Firstly, we lost to Adelaide on Saturday, when at quarter time we were 33 points up. Secondly, we lost three key players to injury and one to suspension. Thirdly, we unfortunately suffered a ‘scandal’, which resulted in one player being delisted and another being suspended by the club for two weeks.
Before we start tearing up our memberships and ordering deliveries of manure to the club’s doorstep, let’s have a look at these incidents seriously.
1. The Adelaide game: While I am very disappointed in our loss, I am not surprised. Adelaide are certainly proving themselves to be a premiership contender this season, and went into the match firm favourites. Having lost last week to a team they would have very much expected to beat, they would have been absolutely desperate to prove that last week was a one off. Whilst we did come out firing, Adelaide is the number one team in the league for contested footy, and has one of the most highly performing midfields in the league. Richmond to me looked like a horse that has come out of the blocks too quickly and expended all their energy too fast. We faded away as the game progressed, whereas Adelaide proved why they are pushing for a top four spot.
While this is disappointing, this was not one of the matches we had pencilled in as a ‘win’. If we had gone over there and held it to them for four quarters and lost by 19, we would possibly be describing this game as another ‘honourable loss’. Instead, because we showed a glimpse of the kind of play we are building towards; we are left feeling disappointed and upset with the loss.
2. The injuries: Grimes’ injury is probably the one the hurts the most for me. He had only just come back into the side and is one of our most important defenders. We will miss his presence immensely and I hope that next time he returns, he does not suffer a similar injury so quickly. Vickery’s season being over is another one that really hurts. People have been critical of his form this year but he is another big body in the square that draws one of the defenders from Jack and he has been battling injury all season which may explain his disappointing form. I wish him luck with his rehab and hope to see him back bigger and better next season. King will also be missed with his great defensive work in the forward 50, an area we have a bit of trouble with.
These injuries have hurt and come at a critical time in the season but I view this as a great chance for some of the Coburg players to prove themselves. I’d love to see A. Maric, Webberley, Derickx, White, Graham, Conca, Batchelor etc come back into the side and have a real impact on the game. I know it is not ideal to have five changes to the team from last week, but I believe Dimma would have given these players a chance in the firsts at some stage this season, so now the chance has come. I hope they can (as Elton said in his roar vision last week) ‘take the opportunity with both hands’ and push for a more permanent position in the team. One piece of good news for the cub is Kelvin Moore’s great game for Coburg last week. He is progressing really well and hopefully we will see him return to the firsts this season.
3. Player sanctions: I agree with everyone in saying that this is a disappointing time for Richmond players, coaches and supporters alike. I trust in the club that they have made the right decision in this matter. I doubt they would have delisted a player and suspended one of our best players unless they felt that was the best decision.
I wish Connors the best of luck and hope that he is able to win the battle against his well-documented demons. As for Martin, I hope this suspension serves as a wake-up call and pushes him to perform really well on return. I am pleased that Richmond is a club that wants to promote a strong culture that does not support players behaving in a non-desirable manner. When I look at other clubs, whose strong culture is one that even when a player is traded there, they soon fit into the clubs standards, I hope that we are able to build a similar culture at Richmond.
Looking forward, I think now is the time we all need to rally around our club, rather than abandon it. Melbourne will now be thinking they are in with half a chance to beat us, and this is one of the games we must win. I believe the leadership group will be firing for us, and I hope that the yellow and black army will be there to support our boys. Let’s put this week behind us and prove that we are resilient and strong as a team. See you at the ‘G.
Go Tigers, Meg.
