If fitness isn't the issue what is?

[thejinx]

I reckon the ball lays firmly at the feet of the coaching box - they seem to lack the willingness to make a move that is outside their normal moves - they seem to want to maintain a balance in their game plan than re-adjust players to alter a game plan during a game to hedge the oppositions momentum.

Bluntly I fear Terry Wallace has been out coached in the first three games - by Pagan, Roos and Malthouse. And whilst innovation is to be applauded some basic principles of coaching should be maintained too.

My opinion only.......RT

Excellent point Rogue Trader. We've had the talent and skill to at least match the opposition in the first 3 games. Not once have we been smashed, and this can only be a good thing.

However, Terry Wallace's unwillingness to try new things on the field is blatantly obvious. Our coaching staff always seem to be chasing the tail of the oppositions structure changes. Why can't Terry throw a spanner in the works, and try a few different things. Whether it be Richo as a CHB, or Polak as a FB.. Geez I dunno.. anything! There's no element of surprise when playing the Tigers, and that's what makes us so easy to beat.

I'm afraid that Terry has caught the curse of Punt Road. Remember when he started, we had 'Terry's Triangle' and we were surprising people with our innovation on and off the field. Now the only surprises we get are when we find out our player's are injured worse than first thought. The excitement that surrounded this place a couple of years ago has gone, and Richmond feels flat and boring again.

 

[evo]

This is why we need to see the back of senior players like Tuck, Johnson and Gaspar as a start. Their efforts may be there but they are very inefficient players with their decision making and disposal. Also they do not assist in the development of the younger guys.

Gaspar I'd definately drop,no doubt.

This wont be popular,but I'd leave Johnno and Tuck in for most of the rest of the season.Let them bang there bodies up for the rest of the season in the midfield-Johnno in particular looks like he's just about ready retire to me.Most of our kids are skinny runts.If you bring in kids fine,but at the expense of other fringe players like Hyde etc.Ease them in on flanks.Like the're doing with Lids and Bling.

This lets just throw them in and see what happens sounds good to appease the supporters baying for blood but it's not good long term list managment.

Cogs was thrust in to performing these duties week in week out too early and was thrashed out.

 

[Mac]

I agree with Wallace. Fitness can't be the issue, because our blokes have always got petrol tickets left at the end.

Admittedly, the eagles mids are just guns, but they work amazingly hard too. They don't rely on just being guns, when they come of they are well and truly spent - then they go out and do it again.

The Swans mids do this too. adn they work FOR EACH OTHER.

Phantom was right in his posts on a couple of threads regarding our midfield rotation (ie there isn't enough).

They should be hard running all the time they're out there knowing they will be rotated often.

The kids can't keep up heavy stints of cruelling midfield work, but they can cerntainly cope with lots of breif stints (and their recovery should be pretty quick).

I'd rather see everyone coming off completely knackered knowing that each player has done hard running for his team mates on and off the ball.

I saw this hard working relationship between Tambling and Deledio at times. Good signs.

 

[B1 and B2]

I'd rather see everyone coming off completely knackered knowing that each player has done hard running for his team mates on and off the ball.

I saw this hard working relationship between Tambling and Deledio at times. Good signs.

Ever watch Robert Harvey when he comes off with a few minutes to go each quarter, almost throwing up
from the effort and the hard running. Then he does it all again next quarter.

B1

 

[keepa lids onit]

we should show the team how foley goes about his work and puts his heart and soul into the game. foot skills maybe isnt one of his greatest attributes, ok, but he gets into the packs, wins the hard ball, and if he cant come out the other side, dishes off to an outside player. has pride, and hates losing and tries to do something about it when side is under pressure. johnson banging his body, are u serious evo? when was this happening? he's too soft, should be dropped as captain and dropped from the team, along with gaspar for good. Deledio, as much as i hate to say it, is not hard enough either. hardly puts in strong tackles, very very limited hard ball gets. likes someone else to give him the hard ball, so he can then run with it. and disposal isnt that crash hot either lately. gotta go get teh ball urself lad, but seems too precious to do that, at the moment. from what i have seen this year, bling has prob gone past him, in terms of effort and hunger.
richo, even though he tries his heart out, providing leads, etc etc, he kills the team. they bust their guts moving the ball up to fwd line, richo gets it, misses, the opposition gets the quick kick in, were all out of position, and it turns into an attacking move for them. again the team has to bust its guts to get it back and start again. dont really know what to do with richo, gives soo much but takes away soo much also.....
gotta take a stance and let the kids play. can practically forget this year, so give the younger boys experience, so that in 2,3,4 years time their well equipped to take the game on themselves. the sooner we stop relying on richo, gas, bowden, johno, etc, and let the new breed show the way, the better richmond fc will be.

