Author Topic: A Richmond 2008 preview from the other side/sash  (Read 6609 times)

Little Jackie

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Re: A Richmond 2008 preview from the other side/sash
« Reply #15 on: December 22, 2007, 05:38:43 PM »
The bombers supporters' (bomberblitz) season preview of Richmond.........  :whistle

--------------------------------------------------------

Here we go again, looking at each team and what we expect from them next year. Those offended by discussing something other than Essendon on the forum feel free to ready something else.

Richmond suffered from a false dawn. They had Terry Wallace come in and as they had done for other coaches they started to show improvement. Then they turned into the Richmond we all rely on. Last year they were terrible. Wallace could see it before the season got going when he warned that the Tiges were 5 or 6 years away from challenging. Shame his contract doesnt last that long.

Richmond sufferred with injuries to their rucks which are thinner than probably even us. It starts with Simmonds and finished with Simmonds. Any chance the Tigers have of improving rests on his average shoulders.

The backline was weakened early last season when any players they had who could stop goals were told they were no longer required. They have some quality unaccountable backs in Bowden and Polak but seem to lack anyone who can shut down an opposition forward when they hit their stride. Geelongs absolute demolition of them last year was embarassing for everyone and they had no answer at all.

The forward line is aging. Richardson still owns the forward 50 and it is hard to see an heir to his throne. He has lost a little of his spark and unless Brown finds a little of his form of old and gets truly fit then it is hard to see them kicking enough goals each week. McMahon is an interesting prospect for them but whilst a quality player he isnt a matchwinner. Richmond dont have very many match winners at all. Jack Reiwoldt could be the X factor in the forward line but he realistically is probably another season away from being ready.

The midfield is probably the main area of strength for the Tiges. Deledio developed further last year and will soon become elite, Tambling seems to take two steps backwards and one sideways for every forward step in his career and seems little more than a bit part player taken way too high in the draft. Coghlan who was one of the highest rated inside midfielders a couple of years back is now in a constant fight against his own body to play the game. Polo a revelation a in 06 was woeful in 07, Shane Tuck the same dropped his bundle last year.

As much as I think the Tigers would love to put 07 behind then I think they will repeat the dose this season coming. Another spoon for a team whose list looks even weaker than the start of last year.

http://www.bomberblitz.com/forum/index.php?s=919048090fb07b9977b0fab9d992b918&showtopic=38456


Fairly accurate assessment actually.
Most things listed are factual

Really Jack?
I reckon i'm realistic about our list, which is still average, but there are glaring omissions and downright rubbish in that attempt of a assesment.

Simmonds average?Not in my eyes he aint.
Polo didn't dominate in 06 (aside from a game against them) and was injured and missed the 2nd half of 07.What amazing research and thought process that shows.
Gaspar was awful and spent more time sprawled on the turf than stopping goals, and i had more faith in Thursfield in 2007 than Gaspar post 2001.
The Richo that 'lost his spark' won his first B&F of his career in 2007.
The comments about our midfield (bar Lids) were all negative and ridiculously overlooked Foleys rise to prominance....he wasn't even mentioned!

Written by a nonce with little football knowlege.

I don't rate us a finals hope or even a massive improvement in 2008, but that wasn't even close to reality.


No going to argue about this but the facts are that Troy Simmonds is it at his 3rd club, and has been playing AFL for 8 years and I would think that 2006 was by fair his best season, agree ? Yep.( He got the msot votes for the RFC in the brownlow in 2006.)
One good year in eight I would descibe as average. I think Troy is a great assest for the RFC but we unfortunately rely on him way too much.

If he has another good season like 2006 in 2008, I would call Troy an above average AFL player. A great year in 2009 , I would say that people would remember Troy Simmonds and his efforts for the RFC in similar vain as say a Paul Broderick , Michael Gale etc.

Offline mightytiges

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Re: A Richmond 2008 preview from the other side/sash
« Reply #16 on: December 22, 2007, 09:41:33 PM »
I can understand opposition supporters thinking we're hopeless but not from a team that we flogged once and should have beaten twice if not for a dodgy 50m. If we're soft what makes them  :wallywink.

