Richmond need a roster overhaul and a new coach if they want to challenge for the flag in years to comeLuke Sicari
Foxsports
7 July 2016IT’S Groundhog Day at Tigerland.
There have been many signs this season pointing to Richmond’s looming rebuild, which is bound to be long and painful. None have been more prominent than the second quarter during Friday night’s woeful loss to Port Adelaide.
With their slim finals hopes still alive with a win, and coming off a solid first quarter, the Tigers went into their shells in the second term.
A seven goal to two onslaught by the Power, in a quarter that saw Richmond not enter their inside 50 for the first 18:22 of the term, the longest it has taken any team to enter the 50 this season, squashed any Tiger optimism that still existed.
Now, it’s time for the Tigers list managers to get serious, and cut the unnecessary fat weighing down this list, which should be better than a 6-8 record.
Richmond’s mainstays have been good. Dustin Martin is in Brownlow form, Jack Riewoldt has been terrific and Alex Rance keeps carrying the defence on his back.
The middle tier of their list is what needs some strict grading at season’s end.
Back in May, coach Damian Hardwick remained bullish on Richmond’s team.
“We feel in the footy club now as good a list as I think we’ve had at my disposal since I’ve been there,” Hardwick said on AFL 360.
Surely Hardwick can’t continue to believe the propaganda he is feeding the fans, media and general footy public.
Before the season, Champion Data had eight Tigers ranked in their ‘above average’ tier. Of that eight, only Trent Cotchin and Martin have elevated their levels of play to the required status of a finals team.
The other six, for different circumstances, have fallen off the pace. Ivan Maric has lost his spot in the Tigers’ best 22, the recruitment of Chris Yarran has gone horribly wrong, Ty Vickery remains a frustrating case study, Bachar Houli has battled injury woes, and while Nick Vlastuin and Anthony Miles have been serviceable, they haven’t seen the upswing in productively that was expected of them coming into the year.
Vlastuin and Miles actually represent one of Richmond’s major problems. Too often, the Tigers rely on players to take considerable steps in their development, when they simply don’t.
Vlastuin has seen continued improvement in his game during his first three seasons with the Tigers, but has stalled in 2016. His turnovers are up and his intercept possessions are down, bringing up questions on whether he will ever win enough of the footy and launch enough scoring opportunities to be considered a strong defensive sidekick to Rance.
In a similar vein, Miles hasn’t taken any major steps in 2016. A hard-nosed midfielder, Miles is still averaging 10.9 contested possessions per game, but that number is down on his previous two seasons. Miles is also getting fewer clearances this season and, while his tackle numbers are up, he may have already reached his ceiling.
Some of Richmond’s elder servants have been able to contribute. Shaun Grigg is enjoying his best season as a Tiger and Troy Chaplin is a calming presence in defence, but therein lays a major issue for Richmond. Grigg is 28 years old, while Chaplin has reached the dreaded 30 mark.
It’s clear the Tigers aren’t going to challenge for a premiership in the foreseeable future, so bringing youth into a list that is eighth for both average age and games played would be a positive step.
Could this mean possibly fishing Grigg and Chaplin into the trade market in return for future draft picks? It would be a wise move, considering Richmond have just one draft pick in the top 40 this year, thanks to previous trades and free agent signings.
However, acquiring draft picks is one thing. Selecting the correct players with those picks is another, and this will be the most critical practice undertaken at Richmond over the next few years.
There is proof that smart, calculated drafting can keep a team in touch with a flag. Adelaide has no top 10 picks on their list, but are still entrenched inside the top eight, while Hawthorn and Sydney have used the draft to bring in kids to help them maintain their status among the AFL’s elite.
Putting faith in Richmond’s recruiters and list managers is a dangerous game, as the Tigers recent draft history has been a mixed bag at best.
The selections of Brandon Ellis and Sam Lloyd can’t be scrutinised too much, as Ellis is one of the sport’s most promising young midfielders and Lloyd has the capability to chance a game in an instant.
After that though, things get hazy. Players such as Reece Conca, Jake Batchelor, Ben Griffiths and David Astbury have been far too inconsistent. The Tigers burned picks six, 30, 19 and 35 on these players respectively, and for a team that was supposedly building a premiership contending list, this isn’t an acceptable track record.
Richmond need to use the final portion of 2016 to decide which players they’re going to take into the future and whom to let go, but there is one more key member of the club that a decision needs to be made on.
Hardwick has been under fire all season long, and the end of the season could also signal the end of his tenure as Tigers coach.
Now, Hardwick hasn’t been a horrible coach, as he has taken the club to three straight finals, but with not one win to show for it, the pressure subsequently mounts. Hardwick has been the Tigers headman since 2010, which is a very long time to remain as a coach without any serious success in the modern era.
“Hardwick’s coaching CV is not great,” former Richmond coach Danny Frawley said this past weekend on Triple M radio.
“Let’s face it. The clock is ticking.”
If the Tigers are serious on a rebuild, then removing Hardwick may be the best option. We have seen the constructiveness a coaching change has made at rebuilding clubs such as Carlton, so Richmond would be wise to bring a fresh face into the club.
They’ll just need to make sure that coach buckles in for what is sure to be yet another long and painful ride for Tigers supporters.
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