Tigers to use dog of a night as a catalyst
4:00:02 PM Wed 5 April, 2006
Richmond coach Terry Wallace
richmondfc.com.au
It is an understatement to say that last Friday night was a horror start to the 2006 season for everyone who loves the Richmond Football Club.
But if we can step back for one moment and look at the bigger picture, I think we saw where our modern-day game is heading, with the manner and style in which the Western Bulldogs played. It was the sharpest opening round performance I have seen for some time. The Bulldogs, who have more than a dozen ‘ruck-rovers’ in their side ran, carried and used precision skill, hitting targets on the burst or lead, to do away with the conventional key-position forwards.
I am regularly asked by Richmond supporters about whether have we enough key- position players for the future. You wonder, however, whether the ‘gorilla’-type power forwards are going to be an absolute necessity. I think there will always be a place in our game for champion key forwards such as Warren Tredrea, Barry Hall and Matthew Pavlich, but in recent times even these guys have become more athletic.
Last year, Western Bulldogs young gun, Robert Murphy, who is built like a stick, took the third most marks in the AFL playing virtually as a centre half-forward.
Having had first-hand experience at the Bulldogs, I am fully aware that their process of development has taken about seven years, and along the way doubts some doubted whether they would ever get there.
When you consider that St Kilda also took some beltings before re-establishing itself as a force, and even the Brisbane Lions were non-competitive at times when a young Nigel Lappin and Jason Akermanis were trying to get games under their belts, it shows that restructuring can be a difficult, frustrating task.
But it’s clear that you must have a direction and work hard to achieve your goals. That has been our strategy at Tigerland over the past 18 months. We also believe if we get enough young, skilful running players working together, that we, too, can have a running machine for the future. You can rest assured that we will not be reactive and change our direction . . .
Last year, I was quoted in the Herald-Sun as saying the Western Bulldogs were about four years ahead of us in their development – and that was very evident last Friday night. This, of course, does not excuse our inept performance, and I really feel for our supporters and those who work day in and day out at the Club, only to finish with that type of result.
We must, however, learn a lesson from our opposition in that the only pathway to sustained success is to develop your own and enjoy watching them mature into quality players as time goes by.
When I look at our long-term future, I see running players such as Casserly, Deledio, Hartigan, Jackson, Meyer, Oakley-Nicholls, Polo, Raines, Roach, Tambling and White, with our key position players of the future being Hughes, Limbach, McGuane, Pattison, Schulz and Thursfield. Some of these may currently seem too slightly built, but with body development, they can be the athletic key-position players essential for success in the modern game.
This is just a small snap-shot into the future, and Tiger supporters will probably say, that is all well and good, but what about the team’s prospects over the next few weeks? And, they are absolutely right to pose such a question.
When a team performs as we did last week, you lose a lot of ground with everyone involved in the game. Unfortunately, we can’t turn back the clock, but it is our effort and intensity over the next month that will be scrutinised by all – in particular, passionate Tiger supporters.
I truly believe that all our players are hurting from that performance. The only way to show it, however, is with a strong presence on the field of battle . . .
http://richmondfc.com.au/default.asp?pg=news&spg=display&articleid=255127
