Season 2024 - Feeling it? or Not Feeling it? | PUNT ROAD END | Richmond Tigers Forum
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Season 2024 - Feeling it? or Not Feeling it?

Richmond will be the new GWS in 2024

Richmond will be the new GWS in 2024​

February 13, 2024

GWS in 2023 was the story of the season on the way to losing an incredible preliminary final to the eventual premier Collingwood.
They won 10 out of their last 11 to make sneak their way to the finals and when they were there, they wrought havoc.
The orange team easily dispensed with St Kilda and then Port Adelaide through their hard-running, attractive brand of footy before losing to Collingwood by a point.
Just the specifics of GWS-ness makes them hard to replicate and anyone who tries to do it will probably be doing a Joker to the original King of Comedy – a pale imitation. But it’s still a worthwhile exercise to see if there’s a bolter somewhere.

I think the answer, resoundingly, is Richmond. And the similarities go beyond Adam Kingsley being a former Richmond disciple.
Obviously, with the 2017, 2019, and 2020 premierships, Richmond has the recent success element of the GWS formula down.
The Tigers also have a Greene-like talisman in Dustin Martin, who had an astonishing year in 2023, kicking 25 goals and being the best offensive 1v1 player in the league among players who had more than one 1v1 situation a game.

All of this while the most prolific fiction writer since L. Ron Hubbard, Sam McClure, was making up yet more fan fiction about his lack of commitment to the Tigers and his impending move to the Gold Coast (McClure graduated at the top of his class at the Never Wrong, Just Early. School of Journalism).

Beyond just ‘Dusty’, Richmond has a smattering of experienced stars who seem to be just exiting their prime, but are still useful players. They’re like the 2023/24 Tampa Bay Bucs, where they are widely written off but if you look at the list there are still a lot of talented players.

The most important of them is the returning Tom Lynch. Since Lynch joined Richmond in 2019, the Tigers are 53-3-29 with him in the lineup. When he kicks 3 or more, Richmond is 30-3-8.

When Lynch plays and plays well, Richmond wins.
The nerds will say correlation does not equal causation. But I’d tell the nerds to get stuffed and watch the games. Richmond is better with Lynch.
After a foot injury, Lynch has started running again and his arms still look terrific in the rain, so we’re off to a good start.

Beyond Lynch, there’s still Vlastuin, Prestia, Baker, Taranto, Short, Rioli, Balta, Hopper, Nankervis, etc. There are still good, experienced players on the list just like GWS had.

But it’s not only them. Some younger players should be able to fill in the margins and spike the enthusiasm of the older heads.

Players like Juddy Clarke, Tyler Sonsie, Tylar Young and even Maurice Rioli may be able to give Richmond that GWS-style spark. The biggest question among the youth of the club is Josh Gibcus. If he’s back fit after shooting goat blood into his hamstring (or whatever they did), and plays as well as he did in his first year, Richmond’s backline (or forward line) should be shored up enough to be a legitimately formidable team.

The question, really, is game style.

Where everyone is trying to get a Richmond type of game going, Richmond went the other way and hired a Melbourne coach. I have no idea whether Adem Yze will be a good coach who tries to keep the Tigers playing a similar style, or whether he will bring Melbourne’s specific form of dysfunction to Richmond. A smaller man would make a Ben Cousins pending time in the offseason at Richmond/Clayton Oliver joke here, but I am not that man.

What I do know about Yze is that he was roundly hailed by journos as a ‘great hire’ which, to me, typically means he was an open source and not much more. What worries me, though, are his plans for the future.

Noah Balta is not a forward. Someone should scream that in his ear.

Maybe play it on a loop like it’s the Richmond theme song at an Adelaide camp.
Playing him forward is like having Sydney Sweeney play an ugly girl. It doesn’t make sense.

He doesn’t understand what to do.
Notwithstanding that, the most likely to pull a GWS in 2024, in my view, is pretty clearly Richmond

sydney-balta-1024x576.jpg
Who wrote this?
 
Ask Chris Fagan about wingers. He feels that's where Collingwood had the wood on his team in the 2023 GF. Sidebottom, Daicos, Markov and one or two others burned Brissie too many times on the day.

If speed and smarts are the meta, then Collingwood has it all the right places - on the wings.

I look at the wings named in our "probable" Round 1 side by fox footy - Thomson Dow and Jack Ross. Dow isn't a winger but who else could we name there? McIntosh? Who knows if Pickett's off-field commitments will have him ready?

IMO we have a sprinkling of speed but in places where it won't hurt the oppo as much. We need speed on those wings and we don't have it.

There's a solid core in this squad but I feel we're in for a tough year. Too raw and flaky down back now that Rance, Astbury and Balta are out of there and Grimes is cooked.

