Strategy The Evolution of our Game Style Moving Forward

[prodigy]

I have no concerns with our general ball movement. It's very good from D50 and off turnover. Especially at this early stage of our rebuild.

What I have problems with is how our forward 50 functions. This is something I have been talking about all year.
For whatever reason our forward line focuses on repeat stoppages rather than leading at the ball carrier and thus creating space in our forward 50.

For those that only watch Richmond games, the best team to watch who demonstrate a contrasting style is Hawthorn. More often than not their forwards are making multiple leads at the ball carrier and their forward line always seems to have plenty of space.
Even West Coast are very lead and mark focused which is why Shanahan is looking so good at times.

I don't really know why we play the way we do but in my opinion it's detrimental to our young forwards development. Harry Armstrong in his draft year excelled as a leading forward but with the way we deliver the ball inside 50 it's either always to a huge pack of players or it's to Lynch outnumbered in the hope of the contest being halved and getting a repeat stoppage.

We can't go another year playing like this and I really hope there's a plan in place to change things up.
Lynch would be a great decoy as he attracts multiple defenders which would allow an Armstrong or a Faull to lead in behind him or in a different direction to get some easier scoreboard pressure.
We've got some classy mids coming through so it's time to start utilising their strengths.

 

[tigs2010]

Might be because our midfield couldn't hit a leading target even after the opposition had gone home.

Hopefully not the actual long term plan.

 

[CLFC23]

our ball movement is worst in the comp by far. we are way too slow and safe, never look to take risks or try move the ball quickly from a mark which means we are always kicking to a congested forward line.

 

[Bojangles17]

Hearing reports that we intend to use our early pics is somewhat comforting coz we desperately need to build that core of talent , we ain’t there yet in fact miles off it

 

[Grockadoc]

Desperately need mids with pace and who can kick the ball.

 

[biaseddustyfan]

our ball movement is worst in the comp by far. we are way too slow and safe, never look to take risks or try move the ball quickly from a mark which means we are always kicking to a congested forward line.

somehow we are good from d50 to f50 but suck at any other part of the game

 

[biaseddustyfan]

Hearing reports that we intend to use our early pics is somewhat comforting coz we desperately need to build that core of talent , we ain’t there yet in fact miles off it

they'll all get injured and sit out 20 more weeks than they need to anyway. doesn't matter who we pick

 

[TheOptimum18]

I'm not sure why supporters expected a semblance of the whole game plan to appear in year 1 of a rebuild.

North Melbourne have had Clarkson for 3 seasons (2 if we're being kind because of the off field issues in that first year) and there has been no defensive structure in place at all.

The Bulldogs have never had a defensive structure when they play a top 8/9 side, and has been a large reason why they struggle to be a consistent top 4/6 team.

The Suns are either stoppage or bust in Dimma's second year after specifically recruiting Noble and Dan Rioli to help with their transition game.

Fremantle are the on the verge of being the first team to have as many wins as they do and miss the finals because of their safe ball movement game that Longmuir prefers, despite having better performances when they go quicker.

Collingwood's game plan has seem to have evolved into Nick Daicos or bust over the past 6 games of football, and their defensive structure has gone to sht.

Our transition and pressure game have all improved this season (with the improvement being bigger than we expected). We know what the midfield issues are, and yet still seen our midfield help us win games this season. If we're having this exact same conversation this time next year, then maybe I get the point, but not in year 1 of the rebuild when you see the above examples to much more stable teams further along their development.

 

[_RT_]

IMO this year has been more about getting structures in place more than winning games. It's why we haven't seen the major changes in game style and positional moves.

I remember early on with Hardwick he was always very conscious of ensuring we were defensively sound rather than being great offensively as it was much harder to teach players how to be strong defenders when their natural instincts are to play fast attacking footy.

Yze to me seems very much of the same mindset, ensure the team is defensively strong before you add the flair and excitement of playing a more free flowing style of footy because you know that when there is a turnover, you're much better defensively structured to be able to not get scored against easily.

I can see 2026 being quite similar to how this year was, especially as we will likely be introducing a large number of younger players to the midfield unit with the likes of Lalor Smillie Hotton McAuliffe and maybe a couple of 2025 draftees all possibly getting game time in there as we evolve.

 

[baazzaa]

We avoid the corridor like the plague because contests in the open there would expose how slow and bad at kicking TT, Hopper and Prestia are. If you're always going narrow it's pretty easy for the opposition to guard space making it hard for lead-up players.

I doubt Armstrong has the tank to take a lot of marks up the ground anyway. This can be fixed later.

 

[beema limapep]

Apart from a usually cohesive defensive unit, forward 2/3rs of the ground seems to have no game plan other than being reactive to the moment.

It's a big. Hot. Mess.

I honestly don't think Yze knows what to do.

 

[SunshineBoy]

Apart from a usually cohesive defensive unit, forward 2/3rs of the ground seems to have no game plan other than being reactive to the moment.

It's a big. Hot. Mess.

I honestly don't think Yze knows what to do.

Why is everyone saying it’s year 1 we only got a handful of players in and a handful out , wtf was ouzo doing last year? Apprenticeship ? You pay peanuts you get monkeys , in 12 months time the fan bios will be saying it’s only his first year again .

There is no semblance of game plan or strategy , we react and occasionally it comes off .

We played the team sitting second last younger less experienced so don’t give us the dribble about clarkson having three years , we got our pants pulled down by the second worst side in the last 5 years , rose colored glasses my arse

 

[Timothy Luncheon]

I have no concerns with our general ball movement. It's very good from D50 and off turnover. Especially at this early stage of our rebuild.