 

[Liverpool]

"losing mentality"
This term and variants are bandied about a lot as a cause of our current (and historic) form.
But what is it? What does it mean?
Does it mean that we just start playing badly and accept that we are going to lose as inevitable?
Did Browny expand on what he meant by "mental problem"?

Simply....Yes.

We are a team that cannot stem the flow of an opposing team with momentum.
Our heads start to drop. We refuse to run into space and to work hard to try and change things and stop the momentum that the other team has.
Hence, losing is inevitable.

I agree with other posters who have mentioned Robert Harvey, as a prime example of a midfielder who works hard.
Another is (was) Ben Cousins.
Nick Stevens was similar for the Blues in Round 1, as well, if you want a recent example against us.

Livers.Have you stopped to wonder why we aren't 'putting teams away' The game goes in momentums.Even when we have the momentum we don't capitalise on it.This is a talent issue.

Collingwood's first half was attrocious,we could've iced the game there and then.They only had to play half decent football in the 2nd half to account for us easily.

A strong mentalitly,leadership,determination is important,but it's not our major problem (IMO anyway)

If we keep injecting talented players into the side,a 'winning mentality' will eventually look after itself.You can have the best winning intentions but if the midfield is turning it over,or doing what Drag is refering to the 'winning mentality' gets sapped pretty quickly.Players tire physically and mentally.

We don't put teams away, because of this "losing mentality" we have.
When was the last time we won a game by 100 points?

Even when we have been up by 50 points in games, I have to admit, I am still nervous, waiting for the other team to get back into it.....and if fans like myself feel this nervousness, because we have "been there, done that" when it comes to the Tigers, then surely the players, especially players who have been there for a few years now, have it ingrained into their minds as well.

Is this to do with talent?
No.
Its mental.

You talk about injecting talented players into the team, and the "winning mentality" will look after itself.
I disagree.
Players like Lids, Bling, Foley, and Polo, will eventually adopt the "Richmond way" when the chips are down, because they'll learn from players that have been at the club for years.

How many times in sport have we spoken about players with natural ability or 'talent', only to see them waste it by mental problems, or joining the wrong club at the wrong time?
Talent is worth nothing, if you haven't got it all together upstairs,and I think at the next draft, instead of drafting another of the multitude of 6-foot, skinny kids, who supposedly have all this talent, that we normally, we should draft a decent sports psychologist!
That may be the best draft pick we could do.

 

[Harro12]

There should be no excuses for the weak capitulation against the Pies. But speaking in general terms, the midfield rotation that we use in comparison to other sides is Lame!

 

[MalenyTiger]

The problem is and has been for over a decade or more - lack of metal toughness. When the heat is on Richmond crumbles - the lack of onfield leadership from senior players is greater at Richmond than any other club and other clubs know it. The opposition coaches know that if they can get their side to apply pressure and get a run-on we will crack and not be able to re-load. This is not ablout fitness - it is in the mind.

 

[poppa x]

We don't put teams away, because of this "losing mentality" we have.
When was the last time we won a game by 100 points?

Even when we have been up by 50 points in games, I have to admit, I am still nervous, waiting for the other team to get back into it.....and if fans like myself feel this nervousness, because we have "been there, done that" when it comes to the Tigers, then surely the players, especially players who have been there for a few years now, have it ingrained into their minds as well.

We were 80 points up at HALF TIME against Brisbane last year, and we let Brisbane win the 2nd half.
It should have been a 20 goal thumping, but we relaxed.

 

[The Mighty Wozman]

We dont work hard enough when we either have the ball or we dont have the ball.
Watching the western derby the other night,the eagles would always bust a gut to create an option and work as a team when they havnt got the ball.

You're right Madcow - watched that game on Foxtel and the Eagles were relentless in their harrassment, running and 1%ers.... they just didn't let up - even when Freo rallied and got to within 13 points.....

 

[U2Tigers]

Heart for sure

Unwillingness of the players to work and bleed for each other. 1% ers

Skills

Match day coaching

Players played out of position

Not enough players being made examples of.



The list could go on.

 

[Liverpool]

We don't put teams away, because of this "losing mentality" we have.
When was the last time we won a game by 100 points?

