Wow one year out of the game and people are already writing him off. AA 2014 and now not good enough.
Blitz at it’s finest.
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A moonshot project player is a better list filler than Hocking and Howlett are. Praying we make the right calls and delist those two. Even if that means doing what North did last year and trading a junk pick for a kid like Ahern who has good upside.
So where’s this criticism been for 7 years?
All I read into this is you were happy about every single element of the playing group’s culture from 2010 when Jobe took over from Llyod until last year when goddard got the captaincy.
Or
(And what I really think is happening )
you find it easier to turn on a young leader in his first year in the role, rather than face facts that these pproblems and failings have been there for 10 years, but you liked Jobe better.
In the real, grown up world, ingrained, complex problems don’t have simple, quick, silver bullet solutions.
We can all see his 2017 form (like Colyer, like Myers, like Hooker, like Howlett, like watson, like Hurley…) was well below his best. We all wish it wasn’t, but there it is. The club must have at least suspected that going in and went with him anyway. But form comes back. He’s still easily our best clearance mid.
The sooner we get him back as the first clearance mid and in some good form, the sooner we take the next step.
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People are saying our ladder results are making us the next Richmond
I say wanting to sack our first year captain on the Monday after season finished is far more richmondy than a decade of 9ths.
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I can see why, he had a poor season, and the game has evolved since his 12 months off. He is a great reader of the play and sees the game as good as anyone. But he is very slow, and hardly a clearance machine like Jobe was. I am hopeful that next year he can get back to his best. I think part of this is establishing exactly what role he will play. If its in the middle he really needs to improve his inside ball winning ability by building strength and power. His lack of pace really hurts us defensively in the middle, so if he is not winning the ball he is a liability.
He is to slow to play as an outside mid and our fwd line has plenty of good options. In the another thread I thought he could take Kelly’s spot, but on reflection I think that is likely where Goddard will play next year.
Obviously we wont trade him, but I can see why the comments have came up.
I think we have a mentally fragile playing group.
I don’t think Watson, Goddard, Zerret, McGrath or Parish are mentally fragile.
Read into that what you want.
Hurley is beaten to the ball late in the game in a match we are being flogged. He grabs at his shoulder. Would Jonathan Brown have done that?
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He’s not miles off Jobe in the clearance stakes. Hepp’s 25yo season 4.6, Jobe’s corresponding year 5.7
And Jobe’s the best clearance mid I’ve seen in red and black (I don’t go back to the 80s)
Yes, but only to check his arm hadn’t been torn off! 
I reckon we cop the ‘fine’ or tax or whatever and go big with getting development and assistant coaches.
Maybe entice a big up and comer like caracella by grooming him for the head job in a year or 2.
I like the calmness and sturdiness woosh brings but I think we can move into an era of success by having talented unstained coaches.
Maybe we should also think to tailor our game plan to our list or our list to our plan. Either way huge changes would need to be made.
What the what?
I can’t think of any modern day top player who have underperformed as badly as Jobe has in finals.
He has had 4 stinkers.
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But they aren’t going to do that are they? No one is going to do anything like that.
It’s ok to say no-one is untouchable but if we’re illustrating that with examples that just ain’t gonna happen, maybe they actually are untouchable?
Wrong on both counts.
What in any of my posts gives you the impression I think our mediocrity is recent? And that Heppell is somehow the trigger?
In fact, the entire point of what I’m saying is that this has all gone on too long and it’s time to fix it, and fix it with surgery, not bandaids.
