deliberate!!
10 Aug 2007, 09:36
Shame could spur Tigers
10 August 2007 Herald Sun
Mike Sheahan
http://www.heraldsun.news.com.au/common/imagedata/0,1658,5604212,00.jpg
CAN a team be shamed into bringing an embarrassing run of losses to an end? As Mike Sheahan writes.
Can the spectre of a piece of damning history move a group to perform at a level apparently beyond it for the previous four months?
There is a growing suspicion we shall see a different Richmond at the MCG tonight. That the team known as the Tigers finally may live up to its name.
While it is improbable to think the bottom team might beat the sixth team (Collingwood), there is movement at the station.
Perhaps it's just a hunch - the bookies certainly don't see it as a contest - yet there are times when a club simply has to rise to the challenge.
Every person in this football club is feeling the heat: players, coaches, officials alike; supporters are embarrassed.
Richmond sits at the bottom of the AFL ladder, with one win and a draw from 18 rounds.
Not only is it headed for its seventh wooden spoon, it is on the brink of its worst season since joining the AFL in 1908.
The worst came in 1960 when the Tigers finished last of 12 in the VFL, with two wins and two draws.
Richmond has had a shocking month. It has lost to Hawthorn, Port Adelaide, Sydney and Geelong by a total of 244 points. The equivalent of 40 goals in four games.
That's embarrassing, demeaning. That's more than enough to spark a rearguard action at some point.
If there's any situation that can spark a response from a group in a trough, it's a clash with Collingwood at the MCG on a Friday night and national television.
Funnily enough, it's probably the perfect match-up for the Tigers.
Collingwood won their Round 3 encounter by 25 points, but the Tigers led by 22 at halftime. Richmond beat Collingwood in their only meeting last year and in 2005.
They were 1-1 in 2004 (Collingwood won by five points). So, in four seasons, Richmond leads 3-2.
Coach Terry Wallace reportedly laid it on his senior men last week.
Despite the dismal record this year, the coach isn't going anywhere. It's his players who are playing for their future.
Nathan Foley is the only Richmond player who has enhanced his reputation this year. He and Graham Polak would have the best-and-fairest between them.
The rest of them owe the club, owe themselves, although Richo has been Richo and has earned himself a place in the top 10 on the goalkicking table and you've got to admire Chris Newman's attitude.
If the Tigers fly the white flag again tonight, the fallout is going to be extensive, despite the unusual unity within the club.
Collingwood may be playing for its place in the final eight, but the stakes are even higher for Richmond.
Pride is a powerful force. If there's any pride left at Punt Rd, it will manifest itself tonight.
http://www.heraldsun.news.com.au/footy/common/story_page/0,8033,22219190%255E19742,00.html
10 August 2007 Herald Sun
Mike Sheahan
http://www.heraldsun.news.com.au/common/imagedata/0,1658,5604212,00.jpg
CAN a team be shamed into bringing an embarrassing run of losses to an end? As Mike Sheahan writes.
Can the spectre of a piece of damning history move a group to perform at a level apparently beyond it for the previous four months?
There is a growing suspicion we shall see a different Richmond at the MCG tonight. That the team known as the Tigers finally may live up to its name.
While it is improbable to think the bottom team might beat the sixth team (Collingwood), there is movement at the station.
Perhaps it's just a hunch - the bookies certainly don't see it as a contest - yet there are times when a club simply has to rise to the challenge.
Every person in this football club is feeling the heat: players, coaches, officials alike; supporters are embarrassed.
Richmond sits at the bottom of the AFL ladder, with one win and a draw from 18 rounds.
Not only is it headed for its seventh wooden spoon, it is on the brink of its worst season since joining the AFL in 1908.
The worst came in 1960 when the Tigers finished last of 12 in the VFL, with two wins and two draws.
Richmond has had a shocking month. It has lost to Hawthorn, Port Adelaide, Sydney and Geelong by a total of 244 points. The equivalent of 40 goals in four games.
That's embarrassing, demeaning. That's more than enough to spark a rearguard action at some point.
If there's any situation that can spark a response from a group in a trough, it's a clash with Collingwood at the MCG on a Friday night and national television.
Funnily enough, it's probably the perfect match-up for the Tigers.
Collingwood won their Round 3 encounter by 25 points, but the Tigers led by 22 at halftime. Richmond beat Collingwood in their only meeting last year and in 2005.
They were 1-1 in 2004 (Collingwood won by five points). So, in four seasons, Richmond leads 3-2.
Coach Terry Wallace reportedly laid it on his senior men last week.
Despite the dismal record this year, the coach isn't going anywhere. It's his players who are playing for their future.
Nathan Foley is the only Richmond player who has enhanced his reputation this year. He and Graham Polak would have the best-and-fairest between them.
The rest of them owe the club, owe themselves, although Richo has been Richo and has earned himself a place in the top 10 on the goalkicking table and you've got to admire Chris Newman's attitude.
If the Tigers fly the white flag again tonight, the fallout is going to be extensive, despite the unusual unity within the club.
Collingwood may be playing for its place in the final eight, but the stakes are even higher for Richmond.
Pride is a powerful force. If there's any pride left at Punt Rd, it will manifest itself tonight.
http://www.heraldsun.news.com.au/footy/common/story_page/0,8033,22219190%255E19742,00.html