Hungry Tiger Tucks in

[one-eyed]

Hungry Tiger Tucks in
23 May 2005   
Herald Sun
Jon Ralph

SHANE Tuck's first game in Round 14 last year was barely noticeable to the football public, easily overshadowed by Jay Schulz's five goals at the Gabba and Danny Frawley's decision to resign as Tiger coach.

For the record, he came off the bench, looked eager if a little untidy, and by game's end had amassed an unspectacular seven kicks and six handballs.

Exactly 11 games later Tuck has transformed himself into one of Richmond's most important midfielders – a ball magnet who specialises in winning the Sherrin in close.

On Saturday night, back at the Gabba, he went head-to-head with Michael Voss and amassed a career-high 30 touches, six hardball gets and six clearances.

If Voss's 25 touches and two goals means he didn't quite have the scalp of the Brisbane captain, he has at least emerged as one of football's best stories this year.

Coach Terry Wallace admitted post-game that Tuck was a line-ball decision as he scrutinised the last few places on the list over the off-season.

In the end, the decision to keep him in preference to the likes of Tim Fleming, Adam Houlihan and Justin Blumfield came down to Tuck's desire to improve himself.

"Opportunity is a wonderful thing and maturity is a wonderful thing and those two met at the same time," he said.

"He has matured as a person. He was the only person in (at Punt Rd) when I was there in the holidays and I was trying to get the club organised and find out who would be my assistant coaches and running around trying to get things set up.

"He was the only one in and around the footy club, just working in the weights room and probably worked harder than anyone in that area just to make sure he gave himself that opportunity.

"When you see a bloke working that hard, it is very hard when it is getting to a close decision about whether they stay or go. The decision is they stay because you know they want it more than some, so he has earnt his opportunity and he has grasped it."

Former Hawk Mark Graham is another player to grab an opportunity under Wallace.

Having spent plenty of time on the bench in recent weeks, he got his chance on Jonathan Brown when Ray Hall was suspended for hitting Cameron Cloke last week.

"It was interesting. I spoke to Mark Graham last Sunday evening," Wallace said.

"We said we will see what happens with Ray but I wanted him to take up the role and keep our structure and not take Darren Gaspar away from full-back. He has known for a week and has prepared himself for that and I just thought he was fantastic."

As individuals and a collective, the Tigers are taking their chance this year, and are 7-2 as a result. Nathan Brown says the expectation is a top-four spot, and with so many players in form, who can argue?

http://www.heraldsun.news.com.au/footy/common/story_page/0,8033,15371971%255E19771,00.html

[mightytiges]

In the end, the decision to keep him in preference to the likes of Tim Fleming, Adam Houlihan and Justin Blumfield came down to Tuck's desire to improve himself.

That choice is as frightening as it is funny. Thank god the decision wasn't made by Spud before Wallace arrived  .

[one-eyed]

Tuck a Tiger transformed
5:22:47 PM Tue 24 May, 2005
Paul Gough
Sportal for afl.com.au

He has already been hailed one of the AFL's big improvers in 2005 and is one of the main reasons Richmond is sitting third on the ladder, but Shane Tuck could so easily be on the football scrapheap right now.

The son of the AFL's games record holder Michael, the 23-year-old was unwanted by his father's beloved Hawks and only got a second chance with Richmond - at pick number 73 in the 2003 national draft - after starring for West Adelaide in the SANFL.

And after just three games in 2004 and given he was an age where most players have already established themselves, it appeared Tuck would be one of the scapegoats for the Tigers' wooden spoon season at the end of last year.

And that is what so nearly occurred with Wallace revealing that Tuck was the last player to secure his place on the Richmond list for this season.

"When we started doing the number of players we were going to pick up in the national draft, we realised we needed to drop one more player off the list," Wallace said.

"And it really got down to a decision between Tucky and Tim Fleming."

Wallace said in the end Tuck survived because he was five years younger than Fleming, a player who was extremely popular with his teammates and with the Tigers' fans because of his aggressiveness.

And while Wallace admits he felt sorry for Fleming, he believes keeping Tuck could well turn out to be one of the best decisions of his coaching career.

"I just thought Tucky hadn't been given much of an opportunity, and he was big and strong and still only 22 (when Wallace arrived at the club) and I thought if he could come through and produce the goods, then perhaps we would have a ten year player on our hands."

But it wasn't until a low key practice match against a virtual Essendon reserves side in Morwell in country Victoria in March that Wallace began to realise just what Tuck was capable of, if given a chance.

"I got a surprise in that practice match, because until then we had been playing him in a few cameo roles off the bench and then we went to Morwell and I said to him - 'just go out and play', and he was best on the ground, and from that day onwards I thought - 'we might have found one here'.

"He was actually voted by our match committee as our best player over the practice match series, so it was just a matter of whether he could continue to do that as the standard rose."

Tuck, who like his great father is quietly spoken off the field, has certainly shown he can do just that, having amassed more than 20 touches in seven of the Tigers' nine games to date.

And his ferocity has added another dimension to the Tigers' midfield with Tuck becoming a master at winning the all-important clearances while he is also averaging nearly three tackles a game.

His rise from seemingly nowhere, combined with the return from injury of 2003 best and fairest winner Mark Coughlan, has suddenly given the Tigers the kind of engine room so badly lacking last year, but it was Tuck's effort last week against Brisbane which made all footy fans and not just Tiger fans sit up and take notice.

