Hardwick

[daniel30]

Fine tune a few things and change a few things to be bit less predictable at times.I like to see one more genuine tall to in side.

 

[UKTiger]

For the first time he also wasnt very glowing of the opposition. Yes he did usual they played good etc but not the over the top praise he has given in the past when we have lost.

This loss hurt him.

The loss hurt him? I reckon it hurt all of us!

 

[bob]

Agree.
The non manning up of Salem and Hunt was crazy.
Dimma is stubborn and has been successful but needs to be more flexible mid game.
Playing Chol last year at seasons end was crazy when it was obvious he was not up to it.
Non selection of Broad.
But it's hard to criticise him with such a good record.
The game has changed and we look stuck in last years mould.
I note Storm who won last year are not having horrible form and bad losses....so why are we. They are too professional to put in stinkers.
Hope I am completely wrong.

I think Dimma is a very flexible coach mid game. One of the best actually, an underrated match day performer. Of course, we have had shocker games where the changes dont work. But he sure can make them!

Balta in the ruck in last year's GF helped change the game - together with a bloke called Dusty. Even the SEN and Triple M blokes, perennial Richmond haters noted this move. Marlion Pickett in the ruck. Edwards to HB last 2 years whenever we needed protection for a defender going down. A few other examples too.

Agree with you P&T re: Broad non selection last year. Still dont understand it to this day. And Chol is another disappointing player, I personally find him as disappointing as I find Naish.

Knew Salem would have a blinder, mentioned it last week.

Wish we were actually playing the Bulldogs at Marvel - I have a feeling we will be playing better on smaller grounds until we get Dion and Nick back. Something in the game plan needs tweaking. I dont quite know what it is. Some players way down on form like Lynch, Rioli, Cotch, Houli, Short. But the forward line is a mess.

 

[23.21.159]

Have you seen our form line over the last 4 years.
This year we are more advanced then 2017, 2019 & 2020.
The only time we were dominating in April was in 2018 and we all know what happened.
After the bye, we will be driving at full speed not now.
*smile* Melbourne and Footscary the team will 5 Smurfs as defenders

You are right about 2018 and more significantly 2019 and 2020.
But we were 5-0 in 2017. Granted we went off the rails a bit and were 5-4 before long.

 

[DavidSSS]

I would think the truth is somewhere in the middle.

We need to make some changes but we don't need to throw out the game plan.

I can see so many reasons to bring in CCJ and have a back up ruck and an extra forward, and the way the ball is going into the forward line is also a clear issue.

Mind you, all this talk of needing 3 talls in the forward line, we won in 2017 with one tall in the forward line. Yes, things change but we should still be able to do better with Jack and Tom there. CCJ as a third option when not in the ruck would clearly help but we should be doing better right now.

DS

 

[RoarEmotion]

This was clearly evident on the night. It was like Melbourne had an extra 8 players on the ground. Everywhere the ball was in dispute they outnumbered us; all over the ground. That is work rate; Melbourne players worked, ours didn't. It was a very un Richmond like performance.

Dimma was not happy at the presser. He was still measured but you could tell he was not happy. I reckon that lack of work rate had a lot do with his unhappiness.

Look at the rotations. We were hamstrung and effectively playing 1-2 men down. Hence lack of run vs lack of work rate. Was 49 of 75 vs 74 of 75. That is huge.

 

[Ridley]

Look at the rotations. We were hamstrung and effectively playing 1-2 men down. Hence lack of run vs lack of work rate. Was 49 of 75 vs 74 of 75. That is huge.

That's a reasonable point. Although I feel it was evident from 2/3 way through first quarter before Dusty and Lambert went off. Particularly in our forward line. George, Rioli and Aarts were MIA when the ball hit the deck.

 

[fastin bulbous]

We need more footballers who can hit a target. Too many with ropey disposal. The effort is there, the much required precision is not.

View attachment 12013

I recon that’s what you get after years of picks outside the sweet spot in the draft. Melbourne have a gazilion 1st round picks and they all decided to play with heart on the weekend. Sometimes the shortcomings of our players are really apparent. Particularly when our stars are off or out.

I still think the game was largely lost at the selection table. After the 1st quarter our structure became exposed. But we also played poorly. Particularly our small ‘forwards’ and mids.

 

[22nd Man]

I think what you’re suggesting adds complexity to a high pressure snap decision.

Gotta keep it simple or it won’t happen at all IMO.

