Richmond’s Shane Edwards taking risks and playing on instinctGlenn McFarlane
Herald-Sun
August 23, 2014 6:36PMSOMETIMES the greatest risk is taking no risk at all.
If this explains in part Richmond’s miserable start to 2014, then the realisation of it has played a key role in the extraordinary turnaround the Tigers have engineered over the past seven weeks.
Three wins from the first 13 games; and now seven successive wins that has dragged the club back from the precipice and made it the most unlikely of finals contenders with two matches to come.
It’s almost been like there has been two very distinct seasons, and in a sense, Shane Edwards could well be the personification of that risk versus reward turnaround.
By his own admission, the 25-year-old forward-midfielder struggled with his form earlier this season.
And as each loss applied more pressure to the team, Edwards felt less inclined to play the natural, instinctive game that has helped to make him the player that he is today.
“When you are losing and you are in a bad patch of form, you worry about the consequences of doing something that comes natural because you don’t want to make a mistake,” Edwards said as he prepared for his 150th AFL game, against St Kilda at Etihad Stadium.
“I felt like my form was letting the team down as much as anyone’s. It (the pressure) all piles on and you start worrying about being too risky with the ball and you don’t perform the skills the way you should.
“When things are up and running for you, you don’t think about it. You just do it. When you are just going for it, you say to yourself, ‘I’m going to handball over my head here” and that’s when I play my best footy.”
Edwards is playing his best footy now, and so are the Tigers. That’s no coincidence.
Richmond insiders insist that the highly-skilled Edwards has played a significant role in the club’s revival.
Just take a look at his numbers since the start of the winning streak that has rolled through July and August, and even threatens to gate-crash into September.
Edwards has averaged 20 disposals per game since Round 15. Critically, more than half of them have been contested. He has kicked eight goals in that time, and created a whole lot more for his teammates.
His ability to create space — and opportunity — as well as his rapid movement of the ball and breathtaking flair have characterised the Tigers’ dare-to-believe attitude.
So does he believe in fairytales?
Edwards ponders the question for a moment and then answers in the negative.
“To be honest, it is more about hard work than anything else,” he said. “It’s hard work and also playing a lot smarter than we were earlier in the season.
“If you work hard and you have smart structures, that equates to winning. And even when we were struggling, ‘Dimma’ (Damien Hardwick) just told us to keep believing in the game plan.”
The flow-on effects have swept across the entire group.
“(As a team) when you are up and going, you are fitter, you are stronger, you seem to have better skills and you are louder,” he said.
“Once you get to that level, you need to hold on to the momentum for as long as you can and fight hard to keep it.”
The snowball started rolling slowly down the hill at first, on June 28 with a modest win over St Kilda, followed by a less-than-impressive — one player called it “ugly” — win over the Brisbane Lions.
From there, it has gathered in momentum and size, rolling over Port Adelaide, West Coast, Greater Western Sydney, Essendon and Adelaide.
The streak now sits at 57 days, with the finals still a chance if the Tigers can beat St Kilda and Sydney (in the final round).
Edwards knows that his own form turnaround started around the time he was handed the green sub’s vest ahead of the Round 7 clash with Geelong.
“I am not going to say that being put as the sub gave me a bit of a kick in the a---, but it might have,” he said. “I hadn’t been the sub for a few years. But I suppose you expect it when your form is down a bit.
“During that week, I did a lot more running at training, and I got to work even harder the next week as we had the bye.
“I got a bit of mid-season fitness out of those few weeks. I was able to freshen up and work on a few things, and that it translated back to the games.
“I came on that day (against Geelong) and kicked a couple of goals. I just got to a number of contests because I was fresh. I knew that was the pattern I had to run, no matter whether I was the sub or not.”
A conversation with the club’s elite performance manager Peter Burge also detailed a metre-count of hard running per game that Edwards needs to attain, and he’s being doing it ever since.
“I’ve just got so much more confidence in everything now,” he said. “I’ve got confidence in my running, I feel as if I have pretty good touch at the moment, but the whole team is playing well now, so that helps.”
Richmond captain Trent Cotchin is in no doubt that his locker neighbour has made a real difference to the team.
“‘Shedda’ (Edwards) has been fantastic,” Cotchin said. “It’s probably been one of his most consistent years this year, seeing him coming through the midfield now and showing exactly what he can do.
“When he has the footy in his hands and he steps ... he’s got one of the best steps in the AFL.
“To see him playing with confidence is fantastic.”
