How did you rate our 2025 season?

[one-eyed]

The obligatory end of season poll.

How did you rate our season all up?

Was it above/on par/below expectations?
What went right?
What went wrong?
Who surprised/stepped up this year?
Who disappointed?
etc...

[one-eyed]

Yze's comments after the final game yesterday:

Richmond ... finishes the year in 17th spot on the ladder with a 5-18 record.

It's been a bittersweet year for the Tigers, who haven't had many wins, but have been able to unearth some of their talent taken from last year's draft.

"Parts of the season, there's games that we weren't good enough and we're really disappointed in. But there's other games that we were in. For us as a club right now, we've just got to be in more games and limit the bleeding when we do have some lapses," Yze said.

"As a whole, we feel like we've got some growth. We've got some games into our younger players. Our first year boys showed some huge growth."

https://www.afl.com.au/news/1399133/chris-scott-shrugs-off-geelong-cats-cushy-fixture-noise-finals-venue-debate

[Andyy]

I gave us a 7/10, based on what I expected at the start of the year.

We got probably as many games into kids as I wanted to, less into certain ones and more into others.

The W-L ledger is better than I had hoped. I thought we'd win 1-4 games. Winning 5 with a few close calls is positive.

The obvious downside is the injuries. The soft issue problems are such that you really have to wonder if there's something wrong with our PRO surface, given we have a new S&C. Our recovery times and re-injury rates have been altogether quite poor. If we can address this for the next preseason I would be very happy.

[Tigeritis™©®]

Fail. Not good enough again.

[Tiger Khosh]

Gave the cubs good experience, won a handful of games and nabbed picks 2 and 3 in the draft.

Biggest negative for me is the continued issues with injuries. The new head of s&c has only been in charge for 1 season so I don’t suspect anything to change but quite a horrible start for him.

[Andyy]

Fail. Not good enough again.

What would have made it good enough for you, given where the club is at in a rebuild?

[Hard Roar Tiger]

Fail. Not good enough again.

What would have made it good enough for you, given where the club is at in a rebuild?

I have 3 things:-
1) A better foundation on the basics being laid down - effective tackling being the main one
2) More time for younger talent to roll through the midfield for their development
3) Better, more transparent communication on rehab
4) A better handle on what to do tactically when things go wrong - exhibit A was the inability or lack of desire to tag oppo’s more effective midfielders like Daicos, Sheezel and NAS (last qtr)

These things cost us at times through the year and are avoidable.
Lot’s of positives but the own goals outweigh the positives - so it’s a 4 from me.

[Andyy]

Fail. Not good enough again.

What would have made it good enough for you, given where the club is at in a rebuild?

I have 3 things:-
1) A better foundation on the basics being laid down - effective tackling being the main one
2) More time for younger talent to roll through the midfield for their development
3) Better, more transparent communication on rehab
4) A better handle on what to do tactically when things go wrong - exhibit A was the inability or lack of desire to tag oppo’s more effective midfielders like Daicos, Sheezel and NAS (last qtr)

These things cost us at times through the year and are avoidable.
Lot’s of positives but the own goals outweigh the positives - so it’s a 4 from me.

All very solid points, although I can't help but feel like they chose bot to tag those players because the motivation to win and harm our draft hand was low - especially given we'd successfully tagged Merrett and Reid recently.

[Hard Roar Tiger]

I get it Andyyy but we’re not good enough to tank. Besides, tanking has not got anyone anywhere ever. It’s a loser mentality which I thought we’d finally shaken when Dimma joined.

We desperately need to get ourselves up to a 9-11 game season before our experienced premiership talent retires.
If we don’t, a lolnorf like era beckons where we develop good players, not a great team.

Their win over us was the perfect example where 2 players had 94 possessions - classic reliance on stars to win rather than a team system.

We will need to replace our current premiership players with clever choices from other clubs to try and get us back into finals from 2028. Hawks have played their list management beautifully and should be the model. Not lolnorf.

