Can Richmond challenge again in 2023?

[one-eyed]

Crystal Ball: Our predictions for the 2023 AFL season are in

This is where each of the AFL website's "journos" think we will finish on the ladder.

Damian Barrett      9th
Gemma Bastiani    8th
Riley Beveridge      4th
Sarah Black           5th ........... Taranto for the Brownlow.
Nat Edwards          5th
Josh Gabelich         5th
Sarah Olle              4th ........... Lynch for the Coleman
Nathan Schmook    8th
Callum Twomey      3rd ........... Lynch for the Coleman
Michael Whiting     11th

https://www.afl.com.au/news/881017/crystal-ball-our-predictions-for-the-2023-afl-season-are-in

[one-eyed]

Lynch was confident there was enough improvement left in Richmond for it to become a challenger again.

"Obviously Taranto and Hopper have come in but we've got a lot of young guys that got exposed to senior footy last year like Judson Clarke, Tyler Sonsie, Sam Banks hasn't played yet," Lynch said.

"So we've got a lot of youth still to come in and really push us up."

The Tigers have bolstered their midfield with ex-Giants Tim Taranto and Jacob Hopper and Lynch expected the pair to build chemistry with Richmond's forwards.

"We'll work on that connection," he said.

"They looked good in the practice matches, and I'm sure we'll, as a team, build on that in the coming weeks."

Source: AFL website

[one-eyed]

David King and Gerard Whateley have named their top four seeds heading into Round 1 of the 2023 AFL season.

n.b. Whateley only named three teams heading into Round 1:

KING:

1. Melbourne

“It’s Melbourne, you can’t help but love them.”

2. Brisbane

“Brisbane for me, this has to be the year they make the Grand Final.

“It has to be one of the next two years when they win it (the premiership).

3. Richmond

“I’ve got Richmond, but they’re a risk.

“It could be boom or bust, the Tiges.”

4. Collingwood

“I’ve got Collingwood at four, I’m maintaining the faith.”

WHATELEY:

1. Melbourne

“We’re unified on the one seed heading into the year, Melbourne.”

2. Geelong

“I’m going Geelong.”

3. Carlton

“I am going to put Carlton at three on the way to Thursday night.”

https://www.sen.com.au/news/2023/03/14/king-and-whateleys-top-four-seeds-heading-into-round-1-2023/

[one-eyed]

FORMER AFL COACH TIPPING TIGERS FOR MILD DROP-OFF AFTER SCOTT'S COMMENTS

By Seb Mottram
SEN
16 March 2023

Damien Hardwick will hope a new-look midfield can lead Richmond deeper into September.

But that’s not a view held by former Adelaide coach Brenton Sanderson, who can’t see Richmond making the top four.

When asked on SEN’s Whateley whether the Tigers can earn a double chance in the 2023 finals series, Sanderson responded: “I don’t think so.

“Something makes me a bit nervous about Richmond… I think one of the telling quotes was from Chris Scott this week, he mentioned they worked out a way to beat Richmond.

“If Chris Scott says that and I hear that as a coach of another side, that’s the first games I’m looking at last year when the Cats played Richmond.

“If Geelong worked out a way to beat Richmond, show me that, show me what they did.

“If Geelong have worked out a way to beat Richmond, it must mean other coaches have got a blueprint as well to beat Richmond.

“I still think Richmond are a fantastic club, a great team with an excellent coach, but when Chris Scott mentioned they worked out a way to beat them, there must be something out there that tells other clubs there is a strategy to beat them.”

Earlier this week Scott reflected on Richmond’s dominance of the past six years as well as his club’s strong record over the past two years.

“Richmond have been the team of the era really… we were a really good team but we just couldn’t beat them for a period of time,” Scott told Fox Footy’s On The Couch.

“Then it got to 2021 and we found a way to beat Richmond. There’s a way you can’t play them in our view, we found a way and then we beat them a couple of times that year and ticked that box.”

