We spent an hour building the possibility that something could be saved from this turgid season and then let Drew Petrie and Brent Harvey run over us in 20 minutes. A day later, it's almost possible to see the humour in a team full of downhill skiers being overrun by Petrie and Harvey.
Richmond are so mentally shot that everyone knew that North would get a run on, I'd just hoped our resistance would hold out for a little more than 20 minutes but Vive la Richmond! I suppose.
The first hour was great. We were aggressive, hard at it, direct, daring and accountable. Sure it was appropriate to ask why it took us until round whatevertis to show those traits but those questions would have come in the aftermath, at the time it was nice to enjoy it while it was on offer.
Then bam. They hit back and we wilted like a flower imported from Sweden trying to see out a summer in Cairns. We've done it so many times over the last three years that it isn't surprising and it's barely disappointing.
The dearth of on field leadership indicates that after five years of building a squad we've either got nobody who can stand up when it gets tough or nobody willing to, I'm not sure which is worse. Cotchin talks a big game during week and, increasingly it seems, on the ground after the game (what on earth is left to say?) but any chance he or Lids can't get in and stop the rot while it's happening? Selwood wouldn't stand for rubbish like that happening over and over again.
The one refreshing part of last night is that it shows the playing group is just as culpable as Hardwick and that everyone in this together. Lord knows what happens between now and the end of the year but I suspect it won't be pretty.
Leading into this game the coaches did what they should have done a few weeks and swung the axe and it's impossible to point the finger at any of the blokes who came in. Miles was solid, Batchelor about as good as you can be when the ball is whizzing in your direction at a million miles an hour, Vickery will get beat up on because he's Vickery but I thought he was OK, Vlastuin played beyond his years as always and must be counting down the days until he's a free agent and Petterd was far from our worst.
The second half was that bad that it's easy to glance over just how good Dusty's last month has been. With Astbury out of the way (sigh) he must have a decent break in the B&F at the turn, which again reminds everyone that this fucking season is only half done. Shout outs also to Messrs Houli (underrated), Ellis (unassuming), Miles (unwhy hasn't he been playing?) and Dea (under utilised over the last few years).
It's easy to say that we need (another) clean out but I'm not 100% sure that's true. Like all clubs not called Hawthorn, Port or Sydney we've got some guff on our list but who from that 22 would you hand on heart say you aren't interested in being around next year? Thomas? Griffiths? Foley? Batchelor? Personally, I have no interest whatsoever in seeing Griffiths play for Richmond again. Lets find out if Elton or McBean are any good because we go back to that well. If there are any game related trigger points on Chaplin's contract then now is the time to book him for surgery but I suspect we are stuck with him for next year, at least. It's hardly like the bad old days when we were pumping games into list cloggers and I might be railing against reality but I still reckon the problem is the method and mental state of the list rather than the players themselves. I reckon we are facing something more like Renovation Rescue than The Block.
BREAKING: seems that Ty has gone and go himself suspended along with Thomas but I've still not got any wish to see Griffiths again. O'Hanlon, Helbig and Elton for Vickery, Thomas and Griffiths please.
That's not to say we aren't short on quality and it's fair to ask questions of the direction of recruitment over the last two years. By the time everyone is washed up we'll have added 14 players via the national and rookie drafts across 2012-13 of whom only Vlastuin and Lennon will play more than 50 games. That might be harsh on McDonough but he looks woefully short of conditioning for someone who's been in the system for two years and that's impacting on this ability to find time and space.
I know last year's draft was shallow but the drafting of Sam Lloyd and Nathan Gordon is more baffling by the week. Just how close did we think we were to a flag that topping up with 20 something journeymen through the main draft (not the rookie draft) was the way to go? Now the poor buggers are like a pogo stick you bought when you were a kid, they were fun for three weeks but after a little while it starts gathering dust while you wonder why on earth you bought a pogo stick.
