Damien Hardwick | PUNT ROAD END | Richmond Tigers Forum
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Damien Hardwick

We developed and formulated a game plan that gave us a massive point of difference which other clubs couldn't emulate. We played a completely different game to the other 17 teams and it delivered us 3 flags in 4 years.

My fear is if we change to the way the rest are playing we'll be a fair way behind them and could spend a bit of time near the bottom.

The dilemma Hardwick has is determining whether the rule change was the main driver of our poor year or was it due to other factors like injuries fatigue strength and conditioning, an ageing list etc?

The season review conducted by the footy department will be vital. We need to be 100% certain in our collective minds that its the new rules that impedes us from competing before we flip our game plan. We don't want to throw the baby out with the bathwater and give up on a game plan that's delivered us so much excitement and success.

Yes, Haz. We’d wanna be sure either way. I agree that flipping the plan too much might see us down the ladder.

The problem is how teams defend now. Half a season into the stand rule teams started flooding D50 instead of trying to defend the short pass. As our entries are usually agricultural anyway, we were picked off at will.

A remedy for this is to become a center clearance side, if not a general stoppage side. Soldo should help in this regard, along with a Hopper type free agent. If RCD, Dow and Ross can breakout, our clearances should improve.

Keep the turnover game to win the ball back, but dominate centre clearances to capitalise on the 666 and our premier ruck tandem in Nank/Soldo.

This would add something we developed and refined in 2019/2020 but lost this year due to injury and fatigue.
 
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Yes, Haz. We’d wanna be sure either way. I agree that flipping the plan too much might see us down the ladder.

The problem is how teams defend now. Half a season into the stand rule teams started flooding D50 instead of trying to defend the short pass. As our entries are usually agricultural anyway, we were picked off at will.

A remedy for this is to become a center clearance side, if not a general stoppage side. Soldo should help in this regard, along with a Hopper type free agent. If RCD, Dow and Ross can breakout, our clearances should improve.

Keep the turnover game to win the ball back, but dominate centre clearances to capitalise on the 666 and our premier ruck tandem in Nank/Soldo.

This would add something we developed and refined in 2019/2020 but lost this year due to injury and fatigue.
100% Agree. We just need to get better at winning clearances, stoppages etc.
 
One issue we had this season imho was our inside 50s , not sure the actual stats , however it was as if the league had learnt of us and wouldn’t allow our key forwards any one on ones , as well as Lynch & Jack flying against each other so often , we also got sfa from our small forwards and s funny as it sounds I still think we cry out for that sharp shooting midsize forward I.e Caddy . The constant bombing just didn’t work , one we weren’t marking them and two we had no clean crumbers kicking goals . We can make all the excuses we want about Lynch not getting the frees he deserves , however facts are that’s the way he’s going to be umpired until he hangs em up.

I think this area is going to be the biggest and most important challenge for Dimma an co this off season, we need to create more easy goals and definitely need smalls who will kick goals . George and Aarts will be there, however I don’t think there the answer anymore,definitely not both, MJ at this point is pretty similar to them , defence but not much attack, Bolton is probably our best option , however I think he is better in the midfield, Stack is also an option however I think he’s better and more important of half back , though Cumberland is still young in footy terms Id like to think he can ad that X factor and actually hit the scoreboard, that’s the best spot to put pressure on.

So at this point I think I’d go Jack and Dusty deep, Dusty swapping with Bolton, Lynch more as an old CHF with a rotation with Jack, CJ in the mix as well as Ruck time , then a combination of Shedda, Lambert, Cumberland, Skip ( Rochelle would be perfect if we got him) depending on form maybe one of Parker, Aarts or George , however I’m hoping we find from within or outside more forward class over the summer

In Dimma we trust
 
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One issue we had this season imho was our inside 50s , not sure the actual stats , however it was as if the league had learnt of us and wouldn’t allow our key forwards any one on ones ,


Can anyone explain how, if your KPF's are getting double teamed

1. why there isn't a loose forward to go to somewhere? or

2. why you aren't dominating stoppages, cause the oppo have sent one back?

something I've never understood.

Bailey Fritch a case in point. Gawn or Jackson get doubled, so he goes AA plucking off marks in paddocks.

Is it the defensive requirement of our smalls that mean they can't go too far from jack and tom? Fritch doesn't defend.

might be something in that .... have a purely offensive third tall?

Mabior, perhaps?
 
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The big standout this year was our inability to stick a tackle while getting caught in one more often than not. It was surprising.

Maybe we've always had this issues but as we were running and hunting in packs pushing the ball forward at all costs it didn't really matter if we got caught. Now that we seem to need to find a target to dispose, we're getting pinged.
 
Can anyone explain how, if your KPF's are getting double teamed

1. why there isn't a loose forward to go to somewhere? or

2. why you aren't dominating stoppages, cause the oppo have sent one back?

something I've never understood.

