The getting of wisdomMichael Gleeson
May 28, 2011JOHN Vickery would stand at the interchange bench policing the Richmond players. A few times a quarter, son Tyrone would come off. John would have a quiet word, but most of the time was so distracted he had no idea if Ty was doing well or not.
After the game at times, they would sit and talk. "He'd say to me, 'Dad, I jump into [Darren] Jolly and I just bounce straight off him as if I was nothing'. He tried to outleap them and they would put their hand up and just push him away,'' John Vickery said.
''He is starting to get it together, but he copped his whack there for a while because people expected so much from him when he had just come out of school and was 89 kilos playing in the ruck against blokes 110 kilos plus.''
A few things changed in the last six months that altered the course of Vickery's fledgling career. Jack Riewoldt won the Coleman Medal which proved a blessing and a burden for Richmond. Pleased for Jack, the coaches were yet troubled by the problems of a tunnel-visioned forward line.
Then the rules changed. The substitute rule, initially loudly derided, is now attracting backers. Tyrone Vickery is one of them. The rule persuaded Richmond that with an existing need for another forward target, Vickery should become their Leigh Brown.
''The sub rule changed where they saw me fitting and I think I have definitely benefited from that. The role every team needs now is that Leigh Brown role and that is the role I think best fits for me,'' Tyrone said.
But positional change alone does not explain the improvement in Vickery's game. Partly, he has steadily added weight and strength, but he has also shifted his attitude. He has often appeared overly deferential to his more established teammates - or, more to the point, he's looked more worried about getting out of Jack's way than getting the ball. Games can deliver confidence but so, too, do other small moments.
In training over summer, it was notable that coaches would run forward drills with Vickery or Dustin Martin leading from the goal-square or roaming deep, while it was Riewoldt who occupied the territory up the ground. It was about re-training the players about who to look for and not just be drawn to the magnetic Riewoldt.
Crucially then, when the side played Port Adelaide in Alice Springs in the pre-season, there was no Riewoldt in the side and Vickery was the forward target. He kicked five.
''Definitely the Port Adelaide game was [a defining game]. It was the first game forward where I felt like I was able to have an impact. It gives you massive confidence and it increases your teammates' confidence in you as well,'' Vickery said.
''You do second guess yourself a lot early on because Jack is a terrific player and you want to get out of his way so he can get it and do something with it, but now I think the more I can do, the more pressure it takes off Jack.''
It has also taken pressure off himself. Performing well as a forward has helped ease the critical self-assessment of where he was at. He is now looking comfortable and is backing himself to mark. He has hit the pack hard and taken grabs that have given the strongest insight into what he might yet develop into when he matures physically. He booted three goals last week in the Dreamtime win against Essendon and took eight marks the week before against the Dogs. It has helped ease the feeling he was being carried and might now foster a thought that he is doing the carrying.
''You want to be part of the team and contribute and I have felt like I have not pulled my weight in the team in the last few years. I needed to be better and I am looking forward to being able to contribute more,'' he said.
''It was a tough period last year for the club. We didn't win for the first half of the year. We would get close and not win and it was quite tough as a team and to know that I was not performing as well made it harder.
''I am sure the fans and that were a bit frustrated, but they were no more frustrated than I was. The coaches were terrific and the people around the club were always really supportive and encouraging that we were on the right path and that improvement would come.''
Vickery is now doing more work with forward coach Danny Daly - whom he praised highly - and less with ruck coach Brendon Lade, but Lade said he would be a dangerous ruck whether that is as a relief or first ruck as he got older.
In that, there is a synergy, helped by the fact he is also studying law and holds an interest in being more involved with the AFL Players' Association, with the club's chief executive Brendon Gale.
''He is not a forward who does it part-time,'' said Lade.
''He will be a genuine ruckman coming in as second ruck. But he is four or five years from playing his best football. The beauty of him is he does not fumble the ball in the air or below his knees, which for a big guy is a great asset.''
The former Port ruck recognised Vickery had the ruck makings when in a training drill he almost came to blows with Angus Graham.
''Angus throws his elbows around a bit at training and he copped Ty one and Ty just came straight back at him and they nearly came to blows. Ten minutes later they were good mates again, but you don't mind seeing that because it shows he has passion and is not going to take crap from anyone,'' Lade said. Given John Vickery is also the club's boxing coach, it was perhaps wise of Graham not to trade blows.
''Eventually all the good rucks work out that they are big and strong and ugly and they can do some damage to the opposition. He is a smart bloke and he is a good sledger, quite funny.
''Him and Andrew Browne are probably the best mates in the club. They both keep hitching rides from everyone else at the club. They say it is because they are saving the environment but they are just tight-arses. And both of them are smart - they both scored in the 90s for their VCE. They are giving big ruckmen a bad name.''
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