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2004 report card: Richmond
10:37:27 AM Tue 14 September, 2004
Paul Gough
Sportal/exclusive to afl.com.au
What went right: Not much on the field but plenty off it as the Tigers trumped Hawthorn by securing Terry Wallace as their coach for 2005 and beyond. Wallace, who was clearly the most sought after coach-in-waiting, has signed a five year deal at Punt Road, raising hopes that the man who lifted the battling Western Bulldogs into the 1997 and 1998 preliminary finals might be the man to finally lift the Tigers up the ladder. But he faces a massive job - given the Tigers have won just five of their past 36 matches - and since reaching the 2001 preliminary final, which was only their second finals appearance in the past 22 years, they have finished 14th, 13th and now 16th on the ladder. But at least the Tigers appeared to unearth some promising youngsters in 2004 with rising star nominee Brent Hartigan, Daniel Jackson, Tom Roach, Andrew Raines and Kelvin Moore all showing enough to suggest they could become long-term stars for the Tigers.
What went wrong: Just about everything. The Tigers finished last on the ladder for the first time since 1989 as morale and team performance disintegrated under coach Danny Frawley. Frawley resigned after round 13 but continued to coach the club for the last nine games as his five year tenure came to an end. The Tigers failed to win a game after round eight - losing their last 14 matches which represented their worst ever losing run in a single season. 2003 best and fairest winner Mark Coughlan missed nearly all of the season with a combination of groin and lower stomach problems while ruckman Greg Stafford also endured a horror year with injuries and suspensions. Full-back Darren Gaspar struggled to regain his form after last year's knee re-construction and even spent time in the VFL while skipper Wayne Campbell and the normally reliable Mark Chaffey failed to have their usual impact. And highly-rated former Bomber Justin Blumfield again hardly made an appearance for the second successive year and was eventually delisted. By season's end the Tigers had played virtually every player on their list but only Joel Bowden, Kane Johnson, boom recruit Nathan Brown and spearhead Matthew Richardson could be satisfied with their season's performance.
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Who stepped up: Joel Bowden - When the brilliant but often frustrating midfielder was dropped in round six - ending a streak of 136 consecutive games - it appeared his career was at the crossroads. But Bowden's response was simply magnificent and his win at the club's best and fairest was most deserved. Reinventing himself as an attacking centre-half-back, Bowden picked up 42 possessions against minor premiers Port just three weeks later and showed as the season progressed he could even match it with the game's best centre-half-forwards such as Brisbane's Jonathan Brown, despite his lack of height and weight. By season's end even those Richmond fans that had been critical of him in the past were in agreement that he is the hot favourite to win this year's Jack Dyer Medal.
Missing in action: Mark Coughlan - After winning his first best and fairest last year at the age of just 22, the tough midfielder was the public face of Richmond's membership drive for 2004. But after a great start, when he starred in the round one win over Collingwood, things soon went downhill for the young star. By the round five game against Adelaide it was obvious Coughlan was playing under great duress and hardly seemed able to run. He was soon diagnosed as having "pubic instability" - a combination of lower stomach and groin problems and did not re-appear in the senior side until the last two games of the season. His absence was not only a huge blow to the team but a huge blow to the morale of the long-suffering Tigers fans, who at least had been able to enjoy watching his progress over the last two years while the team struggled.
Rising Star: Brent Hartigan - Taken at pick 70 in last year's national draft this tough small defender exceeded expectations by playing 19 games in his debut season. He won the nomination for the prestigious AFL Rising Star award in the final round and successfully negated some of the AFL's elite crumbing forwards in his debut season to show he has long-term future at Punt Road.
Best win: Round 7 vs Sydney at SCG - When a team only has four wins for the season there isn't many to choose from but this game was easily the Tigers' stand-out performance of the year. It was their only win against a top eight side for the season and their only win outside of Victoria. And it came on the back of a brilliant performance from spearhead Matthew Richardson, who kicked seven of the Tigers' 10 goals in wet conditions that did not suit tall, marking forwards.
