Hi Tiges, last year I posted Richmond's season preview and it generated some good discussion.
In that spirit, I thought I'd come back and post the 2016 season preview for Richmond.
Genuinely interested in finding out your realistic aims, what has you excited and your feedback on the preview.
I've posted the whole thing here, sans images, to comply with the BigFooty anti-spamming protocols; hopefully that's okay for the mods.
I'm the author and I'm here to engage!
2016 season preview: Richmond
By Brett Collett
Last season
Richmond failed to take the next step for the second year in a row, disappointing its ravenous fanbase that craves a thrust deep into September – not just a one week stand.
Like 2014, it was a slow start for the Tigers, who found themselves with only two wins going into the do-or-die round seven clash against Collingwood. Richmond pulled out a five-point victory, the start of a run that would see the Tigers win eight out of the next 10 games and put them in the frame for a top four spot.
But, like 2013, Richmond couldn’t quite break into the relative safety of the top four, despite wrapping up the season with four wins on the trot to finish in fifth spot. This meant they found themselves at the mercy of an elimination final for the third straight season.
And it cost them. While the Tigers were able to account for a North Melbourne side resting some of its stars in round 23, the Roos turned the tables the following week to knock Richmond out – and leave real question marks over the ability of this side to handle finals footy.
While Richmond recorded some impressive wins against Hawthorn and away at both Fremantle and Sydney, it was the losses against Melbourne and at home to West Coast and Fremantle that cost them the second chance.
Alex Rance anchored an elite defensive unit with another All-Australian year, while Ty Vickery finally provided a useful partner in crime to Jack Riewoldt up forward – the duo bagged 85 goals between them.
Comings and goings
It was a busy enough off-season for a club trying to take the next step, but it could have been busier: Richmond tried but failed to land want-away Giants midfield tyro Adam Treloar, who said he felt Collingwood had a better list and ended up at Swan St rather than Punt Rd.
While Treloar went elsewhere, The Tigers managed to pry another midfielder away from Greater Western Sydney in Jacob Townsend, while their other prime target, injury-prone but pacey Carlton flanker Chris Yarran, eventually made his way to the club after protracted negotiations – a second round draft pick got the job done.
The club said fond farewells to two stalwarts in former skipper Chris Newman and Nathan Foley, while Ricky Petterd and the luckless Chris Knights also called it quits.
A couple of exciting prospects came to Tigerland via the draft: Hawthorn quadruple premiership player Cyril Rioli’s cousin, Daniel Rioli, was picked up in the first round and Oleg Markov, whose father Dmitri Markov was a world champion pole vaulter, was selected at pick 50. While Markov will take some time to mature, Rioli showed promise in the pre-season hitouts and could be a feature from early in the season.
Strengths
Richmond had the third best defence in the league during the 2015 home and away season, led by All-Australian Alex Rance who found himself as both the most reliable stopper and a rebounding outlet.
There’s no shortage of options when it comes to defending tall timber: Rance, Dylan Grimes, Jake Batchelor, Troy Chaplin and David Astbury can all be called on to do a job. While the first four found themselves at the core of Richmond’s defence last season, if Astbury’s body holds up, he could find himself back in the mix.
The addition of Chris Yarran (once he gets on the field after foot surgery) will boost the run out of defence; he and Bachar Houli pose formidable problems for teams trying to lock the ball inside Richmond’s backline.
The Tigers are hoping their versatility, particularly between midfield and the forward line, will come to the fore with the number of interchanges being reduced from 120 to 90 per game. Dustin Martin, Brett Deledio, Reece Conca, Shane Edwards, Kane Lambert and Brandon Ellis offer coach Damien Hardwick a litany of options forward of centre – these players are all capable of a troubling stint up forward rather than on the pine.
Weaknesses
First, the good news. The old joke about the Tigers finishing ninth is dead. However, it has been replaced in the minds and mouths of opposition wags by a new hurtful truth: Richmond are September chokers.
After not making two finals series in succession since the Gough Whitlam prime ministership, Richmond have managed to string together three September visits in a row. But when you lose two elimination finals on the MCG after finishing in fifth place and taking an early lead, and you don’t even turn up for the other, your finals pedigree is rightfully in doubt.
Richmond’s elite is good enough to see them beat the very best during the season, but the bottom six to eight players in the matchday squad let the team down all too often. Depth is an issue, and when injuries hit, the replacements haven’t been good enough.
The lack of consistency among the bottom six has probably been the difference between the relative safety of a top four finish and the cutthroat elimination finals the club has faced. The Tigers have clearly tried to address this through recruitment and the draft: Chris Yarran, Jacob Townsend and Daniel Rioli could all be in the round one side.
