Richmond needs to play more like coach Damian Hardwick did, writes David King David King
From: Herald Sun
June 02, 2013 10:00PMTHE toughest question to answer this year is: Has Richmond improved?
Opinions fluctuate about where the Tigers sit.
Off-field the club is settled, recruiting has been blemish-free in recent drafts and positive re-signings are taking place with regularity.
Statistically, missing the finals in 2012 seemed an anomaly given the Tigers ranked in the top four in all key indicators against their direct opponents (see table), but they have fallen away alarmingly this season.
They have issues to address if they're to beat the best teams and those concerns lay with their very best players and their collective desire to defend.
Richmond plays comfortably, if not passively, when its opponents have the football compared with the league's benchmark, Fremantle.
Other teams seldom compliment the Tigers on their pressure or physical presence.
Until they address the gap between the manic harassment levels of Fremantle and their current level - ranked third-last - hard-luck stories will be the order of the day.
This isn't a talent issue and it's easily remedied.
Cameron Mooney said on Fox Footy's AFL360 that Richmond play a "nice" brand of football and that can either be accepted and acted upon or, as has been the case previously, excuses can be made.
Enough is enough.
Richmond can be clinical with ball in hand. It is the most powerful team in the AFL at scoring from clearances, averaging 16 points more than its opponents.
Clearance domination has, historically, been an indicator of success, but Geelong has made us rethink that.
Reece Conca's improvement and dedication to all the phases of the game has elevated him to Richmond's second-most important midfielder behind Trent Cotchin. Conca's statistical averages highlight his importance as the Tigers' No.1 pressuring midfielder and score generator and he's been sadly missed.
Conca will pass Brett Deledio and the spasmodic Dustin Martin in the midfield pecking order sooner rather than later.
Deledio still flies the white flag when tagged, succumbing mentally to the challenge that most thought he would have learned to overcome.
Coach Damien Hardwick must look to use this trump card in other roles aside from Deledio himself becoming a tagger.
That's a waste of talent.
Experiment with Deledio at centre half-forward like Robert Murphy circa 1998.
Deledio's contested marking capabilities combined with his electrifying speed make negating him with a midfield tagger almost impossible.
The coaches box's biggest headache is how to get the best out of this A Grade talent. But is he actually that good?
The 2013 numbers would make Deledio cringe.
Against the minnows of the competition he averages 28 disposals, in stark contrast to when playing the top eight teams, where his average drops to 18.5 disposals.
It's time to deliver against the guns and tonight would be as good a time as any.
The "Turnover Tigers" in the defensive end have frustrated and cruelled momentum in the first nine rounds.
Richmond does not possess an individual of the calibre of Corey Enright, but even if he were at the Tigers he would play midfield.
When Conca, Brandon Ellis and Nick Vlastuin compliment the more experienced midfield crew, then through the luxury of depth, one of these lads will play half-back.
Alex Rance desperately needs Dylan Grimes back from injury to handle the opposition's best forward as he looks like he's heading down the James Frawley development path.
Struggling to execute his skills under pressure, Rance has turned over the ball with 15 per cent of his possessions.
Given the enormity of that figure, it beggars belief that Rance takes the risks he continually does.
It can be fixed, but only if Rance accepts his role and does not try to be something he's not. He's a great interceptor, but not an offensive weapon.
Jack Riewoldt could again win the Coleman this season and is a prodigious talent, but so too are Jack Darling and Josh Kennedy who also sit No.1 and No.2 on the pressure index for key forwards.
Darling averages 14 defensive acts a week while Riewoldt averages 10.
It's a case of small margins, as it will be on the ladder come Round 23.
Is it just coincidence that Riewoldt's highest tackling game for the season was against St Kilda in Round 2, when he kicked seven goals? Six goals in four games against top eight teams and 23 in five against the battlers.
Like Deledio, tonight is the night for Riewoldt.
In saying that, he needs assistance and, as good as Luke McGuane and Jake King have been with 14 goals each, Ty Vickery needs to make an impact.
Only through forcing more forward-half turnovers will the Tigers' spread of goalkickers improve.
Currently the Tigers rank mid-table. Just mediocre.
Hardwick's time to raise the defensive standards has come.
A failure to make considerable improvements will surely mean another wasted year in a very open season.
Some coaches crave for their players to play like they did in their day.
I see Dimma's old club, Essendon, play more like he did than the Tigers.
Richmond needs a statement game and a defensively brilliant performance on which to build - something interstate against a flag contender full of stars.
The Tigers have assets, star power and matchwinners when in possession.
If only the players could understand the scope for improved defensive intensity.
Who's going to lead it? Riewoldt? Deledio? Cotchin? Maybe Chris Newman needs to straighten a few up with some good old-fashioned eyeballing before the game.
Richmond could possibly win five of its next seven matches as the draw opens up, but the errors of the past cannot resurface.
Exhibit A is Gold Coast in Cairns last year.
While statistics say the Tigers haven't improved as yet, the gap is marginal and can be corrected, but only if they really want to.
I remain a believer. The Tigers are finals-bound in 2013.
But no more nice football, no more waiting and no more drifting. It's time to play like the coach did.
http://www.perthnow.com.au/sport/afl/richmond-needs-to-play-more-like-coach-damian-hardwick-did-writes-david-king/story-e6frg21u-1226655479109
