Season 2017 - Richmond

Football Discussion Non Essendon Stuff
1

Richmond

Coach – Damien Hardwick

2016 –
Points For – 15th
Points Against – 15th

Top 5 Best and Fairest

  1. Dustin Martin
  2. Alex Rance
  3. Trent Cotchin
  4. Jack Reiwoldt
  5. Shaun Grigg

2016 Rising Star Noms

Daniel Rioli (Rnd 22)

Ins – Toby Nankervis, Dion Prestia, Shai Bolton, Ryan Garthwaite, Tyson Stengle, Jack Graham, Josh Caddy

Outs – Troy Chaplin, Reece McKenzie, Liam McBean, Adam Marcon, Andrew Moore, Tyrone Vickery, Brett Deledio

My Prediction

A team that most people thought would make the eight last year if only to make up the numbers but they were smashed. They looked ordinary all over the park, the coach is in his final year of contract and a lot resting on a list which in my opinion looks weaker than the year before.

There was always a concern last year that they were light on KP defenders. They are even lighter this year. Rance is obviously still there but then it drops off rapidly. Probably looking at Astbury and Grimes to cover the talls after that. They will have some good games back there but there will also be some forward lines that are going to absolutely torch them. Even looking at the small defenders and I am not sure how they are going to be able to structure up well enough to restrict scoring opportunities.

The midfield is good at the top end. Prestia, Martin and Cotchin are a good mix. I don’t know what to expect from Caddy. His best is great, it just doesnt happen nearly often enough. Throw in Ellis, Grigg and Miles and they are a reasonable midfield. Not the best but certainly a long way from the worst. They could probably use a little more outside run… actually, they could probably use Brett Deledio.

The rucks are a shambles. Maric is cooked, Nankervis is a way off and no team should have Hampson as a number one ruck. Their midfield is going to spend a lot of time trying to shark the taps of the opposition ruck.

The forward lines looks ok at best and just like the backline they are lacking depth around the talls. I am not sure the fascination with playing Reiwoldt further up the ground. He needs to be played out of the goal square. Griffiths is ok. I think they over rate him as only Richmond can. Lloyd looked good last year and Rioli certainly gives them spark. All that being said, they were the 15th best forward line last year (before trading out their 3rd top goal kicker) and I dont see a massive amount of scope for that to improve as much as it needs to.

Richmond are as close to a basketcase list as you can get. They lack quality kids, they are topping up with reasonable older players. They have a solid midfield feeding a below average forward line. The backline is dependant almost solely on one player and they have terrible rucks. I can’t see Hardwick surviving past the halfway mark of the season. I think the Tigers will probably slip this year. 15-16th for mine.

1 Like
2

9th.

3

Bottom 4.

4

Sh*ttest captain in the whole competition
Front-running, pea-hearted hack.

5

They’ll be extending their 35 year rebuild by another 35 years methinks.

6

Bottom 4.
3 or 4 genuine guns won’t cover for the other 40 ■■■■ trucks on their list. Worst defence in the comp by a mile, Rance and then absolute nothing else.

7

Should be renamed the ’ pick the round dimma will be sacked by’ thread

11, btw

8

Donna sacked round 14.

Josh Caddy crying in the arms of Prestia at what a stupid move it was when the cats are 12-2 and on top of the ladder.

9
Donna sacked round 14.

Josh Caddy crying in the arms of Prestia at what a stupid move it was when the cats are 12-2 and on top of the ladder.

Caddy was ‘politely’ told to choose a club he’d like to go to. They really didn’t expect Tuohy to want to go to Geelong.

The Richmond defense isn’t the worst but it definitely is bottom two or three. Their midfield is good and still has some growth in it. Their forward line is poor as without Riewoldt (luckily for Richmond he hasn’t missed many games) they are severely thin on reliable goal scoring options.

I think Dimma will be sacked after round 17 when Richmond have lost to Brisbane at the MCG.

10

Shaun Grigg is going to play 300 games of league footy isn’t he

11

I think Collingwood have a worse defence, but only just. Rance alone is better than Collingwood’s whole defence.

12

Things you learn are teams that play on emotion often fall hardest when that emotion runs dry. The excitement of sprinting home in prior years to make finals ran dry last year and like we found out in 2015/16 once that emotion falls so does the team, you need a reliable “every week” team.

