Jack underachieving or low confidence

[HyperAgressiveDonk]

Poor coaching IMO to not play him up the ground more often and get some touch and continuity into his game rather than these frequent stagnant periods where the ball doesn't get near him and he's ice cold by the time it does.

Bingo.

Jack Riewoldt should be a Top 20 player in the comp, but Hardwick is not doing his job properly. For one of your best players to not be impacting games and only averaging 9 disposals and 4 marks per game is not good for Richmond. Hardwick needs to get him in the play more!

 

[Rayzorwire]

Bingo.

Jack Riewoldt should be a Top 20 player in the comp, but Hardwick is not doing his job properly. For one of your best players to not be impacting games and only averaging 9 disposals and 4 marks per game is not good for Richmond. Hardwick needs to get him in the play more!

He even said pre-season that we'd be playing him higher up the ground, so why it hasn't happened is one of many mysteries among our tactical and selection policies.

Roachy, mcuzzy, NQT, surely you blokes don't reckon that Jack's remaining mostly in the F50 because he won't work hard enough to get up the ground more? He's playing to instructions, bad ones IMO.

 

[HyperAgressiveDonk]

He even said pre-season that we'd be playing him higher up the ground, so why it hasn't happened is one of many mysteries among our tactical and selection policies.

Roachy, mcuzzy, NQT, surely you blokes don't reckon that Jack's remaining mostly in the F50 because he won't work hard enough to get up the ground more? He's playing to instructions, bad ones IMO.

He's still getting his 3 or 4 goals a game but is having little impact on games for two reasons. One, he's kicking a lot of junktime goals this year when the heat is off. Two, he's only touching it twice a quarter. What puzzles me is why Hardwick would have one of his best players playing this redundant "traditional full forward role"? I can't think of any other player in the comp that still plays that role, it went out of 5 years ago for a reason.

Imo Jack is the 3rd best Key forward ( behind his cousin and Buddy ) in the comp at the moment and Hardwick seems to be wasting a valuable asset. Get him up the ground & into the play! Not only will it help Jack get some confidence back, but it will help the Tigers immensely with their key forward influencing results again, and also they will be less predicatable going forward.

It's a very worrying sign imo, that the coach is making such basic errors in team structures.

 

[ize_]

People are being overly harsh. Any player leading the Coleman Medal doesn't deserved to be slammed, especially not one who missed almost a full game when he knocked himself out and thus kicked no goals.

I have two qualms with Jack at he moment however. The first has already been mentioned: I don't feel he's leading as hard and as cleverly as he was last year. The second is his game without the footy. Could be leading up further, could be laying more defensive tackles, which he also did better last year.

The rest (misjudging balls, dropping marks) I think will get better as his form improves as the year goes on.

I do not consider a player who has kicked more goals than any other in the comp out of form.

This is an excellent post.

 

[Rayzorwire]

It's a very worrying sign imo, that the coach is making such basic errors in team structures.

Agree with all you've said above, the only possible reason I can think of would be a niggling injury we're not aware of, but even then, if he's judged fit enough to play in the forwardline then he's fit enough to come up the ground, get his eye in and get some valuable touch with the ball.

We need more of him doing things like his mark in the centre square and raking left foot I50 from last week, I just don't get it and yes, it is worrying, as are the other losing tactical battles we persist with where there is seemingly nothing to be gained by doing so.

 

[juss]

He has all the talent in the world, and is a football genius when the ball hits the deck. I also feel he isn't working as hard as he possibly could.

There's a pretty simple solution to this, the coaches need to have a word to him, and give him a simple instruction, lead, cut back, repeat lead, all match. That's all he needs to be doing. He's not moving enough, been too stagnant. From there it will be a flow on effect for his confidence and performance, he's a great pack mark when at full confidence, but he's almost unstoppable on the lead and needs to start doing that more.

 

[richmond1227]

People are being overly harsh. Any player leading the Coleman Medal doesn't deserved to be slammed, especially not one who missed almost a full game when he knocked himself out and thus kicked no goals.

I have two qualms with Jack at he moment however. The first has already been mentioned: I don't feel he's leading as hard and as cleverly as he was last year. The second is his game without the footy. Could be leading up further, could be laying more defensive tackles, which he also did better last year.

The rest (misjudging balls, dropping marks) I think will get better as his form improves as the year goes on.

I do not consider a player who has kicked more goals than any other in the comp out of form.

I disagree Paul. I think Jack is out of form or underachieving. I don`t think you realise how good this guy could be. He just has to stop trying to take mark of the year every week and just lead to space and get his opponent 1 out

 

[flaps]

I don't think Jack could ever be low on confidence. He's got the biggest head in the league.

