Richmond's Rough Around the Edges

Tiger's troublesome third round performance proves costly for the 2017 Premiers.

Richmond was shown how it’s done on Saturday night, 6th April 2019, by the GWS Giants when they were flattened by the Orange and Grey Soldier’s in a disappointing 49-point loss. Even though it’s only Round 3, it seems Richmond’s season has gone from bad to worse. With star playmakers Alex Rance (ACL) and Jack Riewoldt (Wrist) both out through injury, it looks as if their captain Trent Cotchin (Hamstring), No.4 Dustin Martin (Suspension) and defender Jayden Short (Dislocated Elbow) will be joining them with a long stint on the sidelines. As the “Fantastic Four” (Rance, Riewoldt, Cotchin and Martin) service their time, the Tiger’s need to pull up their socks if they want to reach the finals series.

I had the privileged of watching the GWS Giants vs. Richmond Tigers at GIANTS Stadium. As a passionate Tigers supporter, I can say that I wasn’t impressed by the performance displayed by the boys. There are a lot of things to take away from the defeat to the Giants, both positive and negative, and that’s what I’m going to address in this blog. So sit back, relax and read what I liked and disliked about the game vs. the GWS Giants and what I think the Richmond Tigers need to do to improve on their 2019 season.

The first negative I would like to address is the Richmond defence. Are they missing Ben Rutten, their defence coach? I think they are in certain aspects. The Tigers defenders don’t look the same as they did in their Premiership season of 2017. I feel as if they’re playing it safe. At the moment, the Richmond defenders are defending from behind. If you continue to defend from behind, you run the risk of letting your opponent mark the ball and score and also you run the risk of giving away a free-kick for a “High Shot” if your arms are coming from behind and hitting the player across the face. How about standing side on so that you have a better opportunity to clear the mark or spoil the ball and if you miss the flight of the Sherrin or your opponent takes the mark, you also have freedom to turn and run. Now, I’m no expert but I have observed the Tigers defensive performance over the past few years and compared it to previous seasons and to other clubs, and I can notice changes in their defence since their Premiership season and it’s exactly how I’ve described in this paragraph. I also believe that a lack of leadership in defence is obvious with the absence of Alex Rance. More of that in the next paragraph.

Leadership, every team needs leadership. In a game like AFL, you need more than one leader. Yes, you have your captain who is your main front-runner, the skipper who steers the ship but you also need a leader in your forward-line and in your back-line. This allows the flow of the game to progress more efficiently and allows the team to take control. It’s clear that without Rance at the back and Riewokdt up front, there is no leadership. Cotchin is doing what he can without his veteran’s taking to field in their positions. Don’t get me wrong, I think Cotchin is doing a great job but there is no excuse. Someone needs to step-up and help Cotchin guide the Tiger train to success. I feel as though, without our star playmakers, we’re playing blindfolded. Have someone like Grimes or Astbury take over the leadership role while Rance is out injured and the same goes up front, Lynch or Martin, step up.

I do have to mention that Grimes was out (Suspension), Martin was off his game and Lynch was probably one to the few best on ground. Lynch's kicking game was sensational on Saturday. (pictured right)

If there isn’t leadership, there most likely isn’t going to be a lot of discipline within the team. We all know what happened on Saturday night between Martin and GWS’ De Boer and Kennedy. Now, I understand the Giants were doing their job and they did it well, tagging Dusty and getting under his skin and he has every right to retaliate because he is only human, but the Tiger’s need to be careful when it comes to fighting back. As we’ve seen in the past few days, a strong retaliation can end with a stint on the sidelines and/or a hefty fine. Richmond now faces a week without their “Fantastic Four”, after Martin was given a one-match suspension for his low impact elbow on Giants’, Adam Kennedy. Richmond can’t afford to lose players due to a collapse in thinking or an “it was in the moment” reaction. They need every player to be at their best in order to lift up their season. They’re no use sitting on the bench watching from the sideline. Another example of the lack of discipline was in Richmond’s Round 2 defeat against rivals, the Collingwood Magpies. Tiger’s defender, Dylan Grimes, elbowed Pies midfielder, Jamie Elliott. Grimes did get suspended for the incident and serviced his suspension on Saturday night against the GWS Giants. These elbows weren’t just little fairy taps to the cheek or to the ribs; they have the potential to harm. The severity is high. The Tiger’s need to take time out to assess their disciplinary issue cause let’s face it, they have issues.

