Thanx haydn
Report Card 2003: Richmond
11:06:40 PM Mon 8 September, 2003
Paul Gough
afl.com.au
2003 record: 7-15, 13th position.
2002 record 7-15, 14th position.
What went right: After six wins in their first eight matches there was talk of the Tigers emulating their 2001 effort in reaching the preliminary final. Their defence was the backbone of those successes in the first two months conceding an average of less than 80 points per match. Full-back Darren Gaspar was back to his brilliant best of 2001 as was Andrew Kellaway while the forward line was conjuring goals through a variety of players. And while the Tigers’ season fell apart after that, the defence continued to hold up admirably under tremendous pressure even without Gaspar, who suffered a season-ending knee injury in round 11. Despite winning only one of its last 14 games, Richmond still only conceded the same number of points over the season as fifth-placed Fremantle and had a better defensive record than five of the other bottom eight teams.
What went wrong: One win in the last 14 games after only three wins in the last 14 games in 2002 was simply a disaster for one of the AFL’s biggest clubs and for its coach Danny Frawley. While Frawley looks certain to survive a second successive dreadful season and lead the Tigers for a fifth season next year, he will be under enormous pressure to deliver results in 2004 in what is the last year of his contract. The biggest worry for the Tigers in 2003 was not just defeat after defeat but the fact their army of passionate supporters – renowned for their hostile reactions to defeats – appeared to finally lose all hope, after only two finals appearances in the past 22 years, and deserted the team in their thousands in the last month of the season. Should such a trend continue, and it will if 2004 starts badly, then that would not only affect the Tigers’ on-field performance but also their off-field performance. And while injuries hurt the club in 2003 with skipper Wayne Campbell playing just nine games, Gaspar suffering a season-ending knee injury in round 11 and Brad Ottens missing the first ten games with a back injury – it’s worth noting that 13 Tigers played in 19 or more games for the season including key big men Matthew Richardson and Greg Stafford and star recruit Kane Johnson.
Who stepped up: Mark Coughlan continued his rapid development of 2002 – in which he finished third in the Tigers’ best and fairest – and is already regarded as one of the AFL’s best hardball winners. Coughlan is a raging favourite for this year’s Jack Dyer Medal and is already a firm favourite amongst Tiger fans, who believe the quietly-spoken 21-year-old from Perth will lead the club into a better future. He led the Tigers in handballs, tackles, hard and loose ball gets in 2003 and looms as the inevitable successor to skipper Wayne Campbell. Young defender Chris Newman also continued to improve this year playing every game as did Ty Zantuck, who held down a number of huge defensive jobs once Gaspar was injured. And Greg Tivendale, who struggled in 2002, had a much-improved 2003 as evidenced by the fact he had the most kicks for the Tigers this season.
Missing in Action: While Campbell, Ottens and Gaspar missed half the season with injuries, some of the Tigers’ other key players had little impact despite enjoying relatively injury-free seasons. Star midfielder Joel Bowden played every game but his season was best summed up by the fact he led the entire league for “clangers” in 2003 while Matthew Richardson managed a meagre 33 goals in 19 games as the Tigers only outscored Carlton and Geelong for the season. Matthew Rogers spent time in the VFL while players such as Rory Hilton and Kayne Pettifer didn’t appear to develop any further.
Rising Star: He might have only played five games in his first AFL season but Jay Schulz looks to have a lot of potential. A big man, he stands 192cm, Schulz is also agile and showed late in the season he can be a marking target in attack and can kick a goal. The Tigers’ decision to drop him for one game late in the season was questionable, given their season was over and it loomed as the perfect chance to give youngsters such as Schulz as much experience as possible. The Tigers’ first draft choice in 2002, Schulz is likely to become a regular senior player next season and could even be a very early tip for the 2004 Rising Star award, for which he will again be eligible next season.
Best win: When the Tigers met their bogy team in Essendon in round seven without Campbell, Richardson, Ottens, Justin Blumfield and Ray Hall it was anticipated they would cop another hiding from their nemesis. But on a glorious May afternoon, the Tigers incredibly held Essendon to just 5.12 (42) which was the lowest score of the season until the Bulldogs managed only 3.12 (30) in Launceston against St Kilda in round 21. It was a performance that at the time led many Tiger fans to believe the club was top four material. Little did they know that just two more wins would follow as yet another season ended in heartbreak.
Worst loss: The round 19 debacle against St Kilda was the straw that broke the camel’s back for even the most hardened Richmond fan. Against a side they had beaten by 26 points on Easter Monday, the Tigers were simply pathetic as they virtually surrendered to a Saints’ side desperate to give retiring veteran Nathan Burke a farewell to remember. The margin was 80 points in the finish as the Saints kicked 13 goals to four after half-time.
Shopping List: Where do you start? The Tigers need another hardball winning midfielder to help out Coughlan, Campbell and Kane Johnson while another tall defender to help out the gallant but often undersized Kellaway and Zantuck, particularly with Gaspar likely to miss the first half of next season as he recovers from knee surgery, is also desperately needed. But it is in attack where the Tigers need the most help. They simply cannot rely on Richardson to be their chief goalkicker any longer and a player such as Hawthorn’s Jade Rawlings or Essendon’s Scott Lucas – who can both play in either the key defensive or key forward positions – would come in very handy at Punt Road.
What the coach says: “After a promising start we’ve let a hell of a lot of people down. We wanted to gain respect at the start of the year but we were unable to achieve that. The responsibility lies totally with me so there’s got to be some really honest decisions made. The buck stops with me. I’m not going to shy away from that … I relish that.” Danny Frawley following the final home and away game against Hawthorn.
What we say: Richmond is paying the price for its poor recruiting since 2001 when it went for the short-term fix believing a premiership was just around the corner. But that year proved to be a false dawn and the Tigers list was nowhere near as good as those in charge of the club believed. The club’s list is chock full of “dead-wood” from other clubs which should result in players such as Clinton King, Rory Hilton, Craig Biddiscombe, Adam Houlihan and Billy Nicholls being moved on over the next month to enable the Tigers to put a long overdue plan in place to build for the future. The development in the past two years of players such as Coughlan, Zantuck and Newman is proof that youth is the way to go and the Tigers hopefully will not fall into their familiar pattern of trading away draft choices in exchange for sub-standard players from rival clubs. Unfortunately this approach requires more patience from a supporter base that has endured more heartache than any other AFL fans over the past two decades. But at least if the Tigers begin building for the future now, success might come in three to five years. What other choice do they have?
Suggested membership motto for 2004: The Tiger Army we beg you. We have begun rebuilding, give us one last chance. :-* :'( :-\ :-[
:'(
