I'll merge this later on with the other thread about Richmond vs North lists...Two tribes in 2012Emma Quayle | August 9, 2009
What will the new coaches of Richmond and North Melbourne do in the first two years of their tenure? Emma Quayle assesses the challenges ahead and predicts who won't be there, who should step up and who needs to be drafted.
WHO'LL BE THE STAR?Richmond: Trent Cotchin, despite two interrupted seasons, has shown he could soon become Richmond's best player. If that's going to happen, in three years he should be there. Brett Deledio perhaps hasn't made the massive splash people keep wanting him to, but he is improving steadily and surely has a new level to reach. In three years, in their eighth seasons, he and Richard Tambling will be at the heart of their team's fortunes. Tyrone Vickery has only just started out, but the signs are promising and, as a strong prospect in both the ruck and the forward line, his development should play a big part in defining Richmond's fortunes from 2011.
Potential top 5 players in 2012: Trent Cotchin, Brett Deledio, Tyrone Vickery, Richard Tambling, Jack Riewoldt.
The x-factor: Daniel Connors. An undoubted talent, the clever midfielder has not hit his straps in three years on the list, for reasons to do with both injury and attitude. Can a new coach extract that talent?
North Melbourne: It's hard to see as many potential guns on the North list. Daniel Wells will have just turned 27 entering 2012. His response to a new coach will be interesting. Like Deledio, each year we seem to want more, more and more from him, and he could also hit a new level. Both Jack Ziebell and Liam Anthony look long-termers. But there's as much if not more to like about Gavin Urquhart. He has the pace, poise and skill to really break open some games in the next few years. You'd love to also include Jesse Smith in this list, but his body simply hasn't allowed him to express any of his talent.
Potential top 5 players in 2012: Daniel Wells, Jack Ziebell, Gavin Urquhart, Jesse Smith, Lachie Hansen
The x-factor: Hansen for various reasons has not settled into a spot in the North side and can look uncertain at times. Given a chance to nail down centre half-back and settle into the position, he could have a huge say in his team's next phase.
THE CLEAN-OUTRichmond: The Tigers have a few to shed. In the next couple of years – if not this year – they will farewell Joel Bowden, Troy Simmonds, Nathan Brown, Ben Cousins, Matthew Richardson, Shane Tuck and Kayne Pettifer, with Kane Johnson gone already. It's hard to see Mark Coughlan or Jordan McMahon in the 2012 line-up, while the likes of Cleve Hughes, Adam Thomson, Graham Polak, Jay Schulz and Jarrad Oakley-Nicholls have played minimal parts this year and will find themselves part of the turnover at some stage. Can Dean Polo, Adam Pattison, Angus Graham, Jake King and Tom Hislop survive the emergence of others? Timing may help some of them get another one, two or three years on the list. With the Gold Coast pushing other clubs down the draft order in the next two seasons, it will be interesting to see how much change Richmond makes at once.
North Melbourne: Adam Simpson's gone. Brent Harvey will be 34 in 2012, but could possibly still be playing. Brady Rawlings will be 31 – will he still be there? Daniel Pratt will be 30 – will he be too banged up by then to still be playing? How about Drew Petrie? He'll be 29 at the start of the season. Daniel Harris, Shannon Watt and Leigh Harding will be gone, as well as Corey Jones. The likes of Leigh Adams, Aaron Edwards, Sam Power, Matt Riggio and Ed Lower will be under pressure when change comes in the next year. Ben Ross hasn't turned a promising preseason into much more this year, and there are a few kids we haven't seen yet. Will the unlucky Smith and Robbie Tarrant get themselves to the line?
STANDING TALLRichmond: The Tigers have a handy group of talls coming through. Jayden Post has looked promising, as has Vickery. Depending on whether Vickery ends up mostly a forward or mostly a ruckman, they could possibly do with some back-up in either of those areas. Post could legitimately play at either end and, with Luke McGuane, Alex Rance, Kelvin Moore and Will Thursfield around, could make his way there in the next year or two. The Tigers have some juggling to do. Does one of those defenders ultimately get squeezed out, or do they try to trade someone this October? At least they have the players on their list to try things.
North Melbourne: Scott Thompson has shown enough to suggest he has a future. Grima's next 12 months will be interesting – if he's good enough, he'll be at a nice age to be holding down a key backline spot in 2012. Same for Hansen – if he's good enough, he should really be hitting his straps in 2011 and '12. Petrie will be approaching his 30s, and the club will be hoping that either the very raw but talented Nathan O'Keefe or the very talented but always injured Tarrant will be ready to replace him. In the short term, North's management of McIntosh, Hale, Petrie and the improving Goldstein will be interesting. Will one of them be eased out in the next year or two?
IN THE MIDDLERichmond: Who'll be in the midfield in 2012? Cotchin, Deledio, Tambling, Nathan Foley, Daniel Jackson – definitely. Shane Edwards, Andrew Collins, Matt White, Robin Nahas, Daniel Connors, Dean Polo – should be. Tom Hislop's a maybe. It's a handy group with some real class at the top.
North Melbourne: The core midfield group should be Wells, Ziebell, Anthony, Urquhart, Swallow. Greenwood could be in the mix too. Again, if only Smith was there already. Can Thomas push up or either Ben Warren or Warren Benjamin (who look more like forwards) pinch hit in there? North needs to find a few more midfielders in a hurry. The good news is that the top end of this year's draft is filled with ready-to-go on-ball types.
RIGHT NOW THEY NEEDRichmond: A complicated question for the evolving Tigers . Should Browne and/or Graham cement themselves in the next year or two, Vickery could play forward. If the club isn't convinced they will, and see Vickery as their next ruckman, they'll need to get a couple of marking talls (to complement Riewoldt and Morton, as more roaming types) in. The coach's thinking will also shape Post's immediate future. The Tigers have tall defenders in abundance, but McGuane and Moore are mid-sized, and Rance needs to work on his skills and on calming himself down when he gets the ball. Some run and class down there would be nice, although Edwards, Connors and a couple of others may provide that.
North Melbourne: Two things appear paramount – a couple of young talls to tuck away and work on, and some midfield class to start building up some on-ball depth, although surprisingly, in piecing together a 2012, gaps also bobbed up in the back half.
http://www.realfooty.com.au/news/rfnews/two-tribes-in-2012/2009/08/08/1249350725327.html?page=fullpage#contentSwap1
