PUNT ROAD END | Richmond Tigers Forum

Its tough being a supporter of the Tigers. You love them but that love is surely been tested over the journey. 27 years to be exact. Most marriages dont last that long these days and its a testament to that love that we are still supportive and endure such heartache(year after year).

Anyway back to why i am posting this thread.

I came across this article written by Robert Walls back in 2003. Now i know what many of us think of him , his opinion and his time coaching the club.

Well here it is.!

Walls rates the Tigers for 2003
« on: March 16, 2003, 12:15:26 pm »

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The Tigers have to find more avenues to goal than their three talls if they are to have an impact this season, reports Robert Walls.

Too many question marks hover over Punt Road. Tiger supporters would love to be excited about the season ahead but few dare to. They know disappointment lies just around the corner. Some of the queries that concern them are:

Will emotional coach Danny Frawley after three roller coaster years at the helm show a steadiness that is needed?

Will skipper Wayne Campbell, who last year earned his fourth club best-and-fairest award, get some fair dinkum on-field leadership support from the likes of Darren Gaspar, Joel Bowden and Matthew Richardson?

Will new recruit Justin Blumfield dig deep for the yellow and black after gliding on cruise control for the Bombers the past two years?

Will ex-Blues coach Wayne Brittain make a significant difference to a game plan that has relied too much on Richardson and Brad Ottens kicking goals from contested marks?

Will some small/midfield forwards be developed who can contribute 30-plus goals per season?

Will injured senior players in Brad Ottens, Ben Holland, Rory Hilton, Mark Dragicevic and Duncan Kellaway return to their best form?

And above all, can the basic skill level be drastically improved of a team that continually turns the ball over with sloppy foot and hand disposal?

After slipping 11 rungs to 14th on the ladder in 2002 I think the Tigers are in for a couple of slowly developing seasons. They just have to find more avenues to goal. You dont win many games when you average less than 12 goals a game.

Only three players kicked 20-plus goals in last years wretched run. They were Richardson, Brad Ottens and Greg Stafford, all giants.

This team has become too predictable, opposition coaches know if the Tiger talls are controlled then they cant win. The good news is that ageing veterans in Matthew Knights, Steven Sziller and Paul Hudson will be replaced by youth.

Encouraging signs were shown by young Tigers Mark Coughlan, Aaron Fiora, Ray Hall, Ty Zantuck and David Rodan.

Over the past two decades Tiger fans have learnt to be patient. They will have to be so again.

WHY THEYLL MAKE THE EIGHT

The Tigers have an abundance of courage. Led by the Kellaway brothers, the team is rarely found guilty of not having a dip. The inclusion of Wayne Brittain to the coaching panel will help senior coach Danny Frawley and the players. Tall, competent, and sometimes match-winning marking forwards in Matthew Richardson, Brad Ottens (albeit for the second half of the season) and Ben Holland, always loom as dangerous men.

WHAT WILL HOLD THEM BACK

I think Richmond has too many weaknesses to make the finals. The defence is tough and hard-working, but doesnt provide enough dash and delivery. The midfield lacks pace and size. The Tiger runners, apart from Johnson, wont physically work over anyone. And the forward line is too one dimensional. If the talls arent marking and kicking goals, history says they are no chance to win. And now with Ottens being injured and out of action for three months things look grimmer than ever.


I just wanted to bring this article up and highlight what was brought up 6 years ago by Walls. We as supporters could see and still see the problems , an ex coach could see them and years later could still see them as a media person.

Why i wrote that last paragraph? Well Wallace was in the media i think 2 years before he got a lucrative 5 year $2.5 million contract. If Walls could see these defiancies how come Wallace couldnt. ?

Look we have gone down that path with similar questions but if you go through that article above(which i found here just going through old articles to pass the boredom working nights) and there are areas we have still not improved and some areas we have gone backwards.

How can we fix these?

Would a mass cleanout solve most of our "ills" ?

Would delisting or forcebly retiring Richo solve our forward problems?

Would a new coach solve the problem with our skills which have deteriorated over Terry's term with supposebly a better list, a turning of over 20+ players.

Would Craigeburn help implementing a better game plan/style , as the facilities are more upto AFL standards and dimensions.?

Will a new coach install much needed hardness, passion and courage amongst "all " our players ?.

Will a new coach install "playing for the jumper " in an uncompromising fashion and a mentality of not accepting "mediorocrity" ?.

Or is the "cancer" that has spread through the club over 2 decades be simply put down to..........................

WHATS BETWEEN THE PLAYERS EARS ?
CONFIDENCE ?


So nothing has really changed. Are the players,the club and coach(new), are they capable of finding the "cure" to rid the club of this "cancer" , or will we see another decade of pain before we see some pleasure and excitemnet in this marriage. ?


Waiting............(still)