Plenty to like but Tigers yet to earn their stripes (Back Page Lead)

[one-eyed]

Plenty to like but Tigers yet to earn their stripes

William Thomson
BackPageLead.com
Wednesday, 11 September 2013


"It's a hard question to ask a coach after an elimination final loss whether there is a bright future but there is, we know there is.'' So said Richmond coach Damian Hardwick after his side's unforeseen elimination-final loss to Carlton last Sunday.

On balance, Hardwick is probably right, but last Sunday's loss raised the eyebrows of doubters who noticed some familiar signs of fragility in this season's Cinderella story (that ended up more like Romeo and Juliet).

The Tigers made an all-too-brief return to finals football after 12 years, and while it is difficult to put a dampener on an otherwise terrific year, it is worth examining the issue of just how far this group can go.

It is now an assumption (among some) that Richmond will be regular finals participants, and while the agony of this year may prove a great motivational tool, assumptions are often dangerous in a sporting context.

Richmond enjoyed minimal injury concerns this year and were aided by a relatively soft draw in which they played Sydney, Hawthorn and Geelong only once.

Things may not be as easy next year. Their fired up supporters will bring heavy expectations and one suspects their new-found standing as a top-eight team will result in a harsher fixture - which North Melbourne can tell them all about after making the finals in 2012 and receiving the draw from hell this season.

Of more concern, or at least cause for examination, is the Tigers' playing list. There is a noticeable difference between the top sides and those in middle when it comes to talent and depth, and while Richmond will defend its 'nearly there' status, critics will point at the bottom 6-8 players and more worryingly hold judgement on its top two or three.

Trent Cotchin, Brett Deledio, Jack Riewoldt and Dustin Martin are arguably Richmond's top tier, and on Sunday each showed reason for why detractors aren't pencilling in the Tigers as premiership contenders just yet.

For all the gains Martin made this year, his first finals performance was a reminder that he is too often inconsistent and foolish. Luke Darcy described his 'jailhouse' salute as selfish on AFL.com.au and it coincided with a far too typical fadeout in the second half.

Cotchin's sometimes erratic foot skills were evident in the second half; Deledio went missing again, bolstering the view that he can't deal with close attention; and Reiwoldt was at his petulant worst at times, flying for hangers and becoming frustrated he couldn't get into the game. Granted, he was injured and looked like it.

Perhaps a better supporting cast would help. Can Richmond really be a top-four side with Jake King, Aaron Edwards, Dan Jackson, Ricky Petterd and Luke McGuane in the team? Many of the yellow-and-black persuasion will say, sure we can. But the questions persist.

Perhaps the forgotten element in Sunday's expected foregone conclusion was the coaching. While Carlton is featuring in September on a technicality, Mick Malthouse slipped under the radar as if a non-factor. The irony is that Sunday's win means Malthouse is now the most successful finals coach of all time.

Damien Hardwick's performance will also draw some scrutiny. A coach growing in stature no doubt, but he was outcoached on Sunday.

In the lead up to the final, the Tigers visibly practised altering the tempo of games. It worked well when 100 points up against Western Sydney a fortnight prior and it was fine against a spent Essendon the week later. It cost them dearly on Sunday.

The incessant lifting of the ball in the air is just about the most obvious tactic in football, and with the Tigers well in control at half time, the momentum changed with the tempo. Unnecessarily, Richmond toyed with a game they had in its grasp and opened the door to a rival who sensed an opportunity.

It's harsh judging a football team that has been down for so long and finally made the finals, but the footballing public expected more. The fans expected much more, strung along by precocious advertising featuring Matthew Richardson and billboards from sponsors supporting the Tigers' finals series that were over shortly after it began. Tiger legend and SEN broadcaster, Kevin Bartlett, had been predicting a (albeit tongue-in-cheek) 97-point win all week.

Notwithstanding some difficulty surrounding salary cap and keeping its young stars, Richmond's defeat on the weekend exposed some flaws that have flickered all year.

