Wallace was interviewed about the year and the future on Sport 927's club corner:
* Wait for the trade period before he talks about delistings. Won't say anything until then. All players are aware where they stand.
* Improved year. Only done the first step though of going up the ladder. We don't want to do a Carlton.
* Sure there was alot of hoolah about Hawthorn with their 10 debutants but we had 6 ourselves. Plus a number of the Hawks' debutants were in the last few games when they had lots of injuries.
* Skill level needs to improve dramatically. Turnovers result in goals. Many goals these days result from mistakes by the opposition rather than from winning contested footy.
* Education, teaching, analytical roles have increased since he last coached but time and commitment is the same. He knew what he was getting himself into.
* Supporters don't mind decisions being made provided they're explained and there's a vision and direction.
* Enjoys being in media contact provided it's within bounds. Networks have asked him to do various things on matchday but he won't do things that would give away secrets. He's not sideshow bob.
* He will take a couple of weeks off (didn't get a break last year). Will have the whole preseason and staffing planned out before then. Staffing means everyone - 80-90 people from the bootstudder to opposition analysis to Coburg. Does that with Paul Armstrong and Miller.
* His job is to know where's the game now; where's it going to be in 3 years; how will we get there. You need to keep progressing and keep a step ahead otherwise you go backwards pretty quickly.
* Tuck - full of praise. Always puts his body in. He showed something in the few senior games he played and he could become a 10-year player compared to others he was competing with for a spot on our list.
* Pettifer - a pretty fair effort kicking 32 goals and playing every game after playing no more than 10 in a single year previously. Had the talent at 18. You don't lose that by 22. A matter of giving him confidence and an opportunity. One player who genuinely stood up all year especially after Browny went down. Kayne still knows he has more improvement in him.
* Deledio - no expectations when he drafted him (Judd played every game in his first year; Luke Ball none). By end of preseason knew he'd be playing most games. Job now is to back it up in his 2nd and 3rd years.
* Tambling - you can't compare players. A wretched year with injuries. Indigenous players take a touch longer too.
* There's also Meyer, Pattison and Polo who we need to develop and come through together. Remember some of Bulldogs like Giansaracusia etc are in their sixth year and we're only talking about ours in their first.
* Brought up again that he had an issue with priority picks. Not morally right as you'd want teams to want to win. Expects it to change by next year. Just wants to get it right then leave it alone as we fiddle with these rules far too much.
* The gap in the middle of the list hurts clubs for 8-9 years. You don't have the 22-26yo now then when your kids get to that age, your senior players have retired and you end up with a gap at the 28+ yo group. He needs to manage that so it never ever happens again at Richmond.
* Browny - special player. Top 5 in the comp when he went down so of course he was a major loss. He's a big game player. A type of bloke who says guys get us close to the mark and I'll get you over the line. Did the same for Australia in the International Rules series.
* Spoke about Campbell and him retiring before getting to 300 - nothing we haven't heard before. The thought of letting him play for 3 games then retire and bring up a rookie never was considered. Wanted to play in his own right.
* Richo - in Wallace's midterm plans. For 18 months Richo does what he is doing now - running out and around. After that push him closer to goal.
* Leadership group - worked well and pleased with how the mixture of the 4 individuals turned out.
* Simmonds - if he wasn't on a 5 year deal nor a replacement for Ottens there wouldn't be the criticism. Mentioned as we know Simmo had nothing to do with the Ottens trade; he was a direct swap for Fiora. Asked Richmond supporters to judge if that deal was a win or loss (with a smirk in his voice lol). If Simmo had kicked straight it would have been a mucb better year as he was playing his best footy towards the end.
* Goalkicking - a mixture of pressure and technique - like the yips in golf. Ours was good early on in the year but dropped away later on surprise surprise when finals were on the line. That little voice gets in your head.
* In relation to bags of goal from small opposition forwards - Defenders are the hardest guys to replace. Given the likes of Milne can kick 11 goals, small defenders are essential and you'd think they would be easy to find but they aren't.
* Kids have to earn their right to play. Just playing then for the sake of playing them can result in them learning the wrong lessons. We need to teach them the right ones.
* The bar has been lifted but that's the whole point. Need to raise the bar again to make the finals. He can only promise that we aim to be competive every time we run out.
