Is our famed culture unraveling?

[Mr Brightside]

In a word No

No excuses but unusual times

 

[BillyJean17]

Before Friday’s incident I was big on the media really clutching in suggesting the skippers mrs vist to the nail salon was script for a disaster movie , fortunately it wasn’t a couple of seasoned vets and boy do our rivals wish it were . I’m personally dissapointed the club dropped its guard , realise you can’t tuck them into bed but with 40 young blokes on the sauce trouble ain’t far away,,,we’re they on full alert , I dunno , it’s a question

 

[BillyJean17]

But will this incident hurt our premiership chances?

As it was a couple of players I’d say are far removed from our senior squad I’m going to say NO

 

[BillyJean17]

I think as a club & in particular, the playing group, we’ve gotten very cocky. Need to be brought back to earth. The ‘humble’ mantra is being eroded somewhat. I reckon the club has treated the members with contempt this year. We’ve done our bit & what have we got in return? *smile* sandwich. F**K, even Essendon are offering their members a signed jumper from their player of choice for committing to the year.

What have we got in return , contending another finals series , stick ya jumper

 

[tigermike]

I can understand why some say culture doesn't matter. It is a competitive team sport, surely it is the way our players perform which matters and culture is a side issue?

I don't agree, I think culture is very important.

In a team sport putting yourself out for others is expected, that isn't culture, that is just business as usual.

Luck, well, luck always plays a part at the very pointy end. I'm watching the Tour de France at the moment and the difference between first and third will come down a lot to luck (but also to team performance).

But look at Richmond over the last 3 years.

The cleaning up after others is a sign of respect: for each other, for those who work to support the game, for the fans - attitudes like this rub off on your colleagues.

Look at how many late picks, rookies etc are playing great footy at Richmond. As Dimma often says, all the players in the draft have talent, can kick, can mark, can handpass - but we manage to develop players with seemingly less potential into premiership heroes. Back 10 years ago we developed players with massive potential into also-rans. I don't think this is a coincidence, I think it is culture.

But for me the biggest argument for culture is that this is the top level of our game. At the top level the differences between the best teams is miniscule. If culture adds 0.5% to a team's performance that can be the difference between a premiership and losing a Preliminary Final. It really is that close. If culture gives us a marginal gain then it is worth it.

Is our culture unraveling? Well, maybe a little, along with everything else this year. But what I saw from Benny Gale is the sort of response which indicates we will survive this with the positive culture intact. F*** ups happen. Those who say you can prevent them have no idea. It is how you respond which matters. If the club can respond by owning this, being positive and using it as an opportunity to work harder on culture and work hard on trying to support Stack and CCJ and get them into a mind set which prevents this sort of behaviour, then I reckon we will be fine.

DS

Good points here but lets not forget we must draw the line at some point for those who are repeat offenders i.e. "very slow learners". I don't know much about Callum but Sydney had a reputaion for unreliable behavior for a few years before we picked him up which is why other clubs passed him over. Considering his background it will be harder for him to meet the team expectations but how much patience is too much? It was reported that he came back after lockdown in poor shape so how much did he care about our "team-first culture" by doing insufficient training for many months? If he still can't put team before self then is it worth the effort to persevere with him, or are we just risking more damage to our culture brand?
As mentioned by others, a strong culture ensures that these incidents are isolated (which they are) and not the normal pattern of behaviour of the team as a whole. Good to have Gale, Houli and Edwards up there to remind everyone what's expected. Wonder if Cotchin made it clear to his wife what she could and could not do as part of the hub?

 

[DavidSSS]

Good points here but lets not forget we must draw the line at some point for those who are repeat offenders i.e. "very slow learners". I don't know much about Callum but Sydney had a reputaion for unreliable behavior for a few years before we picked him up which is why other clubs passed him over. Considering his background it will be harder for him to meet the team expectations but how much patience is too much? It was reported that he came back after lockdown in poor shape so how much did he care about our "team-first culture" by doing insufficient training for many months? If he still can't put team before self then is it worth the effort to persevere with him, or are we just risking more damage to our culture brand?
As mentioned by others, a strong culture ensures that these incidents are isolated (which they are) and not the normal pattern of behaviour of the team as a whole. Good to have Gale, Houli and Edwards up there to remind everyone what's expected. Wonder if Cotchin made it clear to his wife what she could and could not do as part of the hub?

It is a real question in relation to Stack.

Worth persevering with? I certainly don't know but there must be a debate going on within the club about this. I reckon the debate is best left to after the season when cooler heads can prevail. But Stack is going to have to do a lot of convincing to get the club's confidence back, and that convincing is going to have to be by his actions - words will not suffice. Come back next pre-season without having done a huge amount of work and in ripping condition and I would say his days are numbered.

