At least you have seen a flag. I came here in '85 and chose to barrack for RFC. Yes I do get joy out of watching a win, albeit as badly as we played on saturday, but at the end of the day this is a business, teams will disappear and it is a matter of survival not a week to week enjoyment fest. There is something critically wrong at RFC. I don't know what it is but it is not a good thing and it is holding RFC back until it is addressed.
The first game I can remember was our '82 GF loss so I'm like you - spent all of my living memory watching the club fail. I disagree that there has been something critically wrong with the club. There has actually been many things wrong including failure to change with the times and respect the draft. Lack of funds to invest in players, recruitment and coaching. Making the head coach the scape goat for everything wrong with the club and then wondering why the same problems resurface again with the next coach.
To be successful you need to do the hard yards and hold the course. You need a quality team of coaches and support staff to educate and drive the players. You need great facilities and you need a plan that you don't waver from.
We have had a step back this year. I think it shows that we have the quality on the list, when they are all healthy, but we fall away far too quickly. Our depth is terrible and our player leadership very suspect. When a few injuries occur to key players we can not win. This is my biggest concern not Hardwicks coaching.
We need to recruit from the draft first then look at free agency second. More money needs to be pumped into development and Dimma needs more help in the box on game day. Some of our assistant coaches are ordinary and need to be either moved on or assisted themselves.
This year has been disappointing for me too but I think we are finally back on the right track with the right players. We now need to keep winning to change our mindset and confidence level across the club. Until we can play in the big games and remain composed when challenged on field, we will go nowhere regardless of the talent we have playing.
I agree with most things you post Stripes but wanted call out 2 aspects to your post :-
The bolded highlights a fundamental error at Richmond. The head coach is in charge of the wins/losses. Simple. Throat to choke, been going on for 130 years and will continue.
Doesn't mean we should sack him after one poor year but HE IS THE MAN!
We pay him the big bucks, he needs to man up and club should go hard on his performance.
They -the club- and he-Hardwick- completely stuffed up the off season.
All aspects - recruiting philosophy, training, the limp wrested leadership crap in rio, promising big things like "fast starts", appearing to change aspects of the game plan, letting training standards drop?, not getting leading teams in earlier? Some home truths may have worked better in the 2nd week of September instead of the 2nd week of May?
In other words - being front footed in issues not back footed.
On field - Damien Hardwick
Off field - Dan Richardson and Benny
On the underlined bit, Dimma needs to take responsibility for his assistant coaches - it's his hiring, his team, his responsibility.
I'd love to make excuses for the coach but it's hard to do that when he's presided over a number of gigantic cock ups.
Let's hope he's learnt his lesson.
