Plough's aftermatch media conference / "It's just starting to turn" - Wallace

[one-eyed]

Tigers point to a better future
By Rebecca Williams
Herald-Sun
August 27, 2007

 RICHMOND coach Terry Wallace said he hoped Sunday night's upset win over Essendon will convince supporters the club is heading in the right direction.

The Tigers spoiled the MCG farewell of Bombers coach Kevin Sheedy and champion James Hird to record just their third win of the season.

But Wallace hoped the 27-point victory would instil more faith in the club's plans for long-term success.

"We have been telling our supporters about where we believe we are heading," Wallace said.

"There have been some who haven't believed the story at all. They believe that's all it is - a story.

"I just hope that on a big stage and with a big crowd that our people-- I don't care what other people think to be honest - can start to understand and start to see the story."

Wallace said the Tigers wanted to respect Sheedy and Hird, but didn't want to let the crowd or the occasion affect the team.

"We had spoken about respecting both Kevin and James at the end of the game and that we would rather do that as winners," he said.

"It was going to be a long lap standing out there the entire time as losers.

"One of our plans was that, in big matches, we weren't to let any outside influences have any impact at all on what we were doing.

"We knew the crowd would be there and they would be up. We just had to make sure we did our job and not worry about any of the external things going on."

Wallace said he was proud the club had stuck to its plan of blooding young players.

He believed the group was confident about making a fresh start next season.

"This football club, for a long period of time, got players from other clubs to fill and do the jobs," he said.

"But what we said we were going to do this time around was we were going to develop our own, even if it took time and even if we copped a bit of flak along the way.

"That's what we have done.

"We're young, we're learning, but we're starting to develop something that the guys think they can sustain over summer and into a new year."

http://www.foxsports.com.au/story/0,8659,22313329-23211,00.html

[one-eyed]

Tigers fortunes starting to turn
27/08/2007 7:52:39 AM
Andrew Wu
Sportal

"I said all week we weren't the Washington Generals," Wallace quipped.

"We had spoken about respecting both Kevin and James at the end of the game, that we'd rather do that standing out there as winners."

"It was going to be long lap standing out there for the entire time as losers."

Wallace said extra stability within the team and the experience of playing games was behind the Tigers' recent lift.

"When you do that sometimes you get belted, you get belted around the ears. But eventually those buys get enough experience that they start belting back," Wallace said.

"It's just starting to turn."

"I think they're starting to gain some confidence and I hope the supporters are."

Full article at: http://sportal.com.au/default.aspx/afl-news-display/tigers-fortunes-starting-to-turn-34408

[one-eyed]

Tigers refuse to play second fiddle
8:18 PM Sun 26 August, 2007
By Russell Holmesby
for richmondfc.com.au

A DELIGHTED Richmond coach Terry Wallace repeated his belief that his side wasn’t prepared be the Washington Generals to Essendon’s Harlem Globetrotters.

“For those who don’t know who the Washington Generals are, they are the team that used to play against the Harlem Globetrotters every night and weren’t allowed to win!” said Wallace after Richmond’s upset win against the Bombers.

Wallace said that while all the public focus had been on the Melbourne farewell of Kevin Sheedy and James Hird, his side was not prepared to play second fiddle.

“This was an event but we came to the event and said we are actually allowed to win the event. We spoke about respecting Kevin and James at the end of the game but we would rather do that as winners instead of losers. It was going to be a long lap standing out there as losers.”

Wallace said that his players had told him the game felt like an interstate clash because of the disproportionately pro-Essendon leaning of the crowd. “One of our plans in big matches was not to let any outside influences have any impact on what we were doing. We knew the crowd would be up and we just had to make sure we did our jobs and not worry about the external things.”

Wallace said that apart from the Hird-Sheedy scenario he was aware going onto the final weeks of the season that the team would “be massively on display” in the Friday night match against Collingwood and in this game against Essendon.

“It was important that we stood up in those big moments”.

Wallace said that the structure of his side had been settled for one of the few times this year.

“In the starting backline, with Joel (Bowden) not starting on the ground, we had about 240 games of experience and Chris Newman probably had half of those.”

The Tiger leader said that when teams had to make four or five changes a week as Richmond had early in the year it was impossible to achieve stability.

Wallace said that suggestions about lower teams not trying to win late in the season were not valid. He said that Brett Deledio had badly broken his hand several weeks ago, but instead of “packing him away for the rest of the season” the Tigers had kept him on the field with the intent of winning games.

He said that he wanted to make sure people understood that Richmond would develop its own youngsters rather than recruit from other clubs to plug holes.

Speaking about Kevin Sheedy, Wallace reflected that he had enjoyed some great battles with him over the years and he hoped they would coach against each other again in the future.

http://richmondfc.com.au/Season2007/News/NewsArticle/tabid/6301/Default.aspx?newsId=49831