Richmond Tigers Season Review

Expected Finish – 8th -10th
Actual Finish – 15th
5 Wins, 16 Losses and 1 Draw

2009 will certainly go down as one of Richmond’s most disappointing seasons in recent years. The revolving door of Richmond coaching was re-opened and the Tigers form was but a shadow of late 2008. At the start of the year we at ContestedFooty believed the Tigers would have been able to capitalize on its 2008 form and possibly push for the top 8. How wrong we were.

Richmond is a club that is in need of a lot of improvement and it is difficult to see where it is going to come from next year. A clean out is coming at Tigerland with as many as 8 players who will either not be playing AFL next year or will be at a different club.

Backline

What can you say about a backline that let in the most points o in 2009. The Tiger defence let in 2388 points for the season which meant the Tigers managed to have the worst percentage in the league. The backline is very young now with Bowden making way for some younger players. Let’s hope for Richmond’s sake that they can stay together and work towards a stronger defence in 2009.

Midfield

The Midfield is not the issue at Richmond by any stretch. With the likes of Deledio, Foley, Tuck and now Cousins the players are there. Unfortunately it does not always deliver with Cousins probably being the standout of 2009. Jackson is a good tagger and Tambling is starting together a lot more of the ball. 2009 has been a learning experience for the midfield, with Foley to return its one area Richmond fans can be happy with.

Forwards

The Forward line was not able to live up to expectations in 2009 with it being ranked 12th in the league with 1774 points scored. The loss of Richardson was a big blow for the Tigers but I don’t believe it would have changed a lot in 2009. Only four players kicked over 10 goals which is very disappointing. Riewoldt (32 goals) did show improvement in 2009 while Mitch Morton (leading goal kicker in 2009 with 41 goals) can also be very dangerous. Brown is no longer a Tiger after 2009 and was unable to have any real impact. While Jay Schulz was almost unheard of playing only 4 games.

Rucks

This was another disappointing area for the Tigers in 2009 and it looks like Simmonds has almost certainly played his last year in the Yellow and Black. Vickery did show some form during the season and will be a lot better for the run he was given this season. With good ruck men hard to come by the Tigers may need to out source to find a second big man that is reliable.

Players needed for next year

It is a tough one when looking at Richmond to decide what they need the most because to be honest there is a lot of areas you could look at. I would be looking for another Big man to do the ruck work and also a couple of defenders, Key defenders and also the new dynamic style of defender (Luke Hodge mold). Unfortuneatly these are players that are hard to find and are always contested for by all clubs.

Looking Forward

Looking forward is one of the only things the Tigers can do, as looking back on 2009 is a complete waste.. A new coach in Damien Hardwick will see a lot of changes to the list going into 2010. Already Nathan Brown and Mark Coughlan have been shown the door, with more to come. It’s also unlikely Simmonds and Schulz will play again for Richmond. Cousins has been able to add hardness to the team and that will see him play on in 2010. I would also expect Richardson to play another season.

Some players did improve in 2009 like Tambling and Deledio but there was not enough across the entire list for the top 8 to ever be realistic. A big change needs to happen at Richmond the younger players cannot continue to rely on aging players to get the job done. I hate to say this but 2010 may also hold some heartache for the Tigers as I don’t see where the improvement will come from.

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