2024 was always going to be tough for rebuilding Tigers - let's give Adem Yze a chanceMatt Russell
There is no denying 2024 has been a bad year for Richmond.
Sitting last on the ladder with just two wins, against Sydney and Adelaide, there has not been a lot to get excited about.
But in all honesty, what did the Tigers expect? It was always going to be a rebuilding season, and a tough one at that, for Adam Yze in his maiden year in charge.
Their ageing list lost plenty of experience after 2023, not to mention the departure of Damien Hardwick in the middle of the season to shake up the club.
Two 300-gamers retired on the same day in Jack Riewoldt and Trent Cotchin, and while they had given all they had on the field and the time was right to call it a day, it doesn’t take away from the gaping experience void they leave behind.
The leadership on and off the field that those two champions offered is significant and cannot be underestimated, not to mention their football smarts and talent.
Then there was Dustin Martin. A lot has been written in the past week since he announced his retirement of his long list of achievements throughout his career.
A champion player in his own right, taking on a leadership role as the Tigers’ most experienced player was a huge ask. As was his ageing body: he only played 13 of 21 games in 2024 until he called it a day.
There’s no doubt Dusty was a champion footballer, skill-wise, but was he the leader the club needed to bring the next generation through in a transitional period? No – and it would have been silly to expect that of him.
Fellow Roar writer Cam Rose detailed back in May the struggles the Tigers have faced on the injury front this year, with Jacob Hopper, Dion Prestia and Tom Lynch all high-profile, big-money players spending significant time on the sidelines, just to name a few.
Richmond has been a team playing in body but not in spirit in 2024. 23 players have been running onto the field every week, but it has not looked like they have been playing with any purpose.
After their 48-point loss to the Saints on the weekend, commentator Dermott Brereton pretty much summed up the story of the season week in, week out for the Tigers.
“They got to three-quarter time, gave a yelp for 5-6 minutes and then it’s like ‘we tried, we just can’t win this’ – and they clocked off,” he said.
Unfortunately, that has been the story of the season for the Tigers. They’ve had patches of good footy, showed some cohesion on the field at times, strung some goals together and even pushed some of their opponents until late in games.
But they can’t do it for the full four quarters. There isn’t that drive, or the ability, to find that extra gear when needed – regardless of who they did or didn’t have on the field.
It’s not like 2024 has been a total failure for the Tigers, though. While the results have been a wipeout, the building blocks have been put in place to show that they should improve in the coming years.
(Yes, I do get that after finishing last, the only way is up!)
Against Collingwood a few weeks ago, the Tigers won the disposal count, the inside 50s and uncontested possessions. Against GWS, they had significantly more inside 50s and beat the Giants for clearances. It’s not like they are being outplayed in all aspects of the game – the problem is consistency.
Individually, Daniel Rioli has been a standout statistically; in four out of the past five games alone, he has won over more than 25 possessions, and in the other he managed 20.
In the game against St Kilda, he racked up 36 touches, six score involvements and three tackles earning him the Ian Stewart Medal for best on ground despite being on the losing side.
Linked to Gold Coast, it would be silly to even entertain the thought of trading him to Gold Coast, as has been mooted.
This off-season is where Yze can start to make a mark at the Tigers. He has all the jigsaw pieces there – he just has to make the right decisions in assembling a winning team after the hiding to nothing that was his first season at the helm.
They will receive draft capital for finishing last – it needs to be spent wisely.
Yze and his list management team cannot go too trade heavy, as he’s unlikely to get the ‘magicians’ required to challenge for the flag in 3-4 years – there just aren’t enough of those around – and by the end of this window (and likely his coaching role at the club, they’ll be in a worse position).
But by the same token, he cannot go too draft-heavy, or the Tigers risk becoming another North, where the club’s young stocks have been unable to lift them up the ladder across eight finals-less seasons.
What is required is patience. Patience in Yze and patience in the list he’s building.
That’s not to say there won’t be pain and suffering to come, but now is not the time to hit the panic button and make massive changes.
We have seen how Hawthorn has advanced in leaps and bounds this year under Sam Mitchell, after two years nearer the bottom of the ladder than the top. What has clicked, more than anything, for them has been confidence and self-belief.
If only the Tigers can find this same spark, add it to their improving style, and turn the statistical areas that they are winning into scoreboard pressure; then they too can start climbing the ladder.
A complete rebuild after one season, or excessive criticism of Yze so early into an extremely tough gig, is just a sign of the world we live in where we want unrealistic results and we want them now.
Give him an off-season, a chance to make list tweaks and necessary changes to get Richmond playing with purpose again.
Have faith, Tigers supporters: things are not as bad as the numbers in 2024 suggest.
https://www.theroar.com.au/2024/08/13/2024-was-always-going-to-be-tough-for-rebuilding-tigers-lets-give-adem-yze-a-chance/
