PUNT ROAD END | Richmond Tigers Forum

To me, its quite clear and simple, the entire playing list with the exception of around half a dozen players, DO NOT have the MENTAL STRENGTH to play AFL football.

In fact to be honest, Richmond teams over the past 2 decades plus fall into this category.

We've tried the old and true to form method "sack the bloody coach", "change football department staff" etc etc etc. To date in 27 odd years, none of it has worked period.

Finals football for this club is nothing more than a PIPE DREAM.

Look at the English Cricket Team when they play Australia, they virtually fall over the moment the Australian's arrive at the ground to play, in the last 19 years. Granted 2005 was an exception, England really took on the task, they did extra training, planning, the works, they worked their collective arses off under their then coach. WHY, they were sick and tired of being used as Whipping Boys by Australia.

Australia back in 2005, were carrying injuries, had players too old to do what they'd done previous Ashes, appeared ho hum and disinterested, plus the odd disciplinary issue (Andrew Symonds) as well. Even with all of the above, it was only one or two ball's that got England across the line and they played their guts out to get it, if Australia had played only half decently and consistently, they would have won, no matter how hard England tried.

Flash Forward to the 2007 Ashes Tour here Australia. Aussie Coach John Buchanan, organises a Special Camp for the entire Australian Ashes Squad. Shane Warne speaks out reckons it a lot of crap etc etc, but he goes and does it he has to. The Special Camp was run for 5 days by members of Australia's elite Special Air Services (SAS) unit. The players later admitted, that they'd never ever experienced anything like it, what the SAS threw at them physical and mentally, was a key preparation for what was to come, a 5-0 FLOGGING of England.

Richmond wins 8 of its last 11 games in 2008, things according to all and sundry inside the club are finally starting to look up. Cousins is signed up after a member/supporter revolt, people are starting to think, *smile* finally the Tigers have got some polish in the midfield to go with Cotchin, Coughlan, Tuck, Foley. Richardson had a pearler of a year on the Wing, came 3rd in the Brownlow and kicked goals to boot. The forward line was starting to function, whilst for the first time in a long time the defence was starting to look like it could actually stop the opposition from kicking a bag full of goals against Richmond.

Move to the finish of the 7th game of the 2009 season, Richmond has won one game and then luckily in my mind and probably a lot of people's minds. Fremantle whom Richmond flogged last season, has won 3, Melbourne has won a couple as well, leaving the Tigers pretty much firmly entrenched as BOTTOM DWELLER for 2009.

Yesterday's game, 1st quarter great stuff from Richmond, they had forward structure, they moved the ball as quickly as possible (play on) which stretched the Brisbane defenders who could not man up or double team the forwards. Result the Tigers were actually 19 points up at Quarter time.

Anyone including blind freddy, could see that Brisbane would come out really hard in the 2nd quarter, which they duly did. Immediately Brisbane started to tackle hard, man up, back up, shepherd, run hard and loose, the Richmond players body language said it all. Brisbane outscored the Tigers in that quarter, but the Tigers were still in it at Half time, if they knuckled down and did what they had to do.

3rd quarter, absolute shocker by Richmond, THEY GAVE UP, they waved the WHITE flag of surrender, Brisbane kicked more goals giving them the edge, we got a lucky goal on the 3/4 time siren thanks to a soft free kick to Simmonds.

Last quarter, Brisbane came out again hard, running hard, tackling, finding space, and the end result Richmond got nailed yet again.

Richmond players, play the game for around about 15 minutes or so. That is about the level of concentration they have as a team, they focus on all the correct things for about that amount of time then SWITCH OFF or GIVE UP. Either way, the playing list at Richmond are MENTALLY DEFICIENT, they have lost the ability to win, they panic, they're undisciplined, they don't chase, they don't run to clear space, they don't do the in and under, they kick or handball poorly, they don't look coming up field to see who is one on one or loose in the forward 50 and the list goes on.

Again it comes down to MENTAL ABILITY. Its clear cut to me that they do not have the necessary psychological means to ensure that they can handle the pressure applied to them by opposing teams. You can bet every AFL coach will be telling their players, apply some pressure to Richmond, the entire team will fold like a pack of cards, and those coaches would be right on.

So what are Richmond doing about it. Terry Wallace said post match it was patently clear that there are Richmond players who cannot handle the pressures of AFL, yet he has a playing list that he has to select 22 from each week, surely some of them can handle the pressure.

Leadership, WHAT BLOODY LEADERSHIP. Chris Newman will I've got no doubt be regretting his "relax" statement earlier this season, that is going to cost him the Captaincy and rightly so. Nathan Foley, lots of people say he's working his guts out, but he is, I haven't seen anything inspirational from Foley this season, no bursting thru the centre at clearances this year. So we've got a dud Captain and a dud Vice Captain, fantastic onfield leadership.

