Burning Questions for 2016: Richmond (Sportsfan/afl)

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Burning Questions for 2016: Richmond

Sportsfan/AFL
March 10, 2016

Despite all the great wins in 2015 that showed Richmond's best was good enough to beat anyone, they again failed to deliver when the real pressure was on, putting in a poor performance in their elimination final loss to North Melbourne.

Age and a lack of experience can no longer be used as excuses for not achieving. This Tigers list has the perfect mix of youth, games played and talent to go all the way but if they are going to break their lengthy success drought, they better do it soon.

The midfield and forward line are still areas where Richmond can improve, and they also need to lift their tackling and contested ball work if they are going to stand up in September. This season, and 2017 and 2018, will probably be the extent of their premiership window. Can they go all the way?

Will the Tigers find more grunt in the midfield?
Richmond were comprehensively outplayed in the contest against the Kangaroos, with leading midfielders Trent Cotchin, Brandon Ellis and even Brett Deledio going missing on that day. The club has tried to address this issue by recruiting a bit of extra midfield hardness, with ex-GWS player Jacob Townsend sure to help make life easier for Cotchin, Miles, Deledio, Martin and co. The Tigers have more on-ball depth than perhaps ever before, with players such as Taylor Hunt, Corey Ellis and Kamdyn McIntosh all providing valuable contributions at times in 2015. They will need to find a little more consistency, however. Shaun Grigg's switch to a run-with defensive midfield role was a winner but he will also need to back it up if Richmond are to match the best midfields. Having Reece Conca fit will help bolster the team's stocks too.

Where should Yarran play?
Many assume Yarran should play in the position he has for the last few years, as a running defender. But his poor year for Carlton in 2015 in the role, due to a combination of attitude and dreadful match-ups, plus his uncanny skills around goal, suggest he could be more valuable to the Tigers as a small forward. Shane Edwards has improved there but missed a sizeable chunk of 2015 due to injury, and it showed on the scoreboard. Richmond simply don't kick enough goals often enough and lack bite and the ability to keep the ball in their forward 50 once the ball hits the ground. The 25-year-old looks just the player, if motivated, to give them the scoring x-factor and ground-level fight they've been missing.

What happens if Ivan Maric gets injured?
This is a glaring weakness, with the Tigers still a long way from having a reliable back-up for the big man. Shaun Hampson showed in 2015 he can fill-in as a tap ruckman but doesn't have the durability or the around-the-ground marking skills to be relied on, and Tyrone Vickery is not a ruckman at all. Ben Griffiths, who, like Hampson, has trouble staying on the park, could be the answer, and with Liam McBean a possibility to get games despite not playing a single NAB Challenge fixture, Griffiths may be better suited as the team's mobile second ruckman. Richmond have picked up a couple of young rookie ruckmen in Ivan Soldo and Mabior Chol, but they aren't exactly going to be the answer for at least a couple of years. In reality, the Tigers are one big injury to Maric away from being more or less without a ruckman. That's not going to get them far in September.

Can they go all the way?
Three consecutive elimination final losses mean, despite what Hardwick and his players say publicly, that they have a sizeable monkey on their back. Their best bet of getting over it is to finish in the top four and go into the finals without the pressure of past failures and a do-or-die first final weighing on them. That means they need to find an extra win or two in 2016. The key is their start to the year. Richmond cannot afford to drop games they should win early against mid-level and battling teams and spend the second half of the year chasing a top-four spot. Matches against Collingwood, Melbourne and Port Adelaide in the first six rounds simply must be won.

Overall, the Tigers have a pretty tough draw, with eight six-day breaks and repeat match-ups against Sydney, Hawthorn, the Magpies and Giants – that's potentially four 2016 finalists – although the one bonus is they get to play Essendon a second time as well. They have five trips interstate. The key period in their season is rounds seven to 11, when they play the Hawks, Swans, Dockers (away), Bombers and North Melbourne. They will need to win at least three of those if they are going to make the top four.

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