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Richmond: A Litany Of Failures
The Tigers announce themselves as a contender for 2013By Paul Barbieri
17/04/2013 6:42 PM"The best place to be is when expectations are high," declared Richmond coach Damien Hardwick last weekend after his side announced themselves as a contender in 2013 with last Sunday's 72-point win over the Western Bulldogs.
But as Richmond fans will tell you, expectation and failure often go hand in hand for the Tigers' faithful over the last 31 years, a period that's seen the club make the finals on just two occasions.
Saturday's blockbuster clash with Collingwood at the MCG may reveal whether the 2013 Tigers are the real deal or just noisy kittens demanding to be recognised among the competition's big boys.
If Richmond get up, there will be no stopping the Tiger Army as their fans pull out their duffel coats and get around their side in a big way.
But for every other supporter out there it's still fun to look at the good old days when Richmond could be relied on to fail whenever the big stage beckoned.
1994 - Round 24 v GeelongTwelve years after Richmond had last tasted Premiership success in 1982, the Tigers looked likely to return to the finals in 1994. John Northey had led his team to eight wins from nine matches from Rounds 12 through to 20 but losses to Hawthorn (R21) and Carlton (R23) meant the Tigers needed to win their final-round clash with Geelong to make the eight. Heading into the game, Richmond were boosted by the fact their main rival for eighth position, Collingwood, were smashed on the Friday night by North Melbourne and just one more victory would see them head into September. However, what followed was a classic Richmond train wreck as Northey's side were humiliated by 76 points by a Cats outfit that ultimately lost the Grand Final to West Coast that year. Adding insult to injury, Richmond's loss allowed Collingwood to hang on to eighth position. It was the first of six times Richmond would finish ninth in the next 20 seasons and 'The Richmond Cup' was born.
1996 - Round 22 v North MelbourneRichmond made the finals in 1995 but any thoughts this would be a regular occurrence were dashed the following season, once again during the final round. Round 22 1996 will probably be remembered more for Jason Dunstall kicking 100 goals during the infamous Melbourne 'merger' match, but Tigers' fans will probably still be dwelling on a 32-point loss to eventual premiers North Melbourne that consigned them to ninth once again. Trailing the Kangaroos by just two points at three-quarter time, Robert Walls' side even dared to hit the lead during the final term of this game. But a five-goal performance from Craig Sholl ultimately broke the hearts of Tiger fans as North then kicked away, booting nine goals in the final term to win in style.
1998 - Round 22 v MelbourneIt promised to be a great day for Richmond fans. The sun was shining, the Tigers had won five of their last eight matches - including a 77-point belting of Brisbane the week before - and a finals spot beckoned if they could overcome Melbourne in the final round. In Round seven, Richmond, now under Jeff Gieschen's tutelage, had easily accounted for the Demons. But this Melbourne side had gained plenty of momentum during the back half of the 1998 season and proved an unstoppable force as they crushed Richmond's hopes with a brutal 76-point victory at the MCG. Once again the Tigers finished ninth and their brave challenge for a top-eight position was forgotten as Jeff Farmer took the mark of the year in this game at the same time.
2000 - Round 15 v Port Adelaide, Round 22 v CarltonI may have been living in Edinburgh for the majority of this season but even Scotland wasn't far enough away to escape Richmond fans gloating at the prospect of finals football once again as the Tigers won nine out of 11 matches from Round 5 onwards. That was until the wheels fell off. The first indication of this was when they faced a Port Adelaide side that for much of 2000 were dreadful. But with Gavin Wanganeen booting four goals and Nick Stevens amassing 27 touches, Port proved too good for the Tigers as they won just their fourth match of the season. The result still didn't look likely to knock Richmond out of the finals but a one-point loss to Sydney in Round 21 meant they had to beat a heavily-fancied Carlton to make the eight. But as Scott Camporeale and Brendan Fevola kicked four goals apiece, the Blues romped away to a 73-point victory that consigned Richmond to ninth for a fourth time in seven seasons.
