We've Been Blind

[Rayzorwire]

A lot of people can list endless tactical and personnel issues which are wrong with our current midfield (you could easily fill a full length book actually), but all year I've been fumbling around trying to work out how and why things we did well tactically last year have disappeared off the face of the earth. After all, Campbell was still there, right?

And then it finally dawned on me, the thing which has been nagging away at me all season; our midfield was a lot better organised tactically and we looked really on top of things for a first year group (coaches and some players) last year, and the very obvious, yet unspoken reason, why?

Ben Cousins was the tactical head of it in everything but name.

Campbell was directly quoted last year as saying the players had way more respect for Cousins when he spoke at their midfield meetings than him or anyone else in the room. I think now we're seeing that he was actually doing 9/10ths of the effective part of the coaching, especially the tactical side of things. After each week the mids could go to him and ask personal advice, which he could then link back to our structure and tactics.

This year we've fallen apart tactically to the extent where poor old Graham was utterly dominating West on the weekend, he could hit the ball wherever he liked and was trying to guide our onballers to the ball drop - we just couldn't do it and that wasn't Graham's fault, or the onballers, we just have no functioning systems in place, not even basic communication between a dominant ruck and our mids.

There's hundreds, quite possibly thousands of other examples of our complete and utter tactical dysfunction in the midfield this year, I think the answer as to why has been staring us in the face all season and we've all been blind to it. In fact, as you may recall, Cousins surfaced a few months back with his public pledge to want to work with our players again in the future, and by no coincidence IMO, that was at right about the time it had come way too obvious to all with a football brain that we were getting tactically carved up in the centre of the ground.

Perhaps the 'how on earth do we fix this hideous mess for 2012' question will have a very easy and hopefully, a very effective answer?

But then again, it really doesn't say much about a coaching 'brains trust' when you're this desperately in need of the brains belonging to a bloke with all of Cousins' personal problems.

That side of things is reminding me of that 'Get Him to the Greek' film...RFC Official dragging Cuz out of endless scrapes week after week to 'Get Him to the G'...

Where will it all end up folks?

 

[1980GFVideo]

We went through some crap years to get Martin and Cotchin.

They should be getting the best midfield coach available to ensure that we are backing that investment up.

Who knows what Cousins was responsible for last year but Hardwick should be the bloke most in touch as to how his assistants are going this year and should be telling the club who he needs.

Should Hardwick be saying to the club that we need to go out and get the best midfield coach that is available.

In 2010 Neeld oversaw the midfield group which included new draftees Luke Ball and Darren Jolly. Neeld's midfield boasted three All-Australians including Scott Pendlebury, Alan Didak and Dane Swan. Swan (24 votes) and Pendlebury (21) finished in the top five in the Brownlow.

Problem is that Neeld would only move for the head coaching job.

 

["The Roar Is Back"]

Some have been pointing out that some players who have been reactive rather than pro-active , within clearances for the most part of the season, which has also included blocking .
Martin , Foley , Jackson , Grigg have all been well down on expectation , whilst Tuck hasn't player alot, interestingly we appeared more organized and better around clearances in the 2nd half on Saturday ?
Often we have seen Edwards , Nahas and Conca at clearances and they have given little resistance , often standing stationary on the offensive side of their opponent . We don't appear to play anything which simulates a clearance triangle , and our tap outs to advantage go to a position which assists opposing side shut it down .
Jackson predominately stands on the right side or behind his opponent on the attacking side of centre clearances , which IMO is exactly where opposing sides would want a player of his size and ability to move laterally .
We are basically playing right into the opposing sides hands , no blocking when we get hands on the footy first and standing in positions which are not conducive to apply pressure when the opposing club gets there hands on it first ?

 

[Madtiger2006]

Our midfield isn't fit enough to run out a full season. We've tired out usually in the 2nd halves of games after midseason. Martin is only in his 2nd season, Cotchin has only completed his first proper preseason, Foley missed a year and a half and Conca is only in his first season. A couple of high jumping ruckman will help our midfield alot though. Another midfielder in the draft will help also. I'm not sure who we're looking at with our first pick but I'm sure it'll be a top young midfielder.

 

[Goldust]

A lot of people can list endless tactical and personnel issues which are wrong with our current midfield (you could easily fill a full length book actually), but all year I've been fumbling around trying to work out how and why things we did well tactically last year have disappeared off the face of the earth. After all, Campbell was still there, right?

