There's life in the Tigers yetBy Nathan Burke
Inside FootballDon’t despair, Richmond fans, you might have to go backwards to go forwards.
REGARDLESS of what sport it is, a new coach is hired to do one thing – improve the team.
Depending on the previous coach’s record and ability this can either be an easy task or an extremely difficult one.
In the end whether a coach has succeeded comes down to two things: games won and position on the ladder.
You move the team up and you get a big tick, take it backwards and questions begin to be asked. But is it that simple, is it possible for a team to go backwards in order to go forwards?
If I was Richmond supporter I would be hoping that the answer is a definite yes.
I know it’s early on and the team has played only one game against a very good team down in Tasmania; so for this reason I am going to discount this performance completely.
I am going to base my judgment on recent history.
History shows it is indeed possible to go backwards in order to go forwards and that it has almost become a prerequisite for eventual success.
Damien Hardwick spent five years under Al Clarkson in an era that went from ugly football to a premiership.
In Clarkson’s first season there were many crying out that he did not know what he was doing.
The brand of strangling football his team played was unattractive, to say the least.
While from the outside it looked far from effective, from the inside it was all about getting the basics right.
Discipline, defence, structure – from these foundations the attacking side of the game was to be built.
And build it Clarko did – well enough to take home a premiership flag.
Because Hardwick was one of the main architects and advocates of Clarkson’s theories it is not unreasonable to think that he will follow the same path.
And several factors may swing Hardwick this way.
Like the Hawks when Clarko took over, the Tigers are devoid of key forwards.
Richo is no longer on the scene and while they may have some up and comers like Jack Riewoldt, it is too early to base your game plan around high marking forwards.
Clarkson knew he had Franklin and Roughead maturing week by week and wisely decided to build up the Hawks’ defensive abilities before opening the floodgates.
The Tigers would be smart to follow the same route as relying on guys who aren’t ready can have serious detrimental effects on a young player’s confidence levels.
If Hardwick needs further evidence that this process works he should look no further than the Saints. Prior to Lyon being appointed the Saints had played in two of the three previous preliminary finals.
Certainly this was not a team that had been dwelling in the cellar for some time and to many it was not unreasonable to expect Lyon to put the icing on the cake and vie for the flag almost immediately.
History shows the Saints were far from flag contenders and actually dipped out of the finals for the first time in several years.
I still recall the Saints vs Hawks game that year and from an aesthetic point of view believe it was close to the worst game of football I have ever seen.
Vying for a flag seemed like the furthest thing either side would be doing for quite some time.
Again history shows us that after that backward season where the foundations were built the Saints went from strength to strength and head into season 2010 as a serious contender.
If you want to travel a little further back in time you can look at the introduction Paul Roos had to coaching.
His methods even drew criticism from the AFL, which was of the belief that the type of football Roos had the team playing would be detrimental to the future of football in NSW.
It was built around the defensive structures that Roos believed were vital to sustained success in this competition.
And like the Hawks, the Swans had quite a few people eating their words when they were one kick away from back-to-back premierships.
Of course, to every rule there is an exception and this comes in the form of Matthew Knights and his philosophy of having his new team attack, attack, attack.
Knights was criticised for having very little defensive element in his game plan and decided to let the players loose rather than curtail their natural attacking tendencies.
It was an about-face from modern principles and perhaps we will see a reversing of the trend if the Bombers make serious inroads this year.
However, I doubt whether Hardwick is in the Knights camp given two things: his relationship with the Hawks’ successful rebuilding, and his personality.
When you take into account the way he played the game himself and throw in the Tigers’ rebuilding program, it is a safe bet which way he will take the team.
So Tigers fans, I urge you not to jump on any signs of ugly football or of worse performances than last year.
No membership cutting or chook pooh dumping!
If we learn anything from history it is that it is indeed possible to go backwards before you go forwards. All you need is faith.
It may have to be blind faith at times and it may not be built on much substance but you’ve got your new coach, a whole bunch of new players, and knowledge that turnarounds no longer require five to 10-year plans.
In effect I am asking some of the most passionate supporters in the business to think logically and take the emotion out of the game – perhaps I need a dose of realism, too
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