While I agree the calls to “sack everyone” are absolutely Richmond-esque & I would not entertain trading Heppell (unless its straight swap for Kelly), not actually doing anything radical or even really different from year to year in an attempt to change your fortunes is for mine the real definition of Richmond’s mediocrity from the 80’s till now. Finally getting off their arses & trading in guys like Prestia & Caddy have made a huge difference to their side & they did this in part through trading a NO.1 draft pick who simply never really became the player they’d hoped. The easy thing would have been to hold onto Delidio & hope he found consistent match winning form (like we’ve done with so many top picks held onto for too long) but hey have turned over a big part of their list & are into a home Prelim. Its never easy but I would say thats the boldest Richmond have been for 30 years & its the type of chance I think we’ve needed to take for a long time as well. Its not easy & its never guaranteed but if we need to learn anything from the last decade & the Richmond example - doing nothing doesn’t work.
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Retired - Kelly, Watson, Stanton
Drop - J.Merrett, Howlett, , Morgan, Eades (Already)
On the Cusp - Hocking, Bird, McKernan, Long
Look at what Caracella has done to the Tigers.
I have wanted him here since his Geelong days.
We need to get him back, more than Solomon.
Also get Fletcher or Not-a-wellman in as the defensive coach.
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They traded out a 30? year old who’d missed most of a year with bung strings for picks in this year’s draft. Nothing to do with the Prestia or Caddy trades, other than cap space.
I’d almost guarantee if we traded out D Myers or Howlett for 2018 pick/s you’d call it shuffling deck chairs, and you’d be right.
That said, if we could get a future first plus third rounder for him, or any of our 29+ year olds, sign me up.
Prestia has been a very very good get.
I’m not sure I see the fuss with Caddy, what I watched was mostly forgettable except for 2 or 3 really good games. That said, he’s playing, and Lids is still broken, so it’s a win by default.
Nankervis has been the big unsung one, genuinely made 2-3 goals a game difference to them from their ruck stocks last year
They’re also getting much harder defensive run down the wings and half forward (Rioli, Lambert, Castagna, butler). All has come from internal development, but has also made a big difference and not being talked about much. They were terrible with defensive run and pressure over the last few years.
Point is they set out 4 or 5 realistic targets with realistic outcomes that coukd (hopefully) be achieved in one off season, with a solid logic to how that’d improve their side. And worked out what they could get afford to lose to get to that point.
I don’t see how “sack Heppell” is either logical, realistic or smart, and it beats me how it is meant to improve us in the short or long term.
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This is exactly why coaching at Essendon is a poison chalice.
Us Essendon people only want Essendon people to coach us.
Guaranteed if Caracella, Hird, O’Donnell or any of them had coached us to finals this year we would all be praising the 2nd coming.
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This is a grossly innaccurate statement.
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Again I agree with you on Heppell but you simply can’t compare trading Deledio with Myers & Howlett. Deledio was their vice captain, twice All Australian, twice B&F winner. As you say they got a 1st & 3rd rounder for him. We’d be lucky to get a 3rd rounder for Myers & Howlett if we offered to pay most of their salary. We have never done anything on this level other than at a pinch trading out Lovett.
Caddy’s no superstar & we’d be disappointed had we traded Hooker & was it a 1st round pick for him BUT for Richmond what he’s done is given them a competitive rotation through the midfield & he regularly kicks goals. He’s exactly what we’d be pleased if any of Morgan, Redman, Laverde or Langford became.
100% agree on Nankervis & he simply adds to my long held belief that you’d be silly to spend top picks on rucks when they are so hard to judge at 18. Wait till they mature & trade them in like Hawthorn have almost always done not to mention Geelong & now Richmond.
As for internal development, I’ve never suggested trading for anything but filling gaps created by drafting. The majority of pure numbers have to come from drafting kids & developing them but I thinks its a flow on effect that if you can add some higher end ability it allows the younger developing kids to shine brighter.
BTW, I’m certainly not suggesting Richmond are now the benchmark, just an example of them finally doing something different & atm it appears to have paid off. I think we just have to either go all out & get Kelly & Rockliffe now, make an assault while Hooker & Hurley are still influential or we should trade out both with an eye to rebuild for 2020+. I don’t believe we will do either but its what I believe we should do. Line & length drafting will not work.
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Agree, Leon Davis was worse.