilson is criticising Richmond for the exact thing people were lauding them for in their premiership years.
“Caroline was criticising them based on the comments made by Riewoldt and Cotchin,” he told SEN Breakfast.
“The comments made by Riewoldt and Cotchin were about empathy, caring, family, all the things that when they’re winning and winning premierships we celebrate and put up on a pedestal.
“We say, ‘what about this club. How good are they for bucking the trend of footy being their whole lives, they’ve got a much more balanced view and they laugh and they joke at half-time’.
“Let me tell you this. If they continue to run out and laugh and joke as they have been doing and they don’t start winning, then you watch the criticism come for that.
“Can you see what I’m saying here? They are celebrated and lauded as being league leaders in empowerment and the benchmark in terms of player power and responsibility and ownership.
“Now they’re losing and ‘the players are too empowered’. Winning papers over everything.”
Tim Watson believes players’ attitudes towards the game can change once they have experienced success.
“I don’t think (Richmond is) too empowered. I think the answer to all this is the fact that they have two premiership medallions in the last three years,” he said.
“Your attitudes to the game do change having had success and it can change for a small period of time and you need to correct it or it can last for a long period of time and therefore you don’t get back and have success again.
“There are players out there who are hungry as hell to have success and would do anything to have success and then once they’ve had success and experienced what they have, they’ve got a different view on life and the game.”
https://www.sen.com.au/news/2020/07/01/can-you-see-what-im-saying-here-lyon-points-out-the-irony-in-richmond/
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Hoping a few regulars actually don't go to the hub....wanna start seeing the kids ..stuff the Covid Cup asterisk flag that will probably be cancelled anyway..... :shh
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Hoping a few regulars actually don't go to the hub....wanna start seeing the kids ..stuff the Covid Cup asterisk flag that will probably be cancelled anyway..... :shh
Happy to see Riewoldt, Houli and Lambert all elect to stay home. It would be great to see CCJ, DES and Dow take their place
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I wouldn’t mind if the team just played the youngsters.
Like to see more of Balta play a few games and see how he goes.
Markov off half back. Chol & Naish given a few games in a row.
Maybe rotate some of senior guys in every three games.
B Nick Vlastuin, Dylan Grimes, Noah Balta
HB,Oleg Markov, Nathan Broad, Jayden Short
C, Patrick Naish, Dion Prestia, Shai Bolton
HF Jack Higgins, Mabior Chol, Jason Castagna
F Tom Lynch, Dustin Martin, Josh Caddy
Foll Toby Nankervis, Kane Lambert. Marlion Pickett
I/C (from) Daniel Rioli, Liam Baker, Jake Aarts, Jack Graham, Ryan Garthwaite.
Derek Egglomesse- Smith, Thomson Dow. CCJ Kamdyn McIntosh
On rotation or over 30’s just rested.
dads army; Trent Cotchin, Jack Riewoldt. Bachar Houli, Shane Edwards.
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Given the season has another 2 weeks or so before they have to shut it down it makes no sense that the young guys aren’t getting games to see who we keep and who we move on next year.
I just wonder if Balmey being on job keeper is impacting the quality of the footy decisions at the club
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I just wonder if Balmey being on job keeper is impacting the quality of the footy decisions at the club
I know Balmey isn't working on site at the club, not many are apart from the footy dept. But don't think he is on job keeper :laugh:
Everyone knows that pre this pandemic his role at the club had changed, that is he was no longer head of footy. Has broader role these days.
Would still think he would be available to anyone in the footy depts at anytime.
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Hub could help stuttering Tigers
Russell Gould
News.com.au
3 July 2020
Richmond coach Damien Hardwick can’t guarantee all his players will join an interstate hub but said he was “dying to get there”.
The Tigers are set to be one of six teams relocating to Queensland for the remainder of the AFL season.
Tigers captain Trent Cotchin declared earlier this week there was a “genuine chance” some of his teammates wouldn’t travel when the team was inevitably forced intestate for a period of time, citing family reasons as potential issue.
Hardwick said Richmond was a family club, and while “the club” would travel, individual discussions could be required for some.
But the two-time premiership coach said the up and down 2020 season would be one of “acceptance” and the Tigers were happy to accept whatever was required of them.
“Acceptance is a big thing. This season, overall, has been a season of distractions,“ Hardwick said on Friday.
“It‘s the side that best gets a handle on those distractions and realises they are what they are (that) is going to flourish.
“At the moment, I‘d probably say, ’Are we handling it to the best of our ability?’. We’re going OK. Could we handle it better? Absolutely. But a lot of clubs are in the same boat.
“All I will say is we‘re dying to get there (to the interstate hub) and we’re dying to play.”
“The club will go. Individual decisions will be made along the way.”
Hardwick said a move could even help the spluttering Tigers who have lost the past two games going in to an “important” clash with Melbourne on Sunday.
“I think it’s going to be a blessing. We are strong on connection at this footy club and this is going to give us an opportunity to connect,” he said.
“One thing we have struggled with is we have been separated by protocols (at training). We are happy to go and going take as great a side as possible and win as many games as we can.
“Get me on the plane.”
https://www.news.com.au/sport/afl/richmond/afl-2020-richmond-could-reignite-season-in-sunshine-state-hub/news-story/527401ee04df12a2c1d9ae236c81b345