WHY KING SAYS TO “HOLD YOUR BULLETS” FOR RICHMONDBy Andrew Slevison
SEN
18 March 2022David King is willing to forgive Richmond following their season opening loss to Carlton on Thursday night.
The Tigers lost by 25 points at the MCG after conceding the last seven goals of the game to a Blues side who had a harder edge under new coach Michael Voss.
It was a first opening round loss to Carlton since 2012.
The discussion immediately jumped to the Tigers’ older players, namely former captain Trent Cotchin, forward Jack Riewoldt and midfielder Dion Prestia, who injured his hamstring again.
Kane Cornes says there are plenty of questions to be answered in terms of where the Tigers are at.
“You don’t want to overreact after Round 1,” Cornes said on SEN Breakfast.
“But this has been an issue ongoing, this isn’t just Round 1 (with) Cotchin’s impact on the game.
“Riewoldt was quiet, (Tom) Lynch was quiet, so there’s a fair few questions that Damien Hardwick would answer, albeit they’re 20 points up with about 16 minutes to go in the last quarter.”
But King is not too getting too carried away with the defeat, highlighting a change in game plan that was implemented throughout the night.
He believes Richmond in 2022 is a “work in progress”.
“I’m just going to sit back with Richmond,” King said.
“They did some different things last night that showed they can play with gears.
“Normally it’s all speed, it’s all flat out. If the game is played at a frantic pace and chaotic, that’s their game.
“Last night they dropped into a kick-mark game for patches and looked really effective. In that third term they looked like they were going to take control of the game.
“They’re a work in progress again.
“It’s a different Richmond. You’ve got to understand that they are waiting for a couple of these youngsters to take complete control.
“Everyone will jump to Cotchin and they’ll jump to Prestia and they’ll look at Lynch and they’ll go after Jack Riewoldt.”
Cornes softened that stance, but still has concerns that Richmond’s side is an older one that could simply be on the decline.
“I don’t think it’s going after them,” Cornes said.
“It’s the realisation that this is an ageing group. It’s the price you pay for the success that they’ve had.
“The success that they’ve had is a dynasty. This is a dynasty side, these players we’re talking about are walk-up Hall of Fame members.
“But they are 33 and 34 and showing the battle scars of a long campaign.
“Prestia’s had that, Cotchin has shown that for 18 months, Riewoldt is 33 now and that must be difficult.”
Before King concluded: “I’m going to forgive one performance, just hold your bullets on that assessment would be my advice.”
https://www.sen.com.au/news/2022/03/17/why-king-says-to-hold-your-bullets-for-richmond/
