Well my hotly anticipated thread regarding the season ahead is finally here, a little later than i had expected....Claw i know u got in early with me and said we would finish in the bottom 4 but after the trading period and ALL the drafts plus some players back this year from injuries surely you would have to re-consider your thoughts on this....
Like the previous year i won’t go into each individual player for the whole list but i will mention some and where i think the club can/will improve and the players who i feel will excel or take that next step so to speak....
First off for season 09’ i have us in the range of 4-7, well if i was pressed further id say more 4th to 5th....last year i had us 8 to 11 and as much as my heart wanted us to make the 8 my head was saying perhaps we’ll just miss out which is obviously what eventuated...
MIDFIELD; Ive always said that the midfield is what can take you all the way to the top, we’ve seen it with Brisbane, the eagles, cats and now the hawks...
This is where i see Richmond improving the most its taken some years but finally i see us with a great core of quality midfielders but most importantly the depth is there too...Having at our disposal the opportunity to rotate up to 15 players through the midfield is paramount, with the majority having speed and hardness on their side.... Without being biased we would have to be in the top 3 or 4 now with our midfield group alongside the cats and hawks....The likes of Lids, Cotchin, Foley, Cousins, Coughlan, Tuck, White, Edwards and Brown will give most sides headaches with the next group still able to step in and give us input either in speed or hardness around the stoppages/clearances... Tambling, Polo, Jackson, Johnson, Connors, Collins, Hislop and Thompson...
BACKS: Even though last year we improved in some of our big man stocks notably Moore and as some would say McGuane along with Thursty these 3 proved to be a good core of talls, Jay schulz who would perhaps be more skilful than those 3 needs to realise his potential and i dare say if he doesn’t realise it by this year its adios, i rate him but he needs to add some purpose to his game and “if” he does it will only strengthen the backline as i see him and Rance as the next 2 ready to come in if god forbid one of the starting 3 key talls get injured at least theirs a couple who can come in to feel the breach...again some depth waiting in the wings...
The main concern last year was our small backs Kingy injured and lost all confidence compared to his terrific 2007 season, Raines injured pretty much the whole year left us with a hole, having McMahon to play that role was not the answer dont get me wrong he provided some excellent run and carry but at the same time he wouldn’t man up nor apply pressure to his opponent...Raines or King play hard yes disposal at times can leave a lot to be desired but id take that over someone not manning up nor applying pressure around the packs....So one of those 2 will take one of those small man spots and the experiment of Tambling on the half back flank late last year was a good one in my eyes, the bling needs to see whats in front of him basically running fwd into space....he’s good in the air and can play tight unlike McMahon, McMahon on the wing would be great as he knows only one way run and carry, will give the fwds plenty of opportunities with the ball coming in quick..
Bling and raines or maybe a white could give us a good mix of run and hardness which we didn’t really have in 2008, expect to see these guys more so Raines and Bling playing off half back....as mentioned with the midfield well maybe not as much but we do have some rotation available now if players get injured, bling, raines, king, white and newman and maybe 1 or 2 others can fill this breach but only 2 or 3 from this lot will play small back with bling, raines and newy the expected...
FORWARD LINE: strangely enough this was one area i was a little concerned with some months ago, im feeling a little at ease now having seen some training and the intra club....Jack Riewoldt will be a star he’s only entering his 3rd year but his upper body looks a hell of a lot bigger than last year and also looks leaner, took some strong marks..
Nahas will play RD 1 if he everything goes to plan, Hislop looked good too playing in the fwd line at vic park the other week that’s 2 that weren’t there last year, both like to tackle and can apply extreme pressure to keep the ball in....you also have the class of Brown and Morton and id also put Connors in that group too as he has some serious tricks....Richo and Deledio (rotating) in the FWD line of course will add that “hard” to match up on for opposition coaches....i do believe we need another 2 to step up meaning talls, i anoint Cleve Hughes as one of them, has the body size and we all know he can take a grab and kick pretty straight he just needs to exert more in the contest if he can do that meaning second efforts too it will go a long way to giving the forward line many options...The other one could well come from either of Jay, Patto, Post or even Bowden who proved he could kick some goals when the opportunity arose for him to play FWD last year...
RUCKS: Umm well apart from Simmo who can mix it up with the best in the land we dont have much chop here, i know some have said patto ( i cant see it, has a good motor but gets smashed in most contests) angus again still very inexperienced and as much as i would like for him to take the next step im not holding my breath, hope he proves me wrong, he’s a big lad isn’t he.....the rest Putt, Vickery and Browne just to young and still building their bodies...This position is a major concern at present we have some real depth there but i say this more in the next 2 to 3 years when these guys put on genuine size and gain some experience....
WHO WILL TAKE THE NEXT STEP?
Players who i feel will take that next step to be regulars in the team are Polo and Hughes, these 2 are my main ones and i think Edwards and Connors are ready to take on more responsibility. Rance and Post give us that extra flexibility to play fwd or back and its this that excites me most about these 2...
Injured Players: Coughlan, Raines, King and a guy called Cousins gives us run & carry and genuine hardness which we didn’t get from this group last year, cogs and cuz will give us min 40 possessions a game and they are both excellent at the stoppages, cousin’s disposal is in the elite category....Raines looks in super nick and will add to the small mans stocks in the backline, Kingy well ul never die wondering with this guy hates to lose a contest but needs to get his disposal right to stay in the mix...
LADDER POSITION AND GAMES WON?
So ive said i think we’ll finish around 4th or 5th and to say how many games we’ll win well i normally dont like to answer this but hey ill give it a stab, about 14 or 15 games...
Well its finals or bust?
