Richmond legends livid after weekend debacle
08 May 2007 Herald-Sun
Trevor Grant
JOHN Northey, a former Richmond coach and premiership player, says he's disgusted and embarrassed.
Royce Hart, the club's champion centre half-forward in four premierships, describes it as "devastating" and says he's lucky he lives in the bush outside Hobart to hide from the scorn poured on his club.
Tony Jewell, the last man to coach a premiership at the club -- 27 years ago -- would be pulling his hair out today, if he had any left, because he fears the young players could now go downhill very quickly.
And Tommy Hafey, the club's most successful coach, says he was shocked and hopes the players are hurting enough to do something about it.
As for the late Graeme Richmond, the heart and soul of the club for the best part for four decades, well, they all reckon he'd be thundering around upstairs sharpening his hatchet.
Richmond, the club, is in crisis . . . again. As the Tiger fraternity picks over the bones of the 157-point loss to Geelong on Sunday, there's a very familiar sinking feeling suddenly replacing the buoyant expectation that came with Terry Wallace and his five-year plan.
"It's devastating. But you can't blame the players out there, it's the people that put them there who are at fault," Hart said.
"They've either recruited the wrong type of players or they have the wrong style of game. You shouldn't get beaten by that amount if you have had the very high draft picks Richmond has had.
"It's not as if no one else can do it. Hawthorn were in the same situation and they look rosy. Brisbane has recovered from losing all those great players. And Collingwood look like they are on the right track."
Hart, regarded as one of the greatest centre-half forwards of all time, said the club's drafting had the wrong focus.
"Their problem is that they haven't got a key-position player, yet they had the chance to take Lance Franklin," he said.
"When they took Brett Deledio and Richard Tambling (ahead of Franklin) at the draft (in 2004) they paraded them proudly at (then-president) Clinton Casey's place. They will be OK, but you have got to have key position players as your main target.
"They haven't got the right players to play the right style. Think of Franklin, Jonathan Brown, Nick Riewoldt and Warren Tredrea. We haven't got anyone like that. Then they get rid of Darren Gaspar last week and have no one to replace him.
"It's just been unplanned as far as I'm concerned and it's been coming for a while. Unfortunately, they have got to start from scratch again.
"I'm glad I'm over here. I can hide. Tommy Hafey lost a Grand Final in 1972 and he wasn't sighted for two weeks. I wonder how he'd cope if we got beaten by 157 points in a roster game? I know GR (Richmond) would be making a lot of noise upstairs."
Northey agreed, saying Richmond's team on Sunday had disgraced the club's name.
"Having played there and coached them, you feel a bit disgusted actually. You used to never see those sort of displays from a Richmond team," he said.
"Terry Wallace has had them for nearly three years so to put on a performance like that is disgraceful.
"I didn't see all the game but I saw a few things on the field that told me the attitude was: 'it doesn't matter anyhow.'
"It's embarrassing for people like me, and our members, for them to capitulate like that."
Jewell said his major worry wasn't any emotional reaction from the supporters but the after-effects on a young team.
"I've had a lot of calls from Richmond people today and there's not that old ferocity about it. I think everyone is much more aware of the need to give them time to get it right," he said.
"My only concern is whether the rot sets in, especially with young kids. There's no hard core there to protect them.
"I still can't work out why the Gaspar sacking last week was allowed to happen when it did. Richmond's focus was all around Gaspar at absolutely the wrong time of the week. I'm not sure young blokes can handle that sort of thing."
Hafey hopes the Tigers can follow the lead of the Australian cricket team which won the World Cup after being thrashed by England and New Zealand in lead-up tournaments.
"It's a huge shock because they weren't playing too badly. You have just got to hope the players are hurt by it," he said.
Northey wasn't too sure what was needed.
"Maybe take them all to the psychologist," he said.
http://www.heraldsun.news.com.au/footy/common/story_page/0,8033,21689765%255E20322,00.html
