Mind over chatter
Glenn McFarlane | June 28, 2009
FOR a person who has had to endure almost as much on-field scrutiny as any other over the past five seasons, it's a wonder Richmond's Richard Tambling retains any sense of empathy.
But this week, in the middle of the most consistent form of his career, Tambling said he felt for Melbourne's Jack Watts, whose first-up efforts have been the subject of conjecture, despite only playing three games.
Unlike Tambling, 18-year-old Watts was a No. 1 draft pick.
The 22-year-old Tiger was a No. 4 selection, but came under intense assessment throughout the Terry Wallace years, largely because the man Richmond overlooked was chosen by Hawthorn a pick later, a kid called Lance Franklin.
That was clearly not Tambling's fault but, in many ways, it has been his burden.
"I copped it pretty much from day one," Tambling said. "Being an early draft pick puts pressure on you, just like Jack Watts now.
"I definitely feel for him. He has got to develop, and players develop at different times. Of course there are going to be others such as Daniel Rich and Stephen Hill who burst on to the scene and be better than Jack Watts. He just needs to be given some time."
Few players have been more victims of their placement in order of draft selection than Tambling. While his career at Punt Rd over 4 1/2 seasons, and 85 games, has been sporadic more than successful, it has been compared endlessly with that of the very different (in all aspects) frame of Franklin.
The endless comparisons, the pressure on him internally and externally, and the barrage of abuse he has copped on both sides of the fence may have crushed a lesser person.
For a time, too, Tambling worried the pressure might push him to breaking point. It affected his passion for the game he once played carelessly and effortlessly as a kid growing up in the Northern Territory.
He knows "Buddy" Franklin, but has not spoken to him about the subject.
And it is only now, almost five years on, he feels truly comfortable with his role in the game.
This is largely thanks to his rich vein of form over the past two months, the perfect balance of his life off the field and sessions of hypnotherapy he says cleared clearing his mind of the negatives.
"I copped it from the crowd, but also from the opposition, saying a lot of stuff about you," he said. "They try to put you off your game and get inside your head.
"Coming into the system as an 18-year-old, you don't know what to expect and you don't know how to react to things.
"With all the training, and the games, and with the club not being successful in those first couple of years, it did weigh heavily on me for a time.
"I sort of did wake up in the mornings, and think, 'Is this all actually worth it, is it going to happen for me?' I wasn't close to walking away from it, but it was pretty tough at times."
Tambling says this to emphasise how tough it can be for footballers who are on the wrong side of the scrutiny.
And he acknowledges he still has a long way to go to ensure he becomes a 10-year player.
A moderate performer in the club's woeful first-round loss to Carlton, Tambling missed the next game against Geelong with hamstring soreness.
He returned in Round 3 against the Western Bulldogs but turned in what he described as "a complete shocker", admitting he thought too much about the game and his role in it.
There was an excuse, though Tambling was loath to speak about it because he still believes it had nothing to do with his efforts that day.
He had had no sleep going into the game, having attended the birth of his daughter, Leah, the previous day. His son, Tyson, was born in Darwin three years ago while Tambling was training with the Tigers in Melbourne.
"She was worth one bad game," he said of Leah's birth in early April.
"I got dropped (to Coburg) and the spears and the knives came out after the (Bulldogs) game from the media and everyone else pretty much. I could have gone back and sooked, but I worked hard to get back into the team."
Tambling believes his turning point came when he played a strong team role within a modest tally of 16 possessions in the club's first win of the season, against North Melbourne.
"I didn't get the numbers in that game, but I did a lot of the team things," he said. "I got praised from the team and the coaches about it and it really gave me some confidence."
So, too, did his work with a hypnotist, who channelled Tambling's energy into recalling what made him such an elite player when he was the most sought after kid in the Northern Territory in 2004.
Part of it was the fact he needed to approach the game in a fun, positive manner, something that didn't come naturally to him after what he had encountered in his first few years in the competition.
"I had to talk to someone about getting my head right, about sort of going back to believing that I was actually a good footballer," he said.
"I've gone and cleared my head, and now I think about things differently."
The other thing driving Tambling is the support on the home front from his partner, Amy, and the love of his kids, Tyson and 10-week-old Leah.
"The family life is amazing at the moment," he said. "It is definitely a good balance.
"If you don't have things right off the field, then it affects your footy and, vice versa."
Tambling was determined to not let his form this season impact on his family life, as it could have.
If the Kangaroos game was his turning point, clearly last round's best-afield effort against West Coast was the high mark of his career.
Playing as a roaming half-forward given licence by caretaker coach Jade Rawlings to traverse any part of Etihad Stadium he wanted, Tambling set the scene with 14 telling disposals in the first term.
He had a massive first half before being tagged.
"Definitely the first half of that game was the best footy I've shown," he said. "Hopefully, I can have some more games like that."
Tambling's long-term plan is to become a more consistent footballer. "I am playing more consistent footy now, which I am happy about," he said.
"I am working harder and I am just going out there and trying to have some fun.
"It's been a tough year, but we just want to go out and enjoy our footy again. When you are losing games, you can forget about how much fun footy can be.
"You can tell when someone kicks a goal that no one goes over to him, whereas now we have the whole backline running to them now.
"We've all got behind Jade 100 per cent, so hopefully we can win a few more games this year."
Tambling said he felt for Wallace. "I feel a bit for Terry because he drafted me and he supported me a lot," he said.
"I will definitely speak to him before the end of the season."
For now, though, he wants to get behind Rawlings and keep his career on an upward path.
He knows he has to improve and has to become more consistent, or the AFL career that means so much to him could be over when his contract expires at the end of next year.
"The club has been behind me since I got here and they have always backed me," Tambling said. "They have given me chances that I might not have got at other clubs.
"I'd love to remain here for the rest of my career."
http://www.news.com.au/couriermail/sport/afl/story/0,27046,25699375-5016169,00.html
