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Lyon: Play them all again08 May 2007 Herald-SunGarry LyonIT DIDN'T matter who you were, where you were or what you were doing on Sunday afternoon, word of Geelong's mauling of Richmond would have found its way to you, Garry Lyon writes.It was the sort of football moment that captured everyone's attention, whether you're immersed in the game or not. When Aussie-born Hollywood star, Rachel Griffiths, starts cracking gags about the game in the middle of the Logies, you know there's something extraordinary unfolding. The Tigers have far greater concerns than being the talk of a TV awards night, but it is symptomatic of the scrutiny and pressure that every person associated with the Richmond Football Club will be exposed to in coming days. There will be nowhere to hide for the coach and his players. There are thumpings in that garner plenty of talk and analysis, but anyone who has spent time following football acknowledges it is just part of the game that every side is vulnerable to at some stage. Beltings happen, but this is something altogether different -- 157-point hidings are rare. So, what do you do? My immediate reaction would be to declare today that, injuries aside, there will be no change to the team for this week's game against Port Adelaide. Field the same team that now holds the inglorious honour of being part of Richmond's greatest ever losing margin. I am a massive believer in the theory that you learn much, much more about your playing list the week after a humiliating day like Sunday than you do on the day itself. Put the onus right back on the 22 players. Don't let them off the hook by dropping them back to Coburg where they can run around in front of 1000 people in relative anonymity. Tell everyone up front that they will all play against the Power this weekend and then all and sundry can judge for themselves who responds in the most appropriate manner. I would want to see who among the 22 has hurt the most. Who is the most desperate to restore some pride into the club. If I'm a Richmond fan, I want to see who has the fiercest competitive streak. The best bit of advice my old coach Neil Balme gave me was "if you're not competitive in this game, you're nothing". It is so simple, but so true. Our game is at once beautiful and skilful, while at the same time brutal and physical. If you haven't got an appetite to compete, to hate losing every single contest you are involved in, then you will be swept aside. Hawthorn's Luke Hodge is a fierce competitor. He's got mates like Campbell Brown, Sam Mitchell, Brad Sewell and Jordan Lewis. You can see it on their faces when they play. They do not want to be beaten. They get nasty and upset and angry when they do. All great players from today and yesteryear share the same trait. In the modern game I would rate Brett Kirk, Daniel Kerr and Simon Black as three of the great competitors while Glenn Archer is a Hall of Famer. How would they respond if they were a party to Sunday's game? There is no doubt. For Richmond, it is the question that needs to be answered. How many players possess, and in what size, a fierce competitive gene? We won't find out playing them for Coburg. As a player I have lived plenty of weeks that the Richmond players have in front of them. There might be meetings, soul searching, leadership group initiatives that could be anything from a few beers at the pub to a brutally honest open forum where dirty linen is laid on the table. We tried them all throughout my career. Sometimes they worked and other times they were done only because we thought we had to be seen to be doing something. On those occasions they were a waste of time. With hindsight, the best time to address the humiliation of a result like Sunday's is when the ball is bounced for the following week's game. That's when I found out most about my teammates. That's where respect is won and lost. Play every one of them again, Plough. By 6pm on Saturday you may have a much clearer picture of the qualities of the men at your disposal.http://www.heraldsun.news.com.au/footy/common/story_page/0,8033,21689764%255E19742,00.html
Riewoldt in for Schulz Polo in for TamblingPatto in for Simmonds. There's others ahead of Patto but without him Richo, Polak and Tuck will need to combine in the ruck .
Quote from: mightytiges on May 08, 2007, 06:30:18 PMRiewoldt in for Schulz Polo in for TamblingPatto in for Simmonds. There's others ahead of Patto but without him Richo, Polak and Tuck will need to combine in the ruck .I agree with you there MT...but i shudder at the thought of patto back...im not his biggest fan,i think he lacks a lot of football smarts....would like to see edwards back too