Worst loss: Round 5 vs Adelaide at Telstra Dome - This was the night it all went horribly wrong for the Tigers. The team had already lost three in a row, after a promising first round win over 2002 and 2003 grand finalists Collingwood, and had home state advantage against a Crows' side that had been winless over the first four rounds. But Richmond simply capitulated, losing by 75 points, as fans vented their anger after the game with one supporter even being caught spitting at coach Danny Frawley after the game by television cameras.
Shopping list: In deciding to appoint Wallace for five years - one of the longest initial coaching contracts ever handed to a new coach - Richmond football director Greg Miller has acknowledged just what a huge job it will be to re-build the Tigers' list. This is a club that needs just about everything in terms of what type of new players it needs to secure. With Gaspar struggling so badly, although there is hope he will be better next year, and Bowden being forced to play centre-half-back for most of the year - where he starred despite his lack of height and weight - the Tigers badly need key defenders. Impressive youngster Jackson shapes as one long-term candidate but the Tigers badly need to draft more youngsters capable of eventually developing into key position players. The Tigers' forward line also needs players capable of kicking goals on a regular basis with the attack this year almost totally reliant on Matthew Richardson, as evidenced by his goals tally of 65 dwarfing the next best of Nathan Brown with 26. And while the return of Coughlan next year will help, the Tigers also need more midfielders but with picks one and four in the national draft they should be able to secure two future midfield stars such as highly-rated youngsters Brett Deledio or Ryan Griffin.
What the coach says: "There is a huge capacity here to be a strength of the competition. I am honoured the Richmond football club has given me the opportunity to take it forward and into a new era." - Terry Wallace upon his appointment as Richmond coach in August.
What we say: The Tigers are capable of big improvement next year with Wallace in charge and with the likely addition of two top youngsters with picks one and four in the national draft and the chance to get an uncontracted player from a rival club with pick one in the pre-season draft. But the best long-suffering Tiger fans can hope for is probably an outside chance of making the eight next year. It is likely it will take a coach even as gifted as Wallace considerable time to re-build the shattered morale of the Richmond players, who have won just 18 games in three years. It will also take him time to change the Tigers' playing style to make them a more direct and harder team but if the Tigers' fans show just a little bit more patience - which admittedly is tough after just two finals series in the past 22 years - then eventually genuine success could come under Wallace but it could well take him the full five years.
10:37:27 AM Tue 14 September, 2004
Paul Gough
Sportal/exclusive to afl.com.au
What went right: Not much on the field but plenty off it as the Tigers trumped Hawthorn by securing Terry Wallace as their coach for 2005 and beyond. Wallace, who was clearly the most sought after coach-in-waiting, has signed a five year deal at Punt Road, raising hopes that the man who lifted the battling Western Bulldogs into the 1997 and 1998 preliminary finals might be the man to finally lift the Tigers up the ladder. But he faces a massive job - given the Tigers have won just five of their past 36 matches - and since reaching the 2001 preliminary final, which was only their second finals appearance in the past 22 years, they have finished 14th, 13th and now 16th on the ladder. But at least the Tigers appeared to unearth some promising youngsters in 2004 with rising star nominee Brent Hartigan, Daniel Jackson, Tom Roach, Andrew Raines and Kelvin Moore all showing enough to suggest they could become long-term stars for the Tigers.
What went wrong: Just about everything. The Tigers finished last on the ladder for the first time since 1989 as morale and team performance disintegrated under coach Danny Frawley. Frawley resigned after round 13 but continued to coach the club for the last nine games as his five year tenure came to an end. The Tigers failed to win a game after round eight - losing their last 14 matches which represented their worst ever losing run in a single season. 2003 best and fairest winner Mark Coughlan missed nearly all of the season with a combination of groin and lower stomach problems while ruckman Greg Stafford also endured a horror year with injuries and suspensions. Full-back Darren Gaspar struggled to regain his form after last year's knee re-construction and even spent time in the VFL while skipper Wayne Campbell and the normally reliable Mark Chaffey failed to have their usual impact. And highly-rated former Bomber Justin Blumfield again hardly made an appearance for the second successive year and was eventually delisted. By season's end the Tigers had played virtually every player on their list but only Joel Bowden, Kane Johnson, boom recruit Nathan Brown and spearhead Matthew Richardson could be satisfied with their season's performance.