Does anyone have leadership in them at Richmond, YES, Matthew Richardson (injured out for 12 weeks or longer), Ben Cousin's most certainly ex WCE Skipper, Brett Delidio (possibly), Alex Rance (yes, concussion and all), Trent Cotchin again yes but he's only 18. So out of some 40 odd players/rookies, there are only around 5 players IMHO that have any sort of onfield/off field leadership ability. PRETTY SAD STATE OF AFFAIRS in my book. Richo out, Cotchin out (too young), Rance out injured and too young, that leaves Delidio and Cousins. Sack Newman and Foley right the hell now and replace them with Delidio as Skipper and Cousins as Vice Captain. If the media go ape *smile* over that, tough *smile*, the club has to act on the players and that would be a good start.

Why sack them now, why not??? Nothing being done about onfield leadership is simply not an option. Right now, Richmond need a couple of leaders who can provide some much needed flair and show off their skills. Delidio needs to stand up, being told he's skipper would force him to take his responsibilities a lot more seriously. Ben Cousins as VC, nothing more needs to be said about Ben's ability on field and off field, we've all seen it for years.

So that addresses the leadership on the field. What about the actual playing of the game on the field.

Take a lesson Richmond from Matthew Knights at Essendon and how the Essendon team is now playing the game. The game they played against Hawthorn on Friday night, brilliant. They ran, they backed up, they tackled, they took some fantastic marks, they shephered their team mates, they moved the ball up the middle FAST and they kicked goals. They put last years premiership team to shame. If Essendon play like that against us in a couple of weeks, they'll do us in by 100 points at least.

The lesson is clearly there, Richmond players must take risks, they must move the ball fast, they must tackle, they must back each other up, they must be disciplined, they must kick and handball to targets correctly, they must make the right on field decisions in order to win the game.

Problem is, they don't do any of the above, they have become a completely beaten rabble of a team and playing list.

Which leads me to the question of just what is the Richmond Sports Psychologist (22 years experience, AIS etc) doing about this farcial situation. From what I can see by what the players are displaying NOT BLOODY MUCH, so why is he still at Richmond being paid a handsome salary for producing *smile* soft weak in the mind players.

SACK THE SPORTS PSYCHOLOGIST NOW. I'm sure Richmond could find another suitably qualified Sports Psychologist, one who is thinking a bit about how to sort out this mental mess that the Richmond playing group have become.

To me the solution is really quite simply. Players at end of season only get 4 weeks off, they're told that they must maintain their current fitness level, no slacking off hitting the *smile* or pizza's. Come 1 October 2009, they attend a Special Camp as well, the entire playing list, the current coaches and football department staff and the RFC Board of Management. The players are then put thru a series of extremely tough physical and mental exercises over a time period of at least 10 days. No doubt the players will *smile* moan and carry on about losing their extra 4 week break but that is just plain tough luck. The players at Richmond are paid to win games, something that hardly any of them seem to be able to do, so you're at the camp son to see if its worth the clubs money and resources in retaining you for 2010 and beyond.

The camp should (no it will identify) those who have got the necessary mental toughness and those who have not. It doesn't not matter a dam if a guy can kick the ball 60 metres down the throat of another RFC player, if that player has not got the necessary mental toughness in him, HE'S GONE. Why, he might be able to do all the training drills down pat, but come game day, he's a shot bird because game day is pressure day, training drills are not that pressurised, so he won't be able to replicate what he does on the training track out on the ground, when its so badly needed.

To be honest I seriously doubt whether this current playing list can WIN any of the remaining games this season. That is telling. Its telling because of the way the playing list play the game. Its telling because clearly the coaching is not up to the accepted AFL standard, its telling because the football department including the Sports Psychologist seem to have little or no idea of how to address any of these pressing issues now, even by taking simple steps that can be done starting today and ongoing thru the week.

For all the hopes and aspirations that many of the Richmond faithful had that finally in 2009, finals football was a go, its all come crashing down PITIFULLY HARD, in a reality check courtesy of the other AFL teams, which have clearly shown up Richmond's deficiencies not only in the players on the field but off the field as well.

Its time Gary March and his Board of Management stood up, got off their arses, called the players in, the coaches and football department staff in, and gave them collectively the BIGGEST BLUNTEST MESSAGE they can, get it together or start packing your bags for the biggest clean out that Richmond has seen in years.

Its time to get your act together Richmond Playing Group, if you cannot, will not or don't want to, then *smile* OFF and let a young player in that has more motivation have a crack instead.

What an absolute *smile* poor lot we've got down at Punt Road that are representing this once proud and feared club. The whole lot of them from Gary March down are nothing but a bloody disgrace, but they've got some time to start fixing the problems, so they'd better bloody get to it.