Richmond’s backline coach Ben Rutten tells ‘Roar Vision’ why he’s so upbeat about his role with the Tigers, and the team’s prospects for 2017.
Exciting times at Tigerland
“We get new coaches coming in and new players, which brings a different sort of energy and enthusiasm, and some new ideas as well, which is great. Having the two different guys coming from different experiences . . . ‘Leppa’ (Justin Leppitsch), being a senior coach, brings some experience and some knowledge there, and also Blake (Caracella) coming from Geelong, a successful environment. So it’s been really good and we’re expecting them to continue to challenge us as coaches, as well as the players.”
Development focus
“All the assistant coaches are going to be picking up a bit more of the slack with the development of players. We need to be looking at developing the players on the field, but also looking at a bit more of a holistic and well-rounded approach.”
Learning valuable coaching lessons
“I’m going into my third year here, and you always pick different things up from the different coaches, whether it be technically, or the way they present different meetings to players. So I’m looking forward to that.”
Backline growth
“There’s going to be some good competition for spots. A lot of the guys on the half-back line (in season 2016) fell to injuries, which gave terrific opportunity to Jayden Short and Oleg Markov through the back half of the year. Those guys need to be versatile, at the same time, and play in different positions. But, hopefully, we can get a bit of continuity with our defence next year. ‘Rancey’ (Alex Rance) does a great job . . . Dave Astbury had probably his most consistent year . . . So we’re looking for him to go to another level. ‘Grimesy’ (Dylan Grimes) down there as well, he’s an experienced player now, so expecting him to go to a new level. And there’s a bit of excitement with some youth, with Oleg and ‘Shorty’ fighting for some positions there.”
Young Tigers set impressive early pace
“There’s some real energy and you can see already the guys have really applied themselves over the break. It’s an opportunity for them to get a bit of a competitive advantage over that off-season, and the guys have grabbed it with both hands. So, looking forward to them challenging some of the more senior guys.”
