This is a mini rebuild

[Tzatziki_Man]

Rioli, Corey Ellis, Lennon, Short, Menadue are all inexperienced young players. For us to be playing them says that Damien Hardwick and his team of coaches don't believe we've got the overall talent to win a premiership on the back of last season. The complete failure of recruiting players from opposition clubs has haunted our club. The team talked a really big game, but ultimately failed at poaching talent. The disappointment of Knights, Hampson, Chaplin has shown our ineptness at gaining ground on the better sides in the competition through Free Agency. The drafting of Ben Griffiths and Reece Conca can be ruled failures.

Whilst vwe've either overrated or stalled the development of players like Brandon Ellis, Trent Cotchin, Nick Vlastuin, Liam McBean, etc. ultimately though, Damien Hardwick has delivered. He's taken us to three finals appearances. The best since Tom Hafey. I firmly believe he's the right man. But like I have been saying for years, it's time to break apart his boys club. Peter Burge needs to go. The injuries are pathetic, the fitness of our players lacklustre. Blair Hartley is first on the chopping block. I will not purchase a membership next year if this man is making a salary.I know how many opportunities he's squandered at the trade table. He spent so much time invested in the wrong players too, which makes him a poor judge. We failed at getting a ruckman and forward to support Riewoldt.

Francis Jackson either needs more support with the recruitment division, or needs to move on because whilst he's gotten us some good players, feels like other clubs have gotten the better players. Unfortunately we bottomed out during the compromised draft era of GCS and GWS. We're forgetful of just how much value we lost for bottoming out. Our pick 2 in 2010 became pick 6.

We are once again in the midst of a mini rebuild. But the players selected are all outside chances to actually make it and none are genuine superstars in the making. I'm not saying Rioli can't be a superstar, but we're playing a pick 10-20 that was expected to go from 18-35. We're playing no Jacob Wietering. Damien Hardwick is the right man, but the people around him don't seem to be held accountable, they've accepted we can't win a premiership with this list and are playing the kids. Don't get me started on the game plan either. This is where I start to question whether Hardwick is actually the man or not. He's done great things but we're too easy to stop, our high possession game doesn't work. Needs to reinvent himself but does indeed deserve the time to do it. (Written from phone, cannot make paragraphs )

 

[sante]

It's not as bad as we think. I was spewing yesterday and still am quite angry about the performance but we are playing a lot of kids.

I don't necessarily believe it's a mini rebuild, it's more we're fast tracking the kids and trying to take ourselves to the next level, so we can be a top 4 team.

These kids we're playing (Menadue, CEllis, Lennon, Rioli, etc) are going to be the reason we become a contender because they're elite kicks etc.

We've been crying out for these kids to replace Hunt and others and now they're in, we think they're shit. We'll be okay and I still expect us to play finals this season

 

[juss]

Yes I would move on FJ and BH at a minimum. When are they "contracted" until?

 

[WATiger86]

Dimma said as much after the game. Two steps back to go forward. Strange time to post a thread like this though, did you expect us to win yesterday?!

You can't blame the retreads on our current predicament IMO - if your looking for a scape goat, blame the AFL for the expansion draft concessions - unfortunately we started our rebuild at the worst possible time.

Happy that the coaching group have identified that last years team wasn't going to take us deep into September and have blooded some youth.

 

[captain cotch 9]

Hi Mark Stevens.
Obviously getting your material from here.

 

[cairo tiger]

Dimma said as much after the game. Two steps back to go forward. Strange time to post a thread like this though, did you expect us to win yesterday?!

You can't blame the retreads on our current predicament IMO - if your looking for a scape goat, blame the AFL for the expansion draft concessions - unfortunately we started our rebuild at the worst possible time.

Happy that the coaching group have identified that last years team wasn't going to take us deep into September and have blooded some youth.

But we made stupid mistakes in recruiting as well you can't deny that

 

[prodigy1311]

lol - rebuild..! RFC the gift that keeps on giving....!
compromised draft is the excuse to hide the cracks of a failed football department and a failed management who supports the footy department.

7 bloody years and all you have as an excuse is compromised drafts.? why didn't we make good use of free agency.? player development.?
this club is beyond joke and members including me keep supporting this rabble and invest emotionally and financially to this shit hole...

If its a rebuild, clean up the footy department including dimma. if in 7 years the best he can do is 3 finals humiliation then he can piss off.
play kids under anew coach and build again. continue the cycle every 5years and keep fooling the supporters.

one day, supporterswill give up but who cares benny & peggy would be long gone after ruining the club for another 40 years..

well done RFC...way to go

 

[captain cotch 9]

The club is confident they nailed the draft last year but they will take another 1-2 years to be regulars.

