Joined AFL: 1908
Premierships: 10 - 1920, 1921, 1932, 1934, 1943, 1967, 1969, 1973, 1974, 1980
Last finals appearance: 2001 preliminary final2006 at a glance:
Last year was widely seen as a portent of better things to come at Tigerland, with wins over Geelong, Adelaide and Collingwood among Richmond’s 11 victories. Andrew Raines developed into a top-line small defender and several other youngsters caught the eye as the Tigers went 8-6 through the season's first 14 weeks. Four successive losses ended the Tigers' finals chances but a ninth-place finish was more than respectable.2007 to date:
How is it possible that a team could be in potentially winning positions against five of the top nine teams on the ladder, yet find itself 0-9 and rock bottom after round nine? No doubt more than a few Richmond fans have stopped to consider that very question. With a shade more luck the Tigers might very well have beaten any of Carlton, Sydney, Collingwood, Adelaide and top-of-the-table West Coast. Were it not for a contentious free-kick, they would probably have beaten Essendon last week. On the flip side, Richmond was non-competitive against Port Adelaide in round seven and all but non-existent versus Geelong in round six, when they went down by 157 points.The coach:
Three-time Hawthorn premiership player Terry Wallace, who also played at Richmond and Footscray, rose to coaching prominence with the Western Bulldogs, taking an unfashionable team to a third-place finish in his first full season in charge. He parted ways with the Bulldogs in 2002 after four finals appearances, famously did everything but take the helm at Sydney and then bobbed up as Tigers coach in 2005. Went 11-23 in his first two years at Punt Road.Missing in action:
Nathan Brown remains out of senior action with complications stemming from his horrific leg break in round 10, 2005 - a welcome relief to Lions fans who remember his pivotal role in Richmond's win at the Gabba the week before his injury. Key midfielder Mark Coughlan was gone before the season started with a knee reconstruction and Ray Hall, Trent Knobel, Troy Simmonds, Patrick Bowden and Travis Casserly are also sidelined.The gun:
It's doubtful a key forward as good as Matthew Richardson has ever been so unfairly maligned. Richo doesn't always have his kicking boots on but his 708 goals from 242 games stack up pretty well against his contemporaries, including Wayne Carey's 727 from 272 outings. Leads and works hard, kicked 4.2 last week with a fractured cheekbone and will represent a big challenge for whichever Lions defender gets the job of stopping him.The bolter:
Few non-Tigers fans would know much of Nathan Foley, yet the 2006 rookie elevation would probably be close to leading Richmond's best-and-fairest award at present. Has had 36 more possessions than his closest teammate and has also laid more tackles than any other Tiger. Has the old-fashioned ‘unteachable’ knack of finding the football and was a round 19 NAB AFL Rising Star nominee last year for an excellent performance against the Lions.Strengths:
Richardson has been an elite forward for pretty much all of his 14 seasons in the AFL. The Tigers also have a string of mid-sized utilities - Joel Bowden, Greg Tivendale, Kayne Pettifer, Chris Hyde et al - capable of playing well in a variety of positions. Foley and Shane Tuck are midfield hard nuts, Brett Deledio has all the ability in the world and Raines is one of the competition's better young small defenders.Weaknesses:
Richmond's midfield - Deledio and skipper Kane Johnson aside - lacks a touch of class. There is no real reliable back-up for Richo and the tall defenders, excluding Graham Polak, are still very much in the development phase. Ruck stocks are also at a premium, with Simmonds and Knobel out of action. At their best this year, the Tigers have been extremely competitive, but, at worst, they've been nothing short of dreadful.The Queensland factor:
Ex-Lion and Saint Knobel hails from Broadbeach, as does youngster Luke McGuane, who was bizarrely struck by a snapped goal post when playing for the Tigers' reserves the weekend before last. Raines played his junior football at Southport and assistant coach Craig McRae, of course, was a triple-premiership player with the Lions.The views in this story are those of the author and not necessarily those of the club.