The Tigers are by no means a house of cards but, by the same token, the evidence is hardly compelling that they're a powerhouse-in-waiting either.

http://www.backpagelead.com.au/index.php/afl/10820-plenty-to-like-but-tigers-yet-to-earn-their-stripes

[Andyy]

Sums is up pretty well.

[bojangles17]

Sounds like rubbish it to me

[Judge Roughneck]

Sounds like rubbish it to me

 Can Richmond really be a top-four side with Jake King, Aaron Edwards, Dan Jackson, Ricky Petterd and Luke McGuane in the te

Fair question

[tigs2011]

Sounds like rubbish it to me

 Can Richmond really be a top-four side with Jake King, Aaron Edwards, Dan Jackson, Ricky Petterd and Luke McGuane in the te

Fair question

Jackson yes, the rest probably not.

[bojangles17]

There wasn't too much wrong with petterd s game 16 possies ,94% eff 1 goal and 10 score involvements , more than anyone on the ground, Edwards played pretty well, umm I fink mcguane didn't play, king was poor yes

[tigs2011]

There wasn't too much wrong with petterd s game 16 possies ,94% eff 1 goal and 10 score involvements , more than anyone on the ground, Edwards played pretty well, umm I fink mcguane didn't play, king was poor yes

DE is a crap stat. We went in a midfielder short playing 3 permanent small/medium forwards. Petterd was ok but we need to upgrade with someone who can play as a midfielder as well. Edwards was good but he's nearly 30 and if we can get a big power forward who leads we will be an infinitely better team. King was rubbish. We need a gun small forward who chases and harasses. I love Kingy's pressure usually but that should be an expectation of ALL forwards not a specialist role because no one else is willing to do it.

[RollsRoyce]

Thomson's assertion that Hardwick was outcoached was spot on:
-Orren Stephenson should have played. Three weeks ago  Warnock and Casboult destroyed Maric and Vickery in the ruck. Last week they bolstered their rucking with the return of Kruezer, and we went with the same combination. Predictably the Carlton pair wore Ivan down.
-If this sacrifice of our ruck stocks was made in the name of adding pace, then why was Foley dropped, and Petterd, who is not a runner, had no clearly defined role and played accordingly, brought in?
-If Riewoldt was carrying an injury, why was he roaming the 50 meter arc as a decoy forward? Aside from the fact that this is a bizarre thing to ask your marquee forward to do under any circumstances, wouldn't it have made more sense to keep an underdone full-forward in the goal square?
-This tempo footy that we try to play with spectacularly poor results has got to go. It's a sign of weakness that the opposition smells like a dog smells fear. As one commentator correctly stated pre-match: The winner will be the team that can sustain pedal to the metal football the longest, and this is not achieved by holding the ball in the air and chipping it from flank to flank.
-Shane Edwards: In my opinion he is a one position player at best, a crumbing forward with a bit of x-factor who can get to the spill of the ball and kick some freakish goals. That's it. He is too small and lightweight to be mixing it in the midfield, and yet Hardwick persists in playing him there. Once again he had ZERO impact on the game.
-Brett Deledio: Once again he has allowed himself to be tagged into oblivion without so much as a whimper. And once again Hardwick has wasted him in the backline in an attempt to shake said tag. We all know Brett can play as a forward, we saw him do it successfully some years back. He's very difficult to stop because he's quick on the lead, good overhead for his size, and a precise kick. Come on Damian, try something different FFS. 
-Finally, we were led to believe that Damian Hardwick was a hard man who valued grit, toughness and fearlessness in players. If this is the case, why does he continue to persist with softies like Sean Grigg? He is as weak as pee, the definitive downhill skier, and needs to be expunged from the club ASAP for us to move forward.
RANT OVER.

[Francois Jackson]

Well said RR
Grigg
Edwards
The 2 players we should've traded not signed up

[Yeahright]

-If Riewoldt was carrying an injury, why was he roaming the 50 meter arc as a decoy forward? Aside from the fact that this is a bizarre thing to ask your marquee forward to do under any circumstances, wouldn't it have made more sense to keep an underdone full-forward in the goal square?