I still believe this list will be the wooden spooners for 2008. A couple of injuries to key players they can't afford to lose and it'll almost be a certainty.

(Age at 1st January, 2008)

32: Fletcher
30: Michael, Lucas
29: J.Johnson, Lloyd
28: Peverill
----------------------------------
27: Ramanauskus
26: Hille, McVeigh
25: Lovett, Lovett-Murray, McPhee
24: Welsh
23: Davey, Johns, Laycock, Winderlich
----------------------------------
22: Dyson, Nash, Watson, Atkinson#
21: Lee, Slattery, Stanton, Chartres#
20: Dempsey, Lonergan, Monfries, Hocking
19: Gumbleton, Hislop, Hooker, Houli, Jetta, Neagle, Ryder, Williams, Dick#
18: Bellchambers, Daniher, Myers, Pears, Reimers, Magin#


Oldies:   6
Mids:     11
Youth:   27 (including 4 rookies)


Ruck-size  (>198cm):  4  - Fletcher, Hille, Laycock, Bellchambers
Big Talls (194-198cm): 6  - Gumbleton, Johns, Lee, Ryder, Hooker, Chartres#
Talls  (190-193cm):     10  - Lloyd, Lovett-Murray, Lucas, Michael, Neagle, Watson, Daniher, Myers, Pears, Dick#
Tall Mids (186-189cm): 7  - Hislop, McPhee, Nash, Welsh, Williams, Winderlich, Hocking
Mids  (180-185cm):     15 - Dempsey, Dyson, Houli, J.Johnson, Lonergan, Lovett, McVeigh, Monfries, Peverill, Reimers, Slattery, Stanton, Ramanauskus, Atkinson#, Magin#
Smalls  (<179cm):        2 - Davey, Jetta
All you touch and all you see is all your life will ever be - Pink Floyd

Offline one-eyed

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Re: A Richmond 2008 preview from the other side/sash
« Reply #17 on: December 22, 2007, 09:48:00 PM »
Here's another that's put in more effort.......


Backline: 5 - Wallace did the right thing when he gave Gaspar the chop and started playing the young guys in key positions. Gaspar was only going to last the rest of the year anyway. So their backline has a tad more experience but they're still extremely raw and thin and will probably have more than a few games where the dam wall breaks and sides obliterate them. Thursfield looks promising but I'm far from sold on the capabilities of McGuane or Polak at CHB. One thing they do do well is rebound, and McMahon adds further bite to their string of highly effective offensive BP/HBFers - Bowden, King, Tivendale, Raines etc - now if only they had more defensive skills.

Midfield: 5 - Their midfield like most other areas is competent on its day but rarely spectacular. Foley is great at getting the ball out, but last year he ended up having to do a lot of the outside work as well. Deledio has his moments but currently looks like turning out more Travis Johnstone than out and out star. Tuck, so good, in 2006, was so ordinary in 2007. They need help, particularly with Kane Johnson playing more of a quarter back role these days than a usual midfield one.

They will benefit from 3 new recruits for the year though - Trent Cotchin, Mark Coughlan & Dean Polo. Firstly, I've got to correct AB's summation of Polo's season particularly his reference to him "struggling to break into the side" - he played 6 of the first 8 before dislocating his shoulder, he tried to do the team thing and play through it before opting to have surgery 2 games later. Assuming he doesn't have any further shoulder problems he ought to be at worst serviceable for them. Coughlan, is a different story, he's played 1 season in 4 years, the other 3 ruined by OP and more recently, 2 consecutive ACLs. Whether he can a) stay on the park and b) make any sort of impact are the big issues. He is a very important component of their midfield because he offers something the other regulars don't possess - flair. Cotchin, should get plenty of games, if for no other reason than to give their fans hope, hopefully he doesn't get saddled with Brown-esque "the saviour of the club" expectations. They did finally seem to find an able tagger towards the end of the season in Daniel Jackson, but with other midfielders returning/arriving it’ll be interesting to see whether he holds his spot.