The continued development of Corey Ellis, Kayden McIntosh, Nathan Drummond, Kane Lambert, Connor Menadue, Nick Vlaustuin and Ben Lennon should put the likes of Shaun Grigg, Sam Lloyd, Reece Conca (who’s out for at least a couple of months anyway with a hamstring injury) and Ben Griffiths on notice.
Finally, while Ivan Maric has been a more than serviceable ruckman since making his way over from Adelaide in 2012, he might be left behind against the modern kind of ruckman. Neither Maric nor Shaun Hampson are effective elsewhere on the ground, and with the abolishment of the sub rule, versatile rucks will be the future. With Ty Vickery finding his groove up forward, this probably means Ben Griffiths will pinch hit as Maric’s main ruck support.
What to expect in 2016
With Damien Hardwick freshly inking a two-year contract extension, you can expect the pressure dialed down a little bit on the coach’s immediate future.
While the pressure might be slightly off Hardwick, more of it is on captain and prime mover Trent Cotchin. No one doubts his ability, but his leadership has been put under the microscope and it’s now well known he can have trouble shaking a hard tag.
It’s a sneaky transition season for the Tigers. There is a plethora of young talent coming through, demanding selection and perhaps taking the team over from the reliable but limited stock that came to the club in Hardwick’s early years. How this half a dozen or so players progress in 2016 could be the difference between Richmond being a team good enough to make the finals or a team ready to pry open their premiership window.
Hardwick has shown he can change tactics mid-season to adapt to the competition, but the Richmond hordes would, rightly, see anything other than a win in September as failure. It will be interesting to see how the club balances the push for the highest possible finish after 22 games against setting themselves up for September success. The two, sometimes, do not go hand in hand.
Best 22
B: Dylan Grimes – Alex Rance – Jake Batchelor
HB: Bachar Houli – Troy Chaplin – Chris Yarran
C: Brett Deledio – Anthony Miles – Kamdyn McIntosh
HF: Shane Edwards – Ty Vickery – Brandon Ellis
F: Ben Lennon – Jack Riewoldt – Daniel Rioli
FOLL: Ivan Maric – Dustin Martin – Trent Cotchin
INT: Nick Vlastuin – Corey Ellis – Ben Griffiths – Connor Menadue
The verdict
With only one of Richmond’s first eight games interstate, and four games in Melbourne against non-finalists in their first six, there’s no excuse for a slow start to the season. If the Tigers can jump out of the blocks, unlike the last two seasons, they might just have the talent and confidence to clinch themselves an elusive double chance.
We have Richmond finishing fifth, pressing for a top four berth.
In that spirit, I thought I'd come back and post the 2016 season preview for Richmond.
Genuinely interested in finding out your realistic aims, what has you excited and your feedback on the preview.
I've posted the whole thing here, sans images, to comply with the BigFooty anti-spamming protocols; hopefully that's okay for the mods.
I'm the author and I'm here to engage!
2016 season preview: Richmond
By Brett Collett
Last season
Richmond failed to take the next step for the second year in a row, disappointing its ravenous fanbase that craves a thrust deep into September – not just a one week stand.
Like 2014, it was a slow start for the Tigers, who found themselves with only two wins going into the do-or-die round seven clash against Collingwood. Richmond pulled out a five-point victory, the start of a run that would see the Tigers win eight out of the next 10 games and put them in the frame for a top four spot.
But, like 2013, Richmond couldn’t quite break into the relative safety of the top four, despite wrapping up the season with four wins on the trot to finish in fifth spot. This meant they found themselves at the mercy of an elimination final for the third straight season.
And it cost them. While the Tigers were able to account for a North Melbourne side resting some of its stars in round 23, the Roos turned the tables the following week to knock Richmond out – and leave real question marks over the ability of this side to handle finals footy.
While Richmond recorded some impressive wins against Hawthorn and away at both Fremantle and Sydney, it was the losses against Melbourne and at home to West Coast and Fremantle that cost them the second chance.
Alex Rance anchored an elite defensive unit with another All-Australian year, while Ty Vickery finally provided a useful partner in crime to Jack Riewoldt up forward – the duo bagged 85 goals between them.
Comings and goings
It was a busy enough off-season for a club trying to take the next step, but it could have been busier: Richmond tried but failed to land want-away Giants midfield tyro Adam Treloar, who said he felt Collingwood had a better list and ended up at Swan St rather than Punt Rd.
While Treloar went elsewhere, The Tigers managed to pry another midfielder away from Greater Western Sydney in Jacob Townsend, while their other prime target, injury-prone but pacey Carlton flanker Chris Yarran, eventually made his way to the club after protracted negotiations – a second round draft pick got the job done.
The club said fond farewells to two stalwarts in former skipper Chris Newman and Nathan Foley, while Ricky Petterd and the luckless Chris Knights also called it quits.