You'd like to hope we've got the cap room to sort out a few of these issues in the coming summer through free agents, big ticket trades, the way we are tracking we might even have pick one in the pre-season draft but I'm pretty keen on seeing lots of teenagers this time around thanks Blair. No more short cuts, because that approach has lead us into a pretty dark spot.
The thing I'm not worried about is blokes who've kicked on at other clubs in recent years. Nahas and Derickx were going nowhere at Richmond and we know Nahas can produce games like last night against average teams (sigh again) but we all also know he'll go missing against clubs worth a crumpet. Good on Derickx for finding some games at Sydney but Hampson would look like Simon Madden rucking to Kennedy, Jack and that lot. White is the one that stings, but if you were willing to match a three year contract based on what he'd produced in a decade at Richmond then you are far braver than I.
It's a shame that this had to happen after another big week for the club when Richo got inducted into the Hall of Fame.
For Richmond supporters born around the same time as I, Richo is the only superstar (not claiming Cousins) that we've seen in yellow and black. During even the very worst times Richo made getting the train to the footy worthwhile. He single handedly sold memberships to a watch a team that didn't deserved to be watched. Richo deserved better than both those around him and those who coached him and, while I'm sure he had offers, he never left. It's a shame that he didn't get a chance for more team success but his personal CV stacks up against nearly anyone else from his generation. The bloke was, and still is, a star and the video played at the Hall of Fame was a perfect summary of what he meant to Richmond and what Richmond meant to him. I still deeply miss watching him. At least Rex gets it.
As a side note, if anyone can explain to me what the hell this is about then I'd love to hear from you. Email me at: seanjhross@gmail.com. Is it the 70's and early 80's where we became so obsessed with being number one that we mortgaged the future on recruits from Collingwood and lost the bet? That bidding war that we've never recovered from, is that 'our Richmond'? I'm pretty keen to know what it means to be honest. Are we already blaming the admin staff who've kept the place financially afloat for three decades?
Time to cling onto distractions like the World Cup and the fact the Dees want to be the Yankees.
Votes
5: Dustin Martin
4: Bachar Houli
3: Brandon Ellis
2: Anthony Miles
1: Matthew Dea
Leaderboards
The Benny
22: Dustin Martin
16: Jack Riewoldt
14: David Astbury, Trent Cotchin and Brandon Ellis
13: Shaun Hampson
10: Daniel Jackson
9: Ricky Petterd
8: Reece Conca
6: Steven Morris and Bachar Houli
4: Matt Thomas, Sam Lloyd, Brett Deledio and Shaun Grigg
3: Ty Vickery, Troy Chaplin and Shane Edwards
2: Nick Vlastuin and Anthony Miles
1: Ben Griffiths, Orren Stephenson, Matthew Dea and Ben Lennon
Blair Hartley Appreciation Award
13: Shaun Hampson
9: Ricky Petterd
6: Bachar Houli
4: Matt Thomas and Shaun Grigg
3: Troy Chaplin
2: Anthony Miles
Anthony Banik Best First Year Player
4: Sam Lloyd
1: Ben Lennon
Joel Bowden’s Golden Left Boot
6: Bachar Houli
4: Shaun Grigg
3: Troy Chaplin
Greg Tivendale Rookie Medal
4: Matt Thomas
2: Anthony Miles
1: Orren Stephenson
Championship belt
Incumbent
|
Winner
|
Streak
|
Wins
|
NA
|
Cotchin
|
1
|
1
|
Cotchin
|
Astbury
|
1
|
1
|
Astbury
|
Riewoldt
|
1
|
1
|
Riewoldt
|
Astbury
|
1
|
2
|
Astbury
|
Petterd
|
1
|
1
|
Petterd
|
Ellis
|
1
|
1
|
Ellis
|
Conca
|
1
|
1
|
Conca
|
Martin
|
1
|
1
|
Martin
|
Riewoldt
|
1
|
2
|
Riewoldt
|
Martin
|
1
|
2
|
Martin
|
Martin
|
2
|
3
|
