Another AFL Coach Under Pressure in 2008?
The Tigers went into season 2007 with great expectation but nothing eventuated and the year ended with them being extremely disappointed yet again, finishing 16 on the ladder. The endured 5 close defeats at the start of the season by when they were belted by Geelong in Round 6 by 157 points there season was all but over. Is there any chance the Tigers can turn this around in 2008?
Let’s take a look who is coming and who is going at the Richmond Football Club this year.
ADDITIONS:
Exchange period – received: Jordan McMahon (Western Bulldogs), Mitch Morton (West Coast)
Rookie elevation: Angus Graham, Jake King
NAB AFL Draft: Trent Cotchin (Northern Knights), Dean Putt (Calder Cannons), Alex Rance (Swan Districts)
DELETIONS:
Retired: Darren Gaspar (veteran – outside list), Ray Hall, Kent Kingsley, Trent Knobel
Delisted: Patrick Bowden, Brent Hartigan, Andrew Krakouer, Carl Peterson, Tas Clingan (rookie), Cam Howat (rookie)
Injuries, Injuries, Injuries ?
Some could argue that injuries to key players in Mark Coghlan, Ray Hall, Trent Knobel contributed greatly to the Tigers terrible season but even If 
those players were involved in the games the Tigers would still have lost, maybe all that would have changed would have been how much they lost by. The 2 big names to miss a large chunk of the season, Nathan Brown and Troy Simmonds were probably more influential in the Tigers losses. If those 2 can play the entire year and the 2nd and 3rd year players can step up then we should see some improvement in 2008. The Tigers coaching team have indicated that their pre season training leading into the 2007 season may have contributed to the major injuries that the club sustained and they will no doubt be looking at changing that during this pre season.
Lack of Fight
What stood out to me during the year was the Tigers lack of fight when they were being beaten. A lot of the players seemed to accept defeat too easily as if they didn’t really care what was happening which is indicated by the huge margins that they lost by. That is first thing you ever get taught as a football player, never give up, yet that’s exactly what the Tigers seemed to do in 2007. A culture that definitely has to change if they are to move forward. The fact that they had the least amount of tackles in the AFL last year indicated that they just don’t want to do the hard work when they are getting done.
The Positives
On the positive side of things youngsters Will Thurstfield, Shane Edwards and Jake King look promising and will have gained some great character building experiences during 2007 and watch for those player to try and turn the form of the Richmond Football Club around. The Ruck department is an area that the Tigers will need to work on and is another area that they finished last in last year. Nathan Foley can play and provides the Tigers with some great drive and is very good at the stoppages, he just needs a quality Ruckman to work with and with a bit of luck Simmonds can stay on the park and feed the little fella with some good footy. If you look at their leading possession getters in 2007 Joel Bowden was on top, mind you he doesn’t count because he just sits behind the play and gets 20 cheep touches a game, we then have Foley, Shane Tuck and Kane Johnson all very good mid fielders and averaging above 20 touches a game. I just think if they had a good ruckman that gets his hand on the ball first then these players will lift their possession rates and that is what the Tigers need. Hopefully with Mark Coghlan back in the mix he can provide them with some more drive through the middle of the ground as well but he might take 6-8 weeks to get back into it.
The Tigers forward line looks pretty good on paper with Matthew Richardson, Nathan Brown, Kayne Pettifer and Brett Deledio. Four guys that are
very capable of kicking multiple goals each if they have enough supply which they didn’t get in 2007. Richard Tambling is one player that needs to live up to expectations and one gets the feeling he is struggling with the attention of being a high draft pick. He has what the tigers really need pace and skill and if he can get more of the footy and feed these forwards then the tigers may just surprise a few this year. I think that they have drafted Jordan McMahon for that same reason and he too needs to make an impact at his new club.
Middle Tier Players need to Improve
My thoughts are that the improvement needs to come from the middle tier players, because after the top 8-10 players the side drops away very quickly and the likes of Jackson, Hyde, Tambling, Edwards, Polo and even Jay Shultz need to say, “right I am ready to play at this level and now is the time that I am going to show my team mates that I can play this game”. If this group can do that then the Tigers may have some good signs in 2008. Terry Wallace is certainly hoping so because I reckon he is under enormous pressure if the Tigers don’t show some signs of improvement this year, that for sure.
The jury is still out on that middle tier of players and whether they are up to the challenge and I just don’t think they are just yet. I think the Tigers will finish in the bottom couple again in 2008 and Wallace may just be gone along with a few others.
Ladder Position: 15
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