What I have problems with is how our forward 50 functions. This is something I have been talking about all year.
For whatever reason our forward line focuses on repeat stoppages rather than leading at the ball carrier and thus creating space in our forward 50.

For those that only watch Richmond games, the best team to watch who demonstrate a contrasting style is Hawthorn. More often than not their forwards are making multiple leads at the ball carrier and their forward line always seems to have plenty of space.
Even West Coast are very lead and mark focused which is why Shanahan is looking so good at times.

I don't really know why we play the way we do but in my opinion it's detrimental to our young forwards development. Harry Armstrong in his draft year excelled as a leading forward but with the way we deliver the ball inside 50 it's either always to a huge pack of players or it's to Lynch outnumbered in the hope of the contest being halved and getting a repeat stoppage.

We can't go another year playing like this and I really hope there's a plan in place to change things up.
Lynch would be a great decoy as he attracts multiple defenders which would allow an Armstrong or a Faull to lead in behind him or in a different direction to get some easier scoreboard pressure.
We've got some classy mids coming through so it's time to start utilising their strengths.

I'd love if someone could just tell/ask Yze these things at training or something. I mean, I'm sure he's thought of it himself, but like... come on.

 

[sabso]

The first thing is ruck/stoppages. We need a basic two man in/out setup to collect the hitout and distribute quickly. Then, win or lose the ruck contest, we have players in outside positions who can execute the footy skills we need to have to claw us into being competitive against decent teams. How many younger players have people on here said belong in the guts? At least Lalor, Hotton, Campbell, Sonsie, Rioli, mcauliffe, Dow… we desperately need to develop a big tall tap ruckman to replace Nank as well.

Accurate kicking is probably our biggest weakness though, and that’s not a game style thing it’s basic skills.

 

[prodigy]

Credit to Tiger Faithful on Instagram

In my opinion this is a damning stat and is a big reason behind why a shake up to our midfield mix is seriously needed.
In round 1 2026 I'd hope only one of Taranto, Hopper and Prestia are at the first centre bounce.

 

[THE THIN MAN]

Why is everyone saying it’s year 1 we only got a handful of players in and a handful out , wtf was ouzo doing last year? Apprenticeship ? You pay peanuts you get monkeys , in 12 months time the fan bios will be saying it’s only his first year again .

There is no semblance of game plan or strategy , we react and occasionally it comes off .

We played the team sitting second last younger less experienced so don’t give us the dribble about clarkson having three years , we got our pants pulled down by the second worst side in the last 5 years , rose colored glasses my arse

Richmond list changes in 2024 (10 player changes in the off-season)

Retirement

• Dustin Martin
• Dylan Grimes
• Sam Naismith
• Marlion Pickett

Delisting

• Noah Cumberland
• Matthew Coulthard
• Mate Colina (Rookie Listed)

Trades / Free Agency

• Liam Baker
• Shai Bolton
• Daniel Rioli
• Jack Graham

The 2024 season was a write-off due to injury and player disengagement.






7 players 29 years or older might explain why Richmond average age was higher.

Richmond Tigers Football Club Player List

Richmond Tigers full AFL playing list and stats.

www.footywire.com

 

[baazzaa]

The 2024 season was a write-off due to injury and player disengagement.

Injuries accelerate development because it forces you to play kids. The fact that we uncovered no good players and have gone back to playing TT, Hopper and Prestia (and probably will next year) is a damning indictment of our list management and coaching staff.

When we're begging for a priority pick in a few years questions will be asked like, why did Samson Ryan get a three year extension in the middle of 2024 when he was struggling to get a game despite all our other talls being injured? Decisions like that are why we are writing off year after year, rather than using injuries or poor performance from senior players as an opportunity to develop promising young talent.

 

[Bird Man]

Injuries accelerate development because it forces you to play kids. The fact that we uncovered no good players and have gone back to playing TT, Hopper and Prestia (and probably will next year) is a damning indictment of our list management and coaching staff.

When we're begging for a priority pick in a few years questions will be asked like, why did Samson Ryan get a three year extension in the middle of 2024 when he was struggling to get a game despite all our other talls being injured? Decisions like that are why we are writing off year after year, rather than using injuries or poor performance from senior players as an opportunity to develop promising young talent.

No good players?

Miller, Young, Banks, and Seth have all come good this year because of the developments in 2024... come on man

you want to see bad list management? have a look at west coast or North Melbourne for the last decade.

 

[THE THIN MAN]

A problem that has come home to roost is the stalled development of the 2021 recruits

• National draft selections
  • 9 Josh Gibcus
    
    • 20 Games
  • 17 Tom Brown
    
    • 41 Games
  • 28 Tyler Sonsie
    
    • 39 Games
  • 29 Sam Banks
    
    • 42 Games
  • 30 Judson Clarke
    
    • 17 Games

 

[SleepingGiant]

A problem that has come home to roost is the stalled development of the 2021 recruits

• National draft selections
  • 9 Josh Gibcus
    
    • 20 Games
  • 17 Tom Brown
    
    • 41 Games
  • 28 Tyler Sonsie
    
    • 39 Games
  • 29 Sam Banks
    
    • 42 Games
  • 30 Judson Clarke
    
    • 17 Games

Brown and Banks will make it as a GF best 22. One of the others will find a way back. 3 out of 5 ain't bad.