Forwards: 6 – Their forward line is the best part of the team, and can be summed up in two words: Erratic Richo. Much maligned by his own and opposition supporters alike, his production around the ground is never in question, in front of goal though, much less so – unlike any other spearhead, more often than not the difference between 5.0 and 1.5 is the first set shot.

Whilst a protégé for Richo has yet to be found, they do get very good support from Pettifer and Brown when fit. Pettifer has really turned himself around since Wallace joined the Tigers, becoming a reliable 30+ goal contributor and is no longer viewed as an utter waste of a top 10 pick. Brown was just starting to refind his feet at the end of last season, even mixing it up a bit in the midfield. For all the “he’ll save us” hype when he arrived, there has only been 1 year in the past 7 where a team has won more games than they’ve lost with him in it. That notwithstanding, he is still one of their few match-winners and it is an understatement to say they need him fit for the full season.

Mitch Morton arrives from the Eagles and should take a spot on the HFF or possibly the wing. He does have class, but it remains to be seen how much possession and impact he can generate with the opposition not preoccupied with star-studded team-mates.

Then there is Tambling. I really don’t know how he keeps on getting games. Wallace seems committed to playing him every week but he plays 3 shockers for every good one. Has tons of talent but can’t see to put it together consistently and should be under more pressure to keep his spot than he currently is.

Like at the other end of the field, they have plenty of flanker talent but not much in KPP, so Richo is left to float between FF and CHF, Riewoldt is still developing but looks more of a 3rd tall than a key one, which leaves a void for either Jay Schulz or Cleve Hughes.

Schulz, frankly, doesn’t impress me, largely getting games on the promise of one solitary game 3 years ago where he kicked 6 against Brisbane. Since that game, he’s kicked 34 goals in 33 games, with 14 goals from 12 games last year – a truly abysmal return for someone in his 5th year. He should need a breakthrough year to retain his place, but then again this is Richmond, celebrator of mediocrity.

Hughes looks more promising but Wallace obviously doesn’t think so. Hughes got his chance in Round 5 and kicked more goals than anyone else in the team over the next 2 weeks, before being singled out for the forward line’s poor performance in Round 7 and was barely sighted again for the rest of the season. If Wallace actually bothers giving the kid an extended run rather than waiting for an excuse to drop the axe, they might find themselves with their next genuine forward.

Rucks: 2 – Last year Trent Knobel busted his ankle, and then so did Troy Simmonds…their entire senior listed ruck division. Best to fire whoever decided 2 rucks on the senior list would be a good idea…. oh wait he’s still got another 2 years to run on his contract. Nevermind. So they promoted their rookie-listed ruck didn’t they? Well no, they didn’t actually – too linear – more midfielders and back pocket plumbers were needed. Nope instead they played two makeshift guys in Pattison & Polak, oh and Richo, he played a few games as 1st ruck. Sheeds, must’ve been peeed he didn’t think of playing Lloyd in the ruck.

This year they’ve now got 3 specialist rucks on the senior list and Cartledge on the rookie list. Looks OK…on paper. However, they’re still as bad as last year. Simmonds is fine if fit, but the 2 specialists back-ups are rookie Dean Putt and Angus Graham, their rookie-listed ruck from last year that they were that impressed with he didn’t get a game with until Round 20, when Simmonds went down for the 3rd time. Hardly inspiring. Pattison may still end up being the back-up.

Overall: 18/40

Predicted Finish: 13th-16th

Best 22:
B:    King      Thursfield   J.Bowden
HB:McMahon McGuane    Raines
C:  Newman   Deledio      Polo
HF: Pettifer  Richardson  Morton
F:   Brown      Hughes    Tambling
R: Simmonds Foley Tuck
Int: Pattison Polak K Johnson Cotchin
Emg: Jackson Riewoldt Tivendale

Little Jackie

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Re: A Richmond 2008 preview from the other side/sash
« Reply #18 on: December 22, 2007, 09:52:16 PM »
I like the summary on Schultz, exactly what i have said all along
Overall, I agree with this guys assessment

Offline mightytiges

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Re: A Richmond 2008 preview from the other side/sash
« Reply #19 on: December 22, 2007, 10:23:11 PM »
They should know all about Sarge and living just on promise as Johns is older and done less yet is still on their list lol.

