Nailed It - Robbo's Article Tells the Truth

[_RT_]

Tigers cough it up, again
16 July 2007 Herald Sun
Mark Robinson


WHEN you watch Richmond massacre the sport of football, they do it by halves. Bluntly, they were pathetic after halftime yesterday.


At their worst, they ran around like school kids, chasing the ball and forgoing any sense of sacrifice for the betterment of the team.
As a consequence, they were directionless and haphazard. They played with hope instead of conviction and, combined with an inability to find teammates by hand or foot, it made for a very ugly yellow and black concoction.
Don't know what stood out more yesterday, the unaccountability or the poor disposal.
It was ridiculous the ease in which Hawthorn ran away with this game after leading by just nine points at the main break. They won by 53. This from a team that had 377 disposals to Richmond's 398.
Skipper Kane Johnson was brutally honest.
"It was disappointing," he started.
We set ourselves against Hawthorn. They are a young team like us, and they've had a fairly good year and we've been disappointing, so we set ourselves to have a good crack at them today.
"I thought we did early, and then our skill level and our run was not up to standard compared to them."
Accountability? "They just ran so much harder. They gave us an absolute lesson in what modern-day football is, and that's run hard, run fast."
Turnovers? "It's probably cost us all year. It's one thing we speak about and we are trying to do something about it."
Johnson said the club had to cut players who could not cut it. "We've got seven weeks to find out who can go with us for the future and who can't because we need to turn this club around," he said. "We need, as a group, to sit down and talk about where we're going in the seven weeks."
Mental disintegration is cancer at a footy club.
At Richmond, it envelops the team at every missed handball, at every time the ball falls short of a leading forward and every time someone decides they don't want to chase. And when that happens, finger pointing becomes an Olympic sport.
The Hawks, exposed last week against the physical Crows in the midfield, did exactly the same to Richmond yesterday.
They knew, as Luke Hodge relayed on radio afterwards, that if they kept the pressure on Richmond, that the Tigers would eventually turn it over and, very possibly, be exposed coming back the other way. That was their game plan, anyhow. It worked.
You can pose many intriguing questions about Richmond, but try this one: who would you rather be - the full-forward for the Tiges or the full-back?
We've seen Richo go insane with the delivery to him. But up the other end, youngster Will Thursfield might need psychological help after trying to counter Lance Franklin mainly and Jarryd Roughead.
Up against a midfield that swarmed through the MCG like the Zulus, Thursfield and Co had little chance, and Thursfield actually described it as "impossible".
He has an excuse, and if you watched the tape you could probably find some others deserving of latitude, but too many players were a let-down.
He is a fighter, Shane Tuck, but his foot skills hurt his worth. Nathan Foley is cut from the same cloth as in hardness, but his education with the boot needs to continue. You can keep naming them: Howat, Tivendale, Raines, Johnson, and even the usually exquisite Nathan Brown.
Brown and and Johnson both missed easy goals in the final quarter. Brown finished with 2.3.
Throw in the fact that he didn't want to do too much chasing of opponent Campbell Brown yesterday - once when he took two bounces and goaled from 50m - and Browny was as much to blame as anyone else. But at least he contributed something.
Richard Tambling remains an enigma. Brilliant and progressive one week, four touches and the last 20 minutes on the bench the nextr. It's not good enough. Simmonds, Hartigan, Schulz, King just have to contribute more.
Again, a lot of questions are asked, but this one is a constant: why can't they kick?
Wallace says it's a work in progress and that the VFL side Coburg had another great win yesterday.
Good ol' Coburg. Every week it's Coburg this, Coburg that, and it's probably understandable. With one win from 15 games, there's not a lot to crow about in the ones.

http://www.heraldsun.news.com.au/footy/common/story_page/0,8033,22080092%5E20322,00.html

Love the line at the bottom as well

 

[Stripes666]

hit the nail on the head

 

[want2spoodge_pettifer]

hopefully terry reads it..

 

[deliberate!!]

"Johnson said the club had to cut players who could not cut it."

Just like Terry.....Johnson cannot overview the situation honestly....

If this was a corporate situation, you can't just blame the officer worker.
The leadership is also bad.

Step down Johnson you fool.

 

[PHX]

Spot on. Great article. Apart from being a little harsh on King it's all completely on the money.

 

[krustyman]

nothing could be further from the truth, hawks flooded back and congested the forward line, so they could not bring the ball in as quickly as they did in the first half. clarkson just showed why he is a better coach than wallace.
who was left floundering once his game plan was exposed, because he dont have a plan b.

 

[Goldust]

"Johnson said the club had to cut players who could not cut it."

Just like Terry.....Johnson cannot overview the situation honestly....

If this was a corporate situation, you can't just blame the officer worker.
The leadership is also bad.

Step down Johnson you fool.

Act of suicide by Kane saying that.

Needs to realise he isn't cutting it!

 

[turtle27]

"Johnson said the club had to cut players who could not cut it."

Just like Terry.....Johnson cannot overview the situation honestly....

If this was a corporate situation, you can't just blame the officer worker.
The leadership is also bad.

Step down Johnson you fool.

