Tiger critics off mark - Wallace
18 April 2007 Herald-Sun
Terry Wallace
FOOTBALL hysteria is alive and well in 2007, Terry Wallace writes.AFL footy is an amazing, media-driven game, and that's why it has become so popular with the masses and equally why those in the game are paid so well.
The adulation of success is unparalleled and the scrutiny and criticism of failure savage.
Never more than in the past few weeks have I been shocked and amazed by how some people in the media can change and misrepresent comments made and use them against you in times of vulnerability.
Even more startling is that there are so many media commentators and analysts who now comment on matters without any background knowledge or information.
On the eve of the 2007 season Richmond invited key media members to an information session, which outlined the performance and future direction of the club.
The meeting was a feel-good chat to give a greater understanding of the club's inner workings. I presented a list management study, which clearly defined the reasons for some of the club's difficulties during the past five years. This presentation set immediate, short term and long-term directions for the club.
In the past, clubs have been criticised for not being transparent enough. But as I found out, as soon as you are, some people with agendas use it against you.
The black hole The presentation spoke about the missing generation at Tigerland, where we have very few players in the 22 to 26-year age bracket. When I started at Richmond more than two years ago we had an older age group of players and had started to develop our own young players for the future, rather than simply trading away picks for older, established players, so that we could build our own generation next. We now have 30 of 44 players under 24 years of age.
Immediate goals Once we identified this black hole, we tried to fast-track young players to make the grade before our senior group was pensioned off.
Players such as Raines, Deledio, Tambling, Schulz, Tuck and Polo have been part of that rebuilding process, with other early draft selections maturing and developing at VFL level. Over two years we have seen improvement.
Everyone at the club plans and works as hard as possible to win every game each week.
Some in the media say our greatest downfall was that we improved a little quicker than perhaps we should have to take advantage of extra draft selections.
But we want to breed a culture of striving to win.
At that meeting it was stated there would be no guarantees on how quickly our younger players would develop and that their development would determine whether we held ground, lost ground or made ground in the short term.
Mid-term goals What has not been reported is the club has always believed that with three to five years' development, our draftees would have enough games under their belt to support our core senior group in the next few years. This was clearly spelled out at the meeting, but never reported.
Because we lack players around the 100-game mark, we need to get games into some of our boys as quickly as possible, while still earning the right to wear the Richmond football jumper, not just be given charity games.
No doubt we will be judged over the next two years on whether the marriage flourishes with that senior and younger group. But, as senior coach, I understand this is what you live and die by in this environment.
Long-term goals For some reason there was an hysterical reaction to our club having long-term plans. I would have thought that anyone who understands business would realise you need direction to achieve your goals. People must understand that AFL footy is also a business. What was projected at the meeting was that by 2011 the club's black hole would be disappearing.
The draft players of 2004 (Deledio, Pattison, Tambling, Polo) will have reached 24 years of age with Brett Deledio the youngest at 23.
With constant drafting since then, rather than trading selections away, we will have a continuity of ages and a core group of players who will have come through together in the correct age brackets.
I'm sure West Coast is doing this planning now, has been doing it for years and therefore has few "holes" on its list.
While getting the age brackets right, obviously each club is also working on the right balance of key position players, ruckmen and running players and trying to ensure it has enough talent.
Never, ever was there a statement that the club would not have success until 2011 -- but merely that the Tigers would have an even list for a decade and beyond from that time onwards.
The other factor I was bitterly disappointed about was the insinuation this grand plan was to keep me in a job for longer. At the meeting it was clearly spelled out that the entire club had the immediate, short term and long-term procedures in place so that we could all have clear direction for the future regardless of whether CEO Steven Wright, president Gary March, director of football Greg Miller or myself remained in our positions.
All at the club have been bitterly disappointed with our start to the season, as would the other three clubs who are in the same position.
This marathon season of ours ebbs and flows in some mysterious ways.
Last year Melbourne was 0-3 and then comfortably made the finals, while teams who appeared down and out last year, such as Essendon, Hawthorn, Carlton and the Brisbane Lions, have started the 2007 season with a surge.
So, as someone who has been in this pressure-cooker environment for some time, I can only deal with what I can control and get on with the business of planning for Friday night's game against the Western Bulldogs.
On a weekly basis I tell my players never to take their eyes off the ball, so in my role I cannot afford to hesitate or deviate from our plans.
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