Can Richmond bounce back in 2022?Ben Lawless
zerohanger.com
4 February 2022While it feels like a lifetime ago, it was just over twelve months since the Tigers won their third premiership in four years. While dynasties such as Hawthorn's were never able to bounce back after they began to slide, this Richmond team appears different.
Comparing their current roster to their 2020 premiership list, only a few players are no longer on at Punt Road. From the 22 players that were named on grand final day, only Bachar Houli and David Astbury have departed.
While some players such as Cotchin and Riewoldt are starting to near the end, Jayden Short, Noah Balta, Jack Graham, Liam Baker and Shai Bolton are just a few of the players who have improved since 2020.
While there were a few reasons why the Tigers fell down the ladder, the major reason was injuries.
After battling through ailments for the past few seasons, the totality hit them hard in last year's campaign. Balta, Cotchin, Edwards, Lambert, Martin, McIntosh, Prestia, Stack and Vlastuin all missed at least five games last season. Given a better run of health, that should drastically improve the club's record in the upcoming season.
With a fully healthy list, the Tigers still have the talent and game plan to make another serious push for the flag. They are the only team who missed the finals last season that could make a genuine case for a top-four finish.
This season is looking like one of the tightest finals races in recent memory, but given the dominance of the club over the past five seasons, it is impossible to count the Tigers from playing deep into September.
Is the next generation ready to make the leap?The Tigers still have a competitive list similar to their 2022 premiership team. Several of their key players, however, are hitting the tail end of their careers.
Shane Edwards, Jack Riewoldt, Trent Cotchin, Dustin Martin, Dylan Grimes, Kane Lambert and Robbie Tarrant are all over 30 years of age heading into the upcoming season. Dion Prestia and Tom Lynch are other important pieces that are 29 years old.
While they are all capable of playing winning football, the Tigers will be looking towards the next chapter as those players continue to age.
Often sustained club success can make it difficult to rebuild and retool the list in the long term. This is due to clubs trading for win-now players, or not receiving high-level draft picks. Eventually, most teams hit a point where they need to invest in more youth.
Richmond has begun that thinking as evident by their 2021 draft. They were able to stockpile some assets allowing them to take five selections in the top 30. That included Josh Gibcus (#9), Tom Brown (#17), Tyler Sonsie (#28), Sam Banks (#29) and Judson Clarke (#30). While all these draftees have the potential to be valuable contributors in the future, most are unlikely to have a huge impact in the next few seasons.
Instead, they need a handful of talented players who are able to contribute now, while still able to play high-level football throughout the remainder of the decade. That is where the following few players come in.
Liam Baker, Jack Graham, Shai Bolton, Noah Balta, Riley Collier-Dawkins and Sydney Stack are all going to be 22 to 24 in the early stages of 2022. They have all been developing in the Tigers system and have had to earn every game they have played.
Due to the challenges of 2021, it allowed more of their younger players to show their potential and what they could bring to the club moving forward. Last season became a career season for all these players who all benefited from increased opportunities.
Throughout 2021, Baker, Graham, Bolton and Balta all got the opportunity to be the number one option for the Tigers. The experience and confidence brought on by those opportunities will help their finals push as everyone gets healthy.
Their stats for 2021 are as followed:
Baker: 20.3 disposals, 2.8 tackles, 3.0 inside 50s, 1.4 clearances
Graham: 19.0 disposals, 5.6 tackles, 3.9 inside 50s, 1.8 clearances, 0.5 goals
Bolton: 19.7 disposals, 2.8 tackles, 4.8 inside 50s, 3.6 clearances, 1.2 marks inside 50, 1.2 goals
Balta: 13.1 disposals, 1.3 tackles, 3.1 rebound 50s, 1.4 marks inside 50
Collier-Dawkins: 14.7 disposals, 3.6 tackles, 2.3 inside 50s, 3.3 clearances
Stack: 16.7 disposals, 2.4 tackles, 2.6 rebound 50s, 1.9 inside 50s
While last season would give the Tigers confidence about their future, there are still a few questions that are left unanswered.
One area of concern for Richmond is whether their young players are able to produce at a high level while contributing to winning football. Balta and Collier-Dawkins both won 50% of their matches last season. The others all had more losses than victories.
There has been excellent football played by these players during Richmond's premiership runs. However, they are yet to prove that they can be one of the team's best few players, on a premiership level team.
The other area of concern is whether they all can play consistent football and remain healthy. While Baker, Graham and Bolton only missed two games between them, it was a different story for the other three. Balta, Collier-Dawkins and Stack only managed 30 games. Form, opportunities and health were all factors in missing over half the season.
The Tigers will need all these players to continue to develop and improve over the next couple of seasons. Getting to play in meaningful matches and finals will be crucial in their development and will help transition into the new era of Richmond football.
While the Tigers don't need them all to be stars in 2022, staying competitive past the next few seasons likely fall into the hands of the young guns.
https://www.zerohanger.com/captain-less-and-winless-after-round-one-five-burning-questions-richmond-tigers-97294/