And then it finally dawned on me, the thing which has been nagging away at me all season; our midfield was a lot better organised tactically and we looked really on top of things for a first year group (coaches and some players) last year, and the very obvious, yet unspoken reason, why?

Ben Cousins was the tactical head of it in everything but name.

Campbell was directly quoted last year as saying the players had way more respect for Cousins when he spoke at their midfield meetings than him or anyone else in the room. I think now we're seeing that he was actually doing 9/10ths of the effective part of the coaching, especially the tactical side of things. After each week the mids could go to him and ask personal advice, which he could then link back to our structure and tactics.

This year we've fallen apart tactically to the extent where poor old Graham was utterly dominating West on the weekend, he could hit the ball wherever he liked and was trying to guide our onballers to the ball drop - we just couldn't do it and that wasn't Graham's fault, or the onballers, we just have no functioning systems in place, not even basic communication between a dominant ruck and our mids.

There's hundreds, quite possibly thousands of other examples of our complete and utter tactical dysfunction in the midfield this year, I think the answer as to why has been staring us in the face all season and we've all been blind to it. In fact, as you may recall, Cousins surfaced a few months back with his public pledge to want to work with our players again in the future, and by no coincidence IMO, that was at right about the time it had come way too obvious to all with a football brain that we were getting tactically carved up in the centre of the ground.

Perhaps the 'how on earth do we fix this hideous mess for 2012' question will have a very easy and hopefully, a very effective answer?

But then again, it really doesn't say much about a coaching 'brains trust' when you're this desperately in need of the brains belonging to a bloke with all of Cousins' personal problems.

That side of things is reminding me of that 'Get Him to the Greek' film...RFC Official dragging Cuz out of endless scrapes week after week to 'Get Him to the G'...

Where will it all end up folks?

YOUR best post ever Rayzor and I too subscribe to this theory!
Cousins had a knack of drawing other players into the game and highlighting problem areas.
His two years with Richmond were the ultimate in selflessness! Go back and watch the video tape, you'll all agree!

 

[NQTIGER]

YOUR best post ever Rayzor and I too subscribe to this theory!
Cousins had a knack of drawing other players into the game and highlighting problem areas.
His two years with Richmond were the ultimate in selflessness! Go back and watch the video tape, you'll all agree!

Cousins brought nothing to the table

too old, inhibited the development of the kids

too slow

 

[tunksy]

I love what cousins did at the club, everytime I saw him bring the group together and he gave it to them. was more of a leader than newman to me and it seems he's had an effect on cotchin. bring him back i say, make him a midfield coach.

 

[tugga]

Maybe we have been blind because it seems on this board, the majority of us continue to look backwards and not forwards?

 

[Bird Man]

Cousins for midfield coach !!!

 

[Neen]

I subscribe to the theory that Cousin's was our midfield General last year, and the proof is that the club put in a lot of time to have him playing - even when he was carrying injuries. There was no doubt in my mind that in Round 22 last year, Cousins willed himself into the game and won crucial disposals that dragged us back from 50 odd points down. He commanded respect and players revered him.

I also agree that this year, we have "on paper" a very good midfield. "A" graders like Cotchin, Martin and Foley. "B" Graders like Tuck and Jackson, and grooming youngster in Conca and the Ace up our sleeve - Deledio. Our midfield coach should be accountable for the poor SELECTION and rotation of our midfield. We should be doing better with the personnel available.

Foley and Cotchin had their first solid pre season for many years, and Martin "should" be having the "second year blues". So there could be excuses for fitness and the long season, but surely not in the middle of the season (where our slump started).

Bottom line - The midfield coach should be doing better with these guys.

Cousins as a midfield coach ? Would it work ? I'd like to think that if he is 100% committed, he would be an excellent tactical and fitness coach.

 

[aNImatedTiger]

Cousins for midfield coach !!!

^^^^^
What he said!

 

[CoggaRules]

I subscribe to the fact that we reached the level of pushing for the worst AFL side since Fitzroy last year.
Then I subscribe to the theory that the group started to grasp the system that they were learning and won a few games.
Then i subscribe to the fact that young teams lose their way at the arse end of the season.
Then i subscribe to the fact that young teams go into the next season with greater expectations.
Then i subscribe to the fact that youngsters who began to show their stuff to the greater footy world, start to get attention and it takes time for them to work on how to deal with it.
Then i subscribe to the fact that a Ben Cousins was still on opposition radars and would draw opponents away from our youngsters.
Then i subscribe to the fact that he is not there, so our youngsters are now numero uno targets.


