A quarter of the way through the 2010 home-and-away season, I thought it was an appropriate time to share with Richmond supporters, the football department’s assessment of where we are at . . .
From the outset, we knew it was going to be a tough year, bringing in 14 young players to replace the more than 1100 games of experience that departed Punt Road at the end of the 2009 season, through the likes of Matthew Richardson, Joel Bowden, Kane Johnson, Nathan Brown, Mark Coughlan and Kayne Pettifer.
We made the decision to play some of our new players early on, so they could get a taste of what was needed for them to become consistent AFL performers. As with most inexperienced young players, their form has fluctuated a fair bit. But some of them have shown that they can definitely cut it at the level, which is exciting for our future plans.
At the moment, we’re not winning games, which is certainly disappointing for everyone involved with the Club. But the fact that some of the young players we have brought in this year, look like they have what it takes to make the grade, is particularly pleasing.
Dustin Martin is leading our clearances up to this point of the season and he’s displayed an on-field maturity far beyond his years. It’s rare for a young player to have such an impact in an inside-midfield role so early on in his career. Ben Nason has demonstrated that he is very comfortable at the level, with his decision-making and his disposal skill. And, Dave Astbury has shown that he also makes really good decisions and, for a tall player, he’s quite flexible. He was moved into defence during last Sunday’s match against Geelong, and appeared comfortable there. Those three have been the stand-outs of the young players who have debuted for us so far this season. Another young player, in Mitch Farmer, has really had a crack for us since coming over from Port Adelaide, where he’d managed just three senior games in two years. He’s certainly shown promising signs that he, too, could become a long-term player for us.
So, that’s four additions this year, who have already had an impact at the level. Some of the other young players we have given a senior opportunity to, have shown some glimpses of their potential. And, there are a few more who we expect will get their chance before the season’s out as well.
One of the other positives out of a poor start to the season, is that Shane Tuck, who was wondering whether his career was at the crossroads, has taken the bit between the teeth and shown us that he can play in a different role as a defender and, on occasions, still go into the midfield to provide drive with his ability to win contested possession. It’s a credit to his character that he’s been able to respond the way he has.
Jack Riewoldt has attracted some media criticism in the early part of this season, which we think is unfair. It’s worth pointing out that Jack is still only 21 and has played just over 50 games of AFL football. We’re asking him to be the linchpin of our forward line and I think he’s doing a good job in the circumstances. He battles his heart out each week for us, and has managed to kick 13 goals in the opening six rounds of the season. Those media critics just don’t understand the leadership qualities Jack possesses as a young man.
As disappointing as 100-point defeats, such as the one we suffered down at Geelong last Sunday are, it doesn’t mean we’re suddenly further away from achieving our ultimate goals. It doesn’t in any way take our focus away from the bigger picture, or change any of our plans for the future.
I have been extremely impressed with the manner in which Damien Hardwick has conducted himself throughout what has obviously been a tough start to his senior coaching career. Damien has been very consistent with the messages he’s given the players, right from the start of pre-season, about sticking to the process that we’re going through, and trying to adapt to our new game plan. His messages to the players on where they have fallen down have been consistently constructive and clear.
It’s fair to say, however, that he did get a bit hot under the collar after Sunday’s game, which is fair enough. When you lose by 100 points, it’s clearly not just a form and an ability issue. He was disappointed with that effort, and I’m sure we’ll see the players perform much better against Adelaide on Sunday, following a fairly intensive week on the training track.
So, what can Richmond supporters look forward to for the remainder of the season? Well, firstly, I think they will see a significant improvement in the way the team moves the ball. As the young players gain more experience, their confidence will grow, and that will have a flown-on effect with an improvement in their ball use.
Over the next four months, as previously mentioned, we will provide senior opportunities for a few more of our new, young players, where possible. And, I would expect that some of our younger players will start to convince Tiger supporters that the Club, indeed, has a bright future.
We are also keen to extend senior opportunities to any other players who deserve a run because, at the end of this season, we need to know the exact capabilities of every member of our playing list. So we will ensure that we give everyone as much game time as their form warrants.
Once the season is over, we will again be making a number of changes to our playing list, as we strive to bolster our depth of talent. With three full-time recruiting people, along with Blair Hartley, who joined us late last year from Port Adelaide, we feel we’re well placed to do this.
Blair, in his role as the Club’s Opposition and List Analyst, is heavily involved with looking at talent acquisition from within other AFL clubs. This will form an important part of our recruiting operations at the end of this year and into the future, particularly with the introduction of two new clubs in Gold Coast and Western Sydney. We need to search for players outside the traditional pathways. Clearly, if we have an early selection in the draft, then that will come via the traditional pathways (ie TAC Cup). But we will broaden our recruiting horizons in a bid to find the necessary talent to bolster our playing list and, with Blair now on board, we anticipate being quite active in the trade market. We’re one of the first AFL clubs to have a fully-resourced trading division in our overall recruiting structure, so we are confident we’ll be capably equipped to make smart decisions with regards to trades, moving forward.
Finally, a lot has been made about the National Draft at the end of this year and how it’s not a good time to be “bottoming out”, with Gold Coast having so many early picks. Well, I can assure you there will still be talented players available at our draft selections. AFL history is full of examples of later draft drafts, who have become very good players.
The whole issue of bottoming out is an interesting one, too, because it’s difficult to pinpoint the actual time when you bottom out. We brought 14 new players into the Club late last year, and have drafted quite a few other young players over the past two or three years, including the highly-talented Trent Cotchin, so I don’t agree that we’re going to be as disadvantaged as what many others in the football world would have you believe. We have a substantial group of young players on our list and we’ll add to that at the end of the year, as well as find some more experienced, bigger-bodied players, who can help us out as well.