 

[Ralll]

Yeah Hardwick said as much in the presser, we're in a mini rebuild and I agree its the thing to do, too many retreads helping us get to finals but also lowering our eventual ceiling.
Our recruiting has ben mediocre and the recruiting department needs to be looked at imo.

 

[Barry_Badrinath]

A shitful injury list has forced us to play the kids. We're suffering because we're carrying ~4-5 kids, which is probably about 2 too many. This will be good for their development but it will hurt us in the short term. Hopefully Lids and co are back soon.

Also, I think this might be why Dimma's contract was extended.

 

[SumTingWong]

Picking Lennon instead of Cripps will haunt us like Tambling over Buddy. In a period where we lost Tuck, Jackson and Foley we recuited Lennon, CEllis and Rioli. We could have had Cripps, Durdin or Goddard, one of many mids (Partington,Mathieson,Lovell,Gresham,Clarke,Dunkley).

If we weren't so stubborn last year and traded our 1st to Carlton for Yarran and their 2nd (pick 23) we could have had Yarran, Rioli and Mathieson.

 

[Mr Magic]

Yes I would move on FJ and BH at a minimum. When are they "contracted" until?

To show RFC is serious I think lawsuits need to be considered probably. In terms of some our our missed recruiting and trading efforts,list construction, in terms of incompetence, its not far from EFC's efforts in the injection area in terms of bad judgement

 

[Tomnat Tigers]

Seems like an excuse for Dimma's awful game plan and team selection. Not going to go anywhere until Dimma fixes both or Gale steps in and finds someone who will (new coach).

 

[_RT_]

Been saying it since early last week that it was a rejigging of the side that we're witnessing. We have/had mature fit players in Chaplin Hunt Morris & Batchelor available over the first 3 weeks and if Hardwick was aiming at making a run at a flag we would have seen all 4 in the line up over the course of the first 3 weeks. Instead we've seen B.Ellis C.Ellis McIntosh Menadue Rioli Short & Lennon being played in different positions or given a chance to secure themselves a spot in the line up and while they haven't delivered like we all would have liked there have been some very impressive signs.

McIntosh has looked comfortable playing off HB providing plenty of drive rebounding from D50.
B.Ellis didn't exactly thrive when tried there but again showed he is a hard running link up player that will be invaluable with reduced interchange numbers once moved back to the wing.
Menadue on the other wing has shown an ability to cover plenty of ground and knows where the goals are. Was a little off yesterday making a lot of unforced errors but like Brandon his ability to run all day will be more than handy as he develops.
C.Ellis has been well below expectations over the first 3 weeks but there were some good signs yesterday where his raking left foot helped open up play.
Rioli had a couple of highlights that would have had plenty in the stands excited especially with his crumbing goal in the 3rd quarter, that is something that we've been missing for a long time.
Short on debut in front of 70k kicked 3 and like Rioli could be the small crumbing forward that we need.
Yesterday I thought Lennon looked good when playing loose down back, yes I know it's easy playing loose in the back half but there were a couple of times where he stood under high balls and took a grab under pressure. Ideally I'd prefer to see him up forward in future though.

In the next few weeks we're going to see Grimes Deledio Maric & Yarran be available for selection, the key for me will be how Hardwick responds when they do. He needs to show some courage and stick to the kids if their form warrants them playing for they are the ones that will make a difference for us moving forward. We already know what the likes of Batchelor Hunt Morris Chaplin and even Maric are capable of delivering. It's good enough to get us wins over good sides in H&A games but in the last 3 years has failed when finals roll around.

 

[SpudsLoveChild]

It's not as bad as we think. I was spewing yesterday and still am quite angry about the performance but we are playing a lot of kids.

I don't necessarily believe it's a mini rebuild, it's more we're fast tracking the kids and trying to take ourselves to the next level, so we can be a top 4 team.

These kids we're playing (Menadue, CEllis, Lennon, Rioli, etc) are going to be the reason we become a contender because they're elite kicks etc.

We've been crying out for these kids to replace Hunt and others and now they're in, we think they're shit. We'll be okay and I still expect us to play finals this season

Yep...out list hasn't changed much from last year.
We lost a few players due to age and injury, but mostly cut spuds who were never going to take us any deeper in to September.
So now we're playing the kids - a lot earlier than I expected.

I don't know about September though. Our depth isn't great and I think we're in for a few good old shellackings this year.

 

["The Roar Is Back"]

Cotchin is the only inside mid FJ has drafted since joining the club full Time in 2006. Not good enough , especially when you consider some alleged opportunities that haven't been taken.
If I am not wrong he is the only remaining member of the Wallace football department . Guys is a spud and has proven time and time again under two different coaches .

