Thanks to the Tiger Army for your strong support
Richmond coach Terry Wallace
richmondfc.com.au
Wednesday, May 2, 2007
At times, I feel that Richmond supporters get a bad rap. Throughout the past 25 years they have had very few finals appearances to enjoy, and some genuine frustrations along the way. Overall, I think the ‘Tiger Army’ has been more than committed to the cause.
Over the last couple of years, we have tried to explain to our supporter base exactly what we are trying to achieve by developing our own players, training them up, teaching them the ways of this great Club, similar to the young boys of the past, who used to represent the Tigers all the way from the under 19s to senior league level.
We are keen to get a group of guys with passion for the Club and each other, who want to grow together as a group. Even though at times this year their development has not always been evident at senior level, the coaching staff has witnessed, first-hand, things changing at our VFL affiliate club Coburg. All of a sudden, at the next level, young men are starting to play with confidence and develop into competent footballers. We are now pushing these boys through into the senior ranks and are hoping to see results as they start to mature.
I thought last weekend, after the match against the West Coast Eagles, our Tiger members and supporters were outstanding in their support of the team. The supporters understood that young players such as Luke McGuane, Jarrad Oakley-Nicholls, Andrew Raines, Jake King, Daniel Jackson, Graham Polak, Cleve Hughes and Nathan Foley, just to name a few, had given their all against the reigning premiers, only to come up short again. Our supporters appreciated their efforts and showed that even though it was not the result we were looking for, they admired the contest that was given, in stark contrast to some of the 100-point thrashings we copped last year.
When I arrived back in the rooms, I was very strong with the players in outlining the fact we cannot accept the praise that was given if we are to continue to improve. As supporters, however, I thought you did exactly the right thing by showing appreciation that our players were prepared to play out the contest, and you should continue to only accept that as a group. The players and coaching staff will only be satisfied when victories start to come from these efforts.
On behalf of the players, once again I thank you for your support. Everyone is frustrated with not getting the desired results, but we hope at least last Saturday you came away from the game saying that the boys had a ‘dip’ and that you could see some key signs for the future in relation to the structure of the team and some improvement from younger players.
Internally, our direction is clear and we will not be stepping away from that direction, regardless of results.
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