[Andyy]

I get it Andyyy but we’re not good enough to tank. Besides, tanking has not got anyone anywhere ever. It’s a loser mentality which I thought we’d finally shaken when Dimma joined.

We desperately need to get ourselves up to a 9-11 game season before our experienced premiership talent retires.
If we don’t, a lolnorf like era beckons where we develop good players, not a great team.

Their win over us was the perfect example where 2 players had 94 possessions - classic reliance on stars to win rather than a team system.

We will need to replace our current premiership players with clever choices from other clubs to try and get us back into finals from 2028. Hawks have played their list management beautifully and should be the model. Not lolnorf.

So...do you think we tanked a bit or was there another reason we didn't tag those players carving us to pieces?

Agree on the rest.

I just can't explain why we didn't tag and do more to win. I was at the pies and saints games. Saints game very winnable. We pooped the bed there and I had my oldest son for his first ever game so was quite annoyed.

[camboon]

I don’t think we tag players because Uze thinks it stifles the kids development, he has said it a few times.
I think it might be what he wants to achieve ,but the result is the same , the opposition top liners have an early Christmas and we lose.
We had Macca tagging for a while which went ok but if it fast tracks the kids development it’s not a bad thing.

[Andyy]

I don’t think we tag players because Uze thinks it stifles the kids development, he has said it a few times.
I think it might be what he wants to achieve ,but the result is the same , the opposition top liners have an early Christmas and we lose.
We had Macca tagging for a while which went ok but if it fast tracks the kids development it’s not a bad thing.

Then why did Ross tag Merrett and Reid and we won both games?

I'm confused by this. These were games we could win, without hurting our draft hand, and this tactic was extremely effective.

It's like Yze suddenly decided not to bother tagging anyone again.

[Tigeritis™©®]

Fail. Not good enough again.

What would have made it good enough for you, given where the club is at in a rebuild?

Higher standards.
We've seen what the acceptance of mediocrity has done to the club in the past and it's not great.

Also we can't get fall into perpetual self aggrandisement ie. cheats like Carlton and Essendon thinking they are above reproach. We saw some of this in the trade wars against the filth in the 80's that nearly broke us.

But it takes a leader to lead us toward greatness.

Benny Gale was able to do that for us and get everyone on board that eventually produced great results.

I don't know who that is currently.

[mat073]

I really have enjoyed the green shoots and look forward to seeing what they bring next year .

But the midfield bores me to tears . I acknowledge Taranto and Hopper have had good individual seasons but collectively it feels so uninspiring. Hopefully they can introduce a little more sizzle into the midfield next year.

The tackling is weak - I’ve never seen so many broken tackles. An area in desperate need of improvement.

Backline is solid - Miller has been excellent. Young has impressed since recovering from his knee.
The back six is the least of our concerns.

Lynch had a stinker of a year . His accuracy was appalling. His brain implosion cost him 5 weeks .
I’m glad he’s going around for one more year - I just hope he plays with more discipline and stops leaving so many easy goals on the table .

5 wins looks good on paper , two against WCE , worst team in modern history makes it sound better than it actually was . Essendon victory was our worst win in recent memory.
Carlton and Gold Coast were unexpected delights .

[Andyy]

Fail. Not good enough again.

What would have made it good enough for you, given where the club is at in a rebuild?

Higher standards.
We've seen what the acceptance of mediocrity has done to the club in the past and it's not great.

Also we can't get fall into perpetual self aggrandisement ie. cheats like Carlton and Essendon thinking they are above reproach. We saw some of this in the trade wars against the filth in the 80's that nearly broke us.

But it takes a leader to lead us toward greatness.

Benny Gale was able to do that for us and get everyone on board that eventually produced great results.

I don't know who that is currently.

Me neither.

Without key figures like Benny, Penny, Balme, Hardwick and even Harckwick's wife to a lesser extent (lol) I'm concerned we may fall off the perch. Really hope not.