Backline - 4 : Led by Rance who once again was outstanding all year and will again be called on to stop opposition forwards but also provide run and leadership and basically everything else. He couldn’t play any better so there won’t be improvement on his end. It’ll fall to Astbury and Grimes to take on some leadership and provide some much needed help down back and realistically neither look classy enough to be able to become stars. Astbury had a good second half of the year winning a bit of ball and shutting down opposition forwards so he may be their best bet, whilst Grimes was inconsistent and needs to go from toiler to winner. He’s had injury problems which has been an excuse but he’ll be 26 soon so the time to perform is now, I think he’ll be OK but Richmond need a big year from him. Yarran’s exit hurts as he was the man to provide run which will mean Houli will again be the man to have to shoulder a majority of the drive from the backline, there’s no doubting he’s talented but if you aren’t improving you’re going backwards and Richmond need another few to give some drive as too often it’s left to Houli. Vlaustin was one they expected to deliver but instead he went backwards after a good 2015 season. It was disappointing to see him struggle so much given they hopes they had for him, he needs to work out his role for the side and contribute and not look lost and about to give up like he did many times last year. Corey Ellis maybe can take the next step, but far too often he went completely missing for entire games resulting in him being dropped for most of the last half of the year. He’s still young so it’s unfair to judge early but guys like Ellis is where they need a big lift from if they’re to salvage anything this year. Otherwise I can’t see much of any quality leftover. Batchelor is a joke and doesn’t contribute offensively and struggles defensively, he’s probably lucky Chaplin had a worse year and got sacked beforehand. McIntosh is probably one of the few that can provide drive but he also had a shocking year last year and made a lot of errors with the ball so surely they can’t rely on him to give them a boost. Developing an improved backline to support Rance will be on of their key missions this coming year because it’s definitely not finals worthy.

Midfield: 6 - It’s OK but the loss of Deledio is a blow. It’ll probably be their strength this year as they have some names capable of winning them a few games and possibly pushing them towards a cherished 9th spot finish. Martin is obviously in career best form and Cotchin is talent despite being an unworthy Brownlow winner. He wins the ball but doesn’t do much with it and just fades into the background far too often for a captain. Prestia and Caddy are good inclusions and are tough hardball winners and most importantly reliable which will be a good boost for the side. Brandan Ellis had a shocking year and is one that you can contribute to why they had such a poor year last year, the stats look nice but his contested work was poor which is why they probably brought in Prestia and Caddy. Maybe with those two Ellis can get back to his 2014/15 form and give them much needed class. Shaun Grigg was never a star but like many others took a step backwards last year, seemed to play lame and never got into the right gear and just like Ellis they can’t afford to have their senior players having consistently poor games. Miles was good for them last year, I’m not sure where he fits with Caddy and Prestia in the midfield now but if anyone deserves to keep their place after a good 2016 season it’s him. Perhaps Menadue can give them a boost but most likely it will come from the excitement machine in Shai Bolton who will inject some excitement into the midfield and a bit of pace which is lacking.

Rucks - 4 - Nankervis is a good addition in my view, he showed some good touch late in the year for Sydney and he should slot straight into prime ruck position. Hampson is handy but nothing more whilst Maric has fallen off a cliff last year and is probably luck to still be on an AFL list. Things might get ugly again if Nankervis can’t hold down a spot.

Forwardline - 4: Riewoldt is still the key target but now he’s lost some support with Vickery gone, whom whilst frustrating still contested and gave some goal kicking support so he’ll be missed. I’m not sure Griffifths ready to lead a forwardline let alone kick regular bags so I don’t see him anything other than a handy player who has the odd day out. They have a few quality smalls, Lloyd had a fantastic year going from outsider to almost first picked, contributing regular goals and stepping up when so many fell around him. Another good year from Lloyd is critical as they can ill afford even further depletion to an already weak forwardline. Rioli will be a good player but felt they probably expected a bit much from him last year, hopefully they allow him time to develop as he didn’t influence games often last year but that’s to be expected from such a young kid. Shane Edwards was one who’s absence and lack of form killed the side. Usually one of their best and most consistent he had his first poor year in a long time, he’s certainly capable of some great football but the question remains if he can recapture it. Otherwise there’s not many names that aren’t fringe players that can have any impact perhaps Lennon? Short? Conca?