As part of Geelong’s unbeaten streak that stretched from Round 10 to the end of the season, the Cats defeated Richmond in Round 15 in a see-sawing thriller at the MCG. Since the 2020 Grand Final when Hardwick’s side proved a class above, Geelong have beaten Richmond all three times.

But two key ins will factor into expectations on Richmond in 2023. Former Giants duo Tim Taranto and Jacob Hopper were recruited to prop up a midfield that previously wasn’t the Tigers' strong suit, but is now among the best in the competition on paper.

Yet Sanderson sees Hardwick’s team dropping off slightly from last year’s 13 wins.

“I think they’re a 10-12 win side, which means they finish somewhere between 6-10… I think they’re in that bracket this year,” he continued.

“Richmond are such a great club, they’re probably going to prove me wrong. I can’t quite put my finger on it… but this has been a side that’s been up for a long time.

“I just think they need a lot of things to go right this season… to be a top four side.”

https://www.sen.com.au/news/2023/03/16/former-afl-coach-tipping-tigers-for-mild-drop-off-after-scotts-comments/

[one-eyed]

AFL 2023 — each team's predicted finish and their key question for the season

By Cody Atkinson and Sean Lawson
ABC
16 March 2023

It's the time of the year where the first leaves of the trees start to turn yellow. When the pads and stumps are packed up, and footy posts rise into the sky.

The smell of liniment and deep heat starts to fill club rooms around the country, and the nation's deep supply of strapping tape starts to take a bit of a hit.

That's right — it's footy time again.

ABC Sport have again crunched the numbers before the upcoming season, and have (foolishly) predicted where your side might finish and their biggest question heading into the year.

Where the cards might fall

The competition is set to be incredibly tight this year, with up to 16 teams shaping to have real finals hopes heading into the year. Geelong and Melbourne look to be the teams to beat, with Carlton and Port Adelaide looking to push into the eight.

Projecting the 2023 season based on 2022

Accounting for underlying team strength (Pythagorean expectations), draw difficulty, and projected onfield list strength



Hawthorn may be weaker than their projection suggests given their off-season movements. GWS, Essendon, St Kilda and North Melbourne have new coaches at the helm and will look to ape Collingwood's rise last year. The Dons will also be aided by what appears to be the softest fixture in the league.

A friendly Bomber draw and a tough Swans road

Strength of fixture compared to even draw for 2022 and 2023



West Coast's horror run with availability looks to turn around next year, while the loss of Josh Dunkley will be felt by the Dogs.

Your team's biggest question

Richmond — predicted 3rd

Will they evolve their playing style?

As more and more teams begin to ape the style of Richmond, the Tigers might just break the other way. The Tigers' focus on territory and generating quick turnovers, sometimes at the expense of clean movement, has taken the league by storm. Around the ground, the Tigers have often eschewed winning clearances at the expense of creating damage from subsequent intercepts.

New Tigers, new approach?

Ratio of stoppage clearances for vs against since 2017



The recruitment of Tim Taranto and Jacob Hopper look to strengthen the Richmond midfield group to new levels, and place them as a clearance-winning side. Hardwick's decision could shape the season of a potential contender.


1. Melbourne
2. Geelong
3. Richmond
4. Brisbane
5. Sydney
6. Carlton
7. Port Adelaide
8. Fremantle
---------------------
9. W.Bulldogs
10. St Kilda
11. Collingwood
12. Gold Coast
13. Essendon
14. Hawthorn
15. Adelaide
16. GWS
17. West Coast
18. North Melbourne

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-03-16/afl-team-predicted-finish-2023/102096574

[yandb]

Scott's blueprint to beat Richmond

KO Prestia

We would have beaten them if it wasn't for Stewart taking out Prestia last year.

[georgies31]

Please all off sudden he worked it out lol.

