Which is the real Richmond? David King and Jay Clark debate the Tigers’ 2015 prospects in the mini podcast below:
AUDIO:
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2015 Richmond: Tigers must start well to take bigger finals leapDavid King
Herald-Sun
March 14, 2015RELAX, Tiger fans. Just relax.
Last season’s nine straight wins to finish the home-and-away year was extraordinary.
Brilliant in fact, but was that the real Richmond?
Or was it the first half of the season’s hapless version in the absence of Ivan Maric and Alex Rance, who showed their importance to the Tiger structure.
Richmond players were too public on what was happening inside their team’s four walls and what the issues were.
Was it the Jack Riewoldt version which blamed the attempted mimicking of Hawthorn?
Or Maric’s thoughts that Richmond allowed poor training standards and did not genuinely challenge each other internally?
The players made too many excuses but learnt some important football lessons that have served them well this pre-season.
The Tigers and coach Damien Hardwick went exclusively back to youth in the draft — all seven picks are youngsters.
Richmond played the Moneyball strategy during the compromised drafting period but have trusted the recruiting department to obtain more talent than just the first-round bona fide AFL player.
Francis Jackson needs to strike gold with second, third and fourth-round picks who become significant contributors.
Brett Deledio, Trent Cotchin and Dustin Martin are very good players but would they be selected among the league’s best 20 or 30 midfielders?
If they can emulate Joel Selwood, Stevie Johnson and James Bartel as consistent on-field performers and leaders, then the Tigers will be entrenched in the top eight or, even better, top four.
Cotchin is my Brownlow selection for 2015 after his strongest pre-season to date but the improvement at Tigerland needs to come from those we already know.
Brandon Ellis and Nick Vlastuin, who between them have 100 games, must elevate their output to become staples of the midfield core.
Nathan Gordon, Ben Lennon and Ben Griffiths have all impressed during the summer and should have more impact.
At times, the Tigers had large numbers in the recovery and rehabilitation group which was a concern.
Hardwick withstood enormous external pressure early in 2014 and that cannot be replicated this year.
If the Tigers are to be finals material, they must start well given the favourable fixture, playing four teams that missed the eight in 2014.
I expect another year of consolidation, kickstarted by the signing of Dustin Martin to 2017.
If this year’s leadership by Cotchin, Deledio and Riewoldt matches what chief executive Brendon Gale exhibited off-field last season, exciting times are on the Punt Road horizon.
I like the patience at Richmond to build a foundation before a 2016 assault.
DID YOU KNOW?The Tigers ranked 11th for points differential from stoppages in their first 14 games last
year, but jumped to fifth in the next nine rounds.
http://www.news.com.au/national/richmond-tigers-must-start-well-to-take-bigger-finals-leap/story-e6frfkp9-1227261083774
