Pressure down: Tigers' appetite for the fight plummets (afl site)

[one-eyed]

Pressure down: Tigers' appetite for the fight plummets

After building a dynasty on pressure football Richmond has fallen in the statistic's ranks this year

By Callum Twomey
afl.com.au
25 March 2024

THE NUMBERS are matching the eye test. Richmond, famed for its high-pressure game style across its premiership dynasty, is in recession.

Sunday's loss to Port Adelaide saw Richmond register its lowest pressure rating in nine years. Champion Data ranked its pressure at 150 – making it as poor as the Tigers have been in the statistic since 2015, when they registered a rating of 149 in round 20 of that year.

Worryingly for new coach Adem Yze, it is a number in decline already for the Tigers, who had a -4 differential in pressure rating against Gold Coast in the AFL's Opening Round, then a -22 differential against Carlton in round one and a -32 rating against the Power at the MCG.

Even despite an encouraging second term against the premiership hopefuls, where Richmond kicked four goals to two to take an 11-point lead into half-time, the Tigers' weren't able to sustain the heat on Port, who ran out winners by five goals.

It sees the Tigers with the worst pressure differential ranking of any team this season – an average of -20 – and has them ranked 17th in the AFL so far for their pressure rating (average of 165).

Pressure was a key stake in the Tigers' triple flag era. They ranked in the top-five for pressure between 2017-2020 when they secured the 2017, 2019-20 premierships, with their pressure at its highest in the truncated 2020 campaign when they were the second-best in the AFL.

But the drop-off has been dramatic in recent seasons. In 2021, when Richmond missed the finals, its pressure ranked in a similar range at 10th in the AFL. In 2022, it dropped further back to 13th and last year it was 14th best in the League in a season of change for the Tigers, as Damien Hardwick departed mid-season after 14 years at the club.

The Hardwick-steered glory was built on a manic, high-pressure game style that saw incredible buy-in from its top guns but found role players who committed to the pressure cause.

But as the Tigers begin a revamp under Yze, and after a 0-3 start to this year, the new senior coach will need a focus on pressure if Richmond is to regain its trademark.

https://www.afl.com.au/news/1094791/pressure-down-tigers-appetite-for-the-fight-plummets

[Tigeritis™©®]

One thing that the new coach could've made a non negotiable and set the standard but unfortunately he wants to be liked but not respected.

It's not a great sign. One of the easiest non negotiables to implement but he seems to blend in with our mediocre fitness staff who are unable to get 4 quarters out of the team. No two way running let alone getting them to apply the necessary pressure required for modern football.

I'm really curious on what Yze has about him that actually got him the job? 

I'm yet to see anything that he has implemented  that we didn't already have from McQualter which was also much ado about nothin'.

What I do know is that;

Our Fitness is mediocre.
Our Skills are mediocre. 
Our Pressure is mediocre
Our Tackling is mediocre.
Our Offence is mediocre.
Our Defence is mediocre.


What is it that Yze has actually done? What is our game style?  What has he implemented besides removing memories of our success from a room?

I really cant see anything to be honest.

[Diocletian]

Apart from the disappointing familiarity of the team sheets, the most worrying thing is that not only have our glaring defensive issues seemingly not been addressed they appear to have gotten even  worse....can't really comment on the game plan because their doesn't appear to be one........though the tactic of mindlessly bombing it into a completely disorganised forward line seems to have been carried over from the previous regime...

[Tigeritis™©®]

Today's game shows there's really no excuses for substandard pressure application.

If the boys are committed it should always be a standard that is the norm.

Raise the bar and expect nothing but that effort as the standard.

[one-eyed]

The Tigers are a threat when they hunt as a pack

It hadn't been the ideal start to the season for the Tigers, with player availability hurting them and their pressure dropping to a nine-year low against Port Adelaide last week. Against the Swans on Sunday, however, the Tigers proved that at their pressure-focused best, they can seriously challenge good sides. Working incredibly hard across the ground, their willingness to use speed to close down space and ability to swarm the ball carrier made it near impossible for the Swans to move the ball and led to the Tigers winning seven holding the ball free kicks across the opening three quarters alone. Importantly, it was a full team mindset, with everyone from Liam Baker to Tom Lynch buying in. It is a style of play that requires even application across four quarters and produced an emotional first win for coach Adem Yze, a result that will make all teams wary of their upcoming Tiger showdowns.

- Gemma Bastiani

https://www.afl.com.au/news/1095268/seven-things-we-learned-essendon-bombers-forwards-can-fire-without-peter-wright