DS

 

[Raoul Juke]

this will be a very sweet premiership.

Brisbane people have one hand on the cup.

Do they? I certainly haven't gotten that impression from the footy public i know up here, and those fella's certainly represent QLD footy in a pretty serious way. Perhaps the typical Brisbane sports bandwagoner thinks that - but thats probably got more to do with the Bronco's & Roar being crappy & Brisbane sports fans are pretty famously weak as *smile* when it comes to supporting a "non winner"

 

[Raoul Juke]

It is a real question in relation to Stack.

Worth persevering with? I certainly don't know but there must be a debate going on within the club about this. I reckon the debate is best left to after the season when cooler heads can prevail. But Stack is going to have to do a lot of convincing to get the club's confidence back, and that convincing is going to have to be by his actions - words will not suffice. Come back next pre-season without having done a huge amount of work and in ripping condition and I would say his days are numbered.

DS

Its going to be a massive effort for Stack to just keep his *smile* together between now and the end of the season. He has a lot of Harry Bennell about him at the moment. Free time and a troubled soul rarely leads to anything good. The club will certainly not be giving him any guarantee's & you do wonder that if in his head he believes its already a "lost cause", if he will have the willpower to not just let it all go. The club will definitely be looking at what condition he shows up to his end of season review in. He would want to look very fit

 

[year of the tiger]

Its a bit simplistic but culture is about how we respond when things turn bad - people make mistakes always, but if we confront them with the right attitude and address them then our culture is strong, if we make excuses and brush them under the carpet then our culture is poor.

Good culture means you generally make less mistakes but I still I don’t think it eliminates them all.

We have made some mistakes this year off the field but I think with some senior players coming back - I don’t think it will affect our on field results, if anything it will make them more committed.

 

[Raoul Juke]

Its a bit simplistic but culture is about how we respond when things turn bad - people make mistakes always, but if we confront them with the right attitude and address them then our culture is strong, if we make excuses and brush them under the carpet then our culture is poor.

Good culture means you generally make less mistakes but I still I don’t think it eliminates them all.

We have made some mistakes this year off the field but I think with some senior players coming back - I don’t think it will affect our on field results, if anything it will make them more committed.

Good post. I dont think the culture is so much declining, than being seriously tested.

 

[Baloo]

If it was a couple of our older players instead of a couple of kids that played up, I'd be worried. But kids will be kids and despite the clubs culture being a positive force, after a couple of beers young lads will let their little head control the big head.

Not excusing them, but I'm not sure it's a reflection of the club's culture. Jack's concerns early in the hub discussion, Trent seriously considering leaving for his family's sake, these all point to the clubs culture of caring is still alive.

 

[TigerMad]

If it was a couple of our older players instead of a couple of kids that played up, I'd be worried. But kids will be kids and despite the clubs culture being a positive force, after a couple of beers young lads will let their little head control the big head.

I would be extremely suprised if Stack and CCJ were even the only Richmond players at the strip club.
I would also be extremely suprised if players from other clubs had also not breached the hub, that night or other nights.

No excuses for Stack and CCJ, but they really were just plain unlucky that a *smile* decided to assault them, and the cops were called.

No *smile*, they eat their Suva and get back to the hub with no-one the wiser ....

Put themselves in that position sure, but still very unlucky.

 

[Raoul Juke]

I would be extremely suprised if Stack and CCJ were even the only Richmond players at the strip club.
I would also be extremely suprised if players from other clubs had also not breached the hub, that night or other nights.

No excuses for Stack and CCJ, but they really were just plain unlucky that a *smile* decided to assault them, and the cops were called.

No *smile*, they eat their Suva and get back to the hub with no-one the wiser ....

Put themselves in that position sure, but still very unlucky.

]Surely its the act of breaking the rule that is the concern and not the fact they got caught? In a lot of ways id prefer them to get caught out as it means we can stop any thoughts of other players thinking breaking team and league rules is an acceptable decision. The fact they were caught means we can use it as a clear line in the sand for club expectations moving forward. I'd rather a couple of sacrificial lambs than a slow rot

 

[zippadeee]

The only culture i want is the culture that builds up on premiership cups.

 

[AngryAnt]

I would be extremely suprised if Stack and CCJ were even the only Richmond players at the strip club.

Doubt we'd be able to keep that under wraps.

 

[17]

"Is our famed culture unraveling?"

No.