[Simonator]

There’s no reason why we can’t win. I think there’s probably 4-5 teams with lists that can win it. It’s more the intangibles. Why was our 2017 team so good ? You can look at pressure stats and what not but i think the things the stick out are how well we were connected and how we bounced back from losses, our energy and excitement was just through the roof.

[one-eyed]

10 clubs will push for AFL finals this year. Here’s why each can - and can’t - win the flag

Ben Cotton
Foxsports
March 17th, 2023

RICHMOND

Why they can

After a slow start to last season, the Tigers came with a rush in the second half of the campaign, dropping just three of 11 games after the byes as one of the form teams of the competition. Despite failing to get past Brisbane in the elimination final, it was a reminder of how potent this Tigers outfit can be when its on song to reemerge as flag contenders with an exuberance of youth. Of course, Richmond’s now bolstered the one area of the ground it’s ever been vulnerable – not that it mattered during the club’s golden run – with star midfield recruits Tim Taranto and Jacob Hopper to add a scary new dimension to Damien Hardwick’s side.

Why they can’t

It’s easy to get caught up in the hype of the Taranto-Hopper double coup, but had the Tigers not landed the pair, would the footy world have been as bullish on them this year? And if not, how much credence should we put into one off-season – as good as it was. In saying that, even just one of Taranto and Hopper would’ve been huge, so to get both was a genuine home run. But the team’s trajectory had previously been up and down, and they’ve otherwise lost a ton of experience in recent years. Does this team have that same dog hunger from five years ago?

https://www.foxsports.com.au/afl/afl-2023-why-every-contender-can-and-cant-fin-the-premiership-finalists-analysis-odds-strengths-and-weaknesses-latest-news/news-story/def9f418eed15edb219386faca8c4fb7

[mightytiges]

Scott's blueprint to beat Richmond

KO Prestia

We would have beaten them if it wasn't for Stewart taking out Prestia last year.

The sniper went off injured early tonight and the Cats lost. So, according to Chris Scott's logic, the rest of the comp now has the blueprint to beating Geelong.

The Cats loss tonight had a lack of hunger and desperation about it. Little defensive work, ultimately beaten up around the ball, and they stopped running late when it mattered. Conceding the last 8 goals of a game and getting run over is a major warning sign for a reigning premier. Different quarter but our bad loss to the Swans early in 2021 was in hindsight a portent to what was to come for us that year. We couldn't go again after 2020 and faded in the second half of games.

[camboon]

I have alway thought if you can stay with Geelong for half a game you can beat them. Their older players run out of legs and the younger ones are not anything to write home about with one or two exceptions
This opinion grew a bit stronger after tonight. I hope they fall in a heap, just too arrogant these days

[MintOnLamb]

I have alway thought if you can stay with Geelong for half a game you can beat them. Their older players run out of legs and the younger ones are not anything to write home about with one or two exceptions
This opinion grew a bit stronger after tonight. I hope they fall in a heap, just too arrogant these days

Agree

But The Pies we’re very very good I thought

[the claw]

I have alway thought if you can stay with Geelong for half a game you can beat them. Their older players run out of legs and the younger ones are not anything to write home about with one or two exceptions
This opinion grew a bit stronger after tonight. I hope they fall in a heap, just too arrogant these days

LOL Have to admit it was the first time in my life i found myself barracking for the pies. I think the constant whinging has wore me down.

On Collingwood imo they look a lot like us in 2017 they did last year as well.  not the greatest list in some areas  but they play aggressive attacking footy and run in waves. They are a good team to watch because of how they play. Big tiger influence with McCrae and Leppitsch there as well.

[Willy]

Agree that they do look like us in 17. 

They are fun to watch.

[one-eyed]

Barrett and Lloyd reckon Carlton will finish higher than us by the end of year.

18:50 min mark: https://www.afl.com.au/video/886652/aaa-star-s-move-not-going-to-work-how-blues-coughed-it-up