List Mgmt. “It’s a form of tanking” the Richmond rebuild

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Richmond have done what they needed to do, and so far, they’ve done it well

I do think we need to take seriously some of the risks that have been flagged in this thread though

We need to learn lessons from what happened at Melbourne in the Trengrove era (putting too much expectation on young players too early) and North (being through a range of factors down too long and to a certain extent developing a losing mindset)

These risks can be overcome if we are patient and do our development right over the next 3-4 years – expose the kids but just for a few games and let them go back an reboost their confidence in the VFL – look to bring in a couple of cheap free agents as well as young talent in the next 2-3 years – just got to get the balance right.
 
Richmond get it now. They were a joke for a long time after 1980 but they’re on point now. Win when you can then burn it down at come back as quick as you can. I really like what they’ve done his trade period, winning spoons sucks though ideally you avoid them but they’re pretty fortunate the way it’s worked out with a deep draft.
 
Cactus_ said:
Richmond have done what they needed to do, and so far, they’ve done it well

I do think we need to take seriously some of the risks that have been flagged in this thread though

We need to learn lessons from what happened at Melbourne in the Trengrove era (putting too much expectation on young players too early) and North (being through a range of factors down too long and to a certain extent developing a losing mindset)

These risks can be overcome if we are patient and do our development right over the next 3-4 years – expose the kids but just for a few games and let them go back an reboost their confidence in the VFL – look to bring in a couple of cheap free agents as well as young talent in the next 2-3 years – just got to get the balance right.
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Melbourne had an appalling number of draft flops in that period. So many players like Morton, Cook and Gysberts who were highly rated but didn’t make it.

I do wonder how much of it was Melbourne’s development of the time. It’s not like they were smokies.

The outright tanking and absence of senior players didn’t help.
 

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I personally think it is a very bad move.

Richmond had a percentage of 64% in 2024 and realistically, trading away so many players their percentage in 2025 is going to be even worse, likely 10% worse.

We know from clubs like Gold Coast, GWS, Melbourne, North and Carlton that you can have a lot of high end draft pick players but if your club is being smashed week after week those high end draft pick players will not develop properly.

You need a solid foundation to allow these players to develop, they need to be protected by the older players and also be able to use those older players as examples when it comes to training standards and professionalism.

Having essentially a team full of kids basically does not work, has never worked and will never work.
 
Anja_Nees said:
Melbourne had an appalling number of draft flops in that period. So many players like Morton, Cook and Gysberts who were highly rated but didn’t make it.

I do wonder how much of it was Melbourne’s development of the time. It’s not like they were smokies.

The outright tanking and absence of senior players didn’t help.
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The outright tanking was incredibly damaging to their culture

And I think you’re right about the culture

We’ll never know but some or most of those players may have gone in to great things if they’d landed in a different environment

Then again Richmond have had some highly rated draft picks come in while our culture seemed to be good (Ben Lennon, Collier-Dawkins etc.) and they still went nowhere
 
Cactus_ said:
The outright tanking was incredibly damaging to their culture

And I think you’re right about the culture

We’ll never know but some or most of those players may have gone in to great things if they’d landed in a different environment

Then again Richmond have had some highly rated draft picks come in while our culture seemed to be good (Ben Lennon, Collier-Dawkins etc.) and they still went nowhere
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Everyone’s had a few bad first round selections but Melbourne really was something else.

Apparently when Gysberts landed at North his physical performance was on par with their draftees.
 
RUNVS said:
I personally think it is a very bad move.

Richmond had a percentage of 64% in 2024 and realistically, trading away so many players their percentage in 2025 is going to be even worse, likely 10% worse.

We know from clubs like Gold Coast, GWS, Melbourne, North and Carlton that you can have a lot of high end draft pick players but if your club is being smashed week after week those high end draft pick players will not develop properly.

You need a solid foundation to allow these players to develop, they need to be protected by the older players and also be able to use those older players as examples when it comes to training standards and professionalism.

Having essentially a team full of kids basically does not work, has never worked and will never work.
Click to expand...
There’s no doubt this is a risk that is going to need to be carefully managed.

How high they were drafted or what their reputations were like as juniors won’t count for anything once they start playing AFL.

And Richmond will need senior players from the previous premierships, and coaches, and probably a few old free agents we trade in cheaply over the next few years, to help instil the right culture in the new crop.

Can it be done? Of course it can.

Will we be able to do it? A lot rests on Yze, and Nank, and Vlastuin, and Taranto, and a handful of others . . .
 
Cactus_ said:
Will we be able to do it? A lot rests on Yze, and Nank, and Vlastuin, and Taranto, and a handful of others . . .
Click to expand...

That list of players does not exactly inspire confidence. Nankervis is a below average player, Vlastuin the same, and Taranto when at GWS at least was famous for being pretty crap when his team was playing poorly.

There is a reason Paul Roos brought in Bernie Vince and Daniel Cross when he became coach of Melbourne as he realised immediately that the team was too young. I would almost argue that without that decision Melbourne would not win the flag years later.
 
Richmond have been forced into this by terrible drafting and development followed by the awful decision to double down at the wrong time with Taranto and Hopper.

It's the right decision once they were here. Keeping disgruntled players when you're no chance of competing would've been worse. But unless the current list of younger players massively outperforms their current trajectories they're in for a world of hurt for a long time.

The current list going into next season will have 1 proven B-grade or better player under 27 in Noah Balta. That's it.

Everyone's drooling over the draft picks. Imagine they hit this draft like it's the 2001 superdraft. Would be incredibly right?

Well with the current picks in 2001 they would've got Luke Hodge and Steve Johnson. Amazing! But they also would've got:

Ashley Sampi
Sam Power
Richard Cole
Shane Harvey
Daniel Elstone
Charlie Gardiner

And that's from the greatest draft of all time.

If they pick the eyes out of the draft it will eventually pay off. But they're starting from a long, long way back having hit almost nothing over the past 6 drafts.
 

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List Mgmt. “It’s a form of tanking” the Richmond rebuild

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