Not when he gets destroyed by Jamison every time when his fit.

[the claw]

Sounds like rubbish it to me

 Can Richmond really be a top-four side with Jake King, Aaron Edwards, Dan Jackson, Ricky Petterd and Luke McGuane in the te

Fair question

you can add a few others as well who have been over the yrs  nothing but inconsistent and lacking in basic skills and attributes. some of them have produced good periods of sustained good footy but the history shows they invariably revert back to mediocrity because its what is sustainable.

the criticism of jackson is fair and yes hes had a good yr.  he fits what i just said to a tee.

just a reminder
carlton beat us twice are we better than them
nm thrashed us are we better than them.
essendon wiped the floor with us in the one game that meant anything are we better than them.
 i keep saying it yes we made finals and it was a fine achievment but the reality is we are very much a middling side despite our ladder finish.

there are still so many ordinary players on our list if we want continued improvement we just have to be prepared to cut  half a dozen or more  from the list proper plus our share of rookies.

[Yeahright]

We smashed Hawks so dw we must be better than them

[the claw]

We smashed Hawks so dw we must be better than them

it was a comment to point out sides who did not make the 8  are right there with us.  theres no or little difference between us. all middling teams and if we fail to make some hard calls we will be left behind.
iknow you dont want to hear it but  think ess, nm, ad,  wce all have more rounded better lists than us.
i still maintain we will struggle to make the 8 next yr especially if we dont address at least some of the glaring holes and persevere with hacks.

[Andyy]

Carlton is not better as a side. They're just better coached.

North might be better but not by much. Probably just better coached.

Hawks are superior to us. We match up well on them though and Hardwick still knows many of their players and how to counter them.


Common problem for me here is Hardwick. I have doubts about his potential to deliver the flag.

[bojangles17]

Thomson's assertion that Hardwick was outcoached was spot on:
-Orren Stephenson should have played. Three weeks ago  Warnock and Casboult destroyed Maric and Vickery in the ruck. Last week they bolstered their rucking with the return of Kruezer, and we went with the same combination. Predictably the Carlton pair wore Ivan down.
-If this sacrifice of our ruck stocks was made in the name of adding pace, then why was Foley dropped, and Petterd, who is not a runner, had no clearly defined role and played accordingly, brought in?
-If Riewoldt was carrying an injury, why was he roaming the 50 meter arc as a decoy forward? Aside from the fact that this is a bizarre thing to ask your marquee forward to do under any circumstances, wouldn't it have made more sense to keep an underdone full-forward in the goal square?
-This tempo footy that we try to play with spectacularly poor results has got to go. It's a sign of weakness that the opposition smells like a dog smells fear. As one commentator correctly stated pre-match: The winner will be the team that can sustain pedal to the metal football the longest, and this is not achieved by holding the ball in the air and chipping it from flank to flank.
-Shane Edwards: In my opinion he is a one position player at best, a crumbing forward with a bit of x-factor who can get to the spill of the ball and kick some freakish goals. That's it. He is too small and lightweight to be mixing it in the midfield, and yet Hardwick persists in playing him there. Once again he had ZERO impact on the game.
-Brett Deledio: Once again he has allowed himself to be tagged into oblivion without so much as a whimper. And once again Hardwick has wasted him in the backline in an attempt to shake said tag. We all know Brett can play as a forward, we saw him do it successfully some years back. He's very difficult to stop because he's quick on the lead, good overhead for his size, and a precise kick. Come on Damian, try something different FFS. 
-Finally, we were led to believe that Damian Hardwick was a hard man who valued grit, toughness and fearlessness in players. If this is the case, why does he continue to persist with softies like Sean Grigg? He is as weak as pee, the definitive downhill skier, and needs to be expunged from the club ASAP for us to move forward.
RANT OVER.

Well said rr though I reckon lids played one of his better games v Carlton .... 2 rucks would have been the go, said to my mate during game if we get through bring in o v swans Maric was rubbish for 3q