-
IMPORTANT // Please look after your loved ones, yourself and be kind to others. If you are feeling that the world is too hard to handle there is always help - I implore you not to hesitate in contacting one of these wonderful organisations Lifeline and Beyond Blue ... and I'm sure reaching out to our PRE community we will find a way to help. T.
PUNT ROAD END | Richmond Tigers Forum
I have been absent from posting on the forum for quite a while, but believe me, I’ve bled out the despair of loss after loss more than I can ever remember this season. Tough times aren’t a new phenomenon for us Tiger fans, but I honestly can’t describe the feeling of hopelessness I felt after the Geelong game. Or for that matter the anger I’ve felt at how often early leads and winning positions have been frittered away by skill errors and turnovers. Steeling myself in the knowledge of copping yet another verbal hiding over my team from workmates, family and friends (many of them revelling in the success of the Cats and the Bombers this year) has been tough too, but that’s just part of supporting your side with total commitment.
Just like the rest of us, I’m sure that Terry Wallace and Greg Miller would be the first to tell you that they have experienced that feeling of true and utter hopelessness at several times this season. Yes, injuries to key players have hurt – the loss of the skills and class of Brown and Coughlan, combined with the on-field presence and experience of Simmonds – but it has been within the ranks of the 50+ games players where we have felt the crunch, the so-called “experienced” guys who are there to not only win games off their own boot but to also show the youngsters the way that it’s done. There’s no need to mention names as it’s all been done to death in the hundreds of pages of posts that we have all trawled through on this forum that relate to this player and that.
It would be easy to just crawl up in a ball and say “this is all too hard.” But we don’t work like that. We true Tigers - the one’s that bleed black and yellow – keep coming back for me. So, being a true “brightsider”, I’ve got to thinking that Wallace and Miller must be built along the same lines as the rest of us. They’ve felt the pain, but - unlike most of us - they are in position to do something about it. And, with that in mind, I would be staggered if there are not several off those “senior” player’s names on the Wallace/Miller “for your eyes only” whiteboard that have a big red line through them that spells action as at season’s end.
“Great!”, we all chorus in unison in reaction to that, but here’s where the problem begins. Because it’s not a case of just replacing the old hands with kids, kids and more kids. Experience counts for a lot in modern AFL, as does body size and endurance. Our “tiger cubs” are a pretty impressive bunch, with several there that look destined for long and successful careers. But they need time. And we don’t seem to be willing to give them that. We want an instant Chris Judd, Nathan Buckley, Nick Riewoldt or James Hird (or Royce Hart, Kevin Bartlett, Geoff Raines or Michael Roach to go back to another era)> But don’t we all realise that players like those mentioned are the exception rather than the rule? So how about we accept it and understand that the group we have now look pretty darn good. They’ll make plenty of mistakes as they learn the caper, but I for one am very bullish on the fact that they can (and will!) lead us to the promised land.
We are all passionate about our team, so yes, let’s plead our case for what we think needs to be done - that’s what PRE is for. Personally, I’d have to say that taking a couple of young guns who can get the ball and use it well at the top end of the draft would be a place to start. Complementing this with some aggressive hard bodies at the bottom end of the draft (and rookie draft) - not necessarily 18/19 y.o. kids - wouldn’t hurt our future chances of future success either!
If it means cutting/trading hard before the draft or pushing aggressively for some uncontracted guys come PSD time, well just go for it!
And as for the ones we missed out on (Buddy or Pav for example), well that’s history – let’s work with what we’ve got, move on the old and unwanted and bring in the new blood. Sooner or later it’ll all click – just look at the Cats and how they are going this season. Hopefully, for all our sakes it’s sooner rather than later!
Thanks for reading my opinions……………..
Just like the rest of us, I’m sure that Terry Wallace and Greg Miller would be the first to tell you that they have experienced that feeling of true and utter hopelessness at several times this season. Yes, injuries to key players have hurt – the loss of the skills and class of Brown and Coughlan, combined with the on-field presence and experience of Simmonds – but it has been within the ranks of the 50+ games players where we have felt the crunch, the so-called “experienced” guys who are there to not only win games off their own boot but to also show the youngsters the way that it’s done. There’s no need to mention names as it’s all been done to death in the hundreds of pages of posts that we have all trawled through on this forum that relate to this player and that.
It would be easy to just crawl up in a ball and say “this is all too hard.” But we don’t work like that. We true Tigers - the one’s that bleed black and yellow – keep coming back for me. So, being a true “brightsider”, I’ve got to thinking that Wallace and Miller must be built along the same lines as the rest of us. They’ve felt the pain, but - unlike most of us - they are in position to do something about it. And, with that in mind, I would be staggered if there are not several off those “senior” player’s names on the Wallace/Miller “for your eyes only” whiteboard that have a big red line through them that spells action as at season’s end.
“Great!”, we all chorus in unison in reaction to that, but here’s where the problem begins. Because it’s not a case of just replacing the old hands with kids, kids and more kids. Experience counts for a lot in modern AFL, as does body size and endurance. Our “tiger cubs” are a pretty impressive bunch, with several there that look destined for long and successful careers. But they need time. And we don’t seem to be willing to give them that. We want an instant Chris Judd, Nathan Buckley, Nick Riewoldt or James Hird (or Royce Hart, Kevin Bartlett, Geoff Raines or Michael Roach to go back to another era)> But don’t we all realise that players like those mentioned are the exception rather than the rule? So how about we accept it and understand that the group we have now look pretty darn good. They’ll make plenty of mistakes as they learn the caper, but I for one am very bullish on the fact that they can (and will!) lead us to the promised land.
We are all passionate about our team, so yes, let’s plead our case for what we think needs to be done - that’s what PRE is for. Personally, I’d have to say that taking a couple of young guns who can get the ball and use it well at the top end of the draft would be a place to start. Complementing this with some aggressive hard bodies at the bottom end of the draft (and rookie draft) - not necessarily 18/19 y.o. kids - wouldn’t hurt our future chances of future success either!
If it means cutting/trading hard before the draft or pushing aggressively for some uncontracted guys come PSD time, well just go for it!
And as for the ones we missed out on (Buddy or Pav for example), well that’s history – let’s work with what we’ve got, move on the old and unwanted and bring in the new blood. Sooner or later it’ll all click – just look at the Cats and how they are going this season. Hopefully, for all our sakes it’s sooner rather than later!
Thanks for reading my opinions……………..