Richo going around one more time

[Deledio2Conca]

hawthorn don't have to explain a damn thing

Weird. I thought I was asking Beckers

He talks like Richmond is the only team who don't make the tough decisions. Apart from Melbourne telling Robbo its time to go (Richo is far superior to him anyway), not many other clubs from my knowledge have pushed players out of the game.

 

[timthefish]

Weird. I thought I was asking Beckers

then pm him.

 

[DeadlyAkkuret]

The obsession with youth shows it's ugly head on Big Footy yet again. Drop Richo and play some 18yr old instead, Richmond will be better off because we all know that every kid turns out to be a gun!

If Richo can keep his fitness up, and he's every chance of doing that if he has a good preseason, then he's easily in the top 18 at the Tigers and I'd say top 4 without a doubt.

If he had just finished his 3rd average season in a row and there was no real chance he could have an impact then I'd agree with some of the trolls, but he's proven he can push his body and there's no reason to doubt his ability to have a pretty good 2010.

How I would love him to have a huge year and stick it up the naysayers in this thread.

 

[alinghi]

Good on Richo.

Sick of hearing all this "youth policy" bullsh*t. Why drop a proven topliner for a kid that has about a 0.1% chance of becoming as good as Richo, and maybe a 20% of being a decent player at all.

 

[OneEyedHawk]

No idea mate.

Please tell me all the HARD decisions Hawthorn have made over the past 10 years.

That's a strange question. The Hawks made heaps of very hard list decisions, dating back to trading Trent Croad in 2001. That one alone nearly caused a riot. Since then, and particularly from 2004 onwards, they've consistently made brutal list management decisons, many/most of which weren't popular at the time. Which is what you guys need to do, and will do I'm sure, with Hardwick in charge. Not starting with Richo though...am wrapt he's playing on. Has single-handedly kept his club afloat this decade, and is always a pleasure to watch.

 

[Deelighted]

Really hope he has another season like 2008 next year, one of my favourite players to watch

 

[UpTheGuts]

He wants to run solidly for 6 straight weeks, starting next week, before making a final call.

Not over the line yet, but yeah it would be great to see a few more Richo specials. I'm not ready to say goodbye

The 2010 Farewell Richo Tour - don't miss it.

 

[Top_4_Tiger]

Hawthorn let Shane Crawford stay on the list when going through a full-scale youth rebuild.

They let him play until around 34/35, and it was only in his last 2 years that they weren't in the bottom 4 IIRC.


Why didn't Hawthorn make the "hard decision" on a 30+ player in Shane Crawford? Because it's madness.

Hawthorn supporters who think Richo should be moved on are hypocrites for supporting Crawf's position at their club. By his own admission, he didn't think he was any of chance of coming close to a premiership while at the club.

Crawf played on into his 30's hoping for an odd finals game at best, and even that looked a long way off when a 32 year old Crawford kept signing one year contracts.

If Hardwick is following the Hawthorn model, then he is allowed to keep Richo and especially Cousins (who is similar to Crawf in performance, age and the timing of club's rebuild).

 

[Deelighted]

I loved watching richo run around on the wing last year and as I said would love to see him go around another year. I also think he would be valuable for the development of Riewoldt and Morton when used as a forward as he would attract the best defender and be a good example for those boys to learn from.

So many players have already been moved on from Richmond with more to come possibly (?) that it hardly seems logical to deny Richo a place on the list for a late pick in a weak draft year. Hopefully for the Tiges he can get his body right in time for a good pre-season and good send off year.

 

[Beckers]

No idea mate.

Please tell me all the HARD decisions Hawthorn have made over the past 10 years.

Where do i start?

Trading Trent Croad.
Getting rid of Jon Hay and Jade Rawlings.
Telling champions like Tuck and Brereton they were no longer required (ok, more than 10 years ago).

The list goes on and on mate! Hawthorn have always been ruthless about list management!

 

[tugga]

The obsession with youth shows it's ugly head on Big Footy yet again. Drop Richo and play some 18yr old instead, Richmond will be better off because we all know that every kid turns out to be a gun!

If Richo can keep his fitness up, and he's every chance of doing that if he has a good preseason, then he's easily in the top 18 at the Tigers and I'd say top 4 without a doubt.

If he had just finished his 3rd average season in a row and there was no real chance he could have an impact then I'd agree with some of the trolls, but he's proven he can push his body and there's no reason to doubt his ability to have a pretty good 2010.

How I would love him to have a huge year and stick it up the naysayers in this thread.

Good post.
Sums it up nicely. We can't get rid of 12 players this year. Richo is still in our best 22. Can teach the kids something with his work ethic alone. This is why Cousins and Richo are staying. They are as good off the field as they are on the field. You can'r draft that sort of guidance and leadership.
You can't have 38 18-year-olds on your list. There has to be some experience. Richo and Cuz provide that for us. I'm comfortable with both staying and comfortable with the players we have offloaded.