Richmond to make the 8 in 2015?

[blunt_tiger]

After making no trades to make our list better, I have a bad feeling we get over taken by a team or two or three next year.

Will tigers make the 8?

 

[Heaps of fun]

Maybe.

 

[TheFVK]

Seem to be caught in No Mans Land. Don't have the weight of top end players to challenge Hawks and Swans in the short-term, and teams like Port, North and soon to be Brisbane have/will be eclipsing them spurred by quality youth.

With GWS and GC on the horizon, it's hard not to see mediocrity beckoning.

 

[juss]

Yes we will win the 12-13 games needed for finals. Whether we go any further than that remains to be seen. When your key players are mostly in their early/mid 20s, natural progression can sometimes be enough.

 

[TheFVK]

Yes we will win the 12-13 games needed for finals. Whether we go any further than that remains to be seen. When your key players are mostly in their early/mid 20s, natural progression can sometimes be enough.

This isn't a stab at you, but it's exactly this kind of complacent "it'll happen" attitude which has held Richmond back for the better part of 30 years. To hear Ivan Maric come out midyear and say the team had a lazy preseason thinking it would all follow naturally for them- well that's exactly why Richmond are still yet to elevate their position above mediocrity. I'll be watching on with interest to see if the penny has truly dropped in 2015.

 

[ReaperX]

I see us and North Melbourne in the same development bracket but on different ends of it. Both lists have heaps of talent, and their best football can beat most teams in the league, yet for one reason or another, both teams are wildly inconsistent (North less so in 2014)

The gap between the best and worst for North is getting smaller, as evidenced by their Prelim Final berth this year, and the Tigers are a couple of years behind in their development to North, so I see 2015 for the Tigers being very much a year where the potential is definitely there to improve, but I don't think we will quite put it all together to the extent of making us a flag threat.

I think 2016-2018 will be our window of "success", where we will be at worst a consistent finalist, and at best a genuine flag contender. The only issue is, so will about 3 or 4 other teams (we're about to enter a golden age of competitiveness in this league), so we're going to need some luck go our way as well.

Pure talent alone won't get us a premiership, that much is clear. Nor will it get North, Port Adelaide, Gold Coast, GWS, or any other up and coming team.

 

[juss]

This isn't a stab at you, but it's exactly this kind of complacent "it'll happen" attitude which has held Richmond back for the better part of 30 years. To hear Ivan Maric come out midyear and say the team had a lazy preseason thinking it would all follow naturally for them- well that's exactly why Richmond are still yet to elevate their position above mediocrity. I'll be watching on with interest to see if the penny has truly dropped in 2015.

So will every Richmond fan mate, if it hasnt its see ya later Hardwick.

 

[ReaperX]

So will every Richmond fan mate, if it hasnt its see ya later Hardwick.

100% right.

Next year will be his 6th year in charge, he's taken us into 2 shallow finals campaigns within his first 5 years, and has built a pretty solid list. So far, considering the base we started from when he came on, it's a pass mark for him.

Next year we need to finish in the Top 6 and win a final. If he can't do this, questions need to be asked in regards to how far the guy can take us. Not necessarily saying we should fire him, but put it this way, he can't afford another 3-10 start to the year, and scraping into finals.

Hardwick's time to deliver has come.

 

[a_fighting_fury]

Pff, of course they will.

 

[windyhill]

**** no.

 

[akneal]

They only just snuck in with the easiest draw in the league. They aren't overly young so there won't be a huge improvement. They will be around the 7-11 mark for the next 3-4 years i'd say

 

[SterlingArcher]

There's worse things than no trades to make your list better - and that's trading and your list probably goes backwards (Geelong, us).

I think Sydney, Port, Freo, GC (non-Vic), Hawks, North, Essendon (Vic) and 1 of Richmond, Geelong or Brisbane will make it.

 

[tigers_of_old_08]

**** yes.

 

[Engimal]

They can, but I don't think they will.

 

[Carlton_Blues]

They can, but it'll depend on which team turns up - the early 2014 team, or the latter 2014 team.

 

[blunt_tiger]

They can, but I don't think they will.

I think your mob have a bit more pressure not to fall from expectation than we do all of a sudden, agree?

 

[Engimal]

I think your mob have a bit more pressure not to fall from expectation than we do all of a sudden, agree?

Yeah, because we are better. Same goes for Hawthorn, who have a lot more pressure than any team because they are the best.

 

[CotchNCo]

Since the the end of the 2013 season Richmond have won more regular season matches than Port. Im not saying we are as good as Port but when you look at a lot of the predictions in the ladder prediction thread they think we are average to poor. Whereas, we are average to good at the moment. I expect us to make the 8 again this season.

 

[Vass]

I think they may surprise a few next year. They showed what they a capable of in the second half of this year. Could be even a smoky for the top 4.

 

[bkozican]

Richmond can make the 8 if they play consistent football

 

[Collingwoodity]

I think they will finish 6 or 7 and win a final against an Essendon/North/GC type of side then lose to one of the bigger sides interstate.

Some of their younger brigade need to step up to complement cotchin, maric, deledio, martin, riewoldt and rance. Im looking at you Conca and Vlastuin.

 

[Heaps of fun]

Since the the end of the 2013 season Richmond have won more regular season matches than Port. Im not saying we are as good as Port but when you look at a lot of the predictions in the ladder prediction thread they think we are average to poor. Whereas, we are average to good at the moment. I expect us to make the 8 again this season.

Do you mean end of the 2012 season because I'm pretty sure Port won more H/A games than Richmond in 2014.

 

[the big lebowski]

They showed what they a capable of in the second half of this year.

I am not saying that they won't make the 8 - as i think they will. However who exactly did they beat the back half of 2014?

Port at Etihad, in the middle of their form slump. Nothing special about that win IMO.

Essendon, they beat them every year at the end of the season. Nothing special.

Sydney at ANZ, with half their team out, focusing on a home final the week after. Nothing special there.

West Coast in Perth. So did many teams last year.

Bulldogs, Saints twice, GWS, Brisbane at the MCG.

Their best win IMO was against the Crows at AO who had everything to play for.

Winning 9 straight is a great effort but it wasn't anything amazing.

 

[Barry_Badrinath]

I am not saying that they won't make the 8 - as i think they will. However who exactly did they beat the back half of 2014?

Port at Etihad, in the middle of their form slump. Nothing special about that win IMO.

Essendon, they beat them every year at the end of the season. Nothing special.

Sydney at ANZ, with half their team out, focusing on a home final the week after. Nothing special there.

West Coast in Perth. So did many teams last year.

Bulldogs, Saints twice, GWS, Brisbane at the MCG.

Their best win IMO was against the Crows at AO who had everything to play for.

Winning 9 straight is a great effort but it wasn't anything amazing.

Lol. Strong logic.

 

[eth-dog]

Looking at their fixture, they'd be right on the fringe. Their 50/50's include:

Geelong, North Melbourne x2, Essendon x2, Gold Coast, Adelaide (away).

They need to go 4-3 in that group with 5 expected losses vs Freo x2, Hawthorn, Sydney (away) and Port (away).