Richmond under the microscope
Mike Sheahan | April 12, 2008 | Herald-Sun
I HAVE been more than patient with Richmond.
Some say patient to the point of being afraid to turn the spotlight on Terry Wallace and Greg Miller. I prefer the "patient" line. Both men inherited massive tasks when they arrived at Punt Rd.
Now, though, I am prepared to join the chorus, to acknowledge both are on borrowed time.
It seems beyond doubt they will go unless there is obvious improvement. Quickly.
Time is more pressing for Wallace as the coach, but Miller has been there longer and has run the club's football operations for almost all of the current decade.
All major decisions, including the appointment of Wallace for five years - 2005-09 - the restructure of the recruiting department and recruiting policy, have been made or driven by him.
If a discernible level of improvement doesn't come this year, Richmond will be seen to have wasted roughly five years.
Improvement, of course, is subjective, but Wallace's 25 wins from 69 games isn't good enough. Particularly when the figures for 2007-8 are four from 25.
Only Carlton and Essendon have fared worse in Wallace's time, and we know what happened to their coaches last year.
The graph is moving in the wrong direction.
Let's assume the Tigers win six games for 2008, double their 2007 return. That would leave him with 30 wins from 88 games (34 per cent).
My patience finally expired watching Richmond be oh-so-Richmond against Collingwood at the MCG last Sunday.
The Tigers were nine goals down during the second quarter, finally losing by 44 points to a team that actually failed to impress its coach.
The Tigers lost playing the haphazard, indirect, error-ridden style we have come to expect from Richmond.
More handballs than kicks, 35 disposals per goal, and, worse, precious few who look like they might be high-quality players in the foreseeable future.
If the new Gold Coast club were to have unfettered access to the Richmond list right now, Nathan Foley would be the only player certain to be claimed.
If those in charge know their players, Chris Newman would get a guernsey, for he gives plenty on the field and even more within the club.
Will Thursfield would attract interest, too, given he is a young key-position player, but he's played just 25 games and it's not difficult to look above average in this group.
While Brett Deledio should be at the top of the list, he is in danger of becoming a victim of the culture at Richmond and never reaching the heights reasonably expected of a No. 1 draftee.
Here are the names of a few of those drafted after him in 2004: Jarryd Roughead, Ryan Griffen, Lance Franklin, Jordan Lewis, Nathan Van Berlo, Matt Rosa, Mark LeCras, Travis Cloke and Matthew Egan.
Yes, he is just 21 (next Friday), but all those other blokes were in his year, remember.
Deledio, like Carlton's Marc Murphy, has had a tough initiation, trying to make his way in a poor team and in the spotlight that comes with being taken first on draft day.
Obviously, it's been easier for others, yet it's apparent he needs to work harder. He should adopt Foley as his role model.
At the start of the current decade, Richmond and Collingwood seemed similarly placed.
The Tigers won nine games in 1999, Collingwood four, but the Pies had secured dual premiership coach Michael Malthouse.
Richmond remained ahead of Collingwood in 2000-01 before the Magpies forged ahead. Barring 2005, the Pies have finished higher every year since.
In the post-2001 period, Collingwood has won 74 games to Richmond's 42.
The Magpies look far more accomplished, cohesive and disciplined.
They seem better drilled and make far fewer mistakes.
They are younger, too, and far more exciting. Who at Richmond matches Travis Cloke (son of a Richmond great), Dale Thomas, Scott Pendlebury, Heath Shaw and Harry O'Brien?
Richmond hasn't introduced a new player this year. New to the level. Not one.
It played five newcomers in 2007 - Shane Edwards, Jake King, Jack Riewoldt, Daniel Connors and Angus Graham - and only King has been seen this year.
Perhaps change is in the wind. The team for the clash with Fremantle tomorrow afternoon includes Edwards and Riewoldt, and former West Coast youngster Mitch Morton. Connors is an emergency.
Richmond's recruiting record is poor. Both with tried and untried talent.
Matthew Richardson is the only genuine key-position player on the list, and centre half-back and centre half-forward (I regard Richo as a full-forward) are gaping holes.
It is a problem born of Greg Miller spreading himself too thin for too long, unable to give all the duties he took on the necessary attention.
I have been a long-time fan of Wallace's passion for the game and thirst for information, yet even fans are entitled to their queries.
WHY, for example, do the Tigers play a style predicated on good decision-making and clean disposal by hand or foot when they are poor decision-makers with sloppy disposal?
WHY can't Deledio be settled in one spot? He looked hopelessly lost playing as a forward in Round 1.
Perhaps he is going to be just another midfielder who can slip forward occasionally to capitalise on his kicking.
WHY, after being retained for yet another year, is Greg Tivendale given just one game before being dropped?
SIMILAR story with Chris Hyde. Still at the club, but with security no longer than a week. One or both cop it in the neck when the Tigers need a sacrificial lamb, and lamb is a fixture on the menu at Punt Rd.
WHY was Joel Bowden played on the nippy Paul Medhurst last Sunday when he has been so creative in the past on Anthony Rocca?
Yes, Thursfield is the long-term full-back, but wouldn't King have been better suited to Medhurst?
The apparent decision to play Bowden at Coburg this week obviously is a message to the group for he is clearly in the best 22. Best five, more like it.
WHY was the same King assigned Corey Jones against North Melbourne?
Jones stands 188cm and is good overhead; King can stand up in his locker.
In fairness to Wallace and company, Nathan Brown and Newman have both suffered horrific leg injuries during his term, Mark Coughlan has had two knee reconstructions, and Troy Simmonds was restricted to 10 games last year after such a promising season in 2006.
But, doesn't every club have injuries?
The next few months are critical for everyone at Punt Rd, from the top down, regardless of time left on existing contracts.
Supporters want - crave - something to sustain them. The best and worst of Richo is exciting, but it isn't enough.
It's wins they want, competitive performances at the very least.
For Wallace, that needs to occur sooner rather than later.
He is heading dangerously towards the Neale Daniher-Denis Pagan situation where a nasty end becomes inevitable.
http://www.news.com.au/heraldsun/sport/afl/story/0,26576,23525461-19742,00.html
