IT WAS one of the stranger decisions of 2008, but it paid some huge dividends. And it showed that sometimes taking the bull by the horns is not only brave, but smart.
Richmond's spearhead Matthew Richardson, for so long the pillar around which its attack was structured, was moved out of the forward 50.
Not just up to centre half-forward, but to the wing.
The move puzzled some supporters, who feared the team would lose its main avenue to goal, and cheered others, who were thrilled that the big man with the big tank would be able to use that capacity to the side's advantage.
The pressure of being the chief goalkicker was removed; something that clearly overwhelmed Richardson at times.
The switch came in round four when Richmond belted Fremantle at Subiaco Oval to get its season back on track – hailed as a masterstroke as Richardson collected 25 touches, 15 marks and kicked four goals in the 64-point win.
Coach Terry Wallace told richmondfc.com.au that the 33-year-old's role change wasn't long-planned, but rather quickly decided on.
"We came up with the idea on about the Wednesday," Wallace said with a laugh.
"Pressure does amazing things, and I think it's probably fair to say I was under a fair bit of pressure for my position after we got belted by both the Kangaroos and Collingwood.
"I never worried about last year (2007) – I thought there were a thousand reasons why the season never got going, and I've seen a hundred sides go through one year like that, and come back to equilibrium [the] next season.
"But you win the first game and then you lose your next two by nearly 10 goals, and all of a sudden three (wins) from 22 becomes four off 27.
"Speculation starts to mount and there's a fair bit of pressure coming on.
"And I got to the stage where I thought 'Well, if I'm going down, I'm going down my own way, so I might as well do what I think is right'.
"People say that's a strange comment ... and I was trying to do what was right anyway, to get Richo to the end of his career by allowing him to finish in the manner in which he had played most of his career."
Like his side, Richardson had struggled for the first three weeks of the season; against the Kangaroos his five shots on goal came from just nine possessions.
He embraced the chance to play up the field and his influence in wins over Port Adelaide (round 13), the Brisbane Lions (17) and Hawthorn (20) was particularly stirring.
"[I wanted to] give him the happy ending, and the supporters the happy ending," Wallace added. "But if it was going to mean that we couldn't win, and that it was going to be my neck on the chopping block and frustration for him anyway because he's not playing in winning sides, I thought 'We've got to do something about this'."
Richardson played 20 of the Tigers' 22 games this year and polled 22 votes to finish two adrift of winner Adam Cooney in the Brownlow Medal count.
He also earned his first All-Australian guernsey since 1999, finished third in the club's best and fairest and, for the eighth consecutive season, led Richmond's goalkicking with 48.