Polo definitely scarred them after that dreamtime game. They rate him higher than we do so far in his career.
All you touch and all you see is all your life will ever be - Pink Floyd

Hellenic Tiger

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Re: A Richmond 2008 preview from the other side/sash
« Reply #20 on: December 22, 2007, 11:51:21 PM »
Why don't they just look at the Sheedy Hird farewell and look at the result. It was more significant than what the scoreboard suggested as a 27 point comprehensive victory 17 17 119 to 13 14 92.
It wasn't only a win for us but also a turning of the tide in our head to head battles with them but fortunes of the sides. Sure we finished last and based on the performances of last year we can expect to rise slightly perhaps a couple of rungs on the ladder but Essendon have an old ageing and unmotivated list that is losing its experience and thus exposing some awfully big gaps in their playing personnel. The preoccupations of their own dillusional dreams of grandeur circa 2000 still linger as well as the many recent victories they have had but alas this is a different Tiger and Bomber footy clubs and the auras are changing. Is it me but are other teams fans ignorant of us as a side and only tend to remember us getting floggings or our fans just getting frustrated at players races venting their spleens rather on focusing on the substance of what is actually hapenning and thus sticking their head in the sand and underestimating us on the basis of poor results? Do it at your peril Bomber fans.
The rot is settling in at Windy Hill and with a rookie coach at the helm and some mighty big shoes to fill and forever be compared to the previous administration for not only Knighters tenure but perhaps the following couple of coaches after Knighta the club will find out firsthand the doldrums that they are in and hopefully by then our fortunes will have turned full circle.
Once Fletcher Lloyd Lucas and a couple of other experienced players go they will be short of talented KPP'S and they will struggle in a major way whereas we have Richo in that category who will laeve a huge void but we have been recruiting the talent that may supplement this loss.
If 13-16 place finish is a fair assumption for us based on last years results then the same can be said for the Bombers after all they were 8-5 finished 10-12 including that loss to us in a game celebrating a milestone that the Bombers would once upon a time lick their lips when we were the designated opponent on the day.
Remember Knighters 200th Round 6 1999  Us 11 12 78 Arrogant Utd 17 11 113
or Sheedy's breaking of the Dick Reynolds record
Round 16 1998 Arrogant Utd 14 10 94 to Us 10 15 75
or how about Matty Knights last game Us 7 11 53 to Arrogant Utd 7 12 54
The Rogers and Kellaway final game match Rd 15 2004
Us 11 11 77 Arrogant Utd 24 11 155 just to name a few.
Oh the tide is changing. See you on the way down Bombers at the point on the ladder that we will be on our way up. We have kept our underachieving Big 4 Victorian side tag warm for you and I know the Succesful Victorian Big 4 side tag has been kept warm for us. Thanks Bombers.

Little Jackie

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Re: A Richmond 2008 preview from the other side/sash
« Reply #21 on: December 23, 2007, 07:08:10 AM »
They should know all about Sarge and living just on promise as Johns is older and done less yet is still on their list lol.

Polo definitely scarred them after that dreamtime game. They rate him higher than we do so far in his career.


Word of advice, forget about what other clubs do with players and worry about out own. :banghead
We have been dismal for 26 years

Offline mightytiges

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Re: A Richmond 2008 preview from the other side/sash
« Reply #22 on: December 23, 2007, 06:29:03 PM »
They should know all about Sarge and living just on promise as Johns is older and done less yet is still on their list lol.

Polo definitely scarred them after that dreamtime game. They rate him higher than we do so far in his career.