Even when we have been up by 50 points in games, I have to admit, I am still nervous, waiting for the other team to get back into it.....and if fans like myself feel this nervousness, because we have "been there, done that" when it comes to the Tigers, then surely the players, especially players who have been there for a few years now, have it ingrained into their minds as well.

Is this to do with talent?
No.
Its mental.

You talk about injecting talented players into the team, and the "winning mentality" will look after itself.
I disagree.
Players like Lids, Bling, Foley, and Polo, will eventually adopt the "Richmond way" when the chips are down, because they'll learn from players that have been at the club for years.

How many times in sport have we spoken about players with natural ability or 'talent', only to see them waste it by mental problems, or joining the wrong club at the wrong time?
Talent is worth nothing, if you haven't got it all together upstairs,and I think at the next draft, instead of drafting another of the multitude of 6-foot, skinny kids, who supposedly have all this talent, that we normally, we should draft a decent sports psychologist!
That may be the best draft pick we could do.

I'll even go one step further and say that comments from Wallace, about 2011 being our year, don't help the situation.

Even though a plethora of players have departed Brisbane since their golden era from 2001 through to 2004, I have never heard Matthews come out with comments like Wallace, and you would think if any coach had a right to use words like "rebuilding" or "5 year plans", it would be Matthews.
He has recruited players and they are playing o.k footy, because the young players coming through have a winning mentality by being around players who have a winning mentality.

The Swans, with really Goodes and Hall being their only standout players you could label "stars" have been a very good team over a few years now.

Let's be honest, if you went on "talent", and the names on paper, I would say we LOOKED the better team...but the Swans have a never give-up work hard for each other mentality.

"Talent" only gets you so far and until, I think, we get rid of a fair few more senior players, and promote more of the younger kids, then not only will the players we are banking on saving us (Lids, Bling, Foley, Polo, etc) start falling into the habits of the older players, but all the rest of the top draft picks we get will end up the same.

It was only a few years ago, watching our young guns like Rogers, Campbell, Maxfield, Tape, Kellaway, Richo, Edwards, Knights....and talking about maybe a golden era with the talent we seemed to have.

I don't want to sit here in a few years time wondering what happened to the young guns we used to have like Lids, Bling, Polo, Foley, Raines, Schulz, Patto, etc.....and what went wrong.

 

[TIGEREXTRA]

We dont work hard enough when we either have the ball or we dont have the ball.
Watching the western derby the other night,the eagles would always bust a gut to create an option and work as a team when they havnt got the ball.

It comes back to this imo.

There is such a notable difference between us and other sides. We we have possession most of the time no-one breaks into space to receive the ball so we end up holding it for too long and kick to the wrong contest or we cough it up running around in circles or hand-balling it to a team mate under pressure.

Is fitness a big part of our losses?

 

[adfit11]

Expeience. Winning is a skill, one that is a lot less definable than kicking or marking, but a skill nonetheless. It's hard to coach and hard to learn. We'll get there!

 

[ToraToraTora]

The issue isn't fitness, it's shitness.

 

[mopsy fraser]

I'll even go one step further and say that comments from Wallace, about 2011 being our year, don't help the situation.

Even though a plethora of players have departed Brisbane since their golden era from 2001 through to 2004, I have never heard Matthews come out with comments like Wallace, and you would think if any coach had a right to use words like "rebuilding" or "5 year plans", it would be Matthews.
He has recruited players and they are playing o.k footy, because the young players coming through have a winning mentality by being around players who have a winning mentality.

i think we are far more entitled to talk about a 5 year plan than brisbane.
terry wallace inherited the most pathetic team and list in the competition when he took over, where matthews had, and still has, a solid core group of multiple premiership winning players like brown,black,lappin,chris johnson and robert copeland to build a side around.
far easier and quicker to re build a strong team from a base of players of that calibre don`t you think?
yet in the past 3 years brisbane has finished 11th,13th and are currently 11th this season.
so they might as well have spoken about a 5 year plan.

and i see this 2011 myth is still being thrown around, terry wallace never said 2011 will be our year.

he said OPPORTUNITY WILL KNOCK IN 2009 which will be 5 years after he signed his 5 year contract.
he also said in 2011 a decade of opportunity will begin because the black hole of players in the crucial 22-26 year old age bracket will be filled.
and predictably the scumbag media lied to get a headline and everyone swallowed it as usual without checking the facts.