Win for Richmond worth more than four points
Gerard Healy | March 20, 2008
WITH everyone's focus on Round 1, a win on the first weekend of the season is arguably worth more than a victory in Round 2 or 22. Right?
Not always. But today for Richmond it is irrefutable. A win against Carlton is worth a hell of a lot more than simply four points.
In fact, for the Tigers a win is imperative.
For the Blues it would be a bonus after a bad week, but they have enough momentum to absorb a Round 1 loss, not that you would know it after the decision this week to allow Brendan Fevola to play.
Today Richmond coach Terry Wallace begins the fight in earnest for his coaching career and the Tigers battle (we hope) for some respect.
Wallace is much better than a good coach but it is an accepted, if dubious, wisdom that to be a great coach you need to win a premiership.
Today he will settle for the four points because they are worth so much more, to the club as a whole and to the psychology of his team.
The Tigers, and Wallace, loom as one of the more intriguing stories of the year. Widely tipped to collect back-to-back wooden spoons, they could also surprise by rising significantly.
To date, the evidence of this improvement has been sparse, but the reality of 2008 is that the season starts with very little difference between the bottom 10 teams.
If you finish at the bottom it is now not merely a reflection of talent, but more the health of your list, the character of the collective senior group, or the health of the relationship between the players and the coach.
Injuries are in the domain of the footy gods and your medical department.
It is the latter two intangibles that will determine Richmond's season, and will be the focus of the footy world immediately if the Tigers stumble today.
Four points stands between confidence and crisis.
The Tigers are healthy and have had a much better preparation than last pre-season.
Nathan Brown has another year under his belt, as does Brett Deledio, who I suspect has one final hurdle to overcome - himself.
We saw enough last season to know how good this bloke is going to be if, or when, he believes he truly belongs at the top level of the competition.
But that will only come when he absolutely accepts that he is responsible for his performance - not his teammates, structures, taggers, weather, coaches, injuries or girlfriend.
At 20, he is maturing at the normal pace, but for players as gifted as him in the post-Judd era, expectations are higher than ever before. Unfairly so in some instances.
Richard Tambling is in a similar phase of his development; it is time to make a consistent impact. Hopefully 2008 will be a breakout year for both; the Tigers and Wallace have planned for it to be for four years and its getting critical that they deliver.
From a team perspective, the Tigers still look fragile in defence, and last season they had the worst midfield in the league at getting the ball inside their forward 50.
The midfield needs bolstering in personnel and the obvious option is Joel Bowden, who has played behind the ball long enough and could pump the ball long to the forwards.
He would be a loss to the backline, particularly his skilled disposal, but the Tigers have picked up Jordan McMahon who can play a similar role, albeit on smaller players.
Collectively, the Tigers' forward line is more dangerous than most but has been operating under severe supply restrictions for too long.
Every team from the bottom half of the 2007 ladder has its crosses to bear, but the Tigers have enough strengths to win this match and enough others during the year to keep the vultures from the front door.
And that is the bottom line. When the vultures are circling, or at least know your address, a win in Round 1 is worth much more than four points.
http://www.news.com.au/heraldsun/sport/afl/story/0,26576,23403904-19742,00.html