 

[Tzatziki_Man]

Funny how he is in 'terrible' form, yet he has kicked 36 goals so far this season, whilst this time last year he was on 29.

At his rate, he will get 80 goals again this season.

 

[Haggard H]

I don't think Jack could ever be low on confidence. He's got the biggest head in the league.

Steele Sidebottom has got the biggest head in the league. I don't know how he stands up.

 

[True Thylacine]

Steele Sidebottom has got the biggest head in the league. I don't know how he stands up.

I don't think it was a physical reference but a Tasmanain tall poppy syndrome one. Perception here is that if you achieve and succeed you therefore must be a big head and consequently be brought back to "reality". He's no shrinking violet but his detractors choopse to ignore the amount of commitment and work he has put in to get to where he is. If Mitch Thorp had half of Riewoldts commitment he wouldn't be wasting away in some football backwater.

 

[santa claws]

this is no criticism of jack. but his work rate and involvement in games has always had to improve.
yep i know he plays ff but there is no excuse for not working for his team mates.

his best game for the yr was where he got on his bike he found it about 16 times thats a lot of ball for jack he doesnt usually get a lot of ball, he tackled his arse of and his work off the ball was great. its called work ethic on the field and its an area of jacks game that has rightly been open to criticism. its a reason why i refuse to rate him an elite footballer.
by the way that game was against nm now that was an elite effort from jack. ironically i thought petries game at the other end better.

look we all want him to kick goals its his job, and he continues to find a way to kick goals, but imo the actual fact hes kicking them has in a silly way papered over cracks in his game.
i dunno if thats going to make sense to people or not.
most will probably just jump in and have a go and accuse me of having a go.

there are areas of jacks game that can and need to be improved a fair bit. if we can get this improvement from him we will truly have an elite player. if he can improve in those areas it wont matter if he kicks 1 or 5 goals he will make a significant contribution regardless. i reckon hardwick sees this hence a lot of his comments early in the season nd a desire to play him further up the ground.

 

[Crumden]

**** me. He's averaging nearly 4 goals a game and every time he flies for a mark he crashes 3 opponents to the ground like bowling pins opening it up for the crumbers. Some of you are hard to satisfy.

 

[Tigermad2011]

Playing like shit.
How about getting a few easy ones by getting on the lead and not going for mark of the year every time.

 

[brett15]

this is no criticism of jack. but his work rate and involvement in games has always had to improve.
yep i know he plays ff but there is no excuse for not working for his team mates.

his best game for the yr was where he got on his bike he found it about 16 times thats a lot of ball for jack he doesnt usually get a lot of ball, he tackled his arse of and his work off the ball was great. its called work ethic on the field and its an area of jacks game that has rightly been open to criticism. its a reason why i refuse to rate him an elite footballer.
by the way that game was against nm now that was an elite effort from jack. ironically i thought petries game at the other end better.

look we all want him to kick goals its his job, and he continues to find a way to kick goals, but imo the actual fact hes kicking them has in a silly way papered over cracks in his game.
i dunno if thats going to make sense to people or not.
most will probably just jump in and have a go and accuse me of having a go.

there are areas of jacks game that can and need to be improved a fair bit. if we can get this improvement from him we will truly have an elite player. if he can improve in those areas it wont matter if he kicks 1 or 5 goals he will make a significant contribution regardless. i reckon hardwick sees this hence a lot of his comments early in the season nd a desire to play him further up the ground.

it's an unusual one, he's certainly going through a rough patch but at the same time still kicking goals. call it resilience maybe that a player in a down period can still be consistently hitting the board.

the other frame of thought I have is he might be trying to play a different role then what he is used to, playing as a decoy for the other forwards with vickery and miller the focal point. an interesting stat is he also has the highest goal assist tally of any other forward and leads this comfortably. with the tackling I agree it can improve but 21 tackles isn't too bad and would be a pass mark if compared with other forwards.

 

[Reckoner Tiger]

**** me. He's averaging nearly 4 goals a game and every time he flies for a mark he crashes 3 opponents to the ground like bowling pins opening it up for the crumbers. Some of you are hard to satisfy.

Playing like shit.
How about getting a few easy ones by getting on the lead and not going for mark of the year every time.

I sit somewhere between these two posts. Definitely towards the former though...

