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IMPORTANT // Please look after your loved ones, yourself and be kind to others. If you are feeling that the world is too hard to handle there is always help - I implore you not to hesitate in contacting one of these wonderful organisations Lifeline and Beyond Blue ... and I'm sure reaching out to our PRE community we will find a way to help. T.
PUNT ROAD END | Richmond Tigers Forum
Seeing as it is the off season and not much else to think about, I was thinking the other day, did the week that is affectionately known as GasparGate, mark the turning of the tide for the Richmond Football Club.
Andy Kellaway was delisted at the end of 2006 and many people were up in arms about this, but some also believed that Darren Gaspar should have also been marked for delisting at the same time after an average 2006, coming off a serious knee injury. His early season form in 2008, was not great with some on here calling from him to be dropped.
Finally it happened which set of a chain of events at the Richmond Football club which culminated in the horrendous 157 point drubbing at the hands of the eventual Premiers Geelong.
During the week Gaspar was told he was to be dropped to Coburg and would be unlikely to regain his spot as the club felt it was time to give the kids a chance. (Many will ask, and rightly so, why wasn't this decision made at the end of 2006). Gas reacted by retiring in what would appear to be a less than happy circumstances, although I get the feeling that much of what was said in house, has never been made public.
There is clearly no doubt that what happened during that week had a significant affect on the club and this was shown by the appalling performance against Geelong. I doubt anyone, other than insiders, really know what transpired or why it resulted in such and appalling perfomance onfield, but it does make me wonder it this was not indicative of the "Cancer" in some of the senior players group that some posters have referred to in recent times.
Gas was not the first and won't be the last senior footballer to face the dilema of being dropped, and I think a few more may face the same dilema in the coming season, but how you handle it is indicative of the person IMHO. You can either go back to Coburg and fight hard to win your spot back or pack you bags and go home. Fighting hard for positions is what make clubs better football teams. Competition breeds competitiveness. For me too many players at the RFC have long thought it their right to wear the yellow and black rather than considering it an honor.
For me Gas was a dour defender who represented the club well in his time, but he never regained his confidence after that knee injury and consequently his form suffered. Gas was the type of player (IMHO) that was quickly becoming a dinosaur in the modern game because he had poor foot skills under pressure and often dished off short handballs that put his team mates under even more pressure. A mate of mine made the comment that Kingy actually developed as a player when Gas left because he wasn't on the end of those short handballs under fire any longer. He had noted this early in practise matches the club played and made comment about it.
I think Will Thusfields re-emergence after his knee injury probably bought forward a decision that would have to have been made at the end of 2007 anyway, but Gas may have only kept on the list, as I don't think anyone expected Will to return as quickly or as well as he did.
I think the events that predeeded GasparGate probably shocked even the inner sanctum, and I don't think many would have expected or foreseen the reaction or chain of events that followed his departure.
With the added complications of injuries to Simmonds, Coughlan and Brownie, Wallace was forced to turn to the kids and many of them got game time that they had desperately been in need of. Fortunately many of them stood up with the likes of Foley, King, Delidio, Patterson, Jackson, Tambling and a few others showing that they are capable of taking the next step. Some like Patterson were forced to shoulder a burden that they probably weren't ready for, but it certainly seemed to fast track the development of some.
Since that time I think we have seen a committment from the club to continue to play the young kids and this has filtered through to the elevation of guys like Newman and Foley into Vice Captain roles and Pettifer into the leadership group. No longer are we turning to the same old faces to prop up the face of the Richmond Football Club and that is a good thing. Fresh faces are being given responsibility and now they have to stand up.
The question is will this mark a turning point in the History of the RFC and secondly why did it take such a disasterous chain of events for this to happen......
Andy Kellaway was delisted at the end of 2006 and many people were up in arms about this, but some also believed that Darren Gaspar should have also been marked for delisting at the same time after an average 2006, coming off a serious knee injury. His early season form in 2008, was not great with some on here calling from him to be dropped.
Finally it happened which set of a chain of events at the Richmond Football club which culminated in the horrendous 157 point drubbing at the hands of the eventual Premiers Geelong.
During the week Gaspar was told he was to be dropped to Coburg and would be unlikely to regain his spot as the club felt it was time to give the kids a chance. (Many will ask, and rightly so, why wasn't this decision made at the end of 2006). Gas reacted by retiring in what would appear to be a less than happy circumstances, although I get the feeling that much of what was said in house, has never been made public.
There is clearly no doubt that what happened during that week had a significant affect on the club and this was shown by the appalling performance against Geelong. I doubt anyone, other than insiders, really know what transpired or why it resulted in such and appalling perfomance onfield, but it does make me wonder it this was not indicative of the "Cancer" in some of the senior players group that some posters have referred to in recent times.
Gas was not the first and won't be the last senior footballer to face the dilema of being dropped, and I think a few more may face the same dilema in the coming season, but how you handle it is indicative of the person IMHO. You can either go back to Coburg and fight hard to win your spot back or pack you bags and go home. Fighting hard for positions is what make clubs better football teams. Competition breeds competitiveness. For me too many players at the RFC have long thought it their right to wear the yellow and black rather than considering it an honor.
For me Gas was a dour defender who represented the club well in his time, but he never regained his confidence after that knee injury and consequently his form suffered. Gas was the type of player (IMHO) that was quickly becoming a dinosaur in the modern game because he had poor foot skills under pressure and often dished off short handballs that put his team mates under even more pressure. A mate of mine made the comment that Kingy actually developed as a player when Gas left because he wasn't on the end of those short handballs under fire any longer. He had noted this early in practise matches the club played and made comment about it.
I think Will Thusfields re-emergence after his knee injury probably bought forward a decision that would have to have been made at the end of 2007 anyway, but Gas may have only kept on the list, as I don't think anyone expected Will to return as quickly or as well as he did.
I think the events that predeeded GasparGate probably shocked even the inner sanctum, and I don't think many would have expected or foreseen the reaction or chain of events that followed his departure.
With the added complications of injuries to Simmonds, Coughlan and Brownie, Wallace was forced to turn to the kids and many of them got game time that they had desperately been in need of. Fortunately many of them stood up with the likes of Foley, King, Delidio, Patterson, Jackson, Tambling and a few others showing that they are capable of taking the next step. Some like Patterson were forced to shoulder a burden that they probably weren't ready for, but it certainly seemed to fast track the development of some.
Since that time I think we have seen a committment from the club to continue to play the young kids and this has filtered through to the elevation of guys like Newman and Foley into Vice Captain roles and Pettifer into the leadership group. No longer are we turning to the same old faces to prop up the face of the Richmond Football Club and that is a good thing. Fresh faces are being given responsibility and now they have to stand up.
The question is will this mark a turning point in the History of the RFC and secondly why did it take such a disasterous chain of events for this to happen......