A couple of exciting prospects came to Tigerland via the draft: Hawthorn quadruple premiership player Cyril Rioli’s cousin, Daniel Rioli, was picked up in the first round and Oleg Markov, whose father Dmitri Markov was a world champion pole vaulter, was selected at pick 50. While Markov will take some time to mature, Rioli showed promise in the pre-season hitouts and could be a feature from early in the season.
Strengths
Richmond had the third best defence in the league during the 2015 home and away season, led by All-Australian Alex Rance who found himself as both the most reliable stopper and a rebounding outlet.
There’s no shortage of options when it comes to defending tall timber: Rance, Dylan Grimes, Jake Batchelor, Troy Chaplin and David Astbury can all be called on to do a job. While the first four found themselves at the core of Richmond’s defence last season, if Astbury’s body holds up, he could find himself back in the mix.
The addition of Chris Yarran (once he gets on the field after foot surgery) will boost the run out of defence; he and Bachar Houli pose formidable problems for teams trying to lock the ball inside Richmond’s backline.
The Tigers are hoping their versatility, particularly between midfield and the forward line, will come to the fore with the number of interchanges being reduced from 120 to 90 per game. Dustin Martin, Brett Deledio, Reece Conca, Shane Edwards, Kane Lambert and Brandon Ellis offer coach Damien Hardwick a litany of options forward of centre – these players are all capable of a troubling stint up forward rather than on the pine.
Weaknesses
First, the good news. The old joke about the Tigers finishing ninth is dead. However, it has been replaced in the minds and mouths of opposition wags by a new hurtful truth: Richmond are September chokers.
After not making two finals series in succession since the Gough Whitlam prime ministership, Richmond have managed to string together three September visits in a row. But when you lose two elimination finals on the MCG after finishing in fifth place and taking an early lead, and you don’t even turn up for the other, your finals pedigree is rightfully in doubt.
Richmond’s elite is good enough to see them beat the very best during the season, but the bottom six to eight players in the matchday squad let the team down all too often. Depth is an issue, and when injuries hit, the replacements haven’t been good enough.
The lack of consistency among the bottom six has probably been the difference between the relative safety of a top four finish and the cutthroat elimination finals the club has faced. The Tigers have clearly tried to address this through recruitment and the draft: Chris Yarran, Jacob Townsend and Daniel Rioli could all be in the round one side.
The continued development of Corey Ellis, Kayden McIntosh, Nathan Drummond, Kane Lambert, Connor Menadue, Nick Vlaustuin and Ben Lennon should put the likes of Shaun Grigg, Sam Lloyd, Reece Conca (who’s out for at least a couple of months anyway with a hamstring injury) and Ben Griffiths on notice.
Finally, while Ivan Maric has been a more than serviceable ruckman since making his way over from Adelaide in 2012, he might be left behind against the modern kind of ruckman. Neither Maric nor Shaun Hampson are effective elsewhere on the ground, and with the abolishment of the sub rule, versatile rucks will be the future. With Ty Vickery finding his groove up forward, this probably means Ben Griffiths will pinch hit as Maric’s main ruck support.
What to expect in 2016
With Damien Hardwick freshly inking a two-year contract extension, you can expect the pressure dialed down a little bit on the coach’s immediate future.
While the pressure might be slightly off Hardwick, more of it is on captain and prime mover Trent Cotchin. No one doubts his ability, but his leadership has been put under the microscope and it’s now well known he can have trouble shaking a hard tag.
It’s a sneaky transition season for the Tigers. There is a plethora of young talent coming through, demanding selection and perhaps taking the team over from the reliable but limited stock that came to the club in Hardwick’s early years. How this half a dozen or so players progress in 2016 could be the difference between Richmond being a team good enough to make the finals or a team ready to pry open their premiership window.
Hardwick has shown he can change tactics mid-season to adapt to the competition, but the Richmond hordes would, rightly, see anything other than a win in September as failure. It will be interesting to see how the club balances the push for the highest possible finish after 22 games against setting themselves up for September success. The two, sometimes, do not go hand in hand.
Best 22
B: Dylan Grimes – Alex Rance – Jake Batchelor
HB: Bachar Houli – Troy Chaplin – Chris Yarran
C: Brett Deledio – Anthony Miles – Kamdyn McIntosh
HF: Shane Edwards – Ty Vickery – Brandon Ellis
F: Ben Lennon – Jack Riewoldt – Daniel Rioli
FOLL: Ivan Maric – Dustin Martin – Trent Cotchin
INT: Nick Vlastuin – Corey Ellis – Ben Griffiths – Connor Menadue
The verdict
With only one of Richmond’s first eight games interstate, and four games in Melbourne against non-finalists in their first six, there’s no excuse for a slow start to the season. If the Tigers can jump out of the blocks, unlike the last two seasons, they might just have the talent and confidence to clinch themselves an elusive double chance.
We have Richmond finishing fifth, pressing for a top four berth.