Word of advice, forget about what other clubs do with players and worry about out own. :banghead
We have been dismal for 26 years
Yep it's been our 29 18-22year olds fault we've been crap for 26 years  :whistle
All you touch and all you see is all your life will ever be - Pink Floyd

Little Jackie

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Re: A Richmond 2008 preview from the other side/sash
« Reply #23 on: December 23, 2007, 06:47:03 PM »
Yeah, half the young kids we pick up arent any good.
Gilmour , McGrath, JON, the list goes on and on.
You have to have the right mix of players in the group.
If you ask the people who supposely know at punt road, 2007 failure was due to the dismal effort of the ""senior group""

Offline Struggletown

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Re: A Richmond 2008 preview from the other side/sash
« Reply #24 on: December 23, 2007, 07:24:34 PM »
Here's another that's put in more effort.......


Backline: 5 - Wallace did the right thing when he gave Gaspar the chop and started playing the young guys in key positions. Gaspar was only going to last the rest of the year anyway. So their backline has a tad more experience but they're still extremely raw and thin and will probably have more than a few games where the dam wall breaks and sides obliterate them. Thursfield looks promising but I'm far from sold on the capabilities of McGuane or Polak at CHB. One thing they do do well is rebound, and McMahon adds further bite to their string of highly effective offensive BP/HBFers - Bowden, King, Tivendale, Raines etc - now if only they had more defensive skills.

Midfield: 5 - Their midfield like most other areas is competent on its day but rarely spectacular. Foley is great at getting the ball out, but last year he ended up having to do a lot of the outside work as well. Deledio has his moments but currently looks like turning out more Travis Johnstone than out and out star. Tuck, so good, in 2006, was so ordinary in 2007. They need help, particularly with Kane Johnson playing more of a quarter back role these days than a usual midfield one.

They will benefit from 3 new recruits for the year though - Trent Cotchin, Mark Coughlan & Dean Polo. Firstly, I've got to correct AB's summation of Polo's season particularly his reference to him "struggling to break into the side" - he played 6 of the first 8 before dislocating his shoulder, he tried to do the team thing and play through it before opting to have surgery 2 games later. Assuming he doesn't have any further shoulder problems he ought to be at worst serviceable for them. Coughlan, is a different story, he's played 1 season in 4 years, the other 3 ruined by OP and more recently, 2 consecutive ACLs. Whether he can a) stay on the park and b) make any sort of impact are the big issues. He is a very important component of their midfield because he offers something the other regulars don't possess - flair. Cotchin, should get plenty of games, if for no other reason than to give their fans hope, hopefully he doesn't get saddled with Brown-esque "the saviour of the club" expectations. They did finally seem to find an able tagger towards the end of the season in Daniel Jackson, but with other midfielders returning/arriving it’ll be interesting to see whether he holds his spot.

Forwards: 6 – Their forward line is the best part of the team, and can be summed up in two words: Erratic Richo. Much maligned by his own and opposition supporters alike, his production around the ground is never in question, in front of goal though, much less so – unlike any other spearhead, more often than not the difference between 5.0 and 1.5 is the first set shot.

Whilst a protégé for Richo has yet to be found, they do get very good support from Pettifer and Brown when fit. Pettifer has really turned himself around since Wallace joined the Tigers, becoming a reliable 30+ goal contributor and is no longer viewed as an utter waste of a top 10 pick. Brown was just starting to refind his feet at the end of last season, even mixing it up a bit in the midfield. For all the “he’ll save us” hype when he arrived, there has only been 1 year in the past 7 where a team has won more games than they’ve lost with him in it. That notwithstanding, he is still one of their few match-winners and it is an understatement to say they need him fit for the full season.

Mitch Morton arrives from the Eagles and should take a spot on the HFF or possibly the wing. He does have class, but it remains to be seen how much possession and impact he can generate with the opposition not preoccupied with star-studded team-mates.

Then there is Tambling. I really don’t know how he keeps on getting games. Wallace seems committed to playing him every week but he plays 3 shockers for every good one. Has tons of talent but can’t see to put it together consistently and should be under more pressure to keep his spot than he currently is.

Like at the other end of the field, they have plenty of flanker talent but not much in KPP, so Richo is left to float between FF and CHF, Riewoldt is still developing but looks more of a 3rd tall than a key one, which leaves a void for either Jay Schulz or Cleve Hughes.

