Wallace's here and now
By Peter Schwab
The Age
July 22, 2005
To the outside observer, Richmond's AFL season looks precariously placed as it holds a tenuous grip on eighth.
After it failed dismally against St Kilda for the second time this season, coach Terry Wallace said he believed Richmond might not be good enough to overcome teams above it on the ladder.
It is a fair assessment when analysing the performances this year. The Tigers have lost easily to Geelong, St Kilda twice, Melbourne, the Kangaroos and Adelaide and lost a close one to West Coast. Richmond has won only once against a team above it, a one-point "get-out-of -jail" win against Sydney.
So what does it say about Richmond in its first season under Wallace? On face value, there are a lot of positives. Here was a team that finished last in 2004 and in the space of one pre-season and one national draft it has already won double the matches it won in a whole season.
Wallace has delivered above expectation and created enough excitement for Richmond supporters this year and into the future. But there are some who say the overachieving Tigers will not receive a further boost to their rebuilding by finishing so high on the ladder, unlike their 2004 priority draft partner Hawthorn - which for the second year in a row will get a priority pick and gain one, if not two, of the best young players.
Having said that, Wallace would rather not be coaching a team battling to avoid the wooden spoon no matter what the riches on offer for poor form.
Wallace also has the security of a five-year tenure to rebuild the Tigers, whereas Hawthorn's Alastair Clarkson has been given two years to show the team is improving.
Wallace's supporters praise his ability to motivate, innovate and "sell winning". He does have an ability to get an instant response from the teams he coaches. In his first full season in charge of the Western Bulldogs, he almost reached a grand final and was able to keep the momentum going in the second year, where once again they made a preliminary final.
The Dogs made the finals for two more years before in his final two years, they headed towards the bottom. He saw it coming and didn't want to remain a part of it.
It was a pattern that happened to me at Hawthorn - a preliminary final and then a down trend I couldn't halt, let alone reverse. To be fair to Wallace, the Bulldogs' fall was slower and less dramatic, but the ultimate result was the same. A fleeting chance at the big prize missed.
Only Wallace will know where he thinks the Tigers sit in relation to the rest of the competition, but I don't believe anyone can truly say where they may be in one year's time, let alone three, four or five.
Personally, I think talk of rebuilding is a flawed theory and the idea of steady progression to winning a premiership does not happen in reality.
Teams with the most talent, the most luck and who play at their best in the last game win premierships. I agree talent comes from the draft and trading of players and with a bit of luck a few rare father-and-son opportunities, but most teams don't spend a long time in low draft pick territory.
St Kilda is always cited as an example of what can happen with low draft picks - but it also made shrewd trades and used all its draft picks well.
Despite this, the Saints have yet to make it happen. After missing last year's grand final by a kick, they were predicted by many to be a walk-up start for a premiership tilt this year. But a bad run of luck with injuries to top players means even if they recover their form, it will be extremely hard to win a premiership this year.
There is no guarantee if they fail in 2005 they will get there again.
The reality in this game is you need to win when you can and take your chances when they present because you may never get another opportunity. Just ask Collingwood after 2002.
Wallace understands the unpredictability of the game. He knew how close he was to winning a premiership in 1997 in his first full season as coach of the Bulldogs. In 2005, he knows he has a chance to make the finals in his first season with Richmond and he will be striving hard to get there.
Richmond may well be heading for a bigger and better future, but who knows? This year is alive still and for now, 2006, 2007, 2008 and 2009 are absolutely meaningless.
http://www.realfooty.theage.com.au/realfooty/articles/2005/07/21/1121539090509.html
