Wow! See what happens when you don't read the forum for a couple of days!
Big Tone - Richo is an out and out champion of the club that bleeds yellow and black and is a fantastic bloke all round - that is indesputable. When I say he is 'individualistic' I think you need to read my explanation more carefully. What I am saying is that he looks to win every battle, every mark, every contest on his own.
When Richo plays in the forwardline he only has eyes for the ball. If he is in the pocket the ball is kicked to a leading Schulz etc he will race to the contest, crash the pack and attempt to take the mark himself. This is why Schulz has been injuried so many times by the big fellow and why playing them side by side is unworkable to date.
I don't think Richo plays a team orientated game. In the example above he wouldn't think to shepherd out Schulz's defender, or make a dummy lead to give the other forwards more space to lead. Richo is an incredible mark but his frequent poor kicking often hinders the team on the score board and in terms of morale too.
He has shouldered much of the resposibility of the team for years now and been the face of the club but he has flaws as we all have said. We need to start to look to the future now and see if Richo, despite all the assets he brings to the team, is in fact doing more harm than good to the younger players through his example and team structures.
There is no doubt that we were a better team when Richo was moved out of the forwardline. We became less predictable instantly, had a broader range of gaols kickers and had a tall marking option/link player on the wing. This should have been done years a go to allow our young forwards a chance to develop because the presence of the big fellow swallowed up all the F50 deliveries (and good help the midfielder who looked beyond Richo to another forward!) and all the space in the 50 (as I have already refered to with Rich running from anywhere to take the grab).
I think its too late now, but if Richo could develop a defensive game to compliment his offensive game then he would be unstoppable but the facts remain that he doesn't tackle, he doesn't shepherd, he does dummy lead, he doesn't block and he doesn't lead the lead the team. If he did he would have been made captain decades a go.
Our senior players need to lead through word and deed, and despite their obvious strengths they have the same glaring weaknesses that have been dragging down this team for decades. We need our champions to do the 1% if we ever hope our young developing players will and if they can't then judgements need to be made if we have any chance for future success.
Stripes
(a.k.a peanut)