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Who stepped up: Joel Bowden - When the brilliant but often frustrating midfielder was dropped in round six - ending a streak of 136 consecutive games - it appeared his career was at the crossroads. But Bowden's response was simply magnificent and his win at the club's best and fairest was most deserved. Reinventing himself as an attacking centre-half-back, Bowden picked up 42 possessions against minor premiers Port just three weeks later and showed as the season progressed he could even match it with the game's best centre-half-forwards such as Brisbane's Jonathan Brown, despite his lack of height and weight. By season's end even those Richmond fans that had been critical of him in the past were in agreement that he is the hot favourite to win this year's Jack Dyer Medal.
Missing in action: Mark Coughlan - After winning his first best and fairest last year at the age of just 22, the tough midfielder was the public face of Richmond's membership drive for 2004. But after a great start, when he starred in the round one win over Collingwood, things soon went downhill for the young star. By the round five game against Adelaide it was obvious Coughlan was playing under great duress and hardly seemed able to run. He was soon diagnosed as having "pubic instability" - a combination of lower stomach and groin problems and did not re-appear in the senior side until the last two games of the season. His absence was not only a huge blow to the team but a huge blow to the morale of the long-suffering Tigers fans, who at least had been able to enjoy watching his progress over the last two years while the team struggled.
Rising Star: Brent Hartigan - Taken at pick 70 in last year's national draft this tough small defender exceeded expectations by playing 19 games in his debut season. He won the nomination for the prestigious AFL Rising Star award in the final round and successfully negated some of the AFL's elite crumbing forwards in his debut season to show he has long-term future at Punt Road.
Best win: Round 7 vs Sydney at SCG - When a team only has four wins for the season there isn't many to choose from but this game was easily the Tigers' stand-out performance of the year. It was their only win against a top eight side for the season and their only win outside of Victoria. And it came on the back of a brilliant performance from spearhead Matthew Richardson, who kicked seven of the Tigers' 10 goals in wet conditions that did not suit tall, marking forwards.
Worst loss: Round 5 vs Adelaide at Telstra Dome - This was the night it all went horribly wrong for the Tigers. The team had already lost three in a row, after a promising first round win over 2002 and 2003 grand finalists Collingwood, and had home state advantage against a Crows' side that had been winless over the first four rounds. But Richmond simply capitulated, losing by 75 points, as fans vented their anger after the game with one supporter even being caught spitting at coach Danny Frawley after the game by television cameras.
Shopping list: In deciding to appoint Wallace for five years - one of the longest initial coaching contracts ever handed to a new coach - Richmond football director Greg Miller has acknowledged just what a huge job it will be to re-build the Tigers' list. This is a club that needs just about everything in terms of what type of new players it needs to secure. With Gaspar struggling so badly, although there is hope he will be better next year, and Bowden being forced to play centre-half-back for most of the year - where he starred despite his lack of height and weight - the Tigers badly need key defenders. Impressive youngster Jackson shapes as one long-term candidate but the Tigers badly need to draft more youngsters capable of eventually developing into key position players. The Tigers' forward line also needs players capable of kicking goals on a regular basis with the attack this year almost totally reliant on Matthew Richardson, as evidenced by his goals tally of 65 dwarfing the next best of Nathan Brown with 26. And while the return of Coughlan next year will help, the Tigers also need more midfielders but with picks one and four in the national draft they should be able to secure two future midfield stars such as highly-rated youngsters Brett Deledio or Ryan Griffin.
What the coach says: "There is a huge capacity here to be a strength of the competition. I am honoured the Richmond football club has given me the opportunity to take it forward and into a new era." - Terry Wallace upon his appointment as Richmond coach in August.
What we say: The Tigers are capable of big improvement next year with Wallace in charge and with the likely addition of two top youngsters with picks one and four in the national draft and the chance to get an uncontracted player from a rival club with pick one in the pre-season draft. But the best long-suffering Tiger fans can hope for is probably an outside chance of making the eight next year. It is likely it will take a coach even as gifted as Wallace considerable time to re-build the shattered morale of the Richmond players, who have won just 18 games in three years. It will also take him time to change the Tigers' playing style to make them a more direct and harder team but if the Tigers' fans show just a little bit more patience - which admittedly is tough after just two finals series in the past 22 years - then eventually genuine success could come under Wallace but it could well take him the full five years.
