2006 Report Card: Richmond
11:53:04 AM Wed 20 September, 2006
Paul Gough
Exclusive to afl.com.au
2006 record and ladder position: Won 11, Lost 11, Finished 9th
2005 record and ladder position: Won 10, Lost 12, Finished 12th
What went right: In a year in which many predicted they might slip back down the ladder following last year's huge improvement in coach Terry Wallace's first year in charge, the Tigers performed superbly to actually better their 2005 performance with one more win in 2006 as well as rising three spots on the ladder. All this despite fielding a much younger side than they did in 2005.
With former skipper Wayne Campbell and defender Mark Graham retiring plus senior players Matthew Richardson, Nathan Brown, Mark Chaffey, Darren Gaspar, Andrew Kellaway, Mark Coughlan and Chris Newman all spending significant periods on the sidelines through injury, Wallace had no choice but to fill the gaps with youngsters. And the move paid off spectacularly with the Tigers' ending the year with three players nominated for the NAB AFL Rising Star award in Andrew Raines, Dean Polo and Nathan "Axel" Foley while another first year player in Cam Howat performed well when given his chance in the final few rounds.
The recruitment of Patrick Bowden to join brother Joel at Tigerland paid dividends and the Tigers also showed their growing maturity by winning games both with a free-flowing style of game - which they showed late in the season by kicking at least 20 goals in three successive weeks in beating Brisbane, Carlton and Essendon - as well as being able to ground out results with a defensive game plan, such as the ultra-possession game they used to beat Adelaide in round eight. And while the season did not culminate in that long cherished return to the finals, Richmond fans could bask in the fact the team was unbeaten in 2006 against its three great rivals in Collingwood, Carlton and Essendon - only the second time the Tigers have ever managed this feat in their history and the first time since 1931.
What went wrong: Injuries. The Tigers had a tough run on this score in 2006, which made their effort to finish ninth even more noteworthy. Champion forward Nathan Brown made his much-publicised return from the shocking broken leg he suffered in round 10 last year in time for the start of the season but looked a shadow of his old self. After just three games he was forced to rest again due to complications in his leg and when his year was finally ended by a hamstring injury in round 17, he had managed just 10 games and 11 goals for the season. But the good news is he has already had the rod taken out of his leg and the Tigers finally expect him to be back at full fitness for the start of next year.
But with Brown finally on the mend, the Tigers then lost the courageous Newman to a similar injury in round 13 against Collingwood while midfield gun Coughlan suffered a season-ending knee injury in round 12. Richardson missed a month of football at a vital stage of the season mid-year due to a wrist injury while Kellaway injured a hamstring while surfing and missed the last six games of the season before controversially being told to retire by the club at season's end. Chaffey was hardly sighted for most of the season but did it make it back for the final few rounds before retiring while Greg Stafford also called it a day.
Last year's Rising Star winner Brett Deledio also found the going far tougher in his second season while the Tigers at times were simply uncompetitive, as evidenced by the fact they suffered three losses in excess of 100 points during the season. And while they finished ninth - for the fifth time since the final eight began in 1994 - the Tigers only managed two wins against top eight sides for the season, showing how much work still has to be done at Punt Road to turn the Tigers into a power again.
Most improved players: Patrick Bowden/Troy Simmonds/Nathan Foley. The decision to recruit Bowden from the Western Bulldogs proved a masterstroke as the younger brother of dual best and fairest winner Joel took his football to a new level at Punt Road. After managing just 50 games in five years at the Bulldogs, Bowden played all 22 games in his first season at Richmond and revelled in his role as a rebounding defender alongside his brother. He managed a healthy 20 possessions per match (after averaging just 11 per match during his time at the Bulldogs) and chipped in with 14 goals with his high-point coming against Brisbane in round 19 when he had 19 possessions and took 12 marks in the first term alone.
Simmonds, who endured a modest first year at Richmond in 2005, produced a career best season as he showed first and foremost that he is a ruckman and not a key forward where he spent the bulk of his career at Melbourne and Fremantle and where he spent much of 2005 at Richmond. Finally given his chance in the ruck, Simmonds was one of the league's best big men in 2006 and was unlucky not to be rewarded with All-Australian selection while despite spending much of his time in the ruck he still actually improved on last year's goal tally by kicking 25 majors.
Foley meanwhile established himself as a genuine in and under midfield player in 2006. After managing just six games in his first year in 2005, the nuggety on-baller played 21 games in 2006 and managed a healthy average of 16 possessions per game as he continually won the hard ball.
