Obvioualy Dimma's getting more out of these guys than Treading Water ever did...but I'm still far from convinced that guys like White & Edwards can play at a sustainable AFL standard....King may have improved...but he can't seriously still be in the frame going forward...good luck to him if he proves me wrong though, for unless JON wins the B&F at West Coast, it'll be the greatest turn-around from a player in the history of the game and would rank Hardwick up there with Paul Roos for player development...
is he really. its easy to bag wallace because he did get so much wrong. but just how much individual players have improved under hardwick is debatable.
lets have a look see players who were bought to the club while wallace was there.
browne - rookie ruckman if he takes another two or three yrs who would be surprised. he does not count as wallace had him for such a short time.
collins - drafted as a very skinny mid forward in 06. played some good footy at both coburg and showed signs at richmond. he battled op his first two yrs and missed the last half of last yr his third. is it just a case of hardwick developing him in just 6mnths or was it he is injury free got some size on his frame and he was ready to make the next step in his 4th yr haveing done most of the apprenticeship.
connors - did his apprenticeship for two yrs at coburg was drafted in 06 as a late pick so time at coburg was expected. made his debut in 07. and has been made to earn a spot his coburg form was not impressive. last yr he copped a hand injury early but did show some good signs at coburg. entering his 4th yr fitter and wiser was he ready to step up.
cotchin - do we blame wallace for persistent injuries and missed preseasons.was always going to step up at some stage. i reckon wallace gave him a decent go at senior level .
cousins - well clearly hardwick hasnt had to develop cuz.
deledio. - has continually got better and won b and fs along the way. how much credit should hardwick take for deledio. little imo.
edwards - is one who has improved a fair bit recently. still have question marks about and was another drafted in 06 as a very skinny mid. was going to take time early because of size. some would say edwards clicked half way thru last yr and saved his career. again is it a case of a player in his 4th yr taking natural steps up or hardwick.
foley - developed quite nicely under wallace my only gripe here was wallace should have played him sooner and given him more game time early on.
graham - another player drafted in 06 so hes in yr 4 was always going to take 4 yrs or more if he lasted.
jackson - sheesh he came second in the best and fairest last yr before hardwick came. imo hes still a deficient player who is learning to work within those deficiencies.
hislop - deficient player who wallace had for just one yr in fact thats wrong wallace had him for 12 games. be interesting to see if hardwick can develop him.
king - not playing much different to when wallace had him still makes the same mistakes and skill errors. he was a darling of all in his first yr.apparently hes okay now that hrdwick is here.
mcguane - again a deficient player who is still making the exact same descion and skill errors.
mcmahon - has not got a game under hardwick clearly he could not be developed not at 27 anyway. yep hes a wallace mistake but some could argue hes gone backwards under hardwick.
moore - came of age in 08 and regressed because of injuries and form in 09. hes finding the same sort of form this yr that he displayed in 08. has hardwick developed him.
morton - deficient player but has gone backwards under hardwick. to me this is a case of hopefully being made to go backwards to go forward.
nahas - gone backwards but was always going to happen .deficiencies.
polo - has not stepped up under hardwick or wallace. again deficiencies make it hard to develop this type.
post - has he improved or shown more under hardwick dont think so. very early into his apprenticship under hardwick and even earlier under wallace.
rance. - well he got more games under wallace.thats not really a criteria. another of those with chronic deficiencies be interesting to see just how much hardwick can improve him if at all.havent seen any sign of it so far.
riewoldt - took another step this yr just like he did last yr and the yr before that. again taken in 06 in his 4th yr just a little bit bigger and 20 more games under his belt. i would say jack was going to continue to improve no matter who took over.
tambling - shown no improvement beyond what wallace got out of him.
thomson - showed little under wallace and little under dimma.has plenty deficiencies.
thursfield. - if anything gone backwards.
tuck - is having a good yr had 3 pretty decent seasons under wallace and a few ordinary ones. still has the same deficiencies that hes always had.
vickery - again a ruckman who was in his first yr under wallace did wallace mismanage him i dont think so. any improvement vickery has had was going to happen.
white. - has played some passable games under dimma but did so with wallace as well. has his disposal and decision making improved or his ability to find more ball i dont think so, one of those glass half fulls who always revert to type.
i really think old terence is blamed for far to much by our supporters it seems to me those who were reasonably well rounded developed okay.
to me hardwick should be better than wallace he does not have so many deficient players to work with. in the main he at least has mostly decent kicks on the list.
i think it shows if you recruit poorly fill the list up with players lacking in the basics development can be impossible for not only individuals but as a team as well.this has been shown to be the case not only at richmond but other clubs as well.
the old question again. how many poor kicks and decision makers can you take into a game before you lose any chance to win. if you are going to take these types into games you better get the balance right and those types had damn well better bring something to the table that the team is desperately lacking.
lucky for us it seems hardwick knows that the right balance between big bodies size height and skills is paramount this makes for good structure and an ability to compete this is where the improvement has come from this and work on defensive attributes that all are required to master.