Richmond Tigers mid-season report cardRonny Lerner
The Age
16 June 2016
Pre-season expectations: A finals berth at a minimum and pushing for top four.
Record: 5-7 (13th)
What's gone right: Dustin Martin's evolution as a bona fide star midfielder has been the big success story for Richmond this year. Martin has spent time in the midfield in previous years, but he has been there on a full-time basis in 2016 with devastating effects. The 24-year-old seems to have matured as a footballer and his ability to impact games regularly has been a joy to watch. Captain Trent Cotchin's leadership can't be faulted either. While he bore the brunt of criticism for the Tigers' horrible 1-6 start to the year, the three-time best-and-fairest winner has gone about his business admirably. He is averaging 30 touches a game and, despite missing two matches with a cheekbone injury, is leading the club for clearances and is second for contested possessions and tackles. Jack Riewoldt has been very good up forward with his selfless game style yielding 27 goals and 11 goal assists and Alex Rance is enjoying another super year in defence. The faith shown in Sam Lloyd has paid off with the small forward kicking 21 goals in a breakout year and Shaun Hampson has taken his opportunity in the ruck with both hands to be seventh in the competition for hitouts and indefinitely consigning Richmond's former No.1 ruckman Ivan Maric to the VFL. Their after-the-siren win against Sydney was one of the most memorable moments of the year.
What's gone wrong: It all started before the premiership season even began when Shane Edwards (shoulder), Shaun Grigg (thumb), Reece Conca (hamstring) and Jacob Townsend (concussion) all injured themselves in the final NAB Challenge game. Conca's was the most serious injury of the lot as he sat out the first 11 rounds. Then on the eve of the season, Brett Deledio (quad) and Maric (back) hurt themselves and missed five and four games, respectively. Cotchin's two-week absence didn't help and neither did Alex Rance's brain explosion which saw him elbow Jack Watts in the back of the head and incur a two-week suspension. A wrist injury has kept Bachar Houli sidelined for the past five matches and the Chris Yarran and Jacob Townsend trades have been huge flops so far. Personnel issues aside, though, the Richmond playing list has clearly gone backwards this season with their middle tier of players failing to provide adequate support for their A-grade teammates. Damien Hardwick was seduced by the fact his team reached three consecutive finals series and showed too much faith in an over-rated list. If it wasn't for his new two-year contract extension, it may well have proven a fatal error in judgment. But his assistant coaches won't get off so easy, with a comprehensive review sure to lead to a shake-up of the football department. Stealing defeat from the jaws of victory in round 2 against Collingwood also seemed to take the wind out of their sails at a very early stage of the season.
Stand-out star: Martin has been a shining light in what has been a disappointing season for the Tigers. The star midfielder is one of only five Richmond players to have played every game this year and is enjoying arguably his best and most consistent season to date with a career-high average of 28 disposals. He is ranked No.1 at the club for disposals, contested possessions and inside 50s, third for tackles, fourth for marks and fourth for clearances. He has had at least 30 disposals on five occasions already and produced his best performance of the year against Gold Coast last weekend as he amassed 38 touches (15 contested), eight inside 50s, six clearances and two goals. Would be leading the Tigers' best-and-fairest and is on course for a maiden All-Australian jumper.
Players under the pump: Out-of-contract Ty Vickery has been in woeful form recently, booting only six goals in his last five outings – of which three came against the depleted Bombers. While he should still earn a new deal with the Tigers, his market value would have taken a hit in the past month-and-a-half and he would want to turn his form around quick smart. Maric and Troy Chaplin are also out of contract at the end of the season and appear to be in far more danger of being shown the door than Vickery. Injuries aside, Maric has been replaced by perennial fringe-dweller Hampson as the club's preferred ruckman. The former Crow has only managed two games this season and it's not a good look for a 30-year-old to be playing regularly in the VFL. Chaplin was dropped following the Tigers' 70-point hammering at the hands of North Melbourne and has been overtaken by David Astbury and Dylan Grimes in defence.
The run home: There will be no miracle comeback this time for Richmond. With only four winnable games in the back half of the season, the Tigers' finals hopes are all but non-existent. They should take care of the Brisbane Lions in Round 14 at the MCG and meetings with Essendon (Round 17), Collingwood (Round 20) and St Kilda (Round 22) present good chances to add to their W column as well. But even if all of those matches produce positive results, Richmond will still fall well short of the 12 wins required to make the top eight. In a brutal last 10 weeks, the Tigers have to face Port Adelaide (away), the Western Bulldogs, Hawthorn, GWS (away), Geelong and Sydney (away) too. So Richmond's streak of three finals series in a row – their best since 1975 – will come to an end this year and it will be back to the drawing board for Hardwick who needs to revitalise his playing list in a bid to see out his two-year contract extension in its entirety.
Grading: Dhttp://www.theage.com.au/afl/afl-news/afl-season-2016-richmond-tigers-midseason-report-card-20160616-gpklou.html