You can't say he is 'out of form'. Thats ridiculous. Before the Port game he had four games of 4 and two games of 5, so it was worse than usual. He's not dominating and getting 7 goal hauls, but to say 'playing like shit' is moronic. Nobody in the league is playing FF better than Jack...Tigermad, you either have ridiculous expectations or you haven't heard of the Coleman Medal count.

I do agree with posters who are saying he could work harder. I think I'd be very happy with Jack if he could decimate defences a little more. This would be either through more possessions/assists or more goals, not necessarily both. He does need to lead more, its indisputable. But saying going for mark of the year is a bad thing is laughable. It means he either takes a contested mark, or splits a pack and brings the ball to ground!

the other frame of thought I have is he might be trying to play a different role then what he is used to, playing as a decoy for the other forwards with vickery and miller the focal point. an interesting stat is he also has the highest goal assist tally of any other forward and leads this comfortably. with the tackling I agree it can improve but 21 tackles isn't too bad and would be a pass mark if compared with other forwards.

Decoy? Haha...you obviously don't watch Jack play.

 

[flaps]

I don't think it was a physical reference but a Tasmanain tall poppy syndrome one. Perception here is that if you achieve and succeed you therefore must be a big head and consequently be brought back to "reality". He's no shrinking violet but his detractors choopse to ignore the amount of commitment and work he has put in to get to where he is. If Mitch Thorp had half of Riewoldts commitment he wouldn't be wasting away in some football backwater.

The reference was that I went to school with him so I know what he's like.

 

[True Thylacine]

The reference was that I went to school with him so I know what he's like.

Everyone in this town did or knows him intimately, just ask 'em. I doubt very few know the Jack of 2011 too intimately though, very different a schoolboy version.

 

[Slattery_20]

I don't think it was a physical reference but a Tasmanain tall poppy syndrome one.

How is it a Tassie-specific reference? He didn't say two of the biggest heads...

 

[tugga]

He has kicked 5, 4, 4, 4, and 3 in his past five games. The 5 he kicked on Merrett which is the game that most thought he was quiet and yet still he manages to kick goals.
Does it matter how he gets them?
I do agree it would be nice to see him take more marks, but at the moment clubs are flooding our forward line because they see Jack as our No 1 weapon. By crashing packs as Crumden said, it brings King and Vickery into the game more.
We should be thankful that is finding other ways to score his goals.
The forward line was a wasteland on Saturday night.
When he sarts having a few games where he is held goalless or kicks only one or two, then I will start worring, but 20 goals in five games is not cause to worry.

 

[Parquet Court]

He has kicked 5, 4, 4, 4, and 3 in his past five games. The 5 he kicked on Merrett which is the game that most thought he was quiet and yet still he manages to kick goals.
Does it matter how he gets them?
I do agree it would be nice to see him take more marks, but at the moment clubs are flooding our forward line because they see Jack as our No 1 weapon. By crashing packs as Crumden said, it brings King and Vickery into the game more.
We should be thankful that is finding other ways to score his goals.
The forward line was a wasteland on Saturday night.
When he sarts having a few games where he is held goalless or kicks only one or two, then I will start worring, but 20 goals in five games is not cause to worry.

the past month or so tugg, his last 1 or 2 goals have usually been in the "yunk time" (soft 'j' on that, please).

people have come to expect explosive lead and vice like grip on the ball like he had last year, this year however he has not been allowed that freedom to have the 50 to himself and invariably has people in the way.

its good to see that he is developing that crumbing goal which is a great asset to have and it is good that there is a larger spread of goal kickers. his set shots have remained superb, which is great.

and people who are saying that the other forwards should be leading away from his space...how dumb do you think the defenders playing on them are?? as if maxwell is going to follow miller as he makes his lead into that pub accross the road from punt rd....

he is out of form and looks a little slower than last year...maybe he has put on some weight that wasnt needed...madtugger, any weights for him from the past 2 seasons??

i would like to see him remain in the goal square. 9 possies and 3 or 4 goals a game is pretty invaluable in todays game

 

[Reckoner Tiger]

It begs the question, with all the Tiges supporters with any sense seeing Jack is in fact not in bad form, why is this thread so much more popular than a thread on our faultering midfield and defence?

We should be tearing shreds off our backline and midfield hard-ball, our forwards and Jack have been great this year...

 

["The Roar Is Back"]

By his goal kicking stats , 1 goal per game better than last year , he is on track to kick a ton ,

 

[Reckoner Tiger]

By his goal kicking stats , 1 goal per game better than last year , he is on track to kick a ton ,

If you predict his exact same form explosion, which is a bit naive. 80 goals from Jack this year methinks.

 

[Tigermad2011]

He is just not getting any easy goals.