He'd be on my list to go. He's not cutting it at the minute. He's one of those many players who look great when they play in great team, and that certainly isn't us at the minute.

 

[tigertiger]

take it easy on Kane Johnson, Hawthorn were excellent yesterday the run they have and the amount of work there players are willing to do running through the middle made it impossible for Richmond to get any flow on. They would have troubled any team playing like that.

They run hard and play a tough brand of footy they were a reral pleasure to watch

I think Richmonds younger players learnt a lot yesterday about how they need to play. Tambling and Richo were dragged and rightly so. Cam Howatt needs to run twice as hard and learn to not pull out of tough clashes. I suspect however he might be traded at the end of the year

Jake King stood up for the tigers again he was tough and relentless at the ball. More then once i saw him wrestling with Hawthorn players who were trying to bully him out of the game. We need a few more players who are ready to do the hard stuff. Edwards was also a tireless worker

I thought our defence was fairly good but with the amount of quality delivery comeing in it was impossible to keep the flood gates closed. Polak took some beutiful grabs under preassure

 

[GiveGasTheFlick]

I'm sick of Kane Johnson's piss poor excuses lets face facts he is not an inspurational leader.He is another Leon Cameron a traffic cop stop pointing Kane and get a bloody hard ball and inspire our young kids who are busting a gut for our once proud club .

 

[sgbn77]

Jake King was excellent.

 

[peejay]

Reading some of this thread , you would think Johson is not contributing !

I thought his game yesterday was very good. Apart from the brain lapse in the last quarter when he had that stupid shot at goal. Not saying he is an inspirational on field leader but to say he should be given the flick is well just stupid and hypocritical. We cry out for consistent performers who can deliver the ball (remember he is way over the league average for effective disposals for a midfielder) and then we want to get rid of him when two or three of his 28 disposals are not pin point.

 

[Madtiger2006]

Johnson is the type of player we don't need
Not skillful enough
Not smart enough
Hesitates every time he has the ball
All of these areas course turnovers
Get rid of him
He is in the middle where turnovers are pretty costly. Other players we have to look at is Raines and Tuck. Most of our other youngsters look good but need to keep improving with experience

 

[GoTeam2-0-0-4]

Reading some of this thread , you would think Johson is not contributing !

I thought his game yesterday was very good. Apart from the brain lapse in the last quarter when he had that stupid shot at goal. Not saying he is an inspirational on field leader but to say he should be given the flick is well just stupid and hypocritical. We cry out for consistent performers who can deliver the ball (remember he is way over the league average for effective disposals for a midfielder) and then we want to get rid of him when two or three of his 28 disposals are not pin point.

its not 2 or 3. he had 28 possessions yesterday with a 53% effective rate (according to triple m). So basically, every second one of his possesions were screw ups. Add to this, that of the ones he doesn't screw up, he tends to move the ball very slowly, which hurts our running game. Often when he marks the ball, his first option is to look backwards. This season he's been a liability to the team

 

[folester41]

he cannot be serious about kingy?

he tries just as hard as anyone else on our team and yesterday again i thought he showed that.

 

[acr2751]

take it easy on Kane Johnson, Hawthorn were excellent yesterday the run they have and the amount of work there players are willing to do running through the middle made it impossible for Richmond to get any flow on. They would have troubled any team playing like that.

They run hard and play a tough brand of footy they were a reral pleasure to watch

I think Richmonds younger players learnt a lot yesterday about how they need to play. Tambling and Richo were dragged and rightly so. Cam Howatt needs to run twice as hard and learn to not pull out of tough clashes. I suspect however he might be traded at the end of the year

Jake King stood up for the tigers again he was tough and relentless at the ball. More then once i saw him wrestling with Hawthorn players who were trying to bully him out of the game. We need a few more players who are ready to do the hard stuff. Edwards was also a tireless worker

I thought our defence was fairly good but with the amount of quality delivery comeing in it was impossible to keep the flood gates closed. Polak took some beutiful grabs under preassure

our defence couses a lot of there own pressure they look like keystone cops bringing it out

 

[tony_montana]

our defence dont have the balls to overlap or look forward when they get the ball, first action is to look sideways and backwards for a "safe" option. This often leads to a kick to a cherry picker on the boundary and then the oppositions loose men just move across the ground and cut off space further upfield and we're hemmed in. Take some responsibility!

 

[oxx]

"Johnson said the club had to cut players who could not cut it."


So is he resigning ??????????


Fu cken deluded ****.

I hate this sob more as much as Frawley.

Both are as inservicable as one another.


It's just plain embarrassing having this skill-less soft co ck as our leader.

Sombody slag on the pric k........

 

[deliberate!!]

"Johnson said the club had to cut players who could not cut it."


So is he resigning ??????????


Fu cken deluded ****.

I hate this sob more as much as Frawley.

Both are as inservicable as one another.


It's just plain embarrassing having this skill-less soft co ck as our leader.

Sombody slag on the pric k........