It is just me or does the Richmond Tigers look unfit? Maybe they’re doing too much analysis and forgetting about their physicality. Saturday night’s performance was brilliant until the third quarter. The Tigers were strong, fierce and were a chance of taking the points in the first half but once the second half began, it looked as those the Tigers ran out of steam. Not enough fitness training? Or maybe too much too soon? Conserve your energy boys. Don’t give it 100% in the first or second quarter otherwise you will run out of steam. If you give everything early on, it gives the opposition team a chance to bite back in the final quarter which is what happen. The Giants were at their best in the fourth quarter and blew the Tigers off the park scoring 6 goals compared to just the 1 goal from the Tiges. In Richmond’s Premiership season, I noticed that the Richmond boys use to conserve their energy much better. As each quarter went along, they would ramp up their intensity by 25% so when the fourth quarter commenced, they would be giving it 100%. The game would then result in a thrilling win. Maybe it’s something to think about by the coaching staff and the Richmond trainers.

Okay, one of my pet hate’s in footy is when the player/s attacking the ball doesn’t make an effort to gain back possess of the Sherrin. I’ll give you an example; when the ball in rolling along the ground and there’s three to four player’s surrounding the ball and instead of attempting to kick the ball forward, they try to regain the ball by picking it up. In my head that doesn’t make sense. Why wouldn’t you kick it forward towards the goal you’re attacking? Yes, I understand the potential of giving away a “Kicking in Danger” free-kick but if the opportunity arises were you can kick the ball without giving away the free, why wouldn’t you? It’s more efficient, it’s allows the ball to gain metres and gives the attacking team a better opportunity to get the ball forward. Now that makes sense to me, instead of fumbling the ball and wasting time. Just kick the damn thing! Learn to be dangerous. Kick the ball off the ground. Stop being so cautious. The Tigers also need to learn to work on they communication. On multiple occasions, especially during Saturday night, the boys coughed up the ball way too much due to pour communication and poor passing accuracy. Learn to talk Richmond. Check your surroundings, assess and think about what will happen next. Take a deep breath and use your footy brain. No more silly mistakes. No more mucking up the fundamentals, we should already have those down packed. Come on you Tiges.

To sum it all up, something needs to change otherwise Richmond’s season is going to crumb.

Now, I’m going to finish on a high note. Sydney Stack. I want you to remember that name. Why? Because this kid is going to be an absolute superstar. The Richmond defender made his senior debut on Saturday night against the Giants. His performance was brilliant, one of the best debuts I have ever watched from a Richmond Tigers perspective. Sydney has the ability to read the play of the game within seconds and he knows exactly the right time to defend and when to attack. His defensive work is amazing. Stack has the ability to intimidate his opponent with his agility. This kid can run. He can even kick a mean 50m goal which he did on the night. If I was Damien Hardwick (coach), I would definitely have him in my starting XXII (22) until Dylan Grimes (Suspension) or Alex Rance (ACL) are available to play again. This kid’s future is bright and I can’t wait to see him shine. (pictured left)

Thank you for reading this blog. I know everyone has their own opinions and this blog is based on my own opinion. You may agree with what I wrote but you may not. Please respect what I have written. I am interested to hear from you all and share your opinions by heading to my Instagram - @a.t.f.w_bylucy and leave a comment or join the chat by hitting the 'Let's Chat!' icon in the bottom left-handed corner. Also, don’t forget to hit that heart button!

Thank you!

Lucy xx