A tale of three Tigers12:12:34 PM Thu 4 May, 2006
Richmond coach Terry Wallace
richmondfc.com.au
Well, five rounds down and finally a couple of back-to-back wins for all you Richmond faithful, who never lost confidence that the boys could turn their season around.
Where we go from here is still an unknown quantity, but the next few weeks I believe will be vital in setting up our season, with our first challenge this Saturday night at the MCG in the celebration match ‘Dreamtime at the G’.
This will be a big game and I am hoping that, as we share the profits with the Bombers, we can fill the stadium, so that there is as much Tiger presence as if it was one of our own home games.
I just have a feeling that the Bombers, in general, have lost a little respect for the Richmond Football Club over the course of the years. That respect is only earned by performance and, again this weekend, we have a chance to make up any lost ground.
When we were 0-3 after three rounds this season, I received many letters and emails from supporters critical of certain aspects of our playing group. What amazes me is that there always seems to be a few players, not only at Richmond but at every club, that cop most of the criticism and anger from sections of the supporter base.
Let me say that I truly believe that our supporters have been fantastic to both myself and our players since my arrival. It appears that our supporters, in the main, are very understanding of this great game and where their club stands.
As a club, we have a vision of where we want to take the team on-field, that is shared from Board level to management, down through the football division and playing group. I believe that most Tiger fans can see there is a clear direction from top to bottom at the Club and are accepting of our chosen pathway.
In the role of senior coach, you are always trying to improve the playing group, so sometimes you have to be critical and look at negative aspects within the team’s game structure. As a person, however, I enjoy the positive aspects of the game far greater and would like to share with you a few of my thoughts on some of the guys within our team who I believe, at times, some Richmond supporters are overly critical of . . .
Greg TivendaleIf ever I have seen a ‘whipping boy’ at a club, it is ‘Tiv’. Each and every time I walk on and off the ground, I have people telling me that he should not be in my side. I believe this does not help him become a better player for our club.
When coaching against Richmond in the past, I think I was the first coach to ever tag Greg, as I saw a hard runner, who had the potential to be damaging with his long, raking left foot kicks.
Like most, I was disappointed with Tiv’s year in 2005. A loss of confidence saw him make crucial errors in critical games, but I also knew this was a player with talent, who, for some reason, had become a little lost.
I am not talking out of school to tell you that Tiv is in the final year of his contract with the Club in ’06, and early in the pre-season I made it clear to him that I was not going to make it easy for him to get a senior game. He was told that he had to start again to earn his right to play at the top level.
His subsequent training performances and practice match form made it impossible to leave him out . . . he basically selected himself. And, after four rounds of AFL football this season, he was ranked in the top five players in the competition for the attacking aspects of the game, with inside 50 entries, and also the defensive aspects of the game, being ranked in the AFL’s top five for tackles.
Greg Tivendale is living proof that confidence is such an important part of an AFL player’s make-up.
I remember writing an article in the Herald-Sun, before arriving at Punt Road, suggesting that Joel Bowden needed a little credit for turning his career around. If Greg Tivendale continues in the manner he is playing at the moment, I think he deserves to have every Richmond supporter reassess his value to the Club.
This Saturday night, Greg plays his 150th game for Richmond and becomes a Life Member of the Club. It’s a tough task to play one AFL game, let alone enough to gain Club Life Membership.
Ray HallTall, athletic and a thumping left foot kick . . . When Ray Hall first burst on to the AFL scene, Richmond supporters were rapt as they thought they had another big man, who had the potential to dominate the game.
Ray’s first finals campaign for the Club (in 2001) saw him charging through the middle of the ground, kicking big goals, and he looked set for an exciting future.
Over the course of his time at the Club, he has struggled to string together a series of games and has battled various injuries. After a while, I think some of our fans have become a little frustrated that he was not the player they had dreamed he may be. At times, we’re all guilty of wanting people to be something they are not . . .
Probably Ray’s most suited position is as a tall, running, mobile wingman or high half- forward/ ruck-rover. But with a lack of tall defenders, he has been used mainly as a key tall back-up.
Last year, I was impressed with his efforts on some of the competition’s key forwards (Tredrea and Pavlich, for example). And, I feel his past two games at full-back this season have been underrated by most in the media, considering Bradshaw and Fevola are quality opponents. Not only has he been defensively sound, but he has added some run and carry from our backline, which has kept flow in our game.
At times, I also can get frustrated with Ray, as he is inclined to take off as if he is in third gear, and he needs to work on his short-step, quick movements. But one thing that I know is that he is giving 100 percent each and every week.
Last Friday night, he got belted from pillar to post. He had swelling on his face and under his eyes like a boxer and a rolled ankle, which blew up the size of a balloon, he kept soldiering on to ensure that we got the job done. This shows a player very dedicated to the cause.
Troy SimmondsIt astounded me how critical some people were of Troy Simmonds last year. Granted, it was not his best season of AFL football and, at times, he missed some key opportunities to score goals in big games. But he was still a solid contributor throughout the 22 rounds.
I was amazed that most of the criticism was based on him receiving a five-year contract at Richmond, rather than the fact that this is a guy who was super-keen to come to our club and shared my vision that we could help turn the Tigers’ fortunes around, when no other player in the AFL wanted to come near a team that had lost its past 14 games in-a-row. ‘Simmo’ received a great deal of pain from Fremantle through his decision to leave, and the last thing he needed was similar pain from his new club.
By replacing Brad Ottens with Troy, we were no smaller in our team structure and that also allowed us to pick up two first round draft picks, which will be seen in four years’ time as one of the key moments in the rejuvenation of our club.
The reality with Troy’s contract was that there was a lot of other clubs in far more successful positions chasing him hard. Both Greg Miller (the Club’s Director of Football) and I thought this was the way to go, so that he knew he had a home for the rest of his AFL career. The reality is, if we had have signed him for just two years, we would now be sitting down and re-negotiating for an extra two or three years, so really there’s no difference.
Troy was our best performed player over the pre-season period and won the same award that Shane Tuck won last year before a stellar season. He has taken on the ruck duties in the first five games almost single-handedly and when other players were struggling early, he was still a very solid contributor week in, week out.
‘Simmo’ has been one of our more consistent players at this stage of the year, having worked hard to set himself to become the Club’s No. 1 ruckman, and he would currently be one of the more difficult players for us to replace if injured or unavailable.
Troy’s heart and soul is in the improvement of this Club, to see it return to playing regular finals footy and, although he is quiet in nature, he has a steely determination to get the Tigers back to the September action.
This is just a little insight into three of our boys, who each week are going out and trying to perform at their best. Some weeks they will have great games and other weeks they will be the first to be disappointed with their efforts.
The one thing I can assure you is that it won’t be for the lack of trying or the lack of commitment to improve, as each of them is striving to better themselves on a daily basis.
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