Too raw and incohesive up forward where a lack of system will be further exposed by Jack's retirement.

Too stodgy and one-paced through the midfield. And as noted, no wing-burners.

14-18 finish looming but I am looking forward to around half a dozen younger players showing their wares.
 
Ask Chris Fagan about wingers. He feels that's where Collingwood had the wood on his team in the 2023 GF. Sidebottom, Daicos, Markov and one or two others burned Brissie too many times on the day.

If speed and smarts are the meta, then Collingwood has it all the right places - on the wings.

I look at the wings named in our "probable" Round 1 side by fox footy - Thomson Dow and Jack Ross. Dow isn't a winger but who else could we name there? McIntosh? Who knows if Pickett's off-field commitments will have him ready?

IMO we have a sprinkling of speed but in places where it won't hurt the oppo as much. We need speed on those wings and we don't have it.

There's a solid core in this squad but I feel we're in for a tough year. Too raw and flaky down back now that Rance, Astbury and Balta are out of there and Grimes is cooked.

Too raw and incohesive up forward where a lack of system will be further exposed by Jack's retirement.

Too stodgy and one-paced through the midfield. And as noted, no wing-burners.

14-18 finish looming but I am looking forward to around half a dozen younger players showing their wares.
Banks should be one of the wingman. Clarke could be another.
 
Ask Chris Fagan about wingers. He feels that's where Collingwood had the wood on his team in the 2023 GF. Sidebottom, Daicos, Markov and one or two others burned Brissie too many times on the day.

If speed and smarts are the meta, then Collingwood has it all the right places - on the wings.

I look at the wings named in our "probable" Round 1 side by fox footy - Thomson Dow and Jack Ross. Dow isn't a winger but who else could we name there? McIntosh? Who knows if Pickett's off-field commitments will have him ready?

IMO we have a sprinkling of speed but in places where it won't hurt the oppo as much. We need speed on those wings and we don't have it.

There's a solid core in this squad but I feel we're in for a tough year. Too raw and flaky down back now that Rance, Astbury and Balta are out of there and Grimes is cooked.

Too raw and incohesive up forward where a lack of system will be further exposed by Jack's retirement.

Too stodgy and one-paced through the midfield. And as noted, no wing-burners.

14-18 finish looming but I am looking forward to around half a dozen younger players showing their wares.

As it stands right now your assessment is correct

But what if the Backline gels? What if Lynch plays all games and the forward line functions as required? What if Hopper improves to his best and younger guys like Dow, Sonsie and Mcauliffe reach potential?

Yes a lot of what ifs but that is the beauty of 2024 for us. We either click and have a great year or wallow at the bottom of the ladder and then have a fist full of high draft picks to play with and make improvements to the list

Looking forward to it all unfolding
 
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Starting to really feel like we are going to smash Dimma’s new little toys..
 
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Banks should be one of the wingman. Clarke could be another.
Banks has speed and a boot when under no pressure, but lacks physicality and is still some way off it.
Judson even more so.
They may get there eventually, but need another few pre-seasons at least.
 
Least hyped I have ever been for a season. Footy might not be the actual reason but nonetheless, I'm not feeling it 😕
 
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I couldn’t give a stuff about the AFL’s faux opening to the season. I’m more interested in seeing what happens when the season actually starts, and even then I’m really looking to see how Yze can develop the team. I think it’ll be a few years before the group has sorted itself out and can realistically contend.
 
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For the Tigers or footy in general
Footy in general. Think I hit my tipping point of rule changes and complete disregard for fans, loaded fixturing, arc technology, umpiring standards, jobs for the boys...etc. The list is long. AFL HQ have slowly killed my enjoyment of footy.

Still love the Tiges. Hope yze dominates and Shai wins Norm Smith
 
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How can you not be excited for the tigs this year? New coach, tweaked game plan, cubs, injury returns, superstars in new positions etc. I haven't been this excited since Nason was running around.
 
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I am pumped for this year. We have been spoiled as fans for a long time now and am looking forward to seeing some change around the club. New game plans, new positions, new youth. I am most looking forward to going back to not expecting to win as a fan. It has been a great ride, and a great feeling knowing in the back of my mind we could pretty much always win on a good day. But winning isnt the only reason we follow as fans, or the saints wouldnt have a supporter base. I still think anything is possible with our list and with a bit of luck we can turn some heads! But without the looming expectations I can enjoy watching the roots of the Yze era form branches no matter what happens and there is still potential to bear fruit! Go tiges
 
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Well, not having seen the praccy match against the Pies and reading some of the match comments, we might as well start tanking before Round 0.

Half the team is over the hill, the kids are duds, and we're guaranteed a bottom two finish.

Any bets for the first call for Yze's head? Round 6?