Brownlow winner questions if Richmond are 'fully committed' in 2020Eamonn Tiernan
7news
12 July 2020Brownlow Medal winner Adam Cooney has questioned whether reigning premiers Richmond are “fully committed” to this year’s COVID-hijacked season.
The Tigers have been nowhere near their best since the season restarted four weeks ago and sit 11th on the AFL ladder with a 2-3 record.
Veterans Bachar Houli and Shane Edwards opted against travelling with the team to a Queensland hub after every Victorian team was forced out of the state last week.
Gun forward Jack Riewoldt admitted he second-guessed his decision to leave his family and enter the hub, while trio Trent Cotchin, Dion Prestia and Toby Nankervis are all sidelined.
Full-forward Tom Lynch is a 50-50 to face Sydney on Sunday and Cooney believes if the club keep him sidelined then they’ve likely given up on their premiership defence.
“A lot hinges on whether Tom Lynch plays this week,” Cooney told Channel 7’s Armchair Experts.
“There’s a couple of players who opted out of hub life because of young families and that’s understandable but Jack Riewoldt is obviously struggling up in the hub.
“I’m still not sure whether Richmond are fully 100 per cent committed to this year, if Tom Lynch plays this week it goes a long way to saying that they’re keen on this season.”
But Cooney conceded the Tigers were walking wounded last year before they won 12 straight games to clinch their second flag in three years.
“If they do beat Sydney and North Melbourne (the following week) and I’m not 100 per cent convinced they will ... some younger players (must) stand up,” Cooney said.
“They did and were able to with injuries (last year), some of the younger players played really well and we know what happened after that.”
Richmond won a drought-breaking premiership in 2017, made the preliminary final in 2018, and won the flag last year.
Tigers coach Damien Hardwick backed his men to charge into a fourth straight finals campaign.
“We’ve got strong belief in that system when we adhere to it and when we play our way,” Hardwick said.
“There’s some quality players going out, but it’s going to provide an enormous opportunity of growth for those players coming in.
“There’s some parallels (to last year’s challenges), there’s no doubt about that, but this is a different system once again, and a challenge we’re looking forward to.”
https://7news.com.au/sport/afl/brownlow-winner-questions-if-richmond-are-fully-committed-in-2020-c-1159919
