Richmond’s winning strategy is to have no strategyAndrew Faulkner
The Australian
September 15, 2018Last spring, the Tigers closed Swan St an hour or two after they shut down their Adelaide opponents.
Might as well close the hipster enclave right now. Raise the bunting, erect the barricades and hose down the streets — another premiership party awaits.
A bit of preparation might save Victoria Police blowing another year’s budget on capsicum spray.
It might as well close now for another reason. It’s already a dead zone. Nothing but tumbleweeds blowing through Richmond in week two of the finals.
Swan St is the main artery of Richmond’s steady beating heart. No palpitations here; just a calm, quiet, confidence.
Their first final won, their rest earned, the Tigers are lying low. At the time of writing, the lead item on their website was a segment featuring Shaun Grigg and Brendan Fevola watching TV. Nothing to see here.
But wait. Underworked and ravenous newshounds bounded into action yesterday when news broke that Dustin Martin, wait for it, left training early.
It was a cruel hoax. Forward Daniel Rioli later revealed Martin sustained a “little corkie” in the Hawthorn match last week. After training, Rioli sent a shudder through the Tigers camp when he went for scans … for a jarred finger.
“It’s just a sore finger mate … just a jarring,” Rioli was quoted as saying in the afl.com.au exclusive.
While the Tigers are dealing with their sore fingers and little corkies, the few challengers that remain are plotting their demise. Still.
Chaos ball is the description de rigueur for Richmond. Finding order in the Tigers’ chaos is the challenge for they who would usurp the Richmond reign.
Everyone seems to understand the way the Tigers play. But no one seems to know how to counter their old-fashioned, get-the-ball-forward style.
Ex-Saints coach Grant Thomas said that’s partly a product of opposition coaches overcomplicating an uncomplicated game. The platoons of assistants spilling out of coaches’ boxes want to play chess, Thomas said. But the Tigers prefer darts or an impromptu game of hoops.
He said the Tigers play “manic, unconditional, keep-the-ball-alive” football against “conservative, methodical, considered, risk-averse ball movement”.
It’s Richmond’s “belief and trust” versus everyone else’s “system and structure”.
“People focus on how to beat Tigers instead of focusing on playing to your very best,” Thomas says. The Tigers can’t be beaten tactically because they are driven emotionally and spiritually.
“Coaches don’t get it. Let your players go — unleash their talent. That’s where Tigers can be beaten.”
Perhaps football — which we’re told is always evolving — has devolved. While the rest of the competition was looking forward, Damien Hardwick was looking back.
Perhaps we’ve reached a saturation point where no amount of tactics and strategy can beat getting the pill and playing in front.
“Sure they’ve got their core foundations,” Thomas told SEN. “Ball movement, plans, structures in front of the ball, behind the ball … they’ve got all that sort of stuff, but more than anything else they just love playing together.
“They actually enjoy the contest. They keep the ball alive. It’s perpetual motion. Richmond actually use possession of the footy as a pressure tool.
“They keep it alive and they keep it going their way, so the opposition is continually under pressure. I think that’s the most amazing thing about their footy.”
Thomas likens it to the mad scramble at the end of any close game. When tactics and structure and order are replaced with a raw will to win.
If the Tigers have any strategy, it’s just that — playing without strategy. Thomas says the best way to beat them is to do the same..
https://www.theaustralian.com.au/sport/afl/richmonds-winning-strategy-is-to-have-no-strategy/news-story/b5dc813928014e6d00be1963c6b3ebef