Most disappointing players: David Rodan/Tom Roach/Daniel Jackson. After being a regular under previous coach Danny Frawley, Rodan's career is at the crossroads with the stocky midfielder unable to command a place in the side now that the team has improved under Wallace. After missing all of 2005 due to a knee injury, Rodan would have been confident of regaining his place this season but instead managed just five games and makes too many mistakes for a player who has been in the system for five years.
Roach and Jackson still have time on their sides but their careers are at the crossroads as they too have seen their places in the senior team go to other players. Jackson has managed just 15 games in the past two years after looking impressive during his debut year in 2004 while still at school while Roach, who is also in his third season and should be establishing himself, has managed just three games in the past two seasons as the likes of Raines, Foley, Polo and Howat have overtaken him in the pecking order.
Rising Star: Andrew Raines. The son of Richmond's 1980 premiership centreman and triple best and fairest winner Geoff was playing for his future at the start of the season, having only been offered a one year deal by the Tigers. Raines had managed just seven games in two seasons and despite the incredible similarities in playing style to his famous father was barely known in footy circles outside Punt Road at the start of the season. But all that changed in a magnificent 2006 in which Raines so nearly gave the Tigers back-to-back wins in the prestigious NAB AFL Rising Star Award. Raines not only played every game and managed an impressive 18 disposals per game but his ability to take players on meant he set up countless Richmond attacks, particularly with his long kicking. Raines also showed he could play on both small and tall opposition forwards and regularly took on and beat some of the best forwards in the game such as Adelaide's Mark Ricciuto during the Tigers' shock win over the Crows in round eight. In the end only Port Adelaide's Danyle Pearce finished ahead of Raines in the voting for the prestigious Rising Star award.
Best win: Round 13 v Collingwood at the MCG. On one of the few wet days of the season, the Tigers were magnificent this day as they thrashed their arch-rivals in front of more than 63,000 fans. On a sodden Sunday, the Tigers played textbook wet weather football and had the game won by half-time when they led by 55 points, having kicked nine goals to one. Andrew Krakouer, maintaining his reputation as a wet weather and MCG specialist, kicked three goals as did the much-improved Jay Schulz. Nathan Brown played his best game of a difficult season with two as did Shane Tuck, who also kicked two goals and helped himself to 23 touches. The Tigers' win was even more creditable considering champion spearhead Matthew Richardson did not play in this game, which was one of just two wins the Tigers achieved over a team that would go on to make the finals in 2006.
Worst defeat: Round 12 v Hawthorn at Aurora Stadium, Launceston. The Tigers may have suffered four defeats by 88 points or more for the season but all of those were against teams that would go on to make the finals and two of them came when the side was crippled with injury. But this day against a Hawthorn side that would finish in 11th place, there were just no excuses as the Tigers lost by 41 points. To put the loss into context this win was Hawthorn's only success between rounds six and 18 for the season.
Shopping list: The Tigers would love to unearth another key defender to play on the game's big guns now that Andrew Kellaway is gone and with Darren Gaspar probably facing his final season in 2007. The club will also be on the lookout for a back-up ruckman to Simmonds with Stafford retired and Trent Knobel struggling with injury. And although Schulz showed promise in 2006 as the most likely long-term successor to Richardson, the Tigers would love another key forward as well.
What the coach says: "As a group we felt we would have underachieved if we didn’t meet last year's criteria (in terms of wins). Some people would say that if you only equalled last year's record, have you made an advancement? But we believe with the draw we ended up getting (six interstate matches) which was really tough and then we had a pretty torrid run with injury that if we finished around the same level as last season then we have made significant advancement.
"We developed a lot of young boys this year so we are heading down the right track and that will hold us in good stead for the future." - Richmond coach Terry Wallace sums up a year in which the Tigers managed one more win than last year despite fielding a much younger side and having a tougher draw.
What we say: The Tiger Army has grown used to false dawns over a barren 24 year period which has yielded just two finals appearances since the club's last grand final appearance in 1982. But this time there is genuine cause for optimism at Punt Road with Wallace laying the foundations over the past two years, and especially this year, for future success. Richmond's shocking run with injuries meant Wallace had to blood youngsters and the results were encouraging with the club finding the likes of Raines, Foley, Howat and Polo - who all look long-term players - while others such as Matt White, Richard Tambling and Schulz also showed signs of improvement. The exciting Deledio will also be much better next year after battling with the increased attention and expectation that so often hits second year players, while Richardson's fantastic finish to the season showed there is still plenty of good football left in the Tigers' number one player. The return of Brown, Coughlan and Newman next year will give the club a huge boost and given a good run with injuries, a better draw after this year's horror fixture and continued improvement from the youngsters, there is no reason why the Tigers can't finally grace the September action once again in 2007.
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