1/. The Brooke Cotchin spa visit "incident" - WAG rookie error - dumb learning curve on abnormal hub life. But an expensive one for Cotch.
2/. Richmond's supposed excessive hub demands. Farcical media beat-up.
3/. Tom Lynch on-field incidents v Lions, Suns & Dons - a forward that is consistently the target of excessive physical attention giving a bit of his own back - nothing to see here.
4/. Dimma's press conference defending Tom Lynch and giving Schwartz a back-hander - nothing Schwartz and plenty of other footy media experts didn't deserve. Next.
5/. Stack and Coleman-Jones post party strip club and 3.30am kebab run was a shocker from them - and they got their just deserts.

So, one incident where the club can justifiably be criticised by my reckoning, but given the forensic focus on anything football related by the all powerful footy media, in conjunction with the tall poppy syndrome now coming for Richmond, means we are in the gun-sights and facing a concocted narrative of laughable criticism.

How the club handles Stack and Coleman-Jones between now and season 2021 will be the true test of our famed culture.
I am very confident that our famed culture will not only stand up to this test, but will pass with flying colours.
And while doing so, we'll hopefully pick up another premiership along the way, to really stick it up those bleating carping nit-pickers in the football media.

 

[Baloo]

Doubt we'd be able to keep that under wraps.

Someone on the radio this morning was saying the media have had a few sniffs of quarantine violations but couldn't get hold of them. Also one of the reasons they went so hard and fast on ours, as they've been frustrated until then.

Suspect many clubs and locking down tight on any misdemeanors for fear of the reprisals. Though I'd be surprised if many were as stupid as our boys.

 

[Bennnny]

I can understand why some say culture doesn't matter. It is a competitive team sport, surely it is the way our players perform which matters and culture is a side issue?

I don't agree, I think culture is very important.

In a team sport putting yourself out for others is expected, that isn't culture, that is just business as usual.

Luck, well, luck always plays a part at the very pointy end. I'm watching the Tour de France at the moment and the difference between first and third will come down a lot to luck (but also to team performance).

But look at Richmond over the last 3 years.

The cleaning up after others is a sign of respect: for each other, for those who work to support the game, for the fans - attitudes like this rub off on your colleagues.

Look at how many late picks, rookies etc are playing great footy at Richmond. As Dimma often says, all the players in the draft have talent, can kick, can mark, can handpass - but we manage to develop players with seemingly less potential into premiership heroes. Back 10 years ago we developed players with massive potential into also-rans. I don't think this is a coincidence, I think it is culture.

But for me the biggest argument for culture is that this is the top level of our game. At the top level the differences between the best teams is miniscule. If culture adds 0.5% to a team's performance that can be the difference between a premiership and losing a Preliminary Final. It really is that close. If culture gives us a marginal gain then it is worth it.

Is our culture unraveling? Well, maybe a little, along with everything else this year. But what I saw from Benny Gale is the sort of response which indicates we will survive this with the positive culture intact. F*** ups happen. Those who say you can prevent them have no idea. It is how you respond which matters. If the club can respond by owning this, being positive and using it as an opportunity to work harder on culture and work hard on trying to support Stack and CCJ and get them into a mind set which prevents this sort of behaviour, then I reckon we will be fine.

DS

Our culture and application of mindfulness has given us a mental edge. We are probably 50% better than anybody else at this part. The changes after 2016 were manifest. The new boxing coach could relate to the players, he wasn't Ty Vickery's dad. Balme sorted things out, Dimma had a complete change in mindset, the new players and the youngsters blossomed and our mental suppleness helped us win.
The club haven't mader a secret of what we did. The gatherings at Greville Records gave us a huge insight into the culture at Richmond. Hearing Emma Murray speak, hearing Kondrad talk, George Megalogenis speak about the change.
Culture helps you get through poor patches, makes the club attractive to sponsors, attracts minorities to the club, gets the ear of government, because they stand for something.
We deal with issues, unlike Collingwood, who have a poor culture that is indicative of its president.
Couldn't be prouder of what we have become, and culture is the key.

 

[Bennnny]

Sydney Stack has suffered from a lack of good role models in his life.
Bolton and Stack trained together over summer in WA. Shai instigated this. I'm sure the club will help him, and he will also have to help himself.

 

[waiting]

Sydney Stack has suffered from a lack of good role models in his life.
Bolton and Stack trained together over summer in WA. Shai instigated this. I'm sure the club will help him, and he will also have to help himself.

Stack has got to want it bad enough at the end of the day.

Up to him.

How hard you want to train.
How uncomfortable it’s going to get.
How to win the coach & players respect.