Moved Thread What is a Richmond man?

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Marcel Proust

"Oohh WADA ooga booga" {Jul 11 2013}
Sep 6, 2018
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Richmond footy boss Neil Balme said today Richmond is prepared to help fringe players move to new clubs during the exchange period, and says they will always be Tigers.

And Balme says the Tigers are bullish about the next generation of young players who will push for selection as early as Round 1 next season.

Last year Richmond lost Reece Conca as a free agent and traded Sam Lloyd, Anthony Miles, Corey Ellis and Tyson Stengle for late draft picks.

“You can’t emotionally blackmail people into staying for the wrong reasons. If they need to go, you need to help them go,” Balme said on Trade Radio.

“Sam Lloyd’s the perfect example of that. We loved Sam and we think he’s a very good player (but) he wasn’t getting enough games with us for different reasons, so we encouraged him to find somewhere to play, and we love the fact that he plays well for the Bulldogs because he’s one of our guys.

“We do have a saying once you’re a Richmond man, you’re always a Richmond man.

“When we flew up to Brisbane (in the first week of finals) the Bulldogs were flying to Sydney and they left at the same time, and to see Sam in the airport lounge with our guys, it was like he was still playing for us, it was fantastic that they care about him and they want him to do well.

“That’s the sort of thing that we need to buy into. You can’t just be a soft touch and let all your players go for nothing, but you’ve got to encourage them if they’re not getting the opportunity.

“Brandon’s the perfect example of that.

“We want him to stay, he wants to stay, he loves being here. The system is set up so other clubs might be able to find players with better circumstances, like he’s got.

“So I think they have offered him something pretty significant so he’s got to consider that because in his life there’s more important things than just playing for the Tigers, he needs to set himself up and we will only support that.

“It’s not that we want him to go and not that we’re pushing him out, but if that opportunity comes and he wants to do it, we’ll maturely look at that and say what’s the best thing for him, and what’s the best thing for us in the end.”

After the blockbuster arrival of Tom Lynch last year, the Tigers are unlikely to be big players in this trade period.

“You can always do with more players but particularly given the Tom Lynch incoming last year there’s not a lot of spare dough to spend, so we won’t be doing too much,” Balme said.

“We think we’ve got six or eight kids who are not playing very often in the senior team who we think will ... if they have big pre-seasons we’re going to have some genuine problems at selection, which we’re really pleased about.”

Balme listed Grand Final hardluck story Jack Ross, first-round draft pick Riley Collier-Dawkins, Mabior Chol and highly-touted big man Callum Coleman-Jones as Richmond’s next wave.

“I think the fact that both Sydney Stack and Marlion Pickett came in and were able to play pretty significant AFL footy on the back of not all that much of a background gives us a confidence that if we train them well and we coach them well, then they are going to be a good opportunity to play good footy at the next level.”
 

Marcel Proust

"Oohh WADA ooga booga" {Jul 11 2013}
Sep 6, 2018
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Short can't help but consider the example of teammate Kane Lambert, another ex-rookie and a former housemate, who helped him appreciate the value of embracing hard work and backing his strengths.

"I lived with Kane Lambert for two-and-a-half years and he's one person I look up to who epitomises the Richmond man and hard work. He had to fight his way for five or six years in the VFL system before he got his opportunity and I've seen how hard he's worked and the player he's become," Short said.

Short's greatest strength is his long, precise kicking. The Giants will also be on alert to prevent him from taking a handball from a teammate for a long shot at goal.


Now ‘softness’ is the order of the day. These ‘Richmond men’ are sensitive. They talk about their feelings and embrace their vulnerabilities. Before the preliminary final, Hardwick even took the time to hand write a letter to each of his players with some personal thoughts. He calls it ‘Human connection… That’s something our club really invests heavily in’ he proudly proclaimed in his post Grand Final press conference.

Is the sensitive new age approach observable in games though? Look no further than Bachar Houli’s reaction to Toby Greene pushing his head into the dirt halfway through the final quarter of the Grand Final. 50 years ago, it’s hard to imagine Captain Blood or Neil Balme letting Greene walk off the field but Houli, a modern day ‘Richmond Man’ put his arm around Greene in a gesture that seemed to say ‘we’re all in pain Toby and when you’re ready to talk, I’m here for you’.

 

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Is the sensitive new age approach observable in games though? Look no further than Bachar Houli’s reaction to Toby Greene pushing his head into the dirt halfway through the final quarter of the Grand Final. 50 years ago, it’s hard to imagine Captain Blood or Neil Balme letting Greene walk off the field but Houli, a modern day ‘Richmond Man’ put his arm around Greene in a gesture that seemed to say ‘we’re all in pain Toby and when you’re ready to talk, I’m here for you’

That moment might be one of my all-time favourite moments in any football.
 

TigerTime17

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Sep 25, 2017
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There's another explanation here:

The love the club has for everyone involved is real and not forced or manufactured. Not many will succeed, especially in a larger environment with many different belief systems - yet the Tigers have.

I have a background in this field, so find it fascinating that a whole team/club has been able to incorporate the concepts, invest in it, believe in it, put it into practice and for it to work so perfectly. It is genuine.

No way many other teams can get to the level we are at unless they have the same players with the same buy in. Some teams are close but have not quite figured it all out. Lets hope they don't for some time.

For anyone interested, this is a brief explanation of the concept on Wikipedia and you will see this has had a big say in how we have performed.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emotional_intelligence
 

Absolut Tigers

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Sep 29, 2011
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An incredible competitive advantage. It's like being told what goes into the Colonels secret herb and spices recipe, but still not being able to make the end product.

We can all describe what the Richmond man is (humble, caring, committed, loving), but how many of us have worked somewhere where there is genuine care and trust amongst all involved. I know I haven't.
 
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felixflea

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1980GFVideo

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I remember Damian Hardwick giving a print interview as a player in the early 2000s where he told the story of an Essendon supporter who was a doctor imploring him in a letter to look after himself more in the way he attacked the football.

He said he was worried for his mental health in the future given his hard as nails and no fear approach to the football. Hardwick laughed it off in the interview saying he had no intention of following the advice and wrote back saying so.

I remember thinking that this bloke sounds a bit slow already and how bad might he be after football.

Today the bloke is the most successful coach and is leading the way where we used to once badly follow. In the areas of sensitivity.

Yes most successful because two Richmond premierships are more than four Hawthorn premierships.
 

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