How forward mafia’s criticism impacted LynchTom Lynch’s form was questioned by many last season, including Jonathan Brown. The Tigers spearhead has finally had his say on the comments.
HeraldSun
15 February 2022As Tom Lynch’s hamstring groaned under the strain of a huge pre-season last month it dawned on him he might just be getting old.
For so long Lynch’s body has been immune to the soft tissue injuries other players have endured with the single exception of a reconstructed posterior cruciate ligament.
It was why he was Richmond’s very own Golden child, an ex-Suns free agency spearhead who arrived to win a pair of premierships and bask in the adulation of a Tigers dynasty.
Yet these past 12 months have seen the first mixed reviews of his career, more surgery on that troublesome knee and now the recent summer hamstring injury.
If you wanted to build a narrative that the 29-year-old faced the same challenges as an Richmond list with its best behind it, you could at least attempt to fill in the dots.
Not so bloody fast.
As Lynch prepares to return from that minor hamstring tweak, adamant his knee has never felt better, he says Richmond isn’t going anywhere.
Enlivened by the influx of five early draftees and the new ideas of ex-Carlton coach David Teague, he says Richmond isn’t going quietly into the night.
“The hammy is fine. It’s only a minor one, really,” he said on his way to a mate’s wedding as he was held out of a Thursday match simulation session.
“We will go a little bit slower with it this time of the year, because we have that extra few weeks up our sleeve. I am feeling fine, I will be in the main group in the last week or two. I haven’t done many, this is only the second hammy I have done. I was a little more surprised than anything when I did it. But I am getting old now. These things can happen, it should be no worries at all for the season. I should be OK for the (Saturday February 26) practice match but it will be up to the docs. I will either do a big session or a practice match, so you know which I will be targeting. But it’s nothing to worry about.”
Lynch might joke about his advancing years but after two excellent seasons – 63.31 in 2019 and 32.27 in a shortened 2020 premiership year – his moderate 2021 haul of 35.33 had a much simpler explanation.
In a year where Richmond’s ball movement and delivery to forwards was poor anyway, Lynch just couldn’t quite string together a sustained patch of form.
What would he rank the season out of 10 after a year where the forward mafia (Jon Brown, Matthew Lloyd) both criticised his impact?
“It’s always hard to put a number on it. I would probably say a five. I didn’t have a shocking year but I didn’t have the year I would have liked. At different stages I was up and down and missed a few games with injury and came back but also at a personal level I didn’t complete games.
“You walk away sometimes having kicked straight and it looks like you have had a better day than you have had but I still managed to be the focal point and try to bring other players into the game but without that real high performance that every player wants to play well.”
The knee injury that saw Lynch missing Rounds 11-15 might have raised eyebrows given his history but Lynch says it is a non-factor going forward.
He has four seasons on his Richmond contract but won’t give himself an injury alibi for the season.
“It was quite strange, it wasn’t painful at all. After a game it was getting really swollen, which I hadn’t had at all at Richmond. I could have kept playing but the surgeon decided to get it done straight away. We had a bye so we used the bye and I could get back in three or four weeks so it was quite minor and it has felt fine ever since.
“It is one of those things, it could be part of (the previous PCL reconstruction) but it might not be. It just popped up out of nowhere and it’s not an issue. The knee feels great.”
Brown’s August criticism of Lynch after four goals in three weeks came as he implored the Tigers star to get up the ground to have more influence and even throw himself into the ruck.
If you know the unflappable Lynch, you know he isn’t going to hit back with some quotable quote.
And you won’t get the kind of response that saw Damien Hardwick fiercely hitting back at Brown for his “cheap seats” criticism of the Lions legend as forgetting how hard the game is.
Instead he says part of Brown’s criticism was valid and some of it ignored the role he is actually required to play.
“At various times (the criticism) was valid. Dimma is great and he backs in his players. There is truth in some things and then with others you are like, that’s just not true.
“(Brown) was saying I have to get up the ground more and get more involved. It was a fair summation, really. But I am not going to get up into the ruck just to get a possession when it would be to the detriment of the team. We have got some great rucks and if I can still bring a contest that’s fine. Dimma is a great coach and you can see he cares for his players. He has got your back and he’s always going to support you.”
During Richmond’s first September off since 2016 Lynch was chuffed to see former co-captain Steven May lift the premiership cup, shocked by Melbourne’s capacity to find a fifth gear.
Yet that white line fever kicks in again as Lynch makes clear Richmond will contend this season.
“I was rapt for Maysey. It was great to see him win. I hope he doesn’t win another one, hopefully we will get back there, but I was really happy for him,” he said.
“Melbourne just seemed so powerful, they scored so quickly. Everyone was a bit impressed by the way they went about it. The Dogs are a bloody good side and for Melbourne to do that to them was very impressive.”
https://www.heraldsun.com.au/sport/afl/news/afl-richmond-news-stay-uptodate-with-the-tigers-preseason/news-story/9d4c1b5d978737995e53d57218f32572
