My thoughts on richos' role

[itsintheblood]

No doubt it will be great to have the legend back this week but looking forward, what exactly should be his role? Yes we've moved him up the ground with great success and yes richo is playing inspired football but, let's be honest, he's 33 years old and will be suceptible to more soft tissue injuries if he puts too much stress on his body. This year he has pushed himself to the limit and the hammy went.

The bottom line is richo simply cannot play the entire game week in week out. He rarely comes off the ground for various reasons, the main one being he clearly hates being off. This needs to change IMO. Richo must be used as a "pinch hitter". The days of him playing an entire game need to end and he must be used even more cleverly if we are to prolong his career. I honestly think richo would be more devastating playing 15mins on 10mins off for the reasons that

a/ We'd be a more unpredictable side with richo coming on and off more often.
b/ Our forward line is more structured without richo there but would be great to see him floating down there kicking the odd goal or 2 and causing matchup headaches for the opposition.
c/ A fresher richo would be better towards the end of the game when we are under the pump as was the case against essendon.

Interested in thoughts. Happy to discuss in person at the crown tonight!!!!

 

[LeaGueS]

i do like the idea of richo coming on fresh late in games but the problem is richo is very damaging with his running, he runs opponents off their feet, he has a huge engine for a big man and outworks opponents, he needs to on the field for extended periods to do that. i also think our young forwards are not damaging enough yet, richo when drifting forward recives so much attention that it frees up the likes of riewolt and hughes, just look at how hughes has played the last couple of games, the biggest worry is finding the quality forwards for a post richo team.

 

[itsintheblood]

i do like the idea of richo coming on fresh late in games but the problem is richo is very damaging with his running, he runs opponents off their feet, he has a huge engine for a big man and outworks opponents, he needs to on the field for extended periods to do that. i also think our young forwards are not damaging enough yet, richo when drifting forward recives so much attention that it frees up the likes of riewolt and hughes, just look at how hughes has played the last couple of games, the biggest worry is finding the quality forwards for a post richo team.

We need to cut Hughes a bit of slack. I have no doubts he was deeply affected by the polak incident. He's much younger then Mcmahon remember. He will bounce back I'm sure. We must stick with him although I think he'll have a rest this week.

 

[momentai]

We need to cut Hughes a bit of slack. I have no doubts he was deeply affected by the polak incident. He's much younger then Mcmahon remember. He will bounce back I'm sure. We must stick with him although I think he'll have a rest this week.

Hope Cleve stays in but suspect he won't. It will be interesting to see how Bowden goes this week on probably the fastest surface around.

Agree entirely with your thoughts on Richo.

 

[sleepinggiant]

Agree on Richo as a burst player. For sure.
Especially as we have to consider developing our list to cope without the champ when he gives it away.
He'll obviously be a big loss when he retires.
When he turns 40.

 

[Mr Pumblechook]

In previous years I might have agreed.

However articles earlier in the year about Richo, with interviews from various fitness people, highlight that Richo's greatest asset is his stamina. Simply put, he can outrun and outlast anybody big enough to play on him.

To have him pinch hit, therefore, removes his greatest strength.

Perhaps playing him for 85-90% of each quarter would give him a longer break that might help. But I think the solution is probably a refined training schedule, that keeps his endurance up, but reduces the impact on his body and gives him a greater chance to recover from niggles. Perhaps also, he shouldn't play every week - a la Buckley and Hird.