What is Neil Balme thinking?

[Smoking Aces]

I guess reading through all the posts is a little too much to ask for many who make comments on this site and clearly I'm not part of the "PRE Club" and that's fine by me. I'm pleased the club took the Martin suspension to the AFL and had it reduced. That is quite a rare thing for the club to do; take on the AFL.

I'm pleased that Balme said after the appeal, "He's just got to take a breath. He's a very, very good player. He gets the treatment because that's what he is, so he's just got to go past it and we need to help him a bit with it." And the coaches need to do something much more pro-active with Martin and while a few here say the other players need to fly the flag for Martin I say Martin needs to fly the bloody flag for his team mates and the club. His down in the mouth, lack luster performances of late cannot be healthy for his team mates or the current situation the team finds itself in. Will Hardwick continue playing a player who appears to disappear during the game in the manner Martin does?

We got a glimpse of what Balme is thinking after the appeal and it does shine a light on tramtracks Hardwick. More of the same by the coach and the selectors won't cut it I would have thought.

You are surely not suggesting Martin gets dropped?

 

[DuD_Delist]

This subject has got “over-reacting”, “take your best players out of any side through injury” and of course “best seasons in 30 years” etc. What is evident is the frail mindset of the Tiger players which is repetitive and cancerous among the group.

A demolition in the PL, a pre-season (or should it be called a summer of love) that lacked intensity and one wonders what was learnt from that PL demolition.

Maybe the coach’s need a bomb under their arses and Hardwick needs to let a few sparks fly in the changing room but I doubt he’s capable. Maybe it’s as Tim Notke said, “Hard work beats talent when talent doesn’t work hard.” Because I don’t see our “talent” working hard enough or being held accountable for not doing much as shown by a first gamer against GWS who worked hard and tough and made an impact.

Can Balme make a difference? Time will tell.

The Dimma hatred is strong in this one.

 

[Tigerdangerous]

You are surely not suggesting Martin gets dropped?

A good question to be sure. He has a week of forced leave which gives him some time to reflect upon his performances of late and his mind set. This could go many ways including a request for some time out by Martin himself or the coach deciding the player needs time out? Something needs to be done and quickly to have Martin back to his competitive best.

The side despite all the injuries needs every available player selected to play giving 100% to the best of their ability. We all know that’s not happening and at AFL level with the opposition smelling blood, not giving 100% is unacceptable.

Let’s see what Hardwick can pull out of his limited bag of tricks to turn this around. As I’ve mentioned in an earlier post, 2017 is a long time ago and he is facing a huge coaching challenge; perhaps the most difficult of his 10 years at Richmond.

 

[DuD_Delist]

There’s a lot of knee jerk comments to my post with some even predicting the response of Balme (or should I call him Neil, adds a certain touch of authority using a first name) to our situation that has been brewing for more months than people care to admit to.

I understand your frustration but rather than giving smart arse comments you might consider how the Head of the Richmond Football Department “might” respond to his head coach rubber stamping the appointment of a coach to his team from a failed club culture like St.Kilda? Essendon nabs a gem in Ben Rutten with premiership coaching credentials and Richmond does the exact opposite to replace him?????

You might also comment on “tramtracks Hardwicks” inability to develop players and persists with proven failures at AFL level. I hope Balme is!

You might also like to comment on our playing groups continued fragile mindset and that’s been a trademark for years.

Winning the premiership covered a lot of persistent cracks in the behaviour and performance of a number of players and our head coach in particular. Let’s see how strong our culture of “enjoying yourself and your football” holds up in 2019. Let’s see how well Hardwick responds and let’s hope Balme has a Plan B up his sleeve because we all know Hardwick doesn’t.

Gee wiz,Your profound expertise in coaching and admin is wasted on the keyboard.Perhaps a stroll into balme's office to set him straight might be on the cards.lol

 

[Harry]

What are our odds for the flag? Reckon I'll wait a few more weeks.

 

[Baloo]

What are our odds for the flag? Reckon I'll wait a few more weeks.

A lot lower than they were until about midseason 2017

 

[Ian4]

I'm pleased the club took the Martin suspension to the AFL and had it reduced. That is quite a rare thing for the club to do; take on the AFL.

