Is this the last laugh?
Mark Stevens and Braden Quartermaine | May 30, 2009
THE fate of Terry Wallace could be official as early as next week.
Tigers president Gary March last night told the Herald Sun the result of the now-famous mid-season review would be handed down any time in June.
Wallace, all but acknowledging his fate, confirmed last night he would not be coach next year.
There has been a perception that the club's review would be completed around the mid-season break, from Round 11-13, but Wallace's judgment month starts on Monday.
"We've said we'd probably make final decisions in June . . . any time from next week onwards, I would say, until the end of June," March said.
"For us, mid-season was always the month of June."
It raises the possibility that Richmond could have a caretaker in for Friday night's match against the Western Bulldogs, particularly if the Tigers are not competitive against the Dockers at Subiaco tonight.
Wallace last night refused to concede his 500th match as player or coach could be his last, but he appeared uneasy answering questions about the subject.
"I just keep doing my job," he said. "I'll just do what's right for the Richmond footy club and that's what I'm doing.
"It's always a moving picture. I think we've never hidden that. I'm not going on next year as a coach and that's where that sits."
Asked whether it would mean a lot to stay on until Round 22, Wallace replied: "I'll do what the Richmond footy club needs me to do."
Wallace said he was feeling fine despite losing several kilograms during last week's Punt Rd crisis.
"I'm fighting fit and looking forward to coaching (tonight) and looking forward to getting on with the job," he said.
Ben Cousins last night steeled himself for a vintage performance at his old home ground.
Cousins trained at Subiaco with a bandage on the left hand he broke in Round 8, but the former West Coast captain showed no discomfort.
Wallace said the controversial recruit would have been in doubt had the match been anywhere but Perth.
"In normal circumstances he might have been touch and go for the game, but there was no way known he was going to miss the opportunity of coming back home and playing," Wallace said.
"There's still a bit of swelling there, but it's had a plate put in it, so from a point of view of extra damage or anything like that, there's no drama.
"He'll probably put up with a bit of soreness over the next couple of games but, other than that, he's ready."
Wallace expected Cousins to play about 75 per cent of game time.
"We're not going to be holding him back. I expect he'll play a normal midfield role. He was in pretty good form a fortnight ago in the game against Port Adelaide," he said.
Wallace, interviewed this week about his milestone on afl.com.au, defended his record as a coach.
Asked how he felt about not winning a flag as a coach, Wallace replied: "There's no doubt that it's a case of being in the right place at the right time.
"I have a winning record against several premiership coaches, so I am confident in my abilities.
"The two clubs I have taken over were 15th or 16th, so I never received an armchair ride like some have been fortunate enough to get."
Wallace also gave an insight into his football theories.
"There's a lot you learn, but the main thing I've learnt is that the blokes who work the hardest, not those who are the most talented, get the rewards," he said.
"It's a ladder, the AFL, and you've got to climb and crawl up it any way you can, and there are always the other players trying to climb past you, push you back down, kick you off it.
"People get to the AFL and think they've made it, and they've got no idea how incredibly difficult it is."
http://www.news.com.au/heraldsun/sport/afl/story/0,26576,25558635-19742,00.html
