PUNT ROAD END | Richmond Tigers Forum

If you look at the ins and outs of the club at the end of last year, skill wise we really didn't lose too much. So far we have lost our first four and extrapolating forward we could easily be 0 for 8 and likely to be so on our current form and with the difficult games coming up.

So what has really gone off. With all due respect the following aren't much different:
Browny didn't play much so he isn't the factor
Stafford, damn but we could of used him in the first three but really a one goal per game ruck/forward isn't the answer
Tivva - did ok last year and is doing the same this year
Krack - fringe player really this and last year - not the reason
Gas - didn't play much last year due to form and injury - Kella did the full back possie and did it well, but McGuane to his credit hasn't caused the loss of Kella to be too great.
Chaff - likewise out most of the year through injury
Knobel - Likewise all year
Hyde - bout the same this year and last
Lids - the position is different but the contribution is similar - handy without being exceptional
Newman - only played half the year, but has played very well so far and is probably our most consistent player for mine - remarkable given the injury, so back to last year's form for mine
Polo - probably played better last year but not much more so
Richo - he averages three goals a game and has done so this year
Tuck & Foley - no real change in fact Foley is slightly better
Schulz - new season same old story - just doesn't get to and win enough contests
Kingsley - not heree last year, not ere this year so no change
Pattison - hardly a matchwinner or even a solid contributor last year
Points vs Goals - We still kick too many of the former as a percentage. Last year was worse but we actually won the games - just
Turnovers and skill errors - With trepidation I would say they are about the same, we have butchered the ball for years and show no signs of increasing our efficiency

Major changes for mine:
Cogs is out, but he only played two really good games last year and then did his knee so I wouldn't overestimate his contribution
Johnson - played very well last year, not so good at all this year, though in the first few games he wasn't exceptional if I remember rightly
Petts - played sensationally for the first half of the season last year - couldn't find the ball or an opposing player with a divining rod and a sherpa this year
Raines - played very well last year frequently shutting down his opponent and getting his own ball, hasn't won his position yet this year let alone get his own ball
Simmo - in all Australian form in the first half of the year. Obviously not so this time round
Polak - a minor plus (might even be a major plus by the end of this or next year)
The Bowdens - Obviously Pats form reversal is a major change but I don't remember him setting the world on fire early. Joel has actually played as well as he can given the jobs he has been given but isn't free this year to be the architect out of defense. This structural change has had a major impact on our rebounding ability, particularly noticeable with Raines being quiet

The point of this thread is to compare our form of this year over last to detect the noticeable differences. You have to average it over the season which is tricky and then apply it to the first four games for 2007 which is also a little tricky. In going through the exercise I could only find four or five players players whose form is obviously down/or they were unavailable vs last year. Given that the games have often been close you could conclude that if these players had been available or on song then we certainly wouldn't be zero from four.


The answer is obvious of course - take the highlighted players and continue the floggings until morale improves.
(Sorry no inspired genius to turn this all around here)