Well said OXX....
Suga just doesn't embody ANY Tiger spirit...
How can we ever fight back with him?
(rather see a little angry ant like 'Kingy' Captain than Johnson)...anybody other than Johnson

 

[Croat tiger]

take it easy on Kane Johnson, Hawthorn were excellent yesterday the run they have and the amount of work there players are willing to do running through the middle made it impossible for Richmond to get any flow on. They would have troubled any team playing like that.

They run hard and play a tough brand of footy they were a reral pleasure to watch

I think Richmonds younger players learnt a lot yesterday about how they need to play. Tambling and Richo were dragged and rightly so. Cam Howatt needs to run twice as hard and learn to not pull out of tough clashes. I suspect however he might be traded at the end of the year

Jake King stood up for the tigers again he was tough and relentless at the ball. More then once i saw him wrestling with Hawthorn players who were trying to bully him out of the game. We need a few more players who are ready to do the hard stuff. Edwards was also a tireless worker

I thought our defence was fairly good but with the amount of quality delivery comeing in it was impossible to keep the flood gates closed. Polak took some beutiful grabs under preassure

What an appropriate word we should have flooded back like they did.

 

[GiveGasTheFlick]

"Johnson said the club had to cut players who could not cut it."


So is he resigning ??????????


Fu cken deluded ****.

I hate this sob more as much as Frawley.

Both are as inservicable as one another.


It's just plain embarrassing having this skill-less soft co ck as our leader.

Sombody slag on the pric k........

maybe i should change my name to givesugartheflick Jack would be turning in he's grave

 

[itsintheblood]

Reading some of this thread , you would think Johson is not contributing !

I thought his game yesterday was very good. Apart from the brain lapse in the last quarter when he had that stupid shot at goal. Not saying he is an inspirational on field leader but to say he should be given the flick is well just stupid and hypocritical. We cry out for consistent performers who can deliver the ball (remember he is way over the league average for effective disposals for a midfielder) and then we want to get rid of him when two or three of his 28 disposals are not pin point.

I agree. I thought it was his best game for the year and then he went and did something as dumb as playing on from 20mts out with opponents around him instead of going back and nailing the goal. Whatever happened to the coaches policy of not playing on after a mark inside 50? Why was that only applied for richo?


Having said that, he shouldn't make silly comments about other players not cutting it because he has been shocking this year, regardless of his hand.

 

[Rayzorwire]

Reading some of this thread , you would think Johson is not contributing !

I thought his game yesterday was very good. Apart from the brain lapse in the last quarter when he had that stupid shot at goal. Not saying he is an inspirational on field leader but to say he should be given the flick is well just stupid and hypocritical. We cry out for consistent performers who can deliver the ball (remember he is way over the league average for effective disposals for a midfielder) and then we want to get rid of him when two or three of his 28 disposals are not pin point.

This response nearly says it all:

its not 2 or 3. he had 28 possessions yesterday with a 53% effective rate (according to triple m). So basically, every second one of his possesions were screw ups. Add to this, that of the ones he doesn't screw up, he tends to move the ball very slowly, which hurts our running game. Often when he marks the ball, his first option is to look backwards. This season he's been a liability to the team

Not only does he almost always move the ball slowly, he also moves it pointlessly - backwards, sideways, or best of all, straight to the opposition. He chases easy possessions all game...just like the 'captain' before him... except at least Campbell had some football smarts which made him occasionally valuable - Johnson has none.

Game after game he's been thrown in the guts during the periods we're slipping out of the game, only to play like a tired, heartless old man with no ability to win the ball or hold it up, no ticker, and no concept of what is expected when you wear the no.17 on your back.

It's a shameful disgrace to watch babies like King, Foley, Pattison and Edwards uphold the Tiger spirit, while our supposed leaders - Johnson, Bowden and Tivendale leading the pack - chase cheap possessions to build their stats, take the soft option over and over, and delude themselves that they're somehow meaningful contributors.

Wallace knows the score...every one of his major criticisms of our performance on the weekend can be better applied to our senior players than any other player.

 

[oxx]

This response nearly says it all:





Not only does he almost always move the ball slowly, he also moves it pointlessly - backwards, sideways, or best of all, straight to the opposition. He chases easy possessions all game...just like the 'captain' before him... except at least Campbell had some football smarts which made him occasionally valuable - Johnson has none.

Game after game he's been thrown in the guts during the periods we're slipping out of the game, only to play like a tired, heartless old man with no ability to win the ball or hold it up, no ticker, and no concept of what is expected when you wear the no.17 on your back.

It's a shameful disgrace to watch babies like King, Foley, Pattison and Edwards uphold the Tiger spirit, while our supposed leaders - Johnson, Bowden and Tivendale leading the pack - chase cheap possessions to build their stats, take the soft option over and over, and delude themselves that they're somehow meaningful contributors.

Wallace knows the score...every one of his major criticisms of our performance on the weekend can be better applied to our senior players than any other player.

HERE HEAR..

 

[Big Punt]

Johnson has lost all confidence. You can see it when he gets the ball, he is scared of making a mistake.

Not sure why. He should be leading by example. Maybe the captaincy of a struggling team is too much of a burden? Maybe he has lost "it"?

But he does work hard off the ball and do the one percenters (unlike other scapegoats). He needs to be relieved of leadership duties and told to concentrate on his own game.