Richmond coach Damien Hardwick believes the acquisition of top-class, mature-age midfield pair Dion Prestia (from Gold Coast) and Josh Caddy (Geelong), during last year’s trade period, will have a valuable spin-off effect in helping the Tigers fix a number of key on-field problems that plagued them throughout the 2016 season.
“Obviously, both Dion and Josh can go through the middle. We’ve also added Nick Vlastuin into the (midfield) mix as well,” Hardwick said at his press conference on the eve of Richmond’s opening game in the JLT Community Series against Adelaide at Etihad Stadium.
“So, Dustin (Martin), Trent (Cotchin), Josh, Nick, will all go forward, which is exciting for us.
“We probably lacked a bit of scoring power at various stages last year, and those players are all very good one-on-one players . . .
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“We’re looking to re-establish that. We lost it last year . . . we had it probably two years ago.
“We think that’s a formula that works for us.”
Hardwick also is confident Richmond’s increased quality midfield depth will lead to significant improvement with the team’s ball movement this season.
“Probably the big one for us is our connection from our half-back to our half-forward line . . . we didn’t execute as well as what we would have liked. So we’re hoping that improves,” he said.
“We’ve done a lot of work on that. We, like 17 other clubs, are trying to move the ball a bit quicker.
“Execution’s the thing we’re working on at the moment . . .”
If the Tigers can be more proficient with their transition from defence into attack, then star forward Jack Riewoldt will reap the rewards, playing closer to goal, according to Hardwick.
“Last year, we had trouble getting the ball out of the back half. The fact of the matter is, I can put Jack to full-forward, but he’s probably not going to touch the ball if we’re struggling to get the ball out of the back half,” Hardwick said.
“He’s an elite one-on-one player, so we needed him to be a link in the chain, so we could get it inside 50 . . . Our ball movement from our half-back to our half-forward line struggled a little bit.
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“But if we’re moving the ball well, I guarantee he’s kicking more goals and he’s closer to goal . . .”
Hardwick has been uplifted by the major changes that have taken place in the football department at Punt Road since the end of last season, with the arrival of Neil Balme as General Manager of Football, Justin Leppitsch’s return as assistant coach, Blake Caracella coming across from Geelong as an assistant coach, Xavier Clarke joining as a development coach and Andrew McQualter’s promotion to an assistant coaching role, plus the player trade pick-ups and new draftees.
“With change comes momentum,” Hardwick said.
“We’re really excited by the freshness we’ve brought in. That freshness brings excitement . . .
“We’re looking to capitalise on that momentum.”
