Inside story: How hungry Tigers aim to reclaim the throne
The Tigers aren’t going anywhere. Find out how the club plans to bounce back from a tough 2021 and regain its contender status.
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Damien Hardwick, Dustin Martin and a string of young stars can re-ignite the Richmond’s premiership dreamsThe Tigers aren’t going anywhere. Find out how the club plans to bounce back from a tough 2021 and regain its contender status.
Glenn McFarlane
HeraldSun
23 October 2021Richmond is confident it can rebound from a challenging 2021 and resume its position among the leading AFL teams next year.
While externally some have forecast the end of the Tigers’ magnificent run of three flags in five seasons, the club’s general manager of football performance Tim Livingstone is buoyed by a number of factors he hopes will see the team well placed for a kick-start into 2022.
The reasons for optimism are many and varied: the health of the playing list compared to the corresponding time in recent years; the hunger that seems as strong as ever; tweaks to the playing and coaching groups; the development of the young core of players; and the likely return of one of the club’s strongest assets – the Tiger Army – at the MCG next year.
“We are excited internally as a group that we get to do this pre-season and we have got 15 or so kids under 22 who are really going to benefit from it,” Livingstone said.
“The other half of the list are experienced and talented players. Guys like Dion Prestia and ‘Nank’ (Toby Nankervis) are now getting full preseasons. We’ve also got ‘Broady’ (Nathan Broad), Noah Balta and Dustin (Martin) coming back from injury, which is exciting for us.”
For the first time in five years, Richmond will attack a full pre-season, having finished their 2021 campaign five weeks before the grand final clubs Melbourne and Western Bulldogs.
“Don’t get me wrong, we would absolutely want the program of a short pre-season if we had played into the last week,” he said.
“But the way it has worked out, we have a chance to set ourselves up.
“We are fortunate the majority of our players will be right to go (for the start of pre-season in late November/early December) and that sets you in good stead for the season coming.”
Tom Lynch is another who will appreciate a full pre-season after injuries impacted him.
“Tom has just been a wonderful acquisition for this club. He has been terrific on and off the field. On the field he has copped a couple of injuries that were not of his own making.
“But he is a great athlete and an absolute competitor. He is another who will benefit from a solid pre-season.”
The Tigers have had a steady stream of players coming into Punt Rd during the city’s lockdown period to work on their fitness base.
Others followed programs from their home states, including Liam Baker, who has a makeshift gym on the farm in Lake Grace, in Western Australia, while Shai Bolton and Matt Parker have been training in Perth.
“Most of the clubs have been doing it, but we have had most of the Melbourne-based players in regularly,” he said. “They would have normally been following their off-season programs at home, but because of the lockdown, they have been allowed to come into the club.”
HUNGER GAMESIf anyone thought the Tigers had been sated by their recent success, think again.
As Livingstone points out, nearly half of the Richmond list is 23 or under, but he is equally excited by what the experienced players can still achieve.
“There is plenty of hunger,” he said. “Our boys have a growth mindset.”
“They are always in the game to improve. They have had a taste of success but they definitely want to go again. All the people within the club and our fans and members are excited about what’s coming.”
That hunger extends to coach Damien Hardwick, who will lead the Tigers for a 13th season.
“He (Hardwick) is more than excited about a new, fresh full pre-season,” Livingstone said.
“We’ve got some new players coming into the team and we’ve changed the coaching (group) slightly. We think we are in a great position to launch into the pre-season and prepare ourselves for 2022.”
Richmond has added former Carlton coach David Teague to its coaching panel, while retaining Adam Kingsley, who came close to the Collingwood and Carlton senior positions.
“We have a wonderful group of coaches,” Livingstone said. “We’ve got Adam and David who have been in the system for a decade.
“David brings a new voice and a new wave of thinking to the group and I know he is looking forward to starting with us soon.
“They are surrounded by some excellent young coaches in Andrew McQualter, Xavier Clarke and Sam Lonergan, so we have great support for Damien.”
GENERATION NEXTOne positive in a frustrating season of injuries was that the club’s young core had a greater opportunity to taste regular senior football.
That can only benefit the club heading into 2022.
“We have got a good bunch of young kids who we think are the future of Tigerland and we look forward to seeing them take the next step as well,” Livingstone said.
“Jack Ross, Will Martyn and Ben Miller finished the season off really well and all contributed in that (Round 23) Hawthorn game.
Then you have Thomson Dow and Riley Collier-Dawkins and Hugo Ralphsmith, to name a few.
“The opportunity for those boys to play at senior level cannot be undervalued. It is so important to get that experience and understanding about what is required of them.
“If you had a look at our half-back line at stages of last year with Rhyan Mansell, Sydney Stack and Daniel Rioli moving back then, that’s exciting when you have champions like Bachar Houli departing the team.”
The upside for young gun Bolton, who turns 23 in December, is significant following the best season of his career to date.
“Shai was outstanding this year, he has got so much talent and we are really pleased with the way he has grown as a footballer and as a person. He will continue to get better.”
TRADE TIMERichmond lost big men Callum Coleman-Jones to North Melbourne and Mabior Chol to Gold Coast, but key defender Robbie Tarrant will bolster the club’s defensive posts.
Tarrant is one of the most underrated defenders in the game when he is fit and firing and will help cover the retirement of David Astbury.
“Robbie will give us some strength in the backline and support guys like ‘Grimesy’ (Dylan Grimes), ‘Broady’ (Nathan Broad), Noah Balta and Nick Vlastuin,” Livingstone said.