2001 - Qualifying Final v EssendonWhat a difference a week makes. Richmond made the finals in 2001 but its final-round clash with reigning premiers Essendon was shrouded in controversy. Although the Bombers were blistering during the first half of this season, the latter stages of 2001 saw them drop their form somewhat even if they finished on top of the ladder. With that in mind, Essendon appeared to have wanted to avoid a clash with old foes Carlton during the first week of finals, a game that would have eventuated had Richmond lost to Essendon in Round 22 and slumped to fifth on the ladder. Instead, the Bombers lost their final round clash to the Tigers by 24 points, meaning the Tigers finished fourth and set up a qualifying final date with Essendon the following week. Richmond fans may have been daring to dream, but the Bombers soon turned it around as they slaughtered the hapless Tigers by 70 points. Richmond still made the preliminary final that season but were thrashed by eventual premier Brisbane by 68 points.
2005 - Round 10 v MelbourneThat 2001 Preliminary final actually proved the last piece of September action the Tigers would see for some time. But such a scenario didn't appear likely in 2005 as Richmond stormed into third on the ladder with seven wins from the first nine rounds. Terry Wallace's charges appeared an unstoppable force and looked to have found some real steel as they blew Collingwood apart in Round 8 with an eight-goal final term. That was until one of the most shocking moments in AFL football in recent years as key small forward Nathan Brown horrifically snapped his leg in the Round 10 clash with Melbourne. Shellshocked by the injury, the Tigers lost that match by 57 points and only managed another three wins as they slumped to 12th by the end of the year.
2006 - Round 1 v Western BulldogsAnother season, another ninth-place finish for Richmond. With Nathan Brown soon expected to return from his broken leg, the Tigers started 2006 with renewed optimism. But such happiness didn't even last a week as the Tigers found themselves on the wrong end of a 115-point drubbing by the Dogs in Round 1. To their credit, Richmond responded and produced 11 wins that season, to be still in finals contention heading into Round 22. But when their nearest rival, those pesky Bulldogs, beat Essendon on the Friday night, it meant Richmond was out of finals contention.
2009 - Round 1 v CarltonThe fall from grace didn't come much bigger for Tigers fans than 2009. The previous year, the Tigers finished their season with a flurry, winning eight of their last 11 games to finish, you guessed it, in ninth. But times were still good. Richo had almost nabbed the 2008 Brownlow and the Tigers had just recruited an experienced campaigner to boost their midfield in Ben Cousins. Memberships were going through the roof and everything appeared set for a big challenge in 2009. That was until their Round 1 clash with Carlton. It proved the greatest of train wrecks as Cousins hurt his hamstring but was sent back into the field only to hurt it more severely. On top of those dramas, they conceded eight goals to three in the first quarter and were on their way to an 83-point loss. Worse was to follow as the Tigers lost eight of their first nine games to effectively end Terry Wallace's tenure at the club there and then. From such high hopes, Wallace eventually stood down midway through the season to be replaced by Jade Rawlings, an out-of-depth coach who appeared to be cannon fodder for the Tigers administration, allowing them to disgracefully turf him on the scrap heap following a terrible loss to West Coast in the final round.
2012 - Round 11 v Fremantle, Round 16 v Gold CoastThey may not have been in finals contention during 2010 and 2011 but the Tigers still made great strides under Damien Hardwick and appeared to be well and truly on the move when they won four out of five games leading into Round 11 last year. One of those wins had been over eventual premier Sydney, while a 62-point demolition of Hawthorn in Round 9 had really seen the Tigers bandwagon get going. When the Tigers accounted for St Kilda in a blockbuster clash the following Friday night, finals appeared a formality. That was of course until they met with Fremantle in Round 11. To that point, the Dockers hadn't really clicked under new coach Ross Lyon, but a week of torrential rain in Perth had prepared them better for the MCG's sodden surface than Richmond had. In a bruising display, Fremantle out-muscled the Tigers and produced a season-defining 12-point win. The Tigers still appeared well in the hunt for finals footy come Round 15, just four points adrift of the eight. But deep into their clash with Gold Coast they produced what's become known as the worse last two minutes of footy on record as they allowed the Suns to score twice, including Karmichael Hunt's after-the-siren winner.
http://www.triplem.com.au/sydney/sport/afl/news/richmond-a-litany-of-failures/
