12 in 12: Close losses
Any Richmond supporter worth his or her salt knows only too well how costly the team’s frustrating inability to close out games proved to be throughout 2012.
No. 4: The Tigers must find a way to close games out
Any Richmond supporter worth his or her salt knows only too well how costly the team’s frustrating inability to close out games proved to be throughout the 2012 season.
The Tigers’ biggest defeat, of the 11 games they lost, was 44 points, against Carlton in the opening round and they were right in that contest until the last 10 minutes or so.
All their other losses were by 22 points or fewer, with six of those by 12 points or less and three of them - in a nightmarish consecutive run from Round 16-18 - by under a goal.
Richmond’s two-point loss to Gold Coast in Round 16, four-point loss to North Melbourne in Round 17, and four-point loss to Carlton in Round 18, made it just the eighth time in league football history that a team had suffered three defeats in-a-row by under a goal.
Tell us how you would change the last few minutes of these close losses
The Tigers somehow managed to snatch defeat from the jaws of seemingly certain victory in two of those narrow losses (v the Suns and Blues), much to the bewilderment of the Yellow and Black faithful.
Throw in the final round draw with Port Adelaide at the MCG, after being a couple of goals up deep into the last quarter, and it’s a minor miracle that coach Damien Hardwick still has a full head of hair, after pondering what could have been.
All the “what-ifs” in the world amount to a big bag of nothing now, however, as Richmond turns its full attention to 2013.
The important factor moving forward is that the Tigers have learned valuable lessons from their numerous “close, but no cigar” finishes during the 2012 season, and they will be significantly better prepared to deal with similar situations next year and beyond.
Growing maturity within the playing group, plus the addition of some new personnel, also should bolster Richmond’s capacity to close games out.
Tomorrow, find out about the ‘glue’ that holds the Tiger backline together.
Previous Editions
Part 1: Trent Cotchin is something special
Part 2: Ivan Maric is one of Richmond's most valuable players
Part 3: The Tiger are forming a string foreign legion