So its simple do you “really believe” we’ll play finals or do u feel its all hype and will once again miss....
Im sure theres many who'll give their thoughts to what ive posted above whether in agreeance or not...
Like the previous year i won’t go into each individual player for the whole list but i will mention some and where i think the club can/will improve and the players who i feel will excel or take that next step so to speak....
First off for season 09’ i have us in the range of 4-7, well if i was pressed further id say more 4th to 5th....last year i had us 8 to 11 and as much as my heart wanted us to make the 8 my head was saying perhaps we’ll just miss out which is obviously what eventuated...
MIDFIELD; Ive always said that the midfield is what can take you all the way to the top, we’ve seen it with Brisbane, the eagles, cats and now the hawks...
This is where i see Richmond improving the most its taken some years but finally i see us with a great core of quality midfielders but most importantly the depth is there too...Having at our disposal the opportunity to rotate up to 15 players through the midfield is paramount, with the majority having speed and hardness on their side.... Without being biased we would have to be in the top 3 or 4 now with our midfield group alongside the cats and hawks....The likes of Lids, Cotchin, Foley, Cousins, Coughlan, Tuck, White, Edwards and Brown will give most sides headaches with the next group still able to step in and give us input either in speed or hardness around the stoppages/clearances... Tambling, Polo, Jackson, Johnson, Connors, Collins, Hislop and Thompson...
BACKS: Even though last year we improved in some of our big man stocks notably Moore and as some would say McGuane along with Thursty these 3 proved to be a good core of talls, Jay schulz who would perhaps be more skilful than those 3 needs to realise his potential and i dare say if he doesn’t realise it by this year its adios, i rate him but he needs to add some purpose to his game and “if” he does it will only strengthen the backline as i see him and Rance as the next 2 ready to come in if god forbid one of the starting 3 key talls get injured at least theirs a couple who can come in to feel the breach...again some depth waiting in the wings...
The main concern last year was our small backs Kingy injured and lost all confidence compared to his terrific 2007 season, Raines injured pretty much the whole year left us with a hole, having McMahon to play that role was not the answer dont get me wrong he provided some excellent run and carry but at the same time he wouldn’t man up nor apply pressure to his opponent...Raines or King play hard yes disposal at times can leave a lot to be desired but id take that over someone not manning up nor applying pressure around the packs....So one of those 2 will take one of those small man spots and the experiment of Tambling on the half back flank late last year was a good one in my eyes, the bling needs to see whats in front of him basically running fwd into space....he’s good in the air and can play tight unlike McMahon, McMahon on the wing would be great as he knows only one way run and carry, will give the fwds plenty of opportunities with the ball coming in quick..
Bling and raines or maybe a white could give us a good mix of run and hardness which we didn’t really have in 2008, expect to see these guys more so Raines and Bling playing off half back....as mentioned with the midfield well maybe not as much but we do have some rotation available now if players get injured, bling, raines, king, white and newman and maybe 1 or 2 others can fill this breach but only 2 or 3 from this lot will play small back with bling, raines and newy the expected...
FORWARD LINE: strangely enough this was one area i was a little concerned with some months ago, im feeling a little at ease now having seen some training and the intra club....Jack Riewoldt will be a star he’s only entering his 3rd year but his upper body looks a hell of a lot bigger than last year and also looks leaner, took some strong marks..
Nahas will play RD 1 if he everything goes to plan, Hislop looked good too playing in the fwd line at vic park the other week that’s 2 that weren’t there last year, both like to tackle and can apply extreme pressure to keep the ball in....you also have the class of Brown and Morton and id also put Connors in that group too as he has some serious tricks....Richo and Deledio (rotating) in the FWD line of course will add that “hard” to match up on for opposition coaches....i do believe we need another 2 to step up meaning talls, i anoint Cleve Hughes as one of them, has the body size and we all know he can take a grab and kick pretty straight he just needs to exert more in the contest if he can do that meaning second efforts too it will go a long way to giving the forward line many options...The other one could well come from either of Jay, Patto, Post or even Bowden who proved he could kick some goals when the opportunity arose for him to play FWD last year...
RUCKS: Umm well apart from Simmo who can mix it up with the best in the land we dont have much chop here, i know some have said patto ( i cant see it, has a good motor but gets smashed in most contests) angus again still very inexperienced and as much as i would like for him to take the next step im not holding my breath, hope he proves me wrong, he’s a big lad isn’t he.....the rest Putt, Vickery and Browne just to young and still building their bodies...This position is a major concern at present we have some real depth there but i say this more in the next 2 to 3 years when these guys put on genuine size and gain some experience....
WHO WILL TAKE THE NEXT STEP?
Players who i feel will take that next step to be regulars in the team are Polo and Hughes, these 2 are my main ones and i think Edwards and Connors are ready to take on more responsibility. Rance and Post give us that extra flexibility to play fwd or back and its this that excites me most about these 2...
Injured Players: Coughlan, Raines, King and a guy called Cousins gives us run & carry and genuine hardness which we didn’t get from this group last year, cogs and cuz will give us min 40 possessions a game and they are both excellent at the stoppages, cousin’s disposal is in the elite category....Raines looks in super nick and will add to the small mans stocks in the backline, Kingy well ul never die wondering with this guy hates to lose a contest but needs to get his disposal right to stay in the mix...
LADDER POSITION AND GAMES WON?
So ive said i think we’ll finish around 4th or 5th and to say how many games we’ll win well i normally dont like to answer this but hey ill give it a stab, about 14 or 15 games...
Well its finals or bust?
So its simple do you “really believe” we’ll play finals or do u feel its all hype and will once again miss....
Im sure theres many who'll give their thoughts to what ive posted above whether in agreeance or not...