On a fast breakaway, if you see a free teammate in a better position - pass it 100% of the time. Team rule, don’t waste 1 second thinking about it. Just pull the trigger.

If players are encouraged to take the shot themselves after weighing up how much pressure themselves and their teammate is under, I’d expect the end result to be what happens at every other club: players will blaze away themselves because it’s the easier, faster decision to make under pressure. So my heavy support of sharing the ball assumes it’s kind of an all-or-nothing thing.

When we get a fast mark inside 50, you‘ll notice teammates put their arms up to stop him from sharing the ball. That’s an example of teammates making the decision for them. Simplifies and speeds up the decision, where the default is to share. It’s a great system, but probably only works if it’s automatic.

Simplicity yes, simple no.
These blokes are meant to be elite and that includes making decisions .... In fact in my experience I would say that any level of sport the best decision makers stand out. They all can kick mark handball run tackle etc (at training) ... game day taking the best option more often leads to success.

 

[year of the tiger]

Big decisions for Hardwick over the next 2 weeks but particularly this week.

Bring in some kids but how many - Hardwick is not frightened to do this as he has done it in the past but he is also loyal to those who have had success already.

I think this week is time - lets see what CCJ, RCD and MRJ have against an inform and skilled team.

 

[Tigers2011]

Coach needs to earn his money this week including training leading up to the game. Clearly forward structure & delivery inside 50 isn’t working so what can the coaches do to fix it?

 

[zippadeee]

I was told that Hardwick won't and dosent like making big changes, unless he is forced.
He won't make more then one change for every line on the ground.
Forward, Centre, back etc
It would be nice to see another tall.
Even Chol. Footscary are midget's.

 

[123cups]

Simplicity yes, simple no.
These blokes are meant to be elite and that includes making decisions .... In fact in my experience I would say that any level of sport the best decision makers stand out. They all can kick mark handball run tackle etc (at training) ... game day taking the best option more often leads to success.

Agree with that, the more elite they are at something, the better it will stand up under pressure. On the flip side, this also means role players like George for example (without elite decision making) will stand up better under pressure when there's simpler decisions to make. They make up most of the list.

Due to equalisation measures, nobody can sustain an advantage because of superior decision makers. So, the less our game plan depends on superior decision making, the better. That's why I prefer someone like George sharing it around without thinking.

Lynch's burn was a worse offence given he's an elite player, but neither should've happened. Those 2 missed goals would've brought teammates into the game, had them feeling good about themselves and each other, and made the Demons feel more uncertain with each F50 entry.

Taking the shot yourself is a worse decision on average that is the norm at all other clubs IMO. The coaching group can make it a feature of the team's game again fairly quickly, and I hope they do. I come from a science background though, I'm not speaking from experience, so I'm just theorising out loud and could be wrong...

 

[tha8ball]

Got to give it to this man. Just when you think the ship might be rocking - he delivers. Loved the move of Baker mid/fwd, Pickett in the guts and Ross onto the wing. Thought it was game changing. Even putting RCD on Bont. Could’ve easily hid him away but he didn’t. Great learning experience for the kid as that’s the prototype of what he could well become.

 

[tigersnake]

Loved how he threw down the Gauntlett to footscray during the week. Reminiscent of the great old school coaches.

 

[Tigertough1974]

Can coach

 

[CarnTheTiges]

Made me look stupid. I thought he was out of answers and then he pulls that out. Must be in the conversation with the modern day greats.

 

[BrummieTiger]

Made me look stupid. I thought he was out of answers and then he pulls that out. Must be in the conversation with the modern day greats.

What do you mean 'must be in the conversation?' He's won 3 of the last 4 premierships - he literally IS the modern day great. Other coaches get compared to Dimma, not the other way around, with the possible exception of Clarkson.

 

[CarnTheTiges]

What do you mean 'must be in the conversation?' He's won 3 of the last 4 premierships - he literally IS the modern day great. Other coaches get compared to Dimma, not the other way around, with the possible exception of Clarkson.

That was the other one I thought of, but I’d put Matthews in there as well.

 

[BrummieTiger]

That was the other one I thought of, but I’d put Matthews in there as well.

Mathews definitely a great. I was thinking more among active or recently active coaches. I'm in awe of what Hardwick's achieved - nobody outside the club and its supporters really acknowledge where he started with Richmond, but from day 1 he had a plan to turn it around. He has set a standard for other coaches to try to emulate.