Brown irreplaceable
By Robert Walls
The Age
June 4, 2005
I felt for Richmond coach Terry Wallace when his very best player, Nathan Brown, was injured so badly last week. It would have ripped the guts out of Wallace to see his mate go down like that.
Coaches develop great affection for their players. And the more committed, professional and classier the player, the deeper the bond, as usually the coach and player have put a lot of time in together to develop the aforementioned qualities.
When I coached at Carlton, a teenaged Mil Hanna wrecked his knee on debut in the opening game of the 1986 season at Waverley Park. He required a knee reconstruction and did not play again for 12 months. Seeing the strain it put on Mil and his family cut deep.
The next year, Peter Motley was involved in a near fatal car accident. "Mots" never played again. It shook the club to its foundations, but there was a mighty resolve amongst the players to win the '87 flag for Mots, which they did.
In the Brisbane Bears' days in the early 1990s, two of my veterans were Roger Merrett and Michael McLean. They were my inspiration. Week in, week out, they would take the field under difficulty. Often they would be injected in ankles, shoulders and hands to help them get through games. Many a time we would fly back to Brisbane after copping a thumping in Melbourne. They would be exhausted, ashen-faced and struggling to walk off the plane. As a coach, you loved them for giving as they did, and you hurt when they hurt. Even though Wallace will be putting on a brave face, a big part of him will be grieving.
When Brown went down, I felt sick. The replay that showed the broken leg bending in grotesque fashion finished me for the night. I immediately turned the television off. Some viewers ended up in hospital themselves as they fainted, fell and concussed themselves after viewing the incident.
There was none of that trauma a month ago when the Western Bulldogs' skipper, Luke Darcy, tore his anterior cruciate to put him out for the season. Darcy looked like he merely slipped. Bulldogs coach Rodney Eade quickly got on the front foot to insist that all sections of the club not get "the sads" over Darcy's departure from the playing field. Since then, the Dogs have won two and lost two. They rallied in the short term, but deep down, Eade knows that Darcy's loss will cost games.
As much as Wallace tries to stay positive to his players, he knows Brown is simply irreplaceable. On form, the vice-captain was heading for an 80-goal, club best-and-fairest and All-Australian selection season.
He is his team's smartest and classiest player. He is a matchwinner - as he proved against Collingwood and the Brisbane Lions in rounds eight and nine. And because he is a matchwinner on-field and a character with his own flair, style and opinions off it, players warm to him. He gives them confidence, makes them feel good. Teammates want to earn his respect, want to be in his company. They hope a bit of his magic will rub off on them.
Richmond has done extremely well to be 7-3. But from now on, it will get tough. Brown's loss is obvious; he was the leading goalkicker, averaging 3.5 goals a game. He was the No. 1 goal-assist player as his brain and skills set up opportunities for teammates. He was the leading kick-getter, and at stop plays in the front half, it was Brown who directed traffic.
With Brown in full flight, the pressure was taken off Matthew Richardson. Now Richo will be the targeted player in the Tiger forward line. How will he cope? Brown had a calming effect on Richo. That's now gone.
Having watched Richo train at Punt Road yesterday morning, there is further reason to doubt his capabilities of stepping into the breach. He appears to be carrying a knee injury, and with his last marking attempt landed awkwardly and immediately left the track. The two West Coast selectors sitting in front of me had wry smiles on their faces as the big fella disappeared down the race.
A Wallace ploy was to vacate the forward-50 space for Brown alone. It put real pressure on the opposition defender who stood him. It was a bold and daring move that excited the Tiger players and fans as they were proud to have Browny as the "go-to" man. There is no other Richmond medium-sized player that would have that presence.
Wallace also knows that you pay a price for winning games. The Tigers have a new-found respect. Opposition clubs will assess them closer now than they have for years. The roles of Shane Tuck, Brett Deledio, Troy Simmonds, Mark Graham, Richard Tambling and Trent Knobel will be scrutinised.
Today's opponent, West Coast, will be keen to prove that it can master the MCG. A fortnight ago, it lost there to Collingwood. Last year, it was one visit for one loss to Melbourne. In fact, since 2000, the Eagles have won only two games at the 'G.
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