2003 Richmond analysis

[Asgardian]

It’s Tiger time, lets see if Richmond really are the “shoot themselves in the foot” team.

Craig Biddiscombe - Can’t for the life of me understand why he is still a Tiger?
Justin Blumfield - Overall a good pick up, has lots of class, but goes missing under pressure
Joel Bowden - Consistently fine player, not the toughest guy on Earth, but we aint all Jack Dyer
Leon Cameron - Still plenty to offer, he’ll want to get back to 2001’s form though
Wayne Campbell - Funniest bloke around when he acts the “tough guy”, gets plenty of the ball
Mark Chaffey - Pretty good player, must have BO coz no-one mans him up
Mark Coughlan - Looks better every time I see him, old head on young shoulders
Marc Dragicevic - Must have trod on a black cat under a ladder, has talent, hope he gets back
Aaron Fiora - Move to defence taught him plenty, silky mover, best as a receiver
Tim Fleming - New bloke, yet to see him play
Darren Gaspar - An excellent defender at his best, will need to find it again in 2003
Ray Hall - Unusual player, nice skills for a big man, does drift in & out of the game
Rory Hilton - Tigers need his aggro back, excellent for his team as a “**** on the liver” player
Ben Holland - Along with Rory, his absence hurt plenty, good versatility, hope he gets back OK
Adam Houlihan - A wasted talent, too many issues to play consistent footy, pity
Chris Hyde - Only a brief glimpse so far, need to see more before judging
Kane Johnson - Could well become “recruit of the year”, all class, loves pressure games
Andrew Kellaway - Never says die, not the most talented, but one of the most determined
Duncan Kellaway - Deserves a Victoria Cross, love watching this bloke compete
Clinton King - Can’t kick, but he makes up for it with hard headed play
Andrew Krakouer - Showed flashes in 2002, great in ATSIC game, big season coming
Martin McGrath - Old (on list for a year already) new kid, yet to see him play
Andrew Mills - Haven’t changed my mind, still a dud
Chris Newman - Has shown a bit, looks promising
Bill Nicholls - Tigers have seen something I haven’t, puzzling draft selection
Brad Ottens - Had a good year, but all were expecting a great year, he’ll produce
Kayne Pettifer - Does a few nice things, but overall hasn’t impressed me, expected a lot more
Matthew Richardson - Still sulks, still gets lots of injuries, but by hell he’s a good player
David Rodan - Fantastic pick up by Tigers, kid has it all except height
Matthew Rogers - Adds plenty to Tigers with good skills & versatility
Jay Schulz - New kid, yet to see him play
Daniel Sipthorp - New kid, yet to see him play
Greg Stafford - Injuries, reports & “distractions”, still had a good year, even forward, amazing
Greg Tivendale - Receiver with skill & a big kick, within his limitations he plays well
Royce Vardy - Frankly I don’t reckon he’s much chop, dud
Ty Zantuck - Old despite his youth, plays like a veteran defender, fine player

Richmond needs a good run with injuries, lets face facts, they have had a rotten run lately, there still looks to be too many blokes who aren’t up to the job.

Not up to final 8 quality I reckon.

Final predictions will be done once all clubs are done (just the best is left... )

 

[Tiger_Of_Old]

well ARG i cant argue with what you said about the players pretty much well summed up altho not a final 8 side is a tad harsh.
i agree our depth is questonable as it showed last year however if we have a good run this year excpecially in the tall department and our improved midfield a top 4 let alone a top 8 position wouldnt be out of the question.

btw.bidderscombe is only on our list for one reason.CONTRACT

cheers!

 

[CJH]

Good work Chris. Not too much there in you player summaries that I disagree with!

Just to fill in a few gaps...

I have no idea why Chris Hyde is still on our list. He's been delisted once but was re-drafted again. Basically, he is a poor-mans Greg Tivendale - same height, size, looks, pace but is an ordinary kick. Take a look at the dying minutes of the VFL Prelim Final for a very good indication of what I mean!

We have very big expectations on Marty McGrath. The kid is built like a pretzel but is a pure marking machine with a prodigous leap and that very rare ability to perfectly judge the flight of the ball - better than most others can.

As for our finishing position - remember with a decent run of injuries, this team finished 3rd the year before last. Also, in my opinion, our list this year is better than it was back then with better quality midfield options.

 

[Rodan#18.]

the worst thing

worst thing abut our list is the salary cap...we have 9 talls (not anough) and 3 vacant spaces...Mott etc were overlooked because we can't afford another player.

3 more back up talls and i'd be saying we've got a damnfine list...yeah a small handful of 'lessers' but that's ok ...they can make room next year.

I'd prefer a homewoood or a steinfort to an empty locker.

 

[donkey trucker]

03 ready to growl


scuse mi I would disagree with a not up to final eight standard
last season the mighty tigers made some quality wins and showed in my view there was not a big gap between the form that could achieve a flag and form that side was capable of i believe this years side is better
it was an emotional time when knights retired the team showd it
and i couldn't blame them as it was a great loss and you have to endure it however the new season is upon us and good luck to the boys can't wait to go magpie hunting and give the flag i good
go tooo
go tigers
go tigers
go tigers

 

[TigerFurious]

It is irrelivant whether we are final eight standard or not. Richmond should decide whether they are trying to win a premiership or rebuilding. For nearly a decade the club has been in that dreaded inbetween stage and consequently gone nowhere.

 

[CJH]

Originally posted by TigerFurious
It is irrelivant whether we are final eight standard or not. Richmond should decide whether they are trying to win a premiership or rebuilding. For nearly a decade the club has been in that dreaded inbetween stage and consequently gone nowhere.

Absolutely correct! Now all we have to do is ALL think along those lines! Every single one of us from the president and coach right down to the flakiest of bandwagoner.

What would happen if we all expected nothing less than a premiership? I know what would happen - we would tend to win more flags than what we have done over the past 20 years!

 

[Rodan#18.]

i like it

Originally posted by CJH
right down to the flakiest of bandwagoner.

i like it...got quite a ring to it....might be my next tag

 

[Asgardian]

You guys really aint gonna like this, but stuff like Ottens' medium term injury are really gonna hurt the Tigers BAD.

My opinion has been coloured by liking the quality of other teams, rather than thinking Richmond is crap, all that said, I still have to come up with a final conclusion.

I predict the Tigers to finish 14th