Damien Hardwick says healthier list key to form revival; Reece Conca and Dan Jackson in line for recalls by: Bruce Matthews
From: Herald Sun
August 21, 2014 11:14AM
THAT Richmond best and fairest winner Dan Jackson and defender Reece Conca are not considered automatic inclusions for Sunday’s game against St Kilda is a striking illustration of the Tigers’ healthy list.
Coach Damien Hardwick didn’t guarantee senior spots for Jackson, who played in the VFL last week, and Conca, available after a two-games suspension, before the final training session at Punt Road Oval today.
“He (Conca) will put his hand up for selection, as will Dan Jackson, and we’ll look at those guys through training and see how they perform,” Hardwick said.
“They are two quality players that it will be nice to have available. The great thing is it puts pressure on everyone in the side to play their role and play well.
“We’ve got Ty Vickery who comes back the following week, so we have to make sure we pick the right side to play. Obviously, there’s certain players who are a little bit tired at the moment, so we have to make sure we can get them playing their best.”
Hardwick said the diligent work of the Tigers’ medical and fitness staff was a major contributing factor to the seven-games winning run. And he jumped to rival coach Nathan Buckley’s defence as he outlined the importance of retaining key players for team structure.
“You’ve only got to look at, for mine, people unfairly getting stuck into Collingwood. They’ve had significant injury history over the last six or seven weeks and it’s unfair to expect Collingwood to perform at a level when they’re missing a significant amount of their quality players,” he said.
“There’s no coincidence we get some players back and our form starts to turn around. It’s such an important part of the year and we’re seeing some quality players go down. (Dyson) Heppell breaks his hand yesterday, Joey Kennedy (Sydney) goes down with a slight hamstring. Injuries are paramount to the success of your football side and we’re no different.”
Hardwick said the fact that Richmond plays the last game of Round 22 — against the Saints at the MCG on Sunday night — wouldn’t alter the ninth-placed Tigers’ approach.
On reasons for the consistent form in the second half of the season, Hardwick said: “It’s more sustainable the way we’re playing. We’ve brought in a contested ball guy in Anthony Miles. We were probably inconsistent at stages with that last year and we’re No.2 or 3 this year and it’s probably a lot more consistent over the course of four quarters. We had at stages various games where we just didn’t play well and couldn’t get our hands on the ball and that hasn’t appeared this year. No doubt personnel is a big part of that.”
He said his team’s ability to give up the lead to Adelaide and regain it in such a hostile environment illustrated the collective belief.
“It was a significant step for our players. Even in the coaches box, we go back and listen to our audio and we were really calm. We could see our boys had put a few mechanisms in play and as a coach there’s nothing greater to see the leadership group stands up and delivers the thing you work on over a course of 12 months, two years,” he said.
“It would have been quite easy for this group to pack it up and it’s a real credit to Trent (Cotchin) and his players that they stood up and delivered. We’re still short of where we need to be, but more importantly, they’ve found that steely resolve that our supporters were looking for. More importantly, within themselves they’ve dug deep and it will hold us in good stead.”
Hardwick described forward Shane Edwards, who plays his 150th AFL game, as a “special” player whose role and skill are underestimated by outsiders.
“He has been outstanding. He’s a guy who has improved every year since I got here ... a lot of people don’t realise that he’s an incredible talent, he does things that only a few people can.
“The ability for him to get in and out of traffic and create goals for others is outstanding. He’s an outstanding player and we’re very fortunate to have him.”
http://www.heraldsun.com.au/sport/afl/damien-hardwick-says-healthier-list-key-to-form-revival-reece-conca-and-dan-jackson-in-line-for-recalls/story-fni5f9jb-1227031760657
