Tigers show Cats how to rule the jungle
April 29 2003
Richmond is the real thing and travelling well, but has one big problem, says Robert Walls.
Richmond is the only team to have won four consecutive games this season. The knockers will say, "So what? The teams they have beaten - the Bulldogs, Dockers, Saints and Hawks - have done little or nothing to suggest they are any good." Nevertheless, a win is a win and it's the way the Tigers have won that is starting to impress.
There is a hardness about this group that was lacking last year. Former Crow Kane Johnson is a gun, a genuine hard nut whose relentless attack on the ball and the opposition is inspirational. He has become the mentor for Mark Coughlan, Tim Fleming, Chris Newman and Ty Zantuck, who all hold their ground and play with plenty of grunt.
On-field leadership is also showing out. Captain Campbell gives his all, Matthew Richardson is desperately trying to be the ultimate team man, witnessed by his giving off of handballs in the most unlikely situations, and Leon Cameron and Mark Chaffey are taking on real responsibility.
Off-field leadership has been impressive, too. Some excellent additions were appointed pre-season. Greg Miller came from the Kangaroos as the new director of football. He is a full-on no-nonsense operator who calls a spade a shovel. He knows what's needed for success.
Two additions to the coaching staff are winners, too. Wayne Brittain and Paul Spargo have years of senior coaching experience between them. You need that. Too many assistant coaches have never known what it's like to be responsible as "the coach". All they have done is tutor individuals or divisions in a team. There is a big difference. Danny Frawley, an inexperienced senior coach, desperately needed experienced assistants around him. Now that he has them, he is far more controlled and stable than ever before. But all is not rosy at Tigerland.
A big problem for Richmond is how to handle its ruckman Greg Stafford. You want your big men to be aggressive, but is Stafford using too much aggression? There are many in the football world who believe Stafford is using errant elbows and knees to do that. There is an unwritten law in football circles that states, "if you live by the sword, you die by it". One gets the feeling that when Stafford's time comes - and it will come - there won't be much sympathy for him.
While the Tigers roar, the Cats struggle to get a meow. …
April 29 2003
Richmond is the real thing and travelling well, but has one big problem, says Robert Walls.
Richmond is the only team to have won four consecutive games this season. The knockers will say, "So what? The teams they have beaten - the Bulldogs, Dockers, Saints and Hawks - have done little or nothing to suggest they are any good." Nevertheless, a win is a win and it's the way the Tigers have won that is starting to impress.
There is a hardness about this group that was lacking last year. Former Crow Kane Johnson is a gun, a genuine hard nut whose relentless attack on the ball and the opposition is inspirational. He has become the mentor for Mark Coughlan, Tim Fleming, Chris Newman and Ty Zantuck, who all hold their ground and play with plenty of grunt.
On-field leadership is also showing out. Captain Campbell gives his all, Matthew Richardson is desperately trying to be the ultimate team man, witnessed by his giving off of handballs in the most unlikely situations, and Leon Cameron and Mark Chaffey are taking on real responsibility.
Off-field leadership has been impressive, too. Some excellent additions were appointed pre-season. Greg Miller came from the Kangaroos as the new director of football. He is a full-on no-nonsense operator who calls a spade a shovel. He knows what's needed for success.
Two additions to the coaching staff are winners, too. Wayne Brittain and Paul Spargo have years of senior coaching experience between them. You need that. Too many assistant coaches have never known what it's like to be responsible as "the coach". All they have done is tutor individuals or divisions in a team. There is a big difference. Danny Frawley, an inexperienced senior coach, desperately needed experienced assistants around him. Now that he has them, he is far more controlled and stable than ever before. But all is not rosy at Tigerland.
A big problem for Richmond is how to handle its ruckman Greg Stafford. You want your big men to be aggressive, but is Stafford using too much aggression? There are many in the football world who believe Stafford is using errant elbows and knees to do that. There is an unwritten law in football circles that states, "if you live by the sword, you die by it". One gets the feeling that when Stafford's time comes - and it will come - there won't be much sympathy for him.
While the Tigers roar, the Cats struggle to get a meow. …
