Is it Tiger Time?
The List Manager
with Terry Wallace
Inside Football
Wednesday, March 13, 2013
Does Richmond have what it takes to make that long-anticipated September appearance?
HAVING spent five years at Punt Road, I am aware as much as anyone how desperate the long-suffering Tiger supporters are to finally see some September action.
At times the Tiger fans struggle to believe, as they have had their hopes crushed too many times in the past three decades.
Those who analyse the game closely have little doubt that the Richmond Football Club's 2012 data was far superior to their ladder position and sets them as statistically the most logical team to improve in 2013.
AFL top five in Champion Data statistics such as time in forward half and clearance differential shows that he Tigers can compete with the best, as they showed last year in defeating both grand finalists, Sydney and Hawthorn.
The question is, have they the attitude, consistency and maturity to finally take the next step?
I decided to travel down to Launceston last weekend to take a look first-hand at the Tigers in action and make my own assessments.
SHARP OUT OF THE BLOCKS
The Richmond team went down to Tassie with almost a full dress-rehearsal team with the exception of one or two one or two players such as Shane Tuck.
In the opening 20 minutes I couldn't have been more impressed. The team was sharp, aggressive and locked the ball in the front half of the ground, squeezing and pressurising their Hawthorn opponents.
They appeared to be in total control and set for a comfortable victory.
MAKING THE EASY DIFFICULT
As good as the Tigers were early they allowed a very young Hawthorn outfit back into the game on several occasions throughout the afternoon.
There were still times that they looked like the 2012 Tiger version as they wasted opportunities and made unnecessary and fundamental errors.
Well aware that we are still in March you can allow for these, but in the past Richmond has lost unloseable games by making the easy look difficult.
THE STAR FACTOR
By the time Jack Riewoldt had kicked the winning goal-after the final siren, I sat back and reflected on Richmond's performance over the previous few hours.
The team had produced some solid contributors but in the end it was still left up to their stars to get them over the line.
Brett Deledio was comfortably their best, and captain Trent Cotchin also led from the front.
These two along with Riewoldt, who kicked three goals but didn't have a huge day, are simply relied upon far too much. Until some of the next-tier players start taking more responsibility it is tough to guarantee a Richmond resurgence.
TWO KEYS TO SUCCESS
Many second-tier players need to step up but I believe two in particular hold the key to how successful the Tigers can be in 2013.
Dustin Martin: In 2010 this young star debuted and took the AFL by storm. After 12 months in the game many saw him as the premier rising star of the competition and internally at Punt Road they believed they had a contest for the new star of the club between Cotchin and Martin.
Last year he was a very average performer finishing in equal 10th place in the Jack Dyer Medal for Richmond's best and fairest. With his ability he should never be outside the top five.
After a very good pre-season and pleasing practice match series, I watched him closely on Saturday.
He was a serviceable performer in the game but to my eyes he still plays as a burst player, which means he is dynamic when around the ball but still does not use endurance to hunt the ball like, the best midfielders in the AFL.
If the Tigers are to have success, Martin is a key element.
Tyrone Vickery: As a first-round draft selection and a player who stands 200cm and nearly 100kg, expectation should be high on this player.
In 2011 he took some big strides and even had club stalwart Kevin Bartlett singing his praises going in to the 2012 season.
Last year there were two schools of thought relating to Vickery, the first being that injuries wrecked his season, while others believed that le simply didn't come on in the games he played.
On the weekend he led out early and took two strong marks and kicked a goal. My initial thought was that this was exactly what the Tigers fans were looking for.
Unfortunately those were the only two marks we saw for the day and the big man finished with a miserly three kicks for the match. Promise and potential are dirty words in the football industry. They have been said many times about Vickery.
He is a player that was luckier than most in that he got to his club of choice but now is the time to repay the Tigers.
SENIOR RECRUITS
The Richmond recruiting department has had a great run with recycled players in the past three years. The club secured the services of Blair Hartley from Port Adelaide who specifically works in this area, and along with recruiter Francis Jackson they have added some excellent depth from opposition clubs.
In 2013 the club's policy was clearly that they were ready for finals football and this was franked by the recruiting department securing the services of six senior recruits through free agency, trade, draft and rookie positions.
Troy Chaplin, 27, Aaron Edwards, 29, Chris Knights, 26, Sam Lonergan, 26, Ricky Petterd, 24, and Orren Stephenson, 30, are all very senior in AFL terms.
These players are certainly nowhere near over the hill but have questions to answer coming to a new club.
Undoubtedly they have been obtained for depth purposes but can they actually impact as Ivan Maric, Bachar Houli and Shaun Grigg have in recent seasons?
Chaplin on Saturday appeared to fit in perfectly and will be a great asset once he gets footy fit, which is still a few weeks away.
His senior experience in the backline was missed immediately after he went off at half time.
Of the other five there is no guarantee that any are certain to be in the best 22 come the first round, from what I have seen.
CARLTON ROUND 1
Having experienced this game first hand, the build-up will be huge but this time the stakes are even higher as both sets of supporters truly expect to play finals in 2013.
I think the Tigers are ready to take the leap of faith into the top eight and it would be a massive hurdle cleared if they could overcome Carlton first up.
