Richmond’s form has plummeted so far this season and there are several reasons whyRebecca Williams
Herald-Sun
5 July 2020They mauled GWS to win their second flag in three years and were the hot favourites to do it again in 2020. But so far Richmond’s form has eyebrows raised for all the wrong reasons. Why the have the Tigers lost their roar.
It didn’t take long for talk of a dynasty to emerge after Richmond mauled Greater Western Sydney to seize its second flag in three years last season.
If the Tigers could clinch another premiership in 2020, they could lay claim to a place alongside the great sides of this century — Brisbane Lions and Hawthorn with their three-peats and Geelong which bagged three flags in five years.
Now, not even five rounds into the season, in which they started as $4.50 favourites for the premiership, there’s no longer talk of a dynasty but whether the out-of-form Tigers can salvage their year.
It started well enough with a 24-point win over Carlton before the shutdown came. Since then, the Tigers have played out a low-scoring draw with Collingwood and suffered big losses to Hawthorn and St Kilda.
With just one win from the opening four rounds, coach Damien Hardwick admitted the team’s season was at the crossroads. So, what has gone wrong to the once fearsome premiers?
Herald Sun football analyst and Collingwood premiership player Mick McGuane said the clear issue he identified was the Tigers had lost their “manic” pressure.
“It’s all about their effort and their pressure,” McGuane said.
“I can’t see the manic approach at the game Richmond has been renowned for right across the board.
“They have created this picking and choosing mentality, some are going, some aren’t. They are just not on the same page when it comes to their work off the ball.
“Purely their manic approach to apply pressure … hasn’t been where it was in their premiership years.
“Their ground-ball hunt hasn’t been as prevalent as it has been in previous years. Guys like (Jason) Castagna … (Daniel) Rioli and (Kane) Lambert when he’s forward. You used to see this manic, on-cue chaos at the loose footy, numbers at the ball. I don’t see that as lively, as energetic as it was.”
Fox Footy analyst and one-time Richmond assistant coach David King said opposition teams had figured out a way to shut down the Tigers’ strengths.
The dual Kangaroos premiership player said teams were defending the Tigers differently and not allowing them to attack on their terms.
“The overall feeling is they are being forced to win in other ways,” King said.
“Their forward handball game has been slowed down by teams guarding the front exit of stoppage so they can’t get that explosive wave-running going.
“Teams are defending them differently and they are focusing on stopping their forward handball game. That’s it in a nutshell.
“You’re under the microscope for a long time when you’re a good team.”
COMING UP SHORTKing said the shortened quarters and longer breaks in this year’s coronavirus-hit season had also hurt the Tigers.
The reduced game-time has meant the Tigers have not been able to take advantage of their “gut-running” abilities late in quarters against a fatigued opponent.
“Shorter quarters have hurt them because they are a gut-running team that are pretty small. They’re not one of those teams that has two ruckmen and they tower with a third tall forward or anything like that,” King said.
“They are built on what their forward flankers can do and how hard they cover the ground, getting up the ground and getting back at speed.
“But that hasn’t worked because fatigue hasn’t been part of the game this year at all, given the longer breaks between goals, the longer gaps between quarters and only 16 minutes of actual playing time per quarter.
“They haven’t had teams on the rack physically. I feel like that has hurt them a little bit.”
NO CROWD, NO ROARRichmond is a club used to playing in front of a raucous Tiger army at the MCG. It seems the absence of fans this year has hit the Tigers harder than any team.
Captain Trent Cotchin admitted this week the absence of crowds had been hard to adjust to.
“We’re really blessed at the Richmond footy club to have such an amazing support,” he said.
“In reality to a lot of different clubs, we aren’t quite used to having no noise in the stadium. You have to create your own energy.”
King had no doubt it had been a factor in the team’s performance.
“These guys, a lot of them, they are entertainers. Dusty (Martin) is an entertainer,” King said.
“Their vehicle is football, but really they love the roar and they love the reinforcement of positive actions from their fans. And the Richmond faithful is as loud as anyone.
“I do think that is a factor, but it may not come back all year so they may have to find a different way.”
Sports psychologist Jeff Bond, who previously worked at Punt Rd, said it was clear the Tigers had been thrown by the empty stadiums and needed to find an “internal motivation”.
“In a logical world, you would say lack of crowds should affect all teams. If it does affect all teams why is Richmond worse than any other?” Bond said.
“If you look at Richmond, they are used to playing in front of big crowds and they are used to the big stage and they perform well on the big stage.
“But if they are really motivated for all the right things, they will be playing for the quality of their execution and whether there is a crowd there or not shouldn’t matter.
“There is a responsibility on the senior players to say, ‘Boys, we’re not just here for the crowd, we’re here to play our game. Here to win, but we do that by playing our game.”
WHAT THE STATS SAYTurnover trouble.
Exclusive Champion Data stats reveal the problems with the Tigers’ vaunted turnover game.
The premiers have slipped from first last year to 10th in 2020 for points from turnovers.
The Tigers have also fallen to 15th this season for their conversion from forward-half intercepts after being ranked second last year.
“Turnover game has been the Tigers’ backbone,” one Champion Data analyst said.
“(They are) still able to win the ball back in their forward half, but they are struggling to convert those intercepts.”
McGuane added: “They are the best turnover team in the comp when they are (hunting),” he said.
“But you only force turnover on the back of good pressure.”
Their execution inside forward 50 has been sloppy, ranked 15th in that area of the ground.
Champion Data has also identified the Richmond players who have experienced a “decline” in their performance ranking this year.
Sydney Stack, Jack Riewoldt, Kane Lambert and Jason Castagna have all suffered a significant drop in their ranking points from last season.
Stack, omitted for this round, and Riewoldt have had the biggest fall, down by 31 and 28 ranking points respectively from 2019.
In contrast, Cotchin and Jayden Short have been two big ranking points improvers.
NOT HUNGRY, JACK?Riewoldt’s form, in particular, has been in the spotlight with questions over whether he has lost his hunger.
The spearhead has kicked just one goal since Round 1.
But McGuane said the focus on Riewoldt had been unfair.
“When the Tigers have come forward he has been a target the most at Richmond and he has won his share of one-on-ones,” McGuane said.
“I don’t think Jack is going as bad as what a lot of people think.
“We’re hearing him talk about the team and talking about behind the scenes, about his teammates and will they go to a hub, will they not go to a hub.
“People are then referencing what’s Jack saying as their minds or his mind not being in the game. But when Jack is playing, he has been quite reliable in winning his one v ones in front of the ball.”
CAN THEY TURN IT AROUND?Already behind the eight-ball, sitting 14th on the ladder before Round 5 with just one win and a draw, the Tigers can’t afford to slip any further in a shortened season.
But King was also confident the premiers could find their roar again.
“They were outside the eight at Round 14 last year and then they went on that incredible run, winning nine home-and-away games in a row and three finals,” King said. “This is a team that can click.
“When this team can see the finish line and things narrow quite quickly in an AFL season … that’s when the big guns will narrow the focus and be able to rally.”
McGuane said the Tigers had time to revive their season and could still be contenders.
“I’m expecting a spike in performance but it has to start sooner rather than later,” McGuane said. “If they lose this week, time will be running out and panic stations will start to set in.”
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