I'm pleased that Balme said after the appeal, "He's just got to take a breath. He's a very, very good player. He gets the treatment because that's what he is, so he's just got to go past it and we need to help him a bit with it." And the coaches need to do something much more pro-active with Martin and while a few here say the other players need to fly the flag for Martin I say Martin needs to fly the bloody flag for his team mates and the club. His down in the mouth, lack luster performances of late cannot be healthy for his team mates or the current situation the team finds itself in. Will Hardwick continue playing a player who appears to disappear during the game in the manner Martin does?

I've only read the last couple of pages but I'm not sure why Tigerdangerous is copping criticsm. Richmond is just about the most AFL sycophantic club going around and never take them on. Dusty does need a rocket shoved up him and i hope the weekend off makes him self reflect somewhat and is ready to smash Sydney next week. the team also needs a rocket up them for not protecting Dusty. And Dimma does have a limited bag of tricks.

 

[tigerman]

Reckon we were positive on Saturday. Some have said we're back to 2016, but there's no comparison. Players are having a go and making mistakes, and there will be more of the same this week.

We were the third-youngest side of the round.

AvAge Cb Diff R
-----------------
24.02 GC -0.26 W
24.29 WB +0.26 L
24.36 Ri -1.31 L
24.55 St -0.29 L
24.77 Me -0.53 L
24.79 Ca -0.09 L
24.85 Fr +0.29 W
24.88 Sy +0.09 W
25.14 Br -0.05 W
25.18 PA +0.05 L
25.30 Es +0.53 W
25.67 GWS +1.31 W
25.73 Ha -0.10 W
25.84 NM +0.10 L
26.06 Ge -0.24 W
26.24 Co -0.04 L
26.27 WC +0.04 W
26.29 Ad +0.23 L

24.36 is hardly a team of babies, and a certain level of competence and competitiveness should be expected. But the fact is that we were the only team at a significant development disadvantage for the weekend, and I don't see a lot changing against Port.

Thanks for those stats LTRTR.

Would i be right in saying that we were also the smallest side for the 3rd week in a row?

 

[CarnTheTiges]

While the injuries are concerning, what is also worrying are the disposal errors, decision making and lack of pressure. This was happening pre season as well, before we copped injuries and suspensions.

 

[HeadandShin]

I've only read the last couple of pages but I'm not sure why Tigerdangerous is copping criticsm. Richmond is just about the most AFL sycophantic club going around and never take them on. Dusty does need a rocket shoved up him and i hope the weekend off makes him self reflect somewhat and is ready to smash Sydney next week. the team also needs a rocket up them for not protecting Dusty. And Dimma does have a limited bag of tricks.

x2. I think TD raises very good (and at the very least, arguable) points, and am surprised at the sarcasm in response.

I wouldn't drop Dusty (yet), but he needs to be challenged on his games to date. He was a liability against Collingwood. And I hope Dimma had words with him and Grimes, and warns the other players ahead of the next match. With the injuries we're having, it's stupid and irresponsible to get yourself suspended (on top of being thuggish to hit people).

 

[LeeToRainesToRoach]

Thanks for those stats LTRTR.

Would i be right in saying that we were also the smallest side for the 3rd week in a row?

We've been 17th, 17th and 18th for height (Essendon was 18th, 18th and 17th).

 

[stephen.cantwell]

Balmey leaving the tribunal was asked about the treatment Dusty has been getting said that Dusty needs to deal with it. The bit i liked was he said we need to help him. I hope by that he means that Towner or Caddy is going to fly the flag, which is what all of the Richmond players should have been doing.

GORDAN LIGHTFOOT LOOK A LIKE

 

[tigerman]

We've been 17th, 17th and 18th for height (Essendon was 18th, 18th and 17th).

Thanks.

 

[DavidSSS]

Gotta laugh at all the negativity because we are 1-2 after 3 rounds.

What a joke.

The only thing I am p!ssed about is our return to the ol' chippy chippy sideways backward game plan!

ATM I'd rather see positive ball movement with errors than negative ball movement with errors. WTF is Hardwick trying to prove by stymying forward movement with stop n prop footy, AGAIN!!!

I see BEllis as a liability too. His attack on the football reminds me of Tyrone Vickery, SOFT!

Other than that I'm actually looking forward to gun players returning from injury and getting a run on in the second half of the year.