The Tigers believe they have enough big men to cover the loss of Coleman-Jones and Chol, to work alongside experienced ruckman Nankervis.
“People forget Ivan Soldo is like a new draft pick for us next year, back from a year off with his knee injury,” Livingstone said.
“Then we have a couple of young guys in Samson Ryan and Mate Colina, who still has some development ahead of him as a Category B player.”
DRAFT HAULFour clubs have won three or more flags this century, but Richmond has been the only one to amass five selections in the top 30 of a draft in the year following their success.
A month out from the national draft, Richmond general manager of football talent Blair Hartley and recruiting manager Matthew Clarke have picks 7, 15, 26, 27, 28 and 83 at their disposal.
The Tigers are open to trading further into the pointy end of the draft, potentially packaging two of their current picks to move up the top ten order.
“We are really happy with our draft hand … to have five picks inside the top 30 and our first pick inside the top 10 since Nick Vlastuin (pick 9 in 2012) is exciting,” Livingstone said.
“We will be able to add some really good talent into the group. Blair and Matty have done a brilliant job and whether we use some of (those picks) to move up the draft, or whether we look to next year, it gives us a good bargaining hand.”
The ability of Clarke and Hartley to locate talent from different sources and backgrounds has played a significant role in the club’s success.
NEW SKIPPERTrent Cotchin’s decision to hand over the captaincy and help foster the next wave of leaders at the club provides an opportunity.
But the process of selecting a new skipper isn’t a new thing.
Richmond has been doing it on an annual basis across the past few seasons in order to encourage new leaders to step forwards, even if everyone knew Cotchin would retain it.
“Even though it was a fait accompli (with Cotchin), we still went through the process,” Livingstone said.
“(Leadership consultant) Shane McCurry does a great job with it and we get all of the players’ involvement and our key staff as well.
“Normally we will determine (the captaincy) around the time of the pre-season games commencing or in the midst of those games. So around late February or early March is probably where we will come to our answer.”
He was reluctant to nominate individuals among the main contenders, saying the club felt it had a number of players capable of taking on the role.
“We have a good spread (of leaders), it is just about going through the process that we normally do and the right person will come to the fore.”
Among those likely to come under consideration are Dylan Grimes, Nick Vlastuin, Jack Graham and Martin (if he is keen to do it).
Cotchin, 31, will play a role in assisting the new captain during the transition period.
“Trent is an outstanding person and to have him around to support a new captain is a real advantage. It gives him the chance to really focus on his footy at this point of his career.”
HOW IS DUSTY TRACKING?Richmond is confident Martin will be back in full running in early December with the club saying he is “as hungry as ever” to return to his best form following a serious kidney injury.
While externally some wondered if the injury might have had a long-term impact on his dominance – coupled with his dramatic weight loss following delicate surgery to repair a lacerated kidney – the 30-year-old triple Norm Smith Medallist can’t wait to get back into serious training.
Martin plans to play well into his 30s, well beyond the end of his current deal which expires following the 2024 season.
He has been one of the Tigers in at Punt Road across the past month, ensuring he is covering all bases as he prepares to launch his 2022 return to footy.
“Dustin is a really resilient player, so it was almost like it (the injury) was the only way you could bring him down,” Livingstone said.
“He is in excellent spirits. He is recovering brilliantly. He is just a super professional so he did what he thought was best to recover from this unique injury.
“He has started his cross training and he will be running fully in December.”
Martin suffered a lacerated kidney in a freak collision with Brisbane’s Mitch Robinson at Metricon Stadium in Round 18.
He was ruled out for the rest of the season, spent nine days in hospital and shed more than 10 kilos as he worked to overcome the injury.
The star midfielder/forward, who has been so durable since his 2010 debut, missed the connection with the playing group during his lengthy rehabilitation.
“He is absolutely as hungry as ever,” Livingstone said. “He is looking beyond the next couple of years, he wants to play for a long time and he is the sort of the guy who could do it.
“His body is so durable. He is the ultimate professional and he prepares himself accordingly. He loves being around the club and he loves his teammates and he can’t wait for 2022.
“He absolutely loves the game. Selfishly, I hope he plays for quite a few more years because people love watching guys like Dustin play.”
Martin will progressively build up some of the strength he lost, an asset that has made him one of the most powerful and dominant players across the past decade.
The club is confident he will have a strong pre-season with an eye to making his AFL return in the Round 1 clash against a new look Carlton before a huge crowd at the MCG in March.
“Progressively, he will put that strength back on. All the indicators are that he will be training in December, our fans should feel assured of that,” Livingstone said of Martin.
YELLOW AND BACKIt was one of Richmond’s not-so-secret weapons in the pre-Covid days of its premiership dynasty and it’s ready to roar back into action again.
Much of the Tiger Army — the contingent that calls the MCG home — has largely been silenced through much of the pandemic, even if the back-to-back 100,000-plus membership tallies in 2020 and 2021 has kept the club coffers strong at a critical point.
Their expected return in a likely Round 1 clash with Carlton in March and through a bumper fan-friendly 2022 fixture will almost certainly give the Tigers a psychological bounce.
“We can’t wait to be back at the ’G and play in front of our Tiger Army,” Livingstone said.
“We have had the opportunity to do that around Australia where we had great support. But I know the players can’t wait to get back to the ’G and play in front of a crowd.
“We were really proud and grateful for the loyalty of the Tiger Army, with over 100,000 members again this season, despite the fact that for the best part of a year, they couldn’t go to the games. All of our players and staff are really looking forward to seeing our fans back.”
