Danny,
Many people often criticise Richmond's skill level and on the surface this may seem largely warranted. I tend to think though that our problem lies with the players' mindset, where they do not display enough poise or composure to execute their skills under pressure. To illustrate this point, I wouldn't mind betting that when the players do 'run-throughs' at training, they hit each other on the chest 95% of the time. In a match situation, however, without an opponent actually physically touching them, the inferred pressure of the opponent being in hot pursuit forces them to rush. What are your thoughts?
Regards,
Glen Thomas
Glen,
There's no doubt that confidence plays such a big part in our game, as with all sports. When confidence is up, players automatically take the things they work so hard on at training into a match situation and their execution of skills is of a consistently high level. Last year, when we were performing well, there was no criticism of our skill level. This year, on the other hand, because the players have been down on confidence, the skills have suffered.
Regards,
Danny
Danny,
Being a country member from Bendigo, I get to see about 6-8 games a year. Over the past three years it has seemed to me that we are a physically inferior side to the top sides such as Essendon and Brisbane, who I feel all to easily intimidate us with their vigour at the ball and the man. Do you have plans to bolster this part of our game through the draft?
Regards,
John McGlone
John,
We will certainly be looking to recruit some tough, hard-running, skilful players at the end of the season. You can see the impact a young player such as Mark Coughlan has already had due to the way he goes about his football. He's really hard at it and has given us a much-needed boost in the midfield. David Rodan also has a mature body for his age and has been very good in his debut season. Other young players like Aaron Fiora, Andrew Mills, Kayne Pettifer and Andy Krakouer have shown they have the necessary skills -- they just need to strengthen their bodies now.
Regards,
Danny
Danny,
I'm just wondering what are the chances of Marc Dragicevic returning in 2003 and playing with hopefully some of the great promise that he showed all of us in 1999/2000?
Regards,
Dave
Dave,
'Dragga' is coming along very well after his second knee reconstruction early this year. He has really bulked up during his rehab. and, hopefully, he'll have a change of luck on the injury front. We certainly wouldn't be expecting too much from him next season on the comeback trail from two 'recos'. But if he can get through 2003 pretty much unscathed, I think he'll develop into a good midfielder for us because he definitely has the talent.
Regards,
Danny
Danny,
I just wish to know your thoughts in regards to this year's draft. Do you intend to draft other clubs' cast-offs (ie Houlihan, Hudson, Sziller, Stafford, King etc) or do you intend to draft younger future star players as Geelong, Bulldogs and Port have in the past few years?
Regards,
Stuart
Stuart,
Predominantly, we will be looking to draft younger players who will be around the Club for a long time. That's not to say, however, that we wouldn't consider a player from another AFL club if we thought he could really help us. Obviously there are salary cap considerations as well.
Regards,
Danny
Danny,
Please tell me as coaches what it is you tell David Rodan, as we have all witnessed this year that David obviously is an exceptional talent, but it appears often that he attempts to do too much and often gets caught at the end of a searching run. How, as a coaching panel, do you address this to enable David to utilise his strength of speed over the first 10 metres and I believe his biggest strength is his ability to side-step an opponent. What advice do you give him?
Regards,
David Grigg
David,
When our finals hopes for 2002 were basically ended several weeks ago, we made a conscious decision to encourage the players to take a few more risks and to really back themselves in.
The likes of David Rodan and Aaron Fiora have certainly done that and they've been prepared to take the opposition on once they've gained possession. Sure, they've been caught a few times, but I don't want to discourage them from running through the lines because I think that's a key element which has been missing from our game. David, and the other players who enjoy those dashing runs, just need to be a little more aware of the 'traffic' around them.
Regards,
Danny
Many people often criticise Richmond's skill level and on the surface this may seem largely warranted. I tend to think though that our problem lies with the players' mindset, where they do not display enough poise or composure to execute their skills under pressure. To illustrate this point, I wouldn't mind betting that when the players do 'run-throughs' at training, they hit each other on the chest 95% of the time. In a match situation, however, without an opponent actually physically touching them, the inferred pressure of the opponent being in hot pursuit forces them to rush. What are your thoughts?
Regards,
Glen Thomas
Glen,
There's no doubt that confidence plays such a big part in our game, as with all sports. When confidence is up, players automatically take the things they work so hard on at training into a match situation and their execution of skills is of a consistently high level. Last year, when we were performing well, there was no criticism of our skill level. This year, on the other hand, because the players have been down on confidence, the skills have suffered.
Regards,
Danny
Danny,
Being a country member from Bendigo, I get to see about 6-8 games a year. Over the past three years it has seemed to me that we are a physically inferior side to the top sides such as Essendon and Brisbane, who I feel all to easily intimidate us with their vigour at the ball and the man. Do you have plans to bolster this part of our game through the draft?
Regards,
John McGlone
John,
We will certainly be looking to recruit some tough, hard-running, skilful players at the end of the season. You can see the impact a young player such as Mark Coughlan has already had due to the way he goes about his football. He's really hard at it and has given us a much-needed boost in the midfield. David Rodan also has a mature body for his age and has been very good in his debut season. Other young players like Aaron Fiora, Andrew Mills, Kayne Pettifer and Andy Krakouer have shown they have the necessary skills -- they just need to strengthen their bodies now.
Regards,
Danny
Danny,
I'm just wondering what are the chances of Marc Dragicevic returning in 2003 and playing with hopefully some of the great promise that he showed all of us in 1999/2000?
Regards,
Dave
Dave,
'Dragga' is coming along very well after his second knee reconstruction early this year. He has really bulked up during his rehab. and, hopefully, he'll have a change of luck on the injury front. We certainly wouldn't be expecting too much from him next season on the comeback trail from two 'recos'. But if he can get through 2003 pretty much unscathed, I think he'll develop into a good midfielder for us because he definitely has the talent.
Regards,
Danny
Danny,
I just wish to know your thoughts in regards to this year's draft. Do you intend to draft other clubs' cast-offs (ie Houlihan, Hudson, Sziller, Stafford, King etc) or do you intend to draft younger future star players as Geelong, Bulldogs and Port have in the past few years?
Regards,
Stuart
Stuart,
Predominantly, we will be looking to draft younger players who will be around the Club for a long time. That's not to say, however, that we wouldn't consider a player from another AFL club if we thought he could really help us. Obviously there are salary cap considerations as well.
Regards,
Danny
Danny,
Please tell me as coaches what it is you tell David Rodan, as we have all witnessed this year that David obviously is an exceptional talent, but it appears often that he attempts to do too much and often gets caught at the end of a searching run. How, as a coaching panel, do you address this to enable David to utilise his strength of speed over the first 10 metres and I believe his biggest strength is his ability to side-step an opponent. What advice do you give him?
Regards,
David Grigg
David,
When our finals hopes for 2002 were basically ended several weeks ago, we made a conscious decision to encourage the players to take a few more risks and to really back themselves in.
The likes of David Rodan and Aaron Fiora have certainly done that and they've been prepared to take the opposition on once they've gained possession. Sure, they've been caught a few times, but I don't want to discourage them from running through the lines because I think that's a key element which has been missing from our game. David, and the other players who enjoy those dashing runs, just need to be a little more aware of the 'traffic' around them.
Regards,
Danny