Definitely not going into HENNY PENNY mode after 3 rounds!!!

I don't think we're returning to the chippy chippy style, what I think is happening is a reaction to the way that Collingwood managed to run us ragged by chipping it around and then finding an opening. The other side of this is that our pressure has definitely reduced, especially in the forward half. Clearly the new kick out rule doesn't help here.

So I reckon that there is some adjustment to the system going on and a few things being tried. We do need to respond to the way other teams have worked out tactics to nullify our style of play, this is just logic: we win, others react, we need to adjust. So, maybe we do a few more sideways passes to find a way through opposition defences, maybe we get the pressure levels back to where they were (is that possible for 27 weeks?), most likely we adjust by doing a bit of both. I reckon a few things are being tried out to see how they go, and what better time than early in the season. Not exactly tram tracks Hardwick if that is the case, although I would agree he could do more during the game to respond to opposition tactics.

Have to agree on Ellis, he just isn't up to it at the moment. Maybe a spell in the VFL and then try him out and see if he can be an asset to our team.

DS

 

[Tigerdangerous]

x2. I think TD raises very good (and at the very least, arguable) points, and am surprised at the sarcasm in response.

I wouldn't drop Dusty (yet), but he needs to be challenged on his games to date. He was a liability against Collingwood. And I hope Dimma had words with him and Grimes, and warns the other players ahead of the next match. With the injuries we're having, it's stupid and irresponsible to get yourself suspended (on top of being thuggish to hit people).

While many individual Tiger players are discussed on this site with regards their performances (and questions have been asked on here as well about the changing of the coaching guard with new replacements), I often look at the bigger picture to get a handle on where the side stands – from the failed PL in 2018, through the summer pre-season and now after three games into the 2019 season.

Putting injuries aside for the moment (every side gets them), I have two main concerns.

1/- The whole side is underperforming with two suspensions that have added insult to injuries. I wonder if the magical 2017 season was the zenith of the Hardwick coaching era at Tigerland – and his mantra of bonding and enjoying their footy has worn thin (I still believe he has a limited bag of coaching tricks which doesn’t help the situation), and you have to wonder how well or how insufficiently he has been able to adjust the play of the Tigers to the new AFL rules.

2/- The opposition have done some serious homework on the Tigers and while that is expected, after the Collingwood debacle again, I didn’t see much coaching innovation by the coaches to counterpunch with tactics that would have nullified the Magpies and at least dented some of their confidence. That did not happen as we all know and that is just unacceptable for any professional sporting club and the wages coaches receive to coach against a wiser opposition. It’s no longer 2017 or even 2018.

We talk about Martin’s mindset but don’t forget Hardwick had a little sojourn away to – well whatever he did hasn’t paid dividends on game day so far. I think after ten long years, the 2019 season is Hardwick’s watershed year. It happens and Balme knows it. Or should.

 

[LeeToRainesToRoach]

While many individual are discussed on this site with regards their performances...

Are you a RFC member? Just wondering.

 

[Ian4]

I wouldn't drop Dusty (yet), but he needs to be challenged on his games to date. He was a liability against Collingwood. And I hope Dimma had words with him and Grimes, and warns the other players ahead of the next match. With the injuries we're having, it's stupid and irresponsible to get yourself suspended (on top of being thuggish to hit people).

agree.

 

[easy_tiger]

I today he's thinking

"I hope they have those vanilla slices at Match Committee. Its a big one. Port have beaten Melbourne and Carlton (just), who are completely crap.

We have a real opportunity to bank 4pts in the face of great diversity this Saturday and selection is critical. We need to balance experience with form, and win this *smile*"

 

[lukeanddad]

I today he's thinking

"I hope they have those vanilla slices at Match Committee. Its a big one. Port have beaten Melbourne and Carlton (just), who are completely crap.

We have a real opportunity to bank 4pts in the face of great diversity this Saturday and selection is critical. We need to balance experience with form, and win this *smile*"

Well said. Those calling for wholesale changes don't seem to read how the MC operates.

PS 'great diversity'??

 

[blx]

I'm not sure why Tigerdangerous is copping criticsm.

errrrm, cause he is carrying on like a pork chop because we sit 1 - 2?

just a wild guess...