I'll be so ticked off if Richmond choose Tapscott, or some other onballer at pick 19, that I'll re-build the old social club, just so I can burn it down.
Wake up Richmond,WE NEED KEY POSITION PLAYERS!!!!! This whole argument of recruiting the best available player over needs is both a fallacy, and a crock, and is why our club is in its' current ladder position. Basically, those who don't learn from the mistakes of the past are condemned to commit them OVER AND OVER AGAIN (think Fiora over Pavlich, and Tambling over Buddy here.)
Those comparisons do not back up your argument. Picking Fiora over Pavlich does not condemn the 'best player over needs' idea. It simply shows that RFC didnt know who the best player was. If they picked Fiora because they thought he was a better player than Pavlich, then history shows that they were wrong. (although I remember reading somewhere that they made that decision because they thought they needed mids more than KPPF because of the Richo factor. Dont know if thats true.)
The same with Tabling V Buddy, so far you would have to say that buddy has been the better player so again if richmond picked tambling because they thouight he was a better player, up to now you have to say their judjment was wrong.
Just on the tabling V buddy debate, if Richmond had taken buddy and hawthorne taken tambling, i wonder if buddy would still be regarded as the better pick?
Richmond's problem has not been that our drafting policy (ie on ground position of player drafted) but more that
1 They have drafted the wrong player full stop.
or
2 They have not been able to develop the players drafted to realise their full potential.
If we were sitting in Footscrays position who have an abundance of mid sized players but believe they were a key forward short of a premiership, then yes you could say we should have drafted more for needs.
On to Griffiths at 19. I think Emma Quale said it could be two years before he is playing senior footy due to his injury, which would be a real test of his character. His character will be even tested more by the Richmond hordes screaming him down as a dud and calling for the blood of those that recruited a crock if we haven't seen any return on him half way through 2011, even more so if we are struggling to kick winning scores still.. If we do take him at 19 then people have to be patient and give him time.
The nature of his injury also means that there is a chance he will not, physically, be able to develop into the strong pack marking forward people are hoping for. If the club decides that the returns are worth the risk, roll the dice and dice don't come up favourably, then so be it -
as long as the club has done everything in its power to allow him to develop. Sometimes you have to take a risk and it doesn't always turn out how you would like. That's just life.