 

[Mr Magic]

Been saying it since early last week that it was a rejigging of the side that we're witnessing. We have/had mature fit players in Chaplin Hunt Morris & Batchelor available over the first 3 weeks and if Hardwick was aiming at making a run at a flag we would have seen all 4 in the line up over the course of the first 3 weeks. Instead we've seen B.Ellis C.Ellis McIntosh Menadue Rioli Short & Lennon being played in different positions or given a chance to secure themselves a spot in the line up and while they haven't delivered like we all would have liked there have been some very impressive signs.

McIntosh has looked comfortable playing off HB providing plenty of drive rebounding from D50.
B.Ellis didn't exactly thrive when tried there but again showed he is a hard running link up player that will be invaluable with reduced interchange numbers once moved back to the wing.
Menadue on the other wing has shown an ability to cover plenty of ground and knows where the goals are. Was a little off yesterday making a lot of unforced errors but like Brandon his ability to run all day will be more than handy as he develops.
C.Ellis has been well below expectations over the first 3 weeks but there were some good signs yesterday where his raking left foot helped open up play.
Rioli had a couple of highlights that would have had plenty in the stands excited especially with his crumbing goal in the 3rd quarter, that is something that we've been missing for a long time.
Short on debut in front of 70k kicked 3 and like Rioli could be the small crumbing forward that we need.
Yesterday I thought Lennon looked good when playing loose down back, yes I know it's easy playing loose in the back half but there were a couple of times where he stood under high balls and took a grab under pressure. Ideally I'd prefer to see him up forward in future though.

In the next few weeks we're going to see Grimes Deledio Maric & Yarran be available for selection, the key for me will be how Hardwick responds when they do. He needs to show some courage and stick to the kids if their form warrants them playing for they are the ones that will make a difference for us moving forward. We already know what the likes of Batchelor Hunt Morris Chaplin and even Maric are capable of delivering. It's good enough to get us wins over good sides in H&A games but in the last 3 years has failed when finals roll around.

I agree all is not lost.

McIntosh has shown a bit down back as well as on the wing but I would not go as far as saying he is a premiership player yet.

Rioli has talent , Menadue and Lambert have been good.

But with Yarran not playing, it just highlights how stupid that was in terms of value. 2 bloody second rounders and this years draft is supposed to be deep!!!

Yarran is not playing anyway and we could have got him end of this year not costing any picks FFS.

The other thing is in terms of list build, if we are doing a rebuild now, what was the point getting Chaplin, Hampson and so forth when obviously our list was not strong enough for top up players then?

Clearly we need a few more core players in like a Hurley and Heppell and or some juicy draft wins to boost our list potential to propel us into contention.

I have no problem with us trialing players in different positions and I thought Lennon was another that went alright. Simply because for the first time in a long term its seems the club is finally starting to admit where the list is truely at, not far off but still out of the window without a real boost in recruiting and developing talent!

 

[ize_]

I hate that I'm still thinking about this, but I reckon missing out on Treloar is the biggest cockup we've made in recent history. We had a very promising list 3 years ago, but we just haven't been able to add to it in any meaningful way and haven't had any kids come in and make a real impact. Meanwhile pretty much every club around our mark have topped up and traded in. Geelong and North Melbourne in particular have been very successful in identifying holes in their list, and then going out and filling them.

To me, this year and next year is our best chance at it. There's a logjam at the top this year and anyone could pinch a flag. GWS, Gold Coast and the Bulldogs are coming up and will dominate soon. We don't have anything like the young list to compete with those teams post 2017. We needed to get Treloar last year, but we didn't. We bottomed out at the worst possible time with the expansion teams coming through, but we've failed to take advantage of the other side of it with a smorgasbord of young gun midfielders on offer/the rise of free agency.

Basically without some sort of ridiculous turn around (which I can't see happening 3 years in a row) we're kinda stuffed. Our list is nowhere near it. There are at least 10 sides that are ahead of us this year and unfortunately I just don't see where the improvement is coming from. It's more dire than we think.

This rebuild/tilt is going to fall well short due simply to our inability to bring good players across.

 

[RememberRoyce]

This...

RICHMOND might have to take a half step back this season as it tinkers with its line-up in the hope of ultimately going two steps forward, coach Damien Hardwick says.

Giving him the contract extension means he is treating this season as a 'development' year it seems.

How different would it have been if they had held off on the contract till late in the season.

Chaplin/Bachelor would have played and perhaps even rushed in Lids/Edwards/Grigg/Maric.

Not sure why the team is playing with no confidence, but I can see we are being emotionally groomed to prepare us for missing finals this year.

Dimmas bigger worry is the current game plan, or the one the players are using (badly), is not working and game day he is like he has lost it on a bend in the wet, is doing 360s and so has taken his hands off the wheel and is just waiting for the inevitable impact.

