Wallace feels for Richmond club's shared pain
Ashley Porter, Adelaide | May 18, 2009
BITTERLY disappointed Richmond coach Terry Wallace yesterday gave an insight to the pain he and his club have been feeling this season, following a heart-breaking three-point loss to Port Adelaide at AAMI Stadium.
"As anyone who has coached over a decade, you have your highs and lows … they cut very deep, and this one was very cutting," he said.
But Wallace, whose position has been under enormous scrutiny, said he wasn't alone in feeling the pressure of losing — now seven out of eight games this season after knocking on the door of the finals last year.
"This is tough for everyone to stomach, what I've been through," he said.
"Ask what our supporters have been through. Ask what our management group, which has to go and speak to our sponsors, have been through. Ask the board members who get phone calls every day of the week what they have been going through.
"The whole footy club has been under the gun barrel. I have probably been the face of it, but it's the whole footy club which wanted to step away with a meritorious win, but it was not to be."
Wallace said that while it was obvious that football was about winning, he emphasised the point in Richmond's case because the loss detracted from the good things to come out of the game.
"Losing at any time takes the gloss off the positives," Wallace said. "It's a winning game, that's the reality. You can give yourself a pat on the back and feel sorry for yourself sitting in the Qantas lounge on the way home, but no one is going to turn around and give you a couple of points for it."
Despite his disappointment, Wallace is still looking forward to the rest of the season, suggesting that if his team played as it did yesterday — against the fourth-ranked side on its home ground in the wet and coming from five goals down — positives could be salvaged.
"I thought the spirit level of our group was outstanding," he said. "They just willed themselves. They really wanted to come over and prove a few points and show they were desperate to keep their season alive. Their efforts in the mix were really outstanding … and they got themselves in a winning position.
"You get to a stage of a game where all of a sudden you are 15 or so points in front with only a few minutes to play and you will want to win versus your logic to do the right things, and one can get in the way of the other. I genuinely believe that was the case. You throw yourselves into situations without actually thinking about what you are doing.
"I thought that early in the game, although our endeavour was the equal, they were just cleaner, and they had the dominant player in the match, obviously Warren Tredrea. We gave them back the opportunity to win the game. A good team will always take it."
Port coach Mark Williams said: "This was what footy was all about … you have to work right to the end. It certainly brings the fans back to the game when they know their team is not going to give up."
Williams praised the effort and spirit of both teams and said Tredrea's seven-goal effort was "as good as he has ever played for the club".
"It was right up there with the most influential, kicking goals when we needed them. It was terrific for us," Williams said.
http://www.realfooty.com.au/news/rfnews/wallace-feels-richmonds-pain/2009/05/17/1242498638943.html
