From a Tiger Train to mere ‘turnstiles’. Where to next for Richmond?June 19, 2020
David Zita
FOX SPORTSPerhaps the biggest deviation this year from a footy sense has been Richmond’s trajectory. They seemed set to go back-to-back heading into the year.
The coronavirus not only ground the competition to a halt, but it may very well have put the brakes on the Tiger train.
What once seemed an express service to premiership glory yet again has become one that’s stopping at all stations, with upsetting delays in between.
Jason Dunstall echoed the sentiment of every Tiger fan watching on in horror during the Fox Footy coverage of their 32-point loss to the Hawks.
They were, quite simply, “too bad to be true”.
What most thought was an aberration last week had become an alarming trend by the end of Thursday night.
Richmond have now for two straight weeks failed to score 40 points. In their two first quarters since the restart, they’ve scored two behinds. Their opposition have scored nine goals.
If none of that convinces you that something has changed at Tigerland, consider this stat about the team that redefined the word ‘pressure’ in modern football: The Tigers had 27 tackles in the game, their lowest tally since 2008. The Hawks had more of the footy and still out-tackled the supposed masters of that art form.
Jonathan Brown summed it up best on Fox Footy.
"It is un-Richmond-like for me ... that effort is unacceptable for a poor team, never mind the premier."
Even more alarming for Richmond, Brown believes they showed signs of losing their mojo even before the competition went on hiatus.
“Last week early in the game they were ordinary, I thought they were terrible in the second half against Carlton in Round 1,” he said.
“There’s problems down there at Richmond, they looked lacklustre, ‘stand-offish’ as Trent Cotchin described them last week.
“Really concerned about that, we know it can be an effort thing, it’s a big attitudinal thing, they need to work on that and get back to a consistent tackling performance.”
Nick Dal Santo echoed the thoughts of both Brown and Dunstall, associating them with a word we never thought possible at the outset of the year.
"The amount of times the Hawks have been able to just walk through tackles - they're like a turnstile,” he said.
"We haven't seen this from this team, not of this quality, for some time ... what we've loved about these Tigers is their aggression, they stick these tackles.
"At ground level, it feels like they've lost their mojo. They look a little bit unorganised behind the football and they're quiet compared to the Hawks' defensive six."
Fox Footy‘s Leigh Montagna was so dismayed by Richmond’s performance that he made a startling call on Triple M regarding his 2020 outlook.
“I’m starting to question whether Richmond can win the flag this year.”
The Tigers have got a nine-day break before they face a St Kilda side that looks better and better by the day.
Dustin Martin should make a welcome return after his absence on Thursday night, giving the side back their Superman.
But for once it seems like even Superman might have his hands full with the challenge ahead.
Richmond have nine days to find and dispatch of their kryptonite.
https://www.foxsports.com.au/afl/afl-2020-richmond-hawthorn-richmond-hawthorn-loss-afl-round-3-tigers-hawks-damien-hardwick/news-story/bdf69b9abb11213ce66f22ef3e6ea3c9