Predicted Finish - 12th - 14th - I see their midfield winning them games but with just Riewoldt up forward and Rance down back it’s hard to see them making finals. I fear for their future as when I look at their kids and fringe players they don’t really generate any excitement or much hope. Their good players are already playing as well as they can, I just don’t see enough improvement.

13
Donna sacked round 14.

Josh Caddy crying in the arms of Prestia at what a stupid move it was when the cats are 12-2 and on top of the ladder.

Caddy was ‘politely’ told to choose a club he’d like to go to. They really didn’t expect Tuohy to want to go to Geelong.

The Richmond defense isn’t the worst but it definitely is bottom two or three. Their midfield is good and still has some growth in it. Their forward line is poor as without Riewoldt (luckily for Richmond he hasn’t missed many games) they are severely thin on reliable goal scoring options.

I think Dimma will be sacked after round 17 when Richmond have lost to Brisbane at the MCG.

Really? What did he get up to?

14
Donna sacked round 14.

Josh Caddy crying in the arms of Prestia at what a stupid move it was when the cats are 12-2 and on top of the ladder.

Caddy was ‘politely’ told to choose a club he’d like to go to. They really didn’t expect Tuohy to want to go to Geelong.

The Richmond defense isn’t the worst but it definitely is bottom two or three. Their midfield is good and still has some growth in it. Their forward line is poor as without Riewoldt (luckily for Richmond he hasn’t missed many games) they are severely thin on reliable goal scoring options.

I think Dimma will be sacked after round 17 when Richmond have lost to Brisbane at the MCG.

Really? What did he get up to?


He didn’t do anything wrong.

I thought it was written in an article somewhere. It’s more like the Sam Mitchell trade rather than the Jordan Lewis trade. Both parties were happy with the result.

15
Donna sacked round 14.

Josh Caddy crying in the arms of Prestia at what a stupid move it was when the cats are 12-2 and on top of the ladder.

Caddy was ‘politely’ told to choose a club he’d like to go to. They really didn’t expect Tuohy to want to go to Geelong.

The Richmond defense isn’t the worst but it definitely is bottom two or three. Their midfield is good and still has some growth in it. Their forward line is poor as without Riewoldt (luckily for Richmond he hasn’t missed many games) they are severely thin on reliable goal scoring options.

I think Dimma will be sacked after round 17 when Richmond have lost to Brisbane at the MCG.

Hoping he gets the ■■■■ after we smash them in dreamtime

16
Donna sacked round 14.

Josh Caddy crying in the arms of Prestia at what a stupid move it was when the cats are 12-2 and on top of the ladder.

Caddy was ‘politely’ told to choose a club he’d like to go to. They really didn’t expect Tuohy to want to go to Geelong.

The Richmond defense isn’t the worst but it definitely is bottom two or three. Their midfield is good and still has some growth in it. Their forward line is poor as without Riewoldt (luckily for Richmond he hasn’t missed many games) they are severely thin on reliable goal scoring options.

I think Dimma will be sacked after round 17 when Richmond have lost to Brisbane at the MCG.

Really? What did he get up to?


He didn’t do anything wrong.

I thought it was written in an article somewhere. It’s more like the Sam Mitchell trade rather than the Jordan Lewis trade. Both parties were happy with the result.

I was under the impression the Cats asked a group if they wanted to go elsewhere, caddy wasn’t one of those asked but he put his hand up and Richmond jumped. I understand they would have preferred to loose somebody else but caddy wanted to go to play with his old housemate Prestia.

17
Replace??? with Lloyd. Outside of Riewoldt, he's been their best forward for the last few years.

Woops, totally thought I’d put him in. Obviously forgot.

18

Replace??? with Lloyd.
Outside of Riewoldt, he’s been their best forward for the last few years.

19

Grimes Rance batchelor
Houli astbury vlastuin

Grigg cotchin Ellis
Hampson Martin prestia

Caddy Griffen edwards
Rioli Riewoldt Lloyd

Miles menadue Ellis Markov

That was a real struggle

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Richmond supporters worst fear: Rance gets injured. Why? Richmond will lose every game he is not in the side.