Tigers rewriting history * Adam Smith
* From: Herald Sun
* July 01, 2010 2:59PMRICHMOND is on track to finish in the eight - if you use a ladder which ignores the first seven rounds, which is exactly what the Tigers are doing.
Ruckman Angus Graham has revealed the ladder posted at the club starts from Round 9, giving the Tigers a 3-2 win-loss record and a place in the eight.
It seems the practice is not unique, with Collingwood coach Mick Malthouse saying earlier this season that he didn't look at the AFL ladder, preferring his own version which rated clubs on form and other key indicators.
Richmond coach Damien Hardwick said after the Tigers' narrow loss to Hawthorn in Round 8 that the club had finally started playing the football he was looking for and the club's season effectively started from that point.
At that stage the Tigers had no wins, seven losses and a dreadful percentage of 53.9, prompting comparisons with the worst teams of all time.
"After the Hawthorn game in Round 8, (coach Damien Hardwick) pretty much said our season starts now," Graham said.
"We've put up a ladder every week from Round 8 to show where we sit, so we can see how we are travelling compared to the rest of the competition.
"Once we got used to the game plan and started being competitive, our aim was to be a top eight team for the rest of the year so we have something to build on for the year after.
"It's all about building a winning culture for the rest of the year."
See the ladder based on results since Round 8 below
The timing works for Graham, who has been one of the Tigers' success stories since breaking into the team in Round 8.
In the Tigers' breakthrough win against Port Adelaide at a drenched AAMI Stadium in round 10 he laid an incredible 14 tackles, while against Brisbane a fortnight ago he had a career high 23 disposals and 12 marks.
"I thought I did that (become the No. 1 ruckman) a bit last year, I played 16 games and had a relatively good year, but obviously the last month or so I've really kicked on and started to improve my footy and be more consistent," Graham said.
"Last year I wasn't as consistent. I feel like I'm starting to do that and getting more confident so hopefully bigger and better things are to come.
"It's time to step up. Simmonds stepped aside and I've been playing OK. It is time for me to take the next step, take the reins and be a consistent player."
LADDER BASED ON RESULTS SINCE ROUND 8
Team W L D P %
1. St Kilda 5 0 0 20 153.3
2. Hawthorn 5 0 0 20 134.7
3. Geelong 4 1 0 16 143.8
4. W Bulldogs 3 2 0 12 145.8
5. Adelaide 3 2 0 12 116.2
6. Fremantle 3 2 0 12 115.8
7. Richmond 3 2 0 12 110.0
8. North Melb 3 2 0 12 87.4
9. Collingwood 2 2 1 10 116.8
10. Carlton 2 3 0 8 95.9
11. Sydney 2 3 0 8 95.9
12. Essendon 2 3 0 8 90.2
13. Melbourne 1 3 1 6 73.7
14. Bris Lions 1 4 0 4 81.8
15. Port Adel 0 5 0 0 72.5
16. West Coast 0 5 0 0 65.4
http://www.heraldsun.com.au/sport/afl/tigers-rewriting-history/story-e6frf9jf-1225886747339