 

[Barry_Badrinath]

Cotchin is the only inside mid FJ has drafted since joining the club full Time in 2006. Not good enough , especially when you consider some alleged opportunities that haven't been taken.
If I am not wrong he is the only remaining member of the Wallace football department . Guys is a spud and has proven time and time again under two different coaches .

 

[Hans McGregor]

A shitful injury list has forced us to play the kids. We're suffering because we're carrying ~4-5 kids, which is probably about 2 too many. This will be good for their development but it will hurt us in the short term. Hopefully Lids and co are back soon.

Also, I think this might be why Dimma's contract was extended.

Beginning to see that myself. As a development coach, Hardwick has done well to get us to where we are. To be honest I'd rather see us play kids at this stage than persist with the stop gap players we recruited, which would likely see us miss finals. But do we really want another EF humiliation? Get more games into the kids who could take us to the next level, and perhaps we won't be in for another lengthy period of being bottom dwellers. Short term pain is justified by long term gain if you ask me.

From a personnel point of view, I agree with other posters and think it might be time to review the employment of FJ and BH. Especially FJ. He's had too long.

 

[Rubber Hips]

7 years in... Dimma has to re build...will he get it right? How long will it take?

3 games into the season and it's a re-jig

 

[Mr Magic]

I hate that I'm still thinking about this, but I reckon missing out on Treloar is the biggest cockup we've made in recent history. We had a very promising list 3 years ago, but we just haven't been able to add to it in any meaningful way and haven't had any kids come in and make a real impact. Meanwhile pretty much every club around our mark have topped up and traded in. Geelong and North Melbourne in particular have been very successful in identifying holes in their list, and then going out and filling them.

To me, this year and next year is our best chance at it. There's a logjam at the top this year and anyone could pinch a flag. GWS, Gold Coast and the Bulldogs are coming up and will dominate soon. We don't have anything like the young list to compete with those teams post 2017. We needed to get Treloar last year, but we didn't. We bottomed out at the worst possible time with the expansion teams coming through, but we've failed to take advantage of the other side of it with a smorgasbord of young gun midfielders on offer/the rise of free agency.

Basically without some sort of ridiculous turn around (which I can't see happening 3 years in a row) we're kinda stuffed. Our list is nowhere near it. There are at least 10 sides that are ahead of us this year and unfortunately I just don't see where the improvement is coming from. It's more dire than we think.

This rebuild/tilt is going to fall well short due simply to our inability to bring good players across.

I think you are wrong in terms of our windows.

I simply think you over rate our older players in terms of the present performance and under rate the youth in terms of projected development going forward and how their performance in a few years is projected. Some seem to underrate deterioration of older players and improvement of younger players missing on the correct window projections altogether. Too many on bigfooty do not see the future and are blinded by the present IMO.

at the same time I think you are overrating Gold Coast, and GWS and even the Bulldogs will not be able to keep the whole list together as is impregnable. Some have a lot of high picks but some are not that good in terms of selection IMO.

I agree Treloar would have been nice but he was never a determinator of our window compared to the likes of Hurley in terms of structural/list management fit, just as Danger and Judd was never determinants for their new clubs windows.

The key to entering windows is getting players in at value at the right time. We simply fail to get players in at value

I am just a bigfooty bum but these are the players I suggested at draft time in terms of value.

Jenkins from EFC, Lynch(GC), Heppell, Smith(Adelaide), Docherty, Franklin, Grundy, Lever, McLean, Macrae amongst others. Even I am not perfect nor claim to be because I did not rate Cripps and still did not rate him in first year. I did not see Cripps lose weight and grow height becoming the player he has from that transformation so thats my bad. Our recruiters though seem to miss regularly

 

[SpudsLoveChild]

This...

RICHMOND might have to take a half step back this season as it tinkers with its line-up in the hope of ultimately going two steps forward, coach Damien Hardwick says.

Giving him the contract extension means he is treating this season as a 'development' year it seems.

How different would it have been if they had held off on the contract till late in the season.

Chaplin/Bachelor would have played and perhaps even rushed in Lids/Edwards/Grigg/Maric.

Not sure why the team is playing with no confidence, but I can see we are being emotionally groomed to prepare us for missing finals this year.

Dimmas bigger worry is the current game plan, or the one the players are using (badly), is not working and game day he is like he has lost it on a bend in the wet, is doing 360s and so has taken his hands off the wheel and is just waiting for the inevitable impact.

Dimma just on 3AW saying we'll still make the 8.
Richo also saying this ain't a rebuild.

 

[sante]

7 years in... Dimma has to re build...will he get it right? How long will it take?

3 games into the season and it's a re-jig

It's not a rebuild. We still want to play finals this season. It's more we are blooding the kids to cover injuries instead of using these spuds in Hunt, Morris etc who can't perform when it counts.