Teammate Brett Deledio agrees, saying on the club’s website that Edwards’ story has been one of great persistence.
“Shedda has the ability to see people around him and flick off a handball, when you think he’s in real trouble, or sidestep someone ... his sidestep’s as good as any in the game,” he said.
“And he gets free inside 50 so often, just through his workrate. He’s not always the loudest bloke out there, so doesn’t get found all the time.
“I’m really rapt for him because he’s worked hard ... he’s had his critics along the way, but he’s stuck at it.”
Edwards has heard the critics in the background, but always tried to put those voices out of his head.
“I guess I was one of those players who people might get frustrated with,” he said. “They might have said: ‘Why is he turning the ball over?’ ‘Why is he such a skinny little guy?’ ‘What are we going to get out of him?’.
“But I guess things have turned my way a bit. I’ve matured a bit physically, and hopefully I’ve become a better player.”
Edwards’ football story started with the Golden Grove Kookaburras, as a skinny eight-year-old with a strong SANFL football pedigree.
His father, Greg, currently North Adelaide’s chief executive, was a young star for Central Districts, kicking 100 goals in 1982 before an incident that left him blind in one eye prematurely ended his career at 21.
“He was just backing into a pack and he got a fist in the eye,” Edwards said of his father.
One of his grandfathers played for West Torrens and North Adelaide, one of his uncles played for Port Adelaide, and his 22-year-old brother, Kym, plays for North Adelaide at the moment.
Edwards played in an under-19 premiership side with North Adelaide with his father as coach, a moment he recalls with great pride.
That came before he was drafted by the Tigers as the 26th pick in the 2006 national draft. And eight seasons on, he has now qualified for Richmond life membership with his 150 games.
Edwards knows he needs to keep taking more responsibility within the group.
Part of that is being more vocal, which doesn’t come naturally for the articulate, but quietly spoken, player.
“I’ve had the opportunity a bit more (this year) to speak up and say a bit more,” he said.
“I feel like I have more of a right to talk now and that people might be more interested in hearing what I have to say because I’ve been around for a bit longer now.”
Speaking up when he might not have in the past, and taking on the game when he knows he must — they are the risks Richmond can look forward to from Edwards today and into the future.
WHY DIMMA LOVES SHEDDADAMIEN Hardwick announced his intentions early to third-year player Shane Edwards when he took over as Richmond coach in 2010: “You’re going to play 22 games this year and not get dropped.”
True to his word, Hardwick chose Edwards in all 22 games that season.
And now, as the 25-year-old Tiger prepares for his 150th AFL game, he says he remains grateful for the opportunities his coach has given him over the years.
That faith in Edwards and in what he brings to the team has played a big role in his continued development as a footballer.
“‘Dimma’ (Hardwick) just gave me the confidence that I could really play at this level,” Edwards said this week. “I screwed a few things up every now and then that season, but he just believed in me.
“He stuck by me. And it was then that I started to feel as if I belonged.”
Hardwick was full of praise for the contribution Edwards has made through a tough 2014 season, which could yet have a silver lining after seven successive wins.
“He has been outstanding,” Hardwick said. “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 do.
“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.”
The belief between the player and coach is borne out by one telling statistic — Edwards has played in 102 of Hardwick’s 109 games as Richmond coach.
Hardwick said Edwards was a much loved figure around Punt Rd who still has improvement left in him, even though he is now in his eighth season at the club.
“It seems like he’s still the same age as when I got here, he’s got that boyish look, and I’ve been very fortunate to coach him,” Hardwick said.
EDWARDS’ IMPACT# SINCE Round 9, Shane Edwards has averaged 89 SuperCoach points per game, third among Richmond’s forwards and eighth in the league.
# SINCE the winning streak began in Round 15, he has averaged 98 SuperCoach points — sixth at Tigerland behind Anthony Miles, Ivan Maric, Brandon Ellis, Brett Deledio and Trent Cotchin.
# HE RANKS third at the club for scoreboard impact behind Dustin Martin and Jack Riewoldt since Round 9, and equal third for goals with 13.
# DEFENSIVELY he ranks No. 1 at the Tigers for forward-half pressure applied as well as tackles inside forward 50 with 16.
# HIS disposal efficiency of 70.5 per cent in the forward half ranks sixth among the top 50 in the competition behind Jordan Lewis, Mitch Duncan, Brent Harvey, Nat Fyfe and Rory Sloane.
Source: CHAMPION DATA
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