Tigers continue to ring in changes
Stephen Rielly | June 11, 2009 | The Australian
A GLIMPSE of Richmond in 2010 will be seen tonight when the Tigers reveal their side to play West Coast at the MCG on Saturday.
The first team chosen since Terry Wallace's departure as senior coach last Friday night, and Jade Rawlings' appointment as his temporary successor 12 hours later, is expected to involve as many as six changes.
The club offered a nod in the direction it will head post-Wallace yesterday by announcing that last year's first-round draft pick, ruckman Tyrone Vickery, 19, will make his debut against the Eagles.
It is understood, however, that a raft of other changes have been agreed upon, with several experienced players to make way for the future to be ushered in.
Change at Punt Rd has come at a rapid pace since Wallace's departure.
After Rawlings' appointment, Craig McRae was appointed to replace him as coach of Coburg, Richmond's VFL affiliate, and former captain Kane Johnson announced his retirement on Tuesday to join the coaching staff.
After making the decision to part with Wallace with half the season remaining, the Tigers last week impressed upon their assistant coaches, with Rawlings then among them, that the time could not be used to glide out of the season and have all of the decisions on players left until September and October.
This understanding is expected to be reflected in tonight's team, although over the coming months some senior figures, some of whom will play against the Eagles, are expected to retire.
The Tigers have five 30-somethings on their list -- Nathan Brown, Ben Cousins, Joel Bowden, Troy Simmonds and Matthew Richardson -- with ruckman Simmonds vulnerable to the push for Vickery and youth, given Adam Pattison's two-goal game last week against the Western Bulldogs and his own mediocre form.
Perhaps the safest of them is Richardson, 34, who is recuperating from hamstring surgery.
Richardson, who is not expected to return until late next month at the earliest, said yesterday he isn't certain to go on.
"Whether I play next year, who knows? But it's not about me, it's about the footy club," Richardson said.
"Whatever decision is made, it will be in the best interests of the footy club and it won't be about what is best for me or anyone else."
Vickery has not been consistently catching the eye with Coburg but like Eagle Nicholas Naitanui, his club's first selection in last year's national draft and also a 19-year-old ruckman set to make his debut in Saturday's match, he represents the future for a club that is not in contention and, therefore, has little to lose by exposing him to senior football.
http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,25617474-5012432,00.html