Schulz, frankly, doesn’t impress me, largely getting games on the promise of one solitary game 3 years ago where he kicked 6 against Brisbane. Since that game, he’s kicked 34 goals in 33 games, with 14 goals from 12 games last year – a truly abysmal return for someone in his 5th year. He should need a breakthrough year to retain his place, but then again this is Richmond, celebrator of mediocrity.

Hughes looks more promising but Wallace obviously doesn’t think so. Hughes got his chance in Round 5 and kicked more goals than anyone else in the team over the next 2 weeks, before being singled out for the forward line’s poor performance in Round 7 and was barely sighted again for the rest of the season. If Wallace actually bothers giving the kid an extended run rather than waiting for an excuse to drop the axe, they might find themselves with their next genuine forward.

Rucks: 2 – Last year Trent Knobel busted his ankle, and then so did Troy Simmonds…their entire senior listed ruck division. Best to fire whoever decided 2 rucks on the senior list would be a good idea…. oh wait he’s still got another 2 years to run on his contract. Nevermind. So they promoted their rookie-listed ruck didn’t they? Well no, they didn’t actually – too linear – more midfielders and back pocket plumbers were needed. Nope instead they played two makeshift guys in Pattison & Polak, oh and Richo, he played a few games as 1st ruck. Sheeds, must’ve been peeed he didn’t think of playing Lloyd in the ruck.

This year they’ve now got 3 specialist rucks on the senior list and Cartledge on the rookie list. Looks OK…on paper. However, they’re still as bad as last year. Simmonds is fine if fit, but the 2 specialists back-ups are rookie Dean Putt and Angus Graham, their rookie-listed ruck from last year that they were that impressed with he didn’t get a game with until Round 20, when Simmonds went down for the 3rd time. Hardly inspiring. Pattison may still end up being the back-up.

Overall: 18/40

Predicted Finish: 13th-16th

Best 22:
B:    King      Thursfield   J.Bowden
HB:McMahon McGuane    Raines
C:  Newman   Deledio      Polo
HF: Pettifer  Richardson  Morton
F:   Brown      Hughes    Tambling
R: Simmonds Foley Tuck
Int: Pattison Polak K Johnson Cotchin
Emg: Jackson Riewoldt Tivendale

A much more accurate and concise effort, and I would concur with 90% of the sentiments and assessment.


No going to argue about this but the facts are that Troy Simmonds is it at his 3rd club, and has been playing AFL for 8 years and I would think that 2006 was by fair his best season, agree ? Yep.( He got the msot votes for the RFC in the brownlow in 2006.)
One good year in eight I would descibe as average. I think Troy is a great assest for the RFC but we unfortunately rely on him way too much.

If he has another good season like 2006 in 2008, I would call Troy an above average AFL player. A great year in 2009 , I would say that people would remember Troy Simmonds and his efforts for the RFC in similar vain as say a Paul Broderick , Michael Gale etc.

I rate him a little higher than you.
I thought he was good at Freo, and I'm sure they would have liked to hang onto him when he was out of contract.
He was poor in 2006(trying to make him a KP was a waste of time too though) but was very good in 2007 as you said.
He had major injury/heath concerns to deal with, so we will have to hope he can stay fit in 2008, as I think we're decimated without him ruckwise.
I'd still take him over the lumbering handbag Hille anyday however.

As for Brodders being remembered alongside Michael Gale??
Brodders for me was instrumental as an inside mid,was a good player in some finals years and was overall fantastic for us IMO.
Butch wouldn't be fit to polish his boots.
If Snake can acheive to a level of Paul Broderick at Richmond he'll be a success for us.
« Last Edit: December 23, 2007, 08:21:42 PM by Struggletown »
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Little Jackie

