Richmond has become home of the list-clogger, writes David KingDavid King
Herald Sun
May 5, 2016 8:00pmDENIS Pagan’s poignant statements consistently spring to mind when assessing the football fortunes and failures of players, clubs and administrators.
“You get what you deserve in AFL footy”, he would say, which rings so true right now for the Richmond Football Club.
So who is to blame? This week Richmond’s general manager of football effectively apportioned blame at their loyal, tormented and tortured fans who apparently wouldn’t accept an “eight-year rebuild”.
My god, haven’t they been through enough?
I wonder how forgiving they’ll be with the new plan, one that needs to start sooner rather than later.
What time frame will that operate under and who will they trust to oversee that process? The same people who have now run the club into this talent capped dead-end?
Footy manager Dan Richardson wasn’t part of the Richmond management structure at that stage so maybe that message is the thoughts of others who’ve held positions of influence, but at what point was that plan to be usurped by a more modern, national draft based approach to secure and develop their own stars?
Richmond for an extended period of time has made decisions based on making the finals, not winning premierships. The oversupply and addiction to obtain hand-me-down talent who’s football DNA is already known. It has backfired and stamps Punt Rd as the home of the list clogger.
The question is who plotted this course? Surely Blair Hartley as list manager doesn’t have carte blanche over the profile of the list.
Is it Damien Hardwick who decides Richmond requires a Jacob Townsend or Matt Thomas as a big-bodied midfielder to support Trent Cotchin?
Who did the research on Chris “cherry on top” Yarran? Are they working to a premiership list profile?
If they truly want to support the captain then surround him with talent that can actually play! Talent that can impact games. Characters that can lead when the game demands and talent that can lessen the load on Trent, Brett Deledio, Alex Rance and Jack Riewoldt.
The off-field staff have failed Hardwick miserably. At the national draft they’ve selected safe first-round selections over the past six or seven years.
Reece Conca with pick No. 6 in 2010, when Josh Caddy, Dyson Heppell, Dion Prestia and Tom Lynch were taken with four of the next five selections.
Ben Lennon at pick 12, the selection before clearance beast Patrick Cripps and the challenged but highly talented Cameron McCarthy.
Brandon Ellis accumulates statistics without impacting games and at what stage will Nick Vlastuin step into the midfield and become a key member at Tigerland?
Outside of the first round the Tigers have struggled to find a Luke Parker at pick 40, Rory Sloane pick 44 or Dan Hannebery with selection 30.
The excuse that two new franchises have stolen the lion’s share of the talent pool is plausible but shouldn’t have committed Richmond to mature, and limited, talent.
Jarryd Lyons at pick 61, Rory Atkins with pick 81 and Rory Laird (not even selected in the nation draft of 2012, having come via the rookie list), highlight the Adelaide Crows’ vision and precision.
Talent acquisition has proven a disappointment. They failed to nab Dan Hannebery, David Armitage and Adam Treloar over the past three seasons after considered and aggressive campaigns.
As early as 2011, Hardwick regularly stated throughout post-match press conferences that “the easy thing to do is top up with talent that’s not quite there” as he did after the Essendon 39-point loss in Round 16, ensuring that there would be no quick fix.
In fact, his wording was “no short cuts”.
But Richmond never trusted itself to commit to the slow rebuild. Someone in a position of influence never quite endorsed the recruiting department to pick the eyes out of the nation’s youth.
Who was that person? Only Brendon Gale and Dan Richardson could answer that question.
After winning 14 home-and-away games in 2015 I thought the top four was on the radar and with only minimal improvement required, Chris Yarran may just be enough.
Last week Mark Robinson joined myself in the “Victims of Tigerland” group that has chewed up and spat out so many, stating that Hardwick was to be considered a coaching genius.
Damien Hardwick has shown he can coach.
Over the past two to three seasons the Tigers have changed tack regarding ball movement and played personnel in different zones.
The magnets have been shuffled and shuffled and the players have responded to Hardwick’s motivation and corrected poor patches of form. But the game now demands slick and efficient ball movement.
Will he coach that way or revert back to the tried and true slow method which has ultimately failed in September?
The problem Gale and his merry men have in the short term is that all involved at Richmond now feel redundant.
Mature-aged players would believe they have 16 weeks remaining before their papers are stamped. Brendon Lade, among other assistant coaches, is continually named as part of the problem by those who know.
They will be fattening their CVs as we speak.
It’s a situation that requires strong leadership and genuine honesty.
We will all watch and listen to the spokespeople for the Richmond Football Club and witness just what the next move will be.
Over to you Dan, Brendon and Damien.
And just one word of advice on behalf of the Richmond fans.
Take as long as you like — just get it right.
http://www.heraldsun.com.au/sport/afl/teams/richmond/richmond-has-become-home-of-the-listclogger-writes-david-king/news-story/1df6625f85cef47faf2e6fa735856cec
