Even Patrick's getting excited
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Casey's moves allow Richmond to march on boldly
COMMENT
Patrick Smith
July 12, 2006
CLINTON CASEY's six-year reign as Richmond president was never less than volatile. He had one glorious season when the club finished third but eventually the Tigers ran up more losses off the field than they did on. Which is a fair achievement, for the football side played like nongs and nincompoops.
Yet Casey will be identified as one of the club's best leaders. He has left Richmond with a future, something which did not always appear certain after his administration ran up a $2million loss and the wooden spoon in 2004.
Casey made three outstanding appointments. He got Greg Miller to run his football department, Terry Wallace to coach his club and Steven Wright to run his administration.
So sound is the club's position six months after Casey stepped down his successor, Gary March, is making all sorts of predictions. They are bold, brave, but not unreasonable. Snatching Wallace as coach was Casey's biggest achievement. Wallace, the former Bulldogs and would-be Sydney coach, took over at the end of 2004 after the Tigers had finished last with just four wins.
He was immediately successful, as the club won seven of its first nine matches last year. It faltered after such a heady start, but still improved to finish 12th with 10 wins. This season it is eighth with eight wins and prepares to face Melbourne on Friday night in round 15's most compelling game.
Wallace has transformed the side that he inherited. No easy task, for in the two years before the club collected the wooden spoon it had placed 13th and 14th. The coach is a disciple of the modern trend of regulating the tempo of the game. At all times the game must be played at his pace and on his terms.
He seeks to establish this immediately by playing a seven-man defence. He likes to free up a wingman or a half-forward and squash him into the defensive half. Mostly that task falls to the 190cm tall Patrick Bowden, previously a forward with the Bulldogs who crossed to Richmond at the start of the season to join his brother Joel.
If opposition coaches are caught unaware or prepared to leave Patrick Bowden on his own then Wallace has in place the footings of his game plan. Patrick Bowden will control the free space in the back line and lend support to his defenders when required.
If the opposition moves a man across to cover Patrick Bowden then Joel or Andrew Kellaway will be freed up. All three are in the top six for marks, and the Bowden boys in the top three for disposals. With such a wealth of possessions the trio can set the tempo of play as the ball is released from defence.
Given Patrick Bowden's height, his presence in defence allows ruckman Troy Simmonds to push forward knowing he has a man riding shotgun for him. While Wallace has settled on Simmonds as a ruckman, his experience last year as a central forward has made him a potent goal kicker.
He has 18 goals in 14 games (19 in 22 last year) and spread the goal kicking responsibilities. Where once Matthew Richardson (17 goals) was required to kick four or five goals for Richmond to be in contention, contributions are sought from a variety of players.
While Kayne Pettifer (23 goals) will take shots from 30 metres out he does not play deep in the forward line but rather moves across and outside the 50 metre arc. He appears to have improved his endurance this season and thus is more versatile. Wallace uses Chris
Hyde as a defensive forward whose job is to restrain the most offensive-minded of the opposition backmen, but he has still been able to kick 12 goals.
In the midfield Wallace is looking to break even rather than dominate. He knows the limitations of his collection of players compared to those of the elite teams in the competition. Captain Kane Johnson and Greg Tivendale have adopted run-with roles.
Shane Tuck is typical of his midfielders - competitive and disciplined. So is Nathan Foley, who is just 177cm tall. His most brilliant is
Brett Deledio but the biggest improvement in the game of last year's Rising Star is in his defensive skills.
Most of all, Wallace will demand his team controls the accelerator of the match. His side must be the one that speeds up the game or allows it to putt-putt along. He will do this two ways.
In the side's infamous round eight win over Adelaide, the Tigers refused to allow the ladder leader possession. After kicking three early goals, the Tigers kicked short both backwards and sideways. Control was more important than scoring. The Tigers added just seven more goals but allowed Adelaide just nine for the match.
Richmond will also attempt to keep possession by kicking over the man on the mark to a huddle of 10 or 12 players. The huddle will break and hopefully Richmond finds a free man who marks. The huddle then reforms and the ball is moved forward again. It is most effective against teams that do not man-up as a matter of course.
But it is a discipline that means players who do not have excellent disposal skills, or who are capable of smart decision making, struggle to retain senior status.
The new president has declared Richmond will return as powerhouse in the AFL. Wallace has established the battle plan.
http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,20867,19760894-12270,00.html
