I have been wondering?

[graystar1]

As Graystar enjoys the sun, warmth and beauty of the Sunshine Coast in Qld., he has been thinking of how much he is missing Richmond's stellar season.

Also, he, me that is, has been pondering the future of our once great club. A lot has been said re draft picks, and some seem to think that is a panacea for our ills. The question remains..how long does it take for draftees to become gear players?? What does the immediate future hold for us? For the life of me I can't see much improvement over the next couple of years. Yes, maybe some of our youngsters may improve, and maybe Cogs will return and be a winner for us, but that has to be problematical. Do we have any future real champions in the making, eg., a Judd or an Ablett or a Cousins even?? If there is then I may be missing something.

Oh well!! Back to watching the dolphins at play, the young girls with little tight shorts, the walkers in the sun, the surfers, and play lots of bowls. Life is good in Queensland, but do miss the rain and cold and the Tigers losing every week!!!!

 

[mexican_radio]

The discussion of how long until a draftee becomes a (potential) top rank player was being discussed on the radio here this week. The consensus...5 to 6 years. There are of course exceptions to every rule.

Do we have a start in the making? Deledio and Foley are my top nominations for that result.

What will destroy this club in the next rounds? The draw. How can the AFL determine that it's fair to send a team to Syndey, Geelong and then Perth in straight succession? Bear in mind we were forced into a 2 week visit to Adelaide. Bloody AFL, I just don't trust them at all.

Glad you're enjoying the Qld trip, it's lovely here in Mexico.

 

[BBC]

Rock on in Qld Graystar, a great place to spend winter IMO. Melbourne has had a traditional cold winter this year.

Draft picks do not guarantee success, especially when your recruiting department is under resourced. Our history of first round picks not performing is unbelievable; Fiora, Scultz, Meyer etc.

Our list has no standout players over the age of 22 and the young blokes are hard to predict. Once again is our coaching group properly resourced - personnel and technology wise? I don't know.

IMO the best players for the long term. i.e. 2010 are Deledio, Edwards, Foley and Riewoldt. Edwards has an X factor about him, reminds me of Craig Bradley, but it is too early to call any of them as stars. Others that may come on are Thursfield, Polo and Connors.

It will depend on their work ethic, coaching and luck.

 

[Rosy]

Rock on in Qld Graystar, a great place to spend winter IMO. Melbourne has had a traditional cold winter this year.

This winter has been awesome.  Rain, snow, frost, hail, fog, glorious sunny days, firesides and footy.  Wouldn't want to spend winter in Qld for anything.

I'm not really qualified to comment on the kids we have gray because I haven't seen a  lot of them play.  I have to admit, for one example,  I'm a tad disappointed in Danny's development so far but he could suddenly blossom as a player given a decent chance and a good dose of confidence. 

The law of averages suggests that, although we have a heap of kids, they probably won't all make it.  Hopefully the powers to be can identify the situation quickly and accurately but that all the kids are given a good chance to develop as a Tiger.

 

[The_General]

I wouldn't say just getting the draft picks is going to fix everything. I want them. But I want them because they're only a piece of the puzzle.

We need to get the most out of our young recruits. So far, I think we're failing. None of them have looked like they're going to be game breakers - yet. I think the next year will be barren - but not as bad as this year. We'll turn it around just in time for Wallace to sign a deal with a "soon-to-be" premiership contender, have him leave the club, and get someone else in to coach us to the premiership 2 years after he's left :-D

 

[LeeToRainesToRoach]

Analysis of players drafted from 1996- (national draft only, no previous AFL clubs) who have played 100+ games.

Columns are height, number of players, and age. Totals are average number of h&a matches played each year / 22.

Height # 17-18 19 20 21 22 23
---------------------------------
< 181cm 30 10 11 16 17 16 18
181-185cm 34 9 13 17 18 18 19
186-190cm 29 7 13 17 17 17 20
191-195cm 23 8 13 15 17 19 19
> 196cm 11 10 9 14 16 17 16
---------------------------------
127 9 12 16 17 17 18

* Not meant to be a scientific study, years sampled and height groupings are arbitrary, and injuries & senior team strength are not accounted for. Figures for 195cm+ to be treated with caution as there were only 11 players in the sample.

 

[autopunt]

I think the kids are fine

its the crap on field leadership by those in the over 25 age bracket that is the problem ie skills

this is the legacy that TW has had to deal with which is why it will only start to show results toward the end of his 5 year tenure

 

[graystar1]

After watching the game live up here on Austar, I make the comment, we do not play as a team. Rather a whole lot of individuals, possibly playing for their futures. Sydney played as a team with support everywhere across the field.

Our youngsters will not blossom with that type of game plan, if you can call it that.

 

[LeeToRainesToRoach]

After watching the game live up here on Austar, I make the comment, we do not play as a team. Rather a whole lot of individuals, possibly playing for their futures. Sydney played as a team with support everywhere across the field.

Our youngsters will not blossom with that type of game plan, if you can call it that.

True enough, but no different to Melbourne or Carlton at the moment. Every team we're playing has more at stake in 2007 than we do.

 

[feisty tige]

Things I do not want to hear Tigers saying at the start of the year include:

Anything less than finals is a failure

and

We will play for each other.


Do it, don't say it. You should play for each other anyway, and finals are always a must.

Also, 1%s. Essential to help win games of footy. Anyone knows that.