Opposed to Brisbane's triple premiership captain and arguably the finest midfielder of the past decade in Michael Voss, Tuck was simply inspirational as he racked up 31 touches in a best on ground display and fittingly won the last clearance of the match to ensure the Tigers hung on for a four point win.

Now Wallace and all the Tigers' success-starved fans will be just hoping Tuck can continue to produce the goods for as long as his amazing father did over a career that spanned 426 games over 20 seasons from 1972-91.

http://afl.com.au/default.asp?pg=news&spg=display&articleid=204958

[cub]

What happened to Tim Fleming anywayz

[mightytiges]

What happened to Tim Fleming anywayz

He joined South Adelaide this year in the SANFL.

[one-eyed]

Tuck of the draw
27 May 2005   
Herald Sun
Jim Wilson

TERRY Wallace sat at his desk with the Richmond list in front of him.

It was October, and a line had already been drawn through 11 names. One more had to go.

That one would be either tough nut Tim Fleming or Shane Tuck, best known as the son of AFL games record-holder Michael Tuck.

It was not an easy call. Fleming was a favourite with Tiger fans and teammates. Tuck had played just three games in his first year at Punt Rd.

Wallace agonised over the decision for 48 hours. Then, he recalled this week, something clicked.

"For 48 hours it was a really difficult decision, but I had one night at home and it became crystal clear that we had to go down one path and one path only," Wallace said.

"I came back to (football director) Greg Miller and said, `Look, this is what's happening: he's gone (Fleming) and he's staying (Tuck)'."

Wallace has said since that knowing Tuck Sr took a while to establish himself as a senior player played a part in his decision. This week he described it as "gut feel".

Whatever the reason, it didn't take long for Wallace to know he had made the right call.

"When I would come down to clean the joint over the summer, there was one bloke here every day and that was Tucky," Wallace said. "In the gym, I thought he was a big unit, and for him to be here in his time, he seriously wanted to play senior footy."

When pre-season training started in earnest, Wallace went from being confident he made the right decision to thinking he might have something special on his hands.

"We started doing some marking drills over summer and he just monstered the other guys who play a similar sort of role," Wallace said.

The Tigers coach said while Shane hated comparisons with his legendary father, the similarities were eerie.

"I had my locker next to Tucky for nine years in my playing days at Hawthorn and they are very similar in personality," Wallace said.

For his part, Tuck is happy just to be getting some game time.

"Being able to play AFL footy and not worry about the runner coming out to me every 15 minutes is something I'm enjoying," Tuck said.

"Last year I played just three games and spent 20 minutes on and 20 minutes off, and it was tough."

It had been a tough road for Tuck to even get to those tough 48 hours for Wallace.

Tuck was dropped off Hawthorn's rookie list in 2002. But he didn't drop his head, heading to South Australia, where he joined forces with former Crows ruckman Shaun Rehn at West Adelaide.

Rehn quickly saw Tuck as more than a half-back flanker and threw him into the midfield, where his size (188cm, 89kg) and strength made him a key member.

Tuck had limited opportunities after being taken at No. 73 in the 2003 national draft, but is keen to thank former Tigers coach Danny Frawley for giving him a chance at the top level.

Frawley said this week he probably should have played Tuck in the midfield rather than on the wing, but is delighted Tuck is now reaping the rewards of a full pre-season.

"It give me so much pleasure to see Tucky kick on, and his presence inside for the Tigers has been invaluable," Frawley said.

That presence has been a key to the Tigers' climb off the bottom of the ladder, but Tuck said Wallace didn't give him any specific instructions.

"Terry doesn't complicate things too much. He just tells me to get the ball," Tuck said.

And that's exactly what he's done. Tuck is equal seventh in the league for hardball gets with 34, equal eighth for clearances with 45 and 13th for contested possessions with 73.

He ranks second at Tigerland for kicks (behind Nathan Brown), and is equal second with Joel Bowden (again behind Brown) for disposals.

After taking on opponents such as Anthony Koutoufides and Scott Burns, the biggest accolade came last week when Wallace let him go head-to-head with Brisbane Lions veteran Michael Voss. Voss was one of Brisbane's best, but Tuck was rated by most experts as best on ground.

"This year I have started every game on the ground and I don't have to worry about it," Tuck said.

"The faith my teammates and coaching staff have shown me has been fantastic."

If Shane needs it, his famous dad is always happy to provide a word of advice. And Tuck Jr said he spoke the way his son plays.

"Dad doesn't muck around and he'll tell it the way it is," Tuck said.

"If I played crap, then he'll tell me I played crap."

But Michael Tuck said those sort of assessments were rarely required this year, and the reasons were simple.

"Mate, he played three games last season and it's all about confidence," Michael Tuck said.

"Terry believes in him, pure and simple."

But Wallace said the credit for Tuck's remarkable rise was all his own.

"The door opened at Hawthorn and for some reason it didn't work out and that could have been the end," Wallace said.

"But for him to go over to Adelaide and work with Rehnny and then come home and get a few kicks in the guts again, he showed great character. He's the one that's opened the doors."

http://www.heraldsun.news.com.au/footy/common/story_page/0,8033,15417525%255E19771,00.html