Then i subscribe to the fact that Cousins was a genious and when you have a genious like him in the midfield, the effect, although not at the same level, is Judd like...

Then i subscribe to the theory that Cotch is about 2 years from reaching the levels of influence that Cousins and Judd have on their respective midlfields...i.e. our very own Cousins or Judd.
Then i subscribe to the theory that a Conca will evolve as the engine room player, along with Martin.

When that trio reach the level of aerobic capacity, strength and experience, their natural skills and talent will give the tigers a midfield trio that the opposition will fear week in week out.
By that time the tigers would have turned over enough cast members to unearth a supporting cast to that trio that play consistent non error riddled footy.

The end.

 

[JAKLAUGHING]

Cousins over campbell any and every day... ...

 

[Mr Magic]

We apparently still blind because our main problem is the cattle.Some of our so-called B-graders are F and thats a fact.


People talk about chasing Rucks, but getting a BAstinac would make our midfield dangerous even though he is not rated that highly!!

 

[thetwooth]

just goes to show the current midfielders have no discipline. not going anywhere with that group.

 

[strav]

Would anyone consider Knights as our midfeild coach?

 

[JAKLAUGHING]

Would anyone consider Knights as our midfeild coach?

Yes...he has got coaching experience albeit at the bumbers...

Thats a small plus over campbell...who has nothing to offer as a coach...

 

[brett15]

our lack of senior leadership is our biggest deficiency, with cousins gone its now mostly up to newman.

 

[CHIMP MAGNET]

Would anyone consider Knights as our midfeild coach?

no. forward coach instead of danny daly, yes.

 

[Spluff]

Cousins is well documented as having no real care for tactics or for strategy. He just plays on instinct, any plan goes out the window.

 

[Rayzorwire]

Cousins is well documented as having no real care for tactics or for strategy. He just plays on instinct, any plan goes out the window.

You're suggesting he had no positive influence on the midfield, either as a player or in a de-facto coaching sense, Spluff?

There were statements from practically all our onballers last year that Cousins had helped them with a huge amount of things as individual players - that alone constitutes coaching, does it not? Campbell is on record as saying that Cousins held sway over all others when it came to making his opinion known at midfield meetings regarding what our plans and tactics should be.

Do you think it's fair to question whether this help, and whatever else he was contributing, perhaps needed to be more ongoing and that we've been left with, at best the lack of a mentor for the younger players, and at worst a serious brains vacuum?

I mean, our supposed best players are getting more than enough ball, we've had some really solid improvement from relatively unexpected players this season, but we've gone backwards even from last year and the midfield has been where we've really fallen down most weeks.

 

[Goldust]

For those who think Cousins had no influence, I think the vision of Cousins running around the boundary alongside Dustin Martin last season (for memory against the Swans) was pretty telling!
I don't think they were talking about the price of fruit and vegies or potential Christmas gifts.
Cuz seemed pretty intent on passing some guidance on.

 

[1980]

If we wanted to be brutally honest, we'd admit that in hindsight it was a mistake to bring Cousins to Punt Rd. But we're Richmond supporters...

He was 50% the player he was at the Eagles, so we kid ourselves with all this "he helped the kids in the midfield" garbage.

 

[JAKLAUGHING]

Maybe but the Hoopla on his arrival at the club was magnificent...

 

[Bruce Monteath]

If we wanted to be brutally honest, we'd admit that in hindsight it was a mistake to bring Cousins to Punt Rd. But we're Richmond supporters...

He was 50% the player he was at the Eagles, so we kid ourselves with all this "he helped the kids in the midfield" garbage.

I respectfully disagree 80. Malthouse is about 5% the player he was when he was running around in our premiership side but I don't think many believe he offers nothing valuable to his players.

I'm a cynical observer of the media but the amount of times Cotchin, Deledio, Foley, Martin and even our coaching staff praised his ability to pass on knowledge suggests Cuz at least brought something to the table in this respect.

You might say the proof is in the pudding, results wise, but I could point to Cotchin's (and, early on, Martin's) progress this year as possible evidence of Cuz's contribution. There are also the financial benefits of our record breaking membership and the goodwill we gained by taking on the then basket case.

We also gave up nothing for him.