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Re: A Richmond 2008 preview from the other side/sash
« Reply #25 on: December 23, 2007, 08:24:42 PM »
How we forget.
Butch wouldnt polish his boots ::)
Michael Gale was so inspirational to other team members in 1995 it wasnt funny.
Thats was wrong with the current group.
Too many limp wristed soft individuals who have got under sized hearts. :banghead
We go and recruit Jordan McMahon to do what ? Hold hands with Tivendale and Joel ::)
Along side Butch you can add players such as Maxfield, Turner, Rogers, Chris Bond.etc. The four players I have mentioned could all win the own ball on most occassions, there lies the problem, not age, not height. The ability to gain possesion of the football when in dispute. I feel sorry for Nathan Foley

Little Jackie

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Re: A Richmond 2008 preview from the other side/sash
« Reply #26 on: December 23, 2007, 08:31:11 PM »
By the way Struggles, you have your years mixed up with Troy.
Didnt play much this year 2007( Injured), 2006 was his best year with us.
2005 was used as key forward

Offline mightytiges

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Re: A Richmond 2008 preview from the other side/sash
« Reply #27 on: December 23, 2007, 11:04:11 PM »
Yeah, half the young kids we pick up arent any good.
Gilmour , McGrath, JON, the list goes on and on.
You have to have the right mix of players in the group.
If you ask the people who supposely know at punt road, 2007 failure was due to the dismal effort of the ""senior group""
The "effort" of most of the senior group was dismal this year. We only started to be competitive in the last month because the cubs started pulling up the slack.

Gilmour and especially McGrath (pick 77 2001 draft) are long gone. You also know what I think of JON. The reason Francis Jackson is now our head recruiter instead of Miller doing the lot. The whole point of bringing through so many kids at once (29 on our list currently) is that you know not all of them will make it and that all clubs make mistakes (the Eagles had 3-4 first rounders fail when they were rebuilding). By drafting so many kids you're playing the percentages which is something Richmond never did in the past. We'd only draft just a handful of kids over 5 years and then hoped and prayed they'd all miraculously become stars despite not taking recruiting and development seriously in terms of $$$ and resources. Dreamland stuff.

People underestimate how decimated our list was at the end of 2004 because the core that should have replaced Richo, Joel, Sugar, Tivs, Gas, Chubba by 2007 wasn't on our list to begin with (unlike Hawthorn who did and it's now this group that make the majority of their best 22). Just 5 players Jack - Cogs, Newy, Petts, Hyde and Schulz - from 6 drafts with the latter two unlikely to be around by next year. Anyone like Spud who thinks this has no effect on us now is living in fairyland.  
All you touch and all you see is all your life will ever be - Pink Floyd

Ramps

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Re: A Richmond 2008 preview from the other side/sash
« Reply #28 on: December 24, 2007, 06:27:39 AM »
Why is everyone in such a hurry to improve right away, we can afford another year at the bottom before setting on the march to success. We dont have enough good talent at the moment, we need more talent. We need to add 3 class juniors next year - 1 midfielder, 1 key position and 1 ruckman. To do that we need to finish on the bottom and get the first 2 picks in effect Rich and Hurley or Rich and Natanui.

A bottom finish gives a 3rd pick inside 20 to find another player of quality even players in the 30s will be ok.

And we have to use the PSD, they have to be lining someone up from now. Lachlan Hansen comes out of contract from North, Id imagine- hes the sort of player that could be convinced to come over. Anyway, for me its not about 2008... its 3 and 4 years from now- because then its going to be when we should be close- very close. 

Little Jackie

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Re: A Richmond 2008 preview from the other side/sash
« Reply #29 on: December 24, 2007, 07:15:02 AM »


People underestimate how decimated our list was at the end of 2004 because the core that should have replaced Richo, Joel, Sugar, Tivs, Gas, Chubba by 2007 wasn't on our list to begin with (unlike Hawthorn who did and it's now this group that make the majority of their best 22). Just 5 players Jack - Cogs, Newy, Petts, Hyde and Schulz - from 6 drafts with the latter two unlikely to be around by next year. Anyone like Spud who thinks this has no effect on us now is living in fairyland.  
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That might have wanted to quicken the process a bit and get rid of Hyde and Schultz . Everybody knows they are a waste of space.
As for Cogs, jury is out and they tried hard to trade him 2-3 years ago but he didnt want to go,