Jack backs Tiger coach’s bold finals callBen Waterworth
FOX SPORTS
18 August 2016STAR forward Jack Riewoldt has backed his coach’s bold statement that Richmond can quickly “bounce back” and return to the finals as soon as next season.
Tigers coach Damien Hardwick told Fox Footy’s On The Couch on Monday night that the club had no plans to undertake a full scale list rebuild, claiming he saw ample potential in the playing list and that finals was firmly on the agenda in 2017.
After three consecutive elimination final defeats, the Tigers won’t feature in this year’s finals series, with Hardwick’s men sitting 13th on the ladder with an 8-12 record.
But Riewoldt told Fox Footy’s AFL 360 that he was confident about the Tigers producing a quick return to the finals.
“I just echo the sentiments Damien’s spoken about. It’s a strong, bold opinion, but we’re not here to finish 12th or 13th,” Riewoldt said on Tuesday night.
“We want to play finals footy, we want to play games of finals.
“We’ve had a really poor year this year and a really disappointing year.
“The senior leaders in the football club and the senior players really feel like we can get back to where we think we deserve to be sooner rather than later.”
Hardwick’s confidence in his playing group and staunch prediction came as a surprise to some, especially considering the Tigers’ inconsistency this season and a lack of depth on the list.
But five-time Hawthorn premiership player Dermott Brereton believes Hardwick used his statement to give players extra belief and motivation heading into 2017.
“He’s got to make his players believe in him, believe in his faith,” Brereton told AFL 360.
“He can’t smack them round. You know your players better than anyone else. If he believes those players are going to respond to a smacking, he’ll give the smacking. But there must be a little bit of fragility that he wants to keep them thinking we can do it.
“That might be his modus operandi.”
However Brereton doesn’t share the same belief as Hardwick when it comes to Richmond’s list, predicting the Tigers wouldn’t be featuring in finals in 2017.
“I think they’ll be borderline, better than this year, but every time they say ‘we’ll get Prestia’ or whoever, others teams are getting other players too. So do they improve as much?” Brereton said.
http://www.heraldsun.com.au/sport/afl/teams/richmond/jack-riewoldt-backs-damien-hardwicks-prediction-of-quick-richmond-finals-return/news-story/92c54c62b4fb357590f97a2ba2510f9a