Bailey Fritch a case in point. Gawn or Jackson get doubled, so he goes AA plucking off marks in paddocks.

Is it the defensive requirement of our smalls that mean they can't go too far from jack and tom? Fritch doesn't defend.

might be something in that .... have a purely offensive third tall?

Mabior, perhaps?
Generally teams drop wings back , again stolen from us.

This is why I’d have liked Caddy there over the past couple of years, but hey we were winning flags. Point is we are crying out for a high iq sharp shooter , I think Jack’s played that role more lately then his classic KF role . I really want Jack to get selfish around goals , the tap on unselfish stuff is not coming off like it once did
 
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Generally teams drop wings back , again stolen from us.

This is why I’d have liked Caddy there over the past couple of years, but hey we were winning flags. Point is we are crying out for a high iq sharp shooter , I think Jack’s played that role more lately then his classic KF role . I really want Jack to get selfish around goals , the tap on unselfish stuff is not coming off like it once did

yeah, but we lost clearances.

how come other sides drop wings back on us, and we still lose clearances?
 
I think the new stand rule has really helped the hit up small/mid sized forwards in the league. Fritsch, Rohan and Jamie Elliott have all kicked bags at stages during the year. We don't really have that type of player on the list.
 
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Leppa returned after a stint away. Ego and pig headedness probably a good trait for a head coach. Had a poor year and many of the match committee selections were baffling. But 3 flags gets you a truck load of tickets so he will be around for a few years yet.
Mcrae left because of Hardwick's ego and pig headedness and went to work with Clarkson? He cant be as clever as we all think.
 
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Yes, Haz. We’d wanna be sure either way. I agree that flipping the plan too much might see us down the ladder.

The problem is how teams defend now. Half a season into the stand rule teams started flooding D50 instead of trying to defend the short pass. As our entries are usually agricultural anyway, we were picked off at will.

A remedy for this is to become a center clearance side, if not a general stoppage side. Soldo should help in this regard, along with a Hopper type free agent. If RCD, Dow and Ross can breakout, our clearances should improve.

Keep the turnover game to win the ball back, but dominate centre clearances to capitalise on the 666 and our premier ruck tandem in Nank/Soldo.

This would add something we developed and refined in 2019/2020 but lost this year due to injury and fatigue.

I think this is the irony of the stand rule. Because it makes it easier to deploy the 45degree kick it is easier to thread your way through the middle. Hence teams are defending further back, in defensive 50, and the congestion goes to a narrower part of the ground where congestion is worse.

Combine 6-6-6 with the stand rule and losing centre clearances is not an option, something we clearly have to fix. We have to win a fair share of centre clearances and exert enough pressure to make sure opposition centre clearances are less accurate.

The game has changed.

DS
 
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I think the new stand rule has really helped the hit up small/mid sized forwards in the league. Fritsch, Rohan and Jamie Elliott have all kicked bags at stages during the year. We don't really have that type of player on the list.
Josh Caddy!
 
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These are our top clearance winners- the games played column is the important one here I reckon:
RankNameGamesAverage
1​
16​
4.31​
2​
9​
4.22​
3​
17​
4.00​
4​
16​
3.56​
5​
20​
3.55​
6​
9​
3.33​
7​
16​
2.94​

Not sure I'm rapt that our best clearance player is our ruck and not a mid.

How does this compare with other teams?

DS
 
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I think this is the irony of the stand rule. Because it makes it easier to deploy the 45degree kick it is easier to thread your way through the middle. Hence teams are defending further back, in defensive 50, and the congestion goes to a narrower part of the ground where congestion is worse.

Combine 6-6-6 with the stand rule and losing centre clearances is not an option, something we clearly have to fix. We have to win a fair share of centre clearances and exert enough pressure to make sure opposition centre clearances are less accurate.

The game has changed.

DS

yeah if the stand rule was designed to stop us,

its actually genius,

and history should place Hocking on the same page as Edisson, Pasteur and DeVinci.

any of us who understood Kmac, and later marlions role, came to understand how we 'narrowed the pitch'.

Geelong needed engineers, stadium builders, turf layers and groundsmen,

To do what we did with Kmac.

and hocking undid it with one rule.

but i reckon Dimma will be able to counter it in a summer.

while Hocking is busy swallowing,

thereby contradicting Shakespeare
 
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I think this is the irony of the stand rule. Because it makes it easier to deploy the 45degree kick it is easier to thread your way through the middle. Hence teams are defending further back, in defensive 50, and the congestion goes to a narrower part of the ground where congestion is worse.


The game has changed.

DS
Good point. This would explain why scoring has decreased. Stats say the number of uncontested marks hasn't changed much from previous years but I'd like to see a heat map of where on the ground they are occurring now. Teams are definitely defending deeper and are prepared to give up the middle corridor chip pass.
 
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