Richmond leaders must get tough and be more ruthless, writes Jonathan BrownJONATHAN BROWN
Herald Sun
April 9, 2016 9:37amI DON’T buy the theory that Richmond is weighed down by 35 years of failure.
And I won’t cop those who say Damien Hardwick can’t coach.
The problem at Tigerland — the one that keeps repeating, season after season — boils down to one simple thing: a lack of on-field leadership.
Trent Cotchin’s team may well be affected by recent history because they haven’t coped with the pressure of tight games or in finals.
But what the club has done — or hasn’t done since that last flag in 1980 — has absolutely no bearing on today.
There’s very little a coach can do when it gets down to critical situations like last Friday night.
That’s when it’s all up to the players and your leaders — and Richmond’s senior group simply has to toughen up.
They’ve got to be stronger and more ruthless with each other.
The biggest part of Hawthorn’s reign of dominance has been the on-field leadership. Let’s forget about talent for a minute and just focus on their leaders: Hodge, Lewis, Mitchell, Gibson, Burgoyne, Roughead.
In my last year of footy (2014), the Hawks were clearly the best side for vocal direction — and trust me it isn’t pleasant.
If you didn’t know better you’d think they hated each other. It was brutal, direct conversation and that’s what I remember as a kid at Brisbane.
You don’t have time for niceties. It’s “f---ing get it done” and if your feelings are hurt, we’ll sort it out after the game.
The Tigers are way too insular — good individuals but not good team players. Being outward and aggressive isn’t their natural personality.
Michael Voss would scream at you to get into position and if you don’t want do it, don’t come back on Monday.
In one of my first games, Vossy ripped strips off me and I’ll never forget it til the day I die.
“I don’t give a f--- whose man it is, we help each other around here and work for each other,” he barked.
In that Hawks game I vividly remember Lewis unloading on Puopolo about his positioning.
It’s something that doesn’t get spoken about a lot because the only people who would know what is said out there are the people on the field.
As fans and spectators and in the media, we can’t hear it so we can’t talk about it, but Hawthorn might as well have Alistair Clarkson out of the ground with them because they’ve got six or seven on-field coaches.
They’re ruthless, cold-blooded killers who eat their own to achieve their goal.
The Tigers are way too insular — good individuals but not good team players.
Being outward and aggressive isn’t their natural personality.
I like the analogy of idiot jumping into the phone box. It doesn’t matter who you are, you hop in, take your suit off and whack the Superman outfit on.
Throw away your inhibitions and play footy like your life depends on it.
Cotchin jumps into the phone box most of the time, but he needs to do it ALL the time.
Alex Rance is a gun, but has shown he can get flustered.
Dustin Martin is not an outward bloke or leader. He needs to change that, come out of his shell and learn how to direct his teammates.
You can float along if you want your stats to look good, but I’m pretty sure these blokes want to play in a premiership.
They lose a lot of bite with Brett Deledio out injured, but even he needs to be more ruthless.
Jack Riewoldt looks like the only one who really knows the moments, a bloke who says, “Stuff it. I’m there, jump on-board”.
He puts himself in the action.
The great players, the great leaders, put themselves around the footy when the heat is on. Win or lose, they’re prepared to put their neck on the line and risk a mistake.
As a player, Hardwick lived inside the phone box. He would be talking to his team about this constantly.
But the coach can’t help you with two minutes to go. It’s about having an awareness of the situation and a checklist of what I have do.
Let’s use the final stoppage of last Friday night as an example. Cotchin goes over to pat his teammate on the head.
In the same situation Hodge and any number of his Hawthorn teammates would be pointing out, organising and directing, getting their set up right and telling the ruckman to keep it in tight.
You’re in front so you don’t want long taps. You want secondary ball ups and a protected inner perimeter so that Collingwood can’t run it out freely like Adam Treloar did.
At that stoppage there was no leadership and definitely none by Cotchin.
He is the captain and so he’s copped it in the neck. But this was a failure of all senior players.
Leaders missing easy set shots early in games is another unforgivable.
There’s nothing more demoralising to a team. I’d be blaming Cotchin and the senior leaders as much for that as the last 40 seconds.
I don’t see any of Richmond’s senior group looking outside themselves.
They look like a side that doesn’t want to embrace the pressure and until they can they’ll never overcome their demons.
http://www.heraldsun.com.au/sport/afl/richmond-leaders-must-get-tough-and-be-more-ruthless-writes-jonathan-brown/news-story/ff4bf43a43deed78f8551faf81b662a3
