THIS IS WHERE I BELONG
Glenn McFarlane
The morning after Damien Hardwick sensationally quit as Richmond coach in May last year, Tim Taranto was sifting his way through a range of emotions when his then teammate Trent Cotchin arranged a therapeutic coffee catch-up with him and Jacob Hopper.
The former captain wanted to check in on his new teammates to see how they were faring amid the shock coaching move.
This wasn’t what either of the former Greater Western Sydney midfielders had signed up for when they locked in long-term deals at Richmond until the end of the 2029 season.
Both had figured triple premiership coach Hardwick was going to be their mentor for a considerable chunk of their tenures. In the end, he was gone within 10 games of their arrival.
“It was a weird time,” Taranto recalled this week as he prepared to take on his old side GWS for the second time on Sunday.
“I was angry. I was sad. I was unsure. I was anxious. But things move quickly in footy, you have to adapt and you have to move on.
“Having ‘Cotch’ around to remind us that was pretty important at the time.”
Fourteen months on from Hardwick’s exit, Richmond went into this round on the bottom of the ladder, having won only two matches this season.
The club that won a third flag in four seasons in 2020 has had a stark and tough list and experience overhaul which has presented a huge challenge in coach Adem Yze’s first year.
Individually, Taranto has fulfilled his end of the bargain, overcoming some hysterical questioning of his talents early in 2023 to end up a runaway winner of the Jack Dyer Medal as the club’s best player.
But the team’s current plight has been challenging for the 26-year-old fierce competitor to come to grips with, though he is using his connection with Cotchin – whom he keeps in contact with – to see the bigger picture.
And he’s confident the Tigers, with the calming influence of Yze at the helm, can turn their fortunes around much faster than anyone outside the club thinks.
“I still speak to Cotch regularly,” he said. “He texted me after the Freo loss last weekend, trying to keep me up, encouraging me with it all.”
“Cotch understands all about the journey. He went through so many tough times before he actually got to have a lot of success.
“It sucks losing. It is not fun, but this is still a great club. We’ll keep working as hard as we can, and turn it around as fast as we can, while also being honest about where we are at.”
NO REGRETS
Asked if he had any regrets leaving the Giants, given the Tigers’ long road back to the finals, Taranto said: “Absolutely not, this was the right decision for me.”
“There is no looking back. This is where I belong; this is where I am going to be.
“We are not where we want to be right now. But time will pass and we will crawl our way back up as quickly as possible.
“As a 26-year-old, I have to lead by example and be the best version of myself each day to be an example.”
It’s that sort of talk that has Punt Rd insiders believing Taranto is a future captain when Toby Nankervis calls it quits in the future.
Taranto is on a steep leadership learning curve, which was magnified when he missed two months this season with a fractured wrist.
“I was flat (with the injury), but after a week passes, you start thinking about another young kid getting exposure, and how you can help them,” he said.
“I’ve learnt a lot about myself this year. I’ve actually found some pleasure in helping others and being a bit of a leader.
“I knew I was going to be out for eight weeks, so I thought ‘how can I help to contribute to the younger guys?’.
“I’m focusing on trying to get the younger boys better as quickly as possible. You have to get better in a rush and we can do that. It doesn’t feel like it now, but the habits we are trying to create now are the things that will pay off for us in the future.”
OOZING CALMNESS
The stability Yze and Nankervis have provided in keeping spirits high, despite the on-field losses, has been important for team morale.
“My last year at the Giants (2022), I had two coaches (Leon Cameron and Mark McVeigh),” he said. “Then I came here and you lose a coach (Hardwick), then another one (Andrew McQualter) and now ‘Ooze’ (Yze) comes in.
“It’s been an up and down period for myself personally. But we’ve got that stability now; we just have to start winning games.
“He (Yze) is a very measured, calm guy and he keeps a really positive environment.
“Footy can be hard and everyone battles in their own minds with expectation and pressure, but he likes to keep things upbeat and positive.”
He said Nankervis was “one of the most impressive characters I’ve worked with”.
“He is not the most vocal guy, but I can tell you behind the scenes he is very vocal.
“He is probably just as hard as (Taranto’s former Giants teammate) Shane Mumford. He plays to hurt others and give us a lift every week. I love playing under him.”
RATING THE KIDS
As soon as he was injured earlier this year, Taranto got to work on watching vision with the club’s young mids and trying to drive standards.
“I wanted to help the young mids, with the likes of young Kane (McAuliffe), Thomson Dow and even Bakes (Liam Baker) who has played a fair bit of footy but who is pretty fresh in there,” Taranto said.
“I am transitioning from that kind of young player to a leader, which is really cool and exciting and I am looking forward to the next few years to see where that takes me.”
Even though Taranto has been back playing for the past four games – seamlessly resuming in the midfield in a return that has already changed the Tigers’ clearance profile – he is still working closely with Richmond’s ‘generation next’ across all three lines.
He gave Sam Banks “a shout-out” for playing the entire last quarter against the Dockers.
“He (Banks) got hit and a bit blindsided last weekend and a month ago he would have dropped the ball, but he was strong in the contest and got the hands out,” Taranto said.
“Me and Bakes got around him after the game.”
Tom Brown was “a great talent, great character ... a very well-loved kid, and a guy who gets everyone up. He has good composure and good hands.”
He said the club’s physical performance manager Luke Meehan described Seth Campbell as “like a young Kane Lambert in terms of his running ability. He has some freakish talent.”
“‘Kaneo’ (McAuliffe) is going to be a star ... he has power, speed and skills. He is going to take some time to put it all together, but when he does, it is going to be exciting.”
Taranto is close to Hugo Ralphsmith, who is “another freakish runner with talent to burn” and he said Tyler Sonsie “is learning his craft, we probably haven’t seen the best of him yet.”
DUSTY CONNECTION
Taranto says whatever Dustin Martin does next year, he will forever cherish playing alongside him.
“He’s a rock star,” he said of the 33-year-old. “I can tell you it is better to be on his side than being on the other end of it. I copped a few fend-offs in my time (at the Giants).”
“What he did in attracting 92,000 to the MCG (for his 300th game against Hawthorn) was something no one has been able to do. When he kicked that goal in the first quarter, that was on par with one of the loudest cheers I’ve ever heard.”
Asked if he had chatted to Martin about the veteran’s future, Taranto said: “I wouldn’t do that ... I have no idea what he is going to do, and I don’t think he knows what he is going to do.”
The pair have become close golf mates since Dusty took up the game earlier this year.
“He loves his golf, but he is a bit of a shark,” he said. “He’s playing off a 20 (handicap) but he should be in the teens. He is winning comps and taking everyone’s money.”
FAMILY TIES
Taranto has families in two hemispheres.
His move back to Melbourne has brought him closer to his mother, Jess, and her father, Paul Taranto.
“‘Big Paul is my grandpa, he is a very important person in my life,” he explained. “He has been helping my sporting journey – and my life – since I was young, dragging me here, there and everywhere with my footy and basketball.
“He has just retired recently, so he has more time on his hands. He was in Perth (last weekend). He doesn’t miss many games.
“He has a memorabilia room. There’s Melbourne in there, he’s been a member for 50 years, but also Richmond and the Giants as well.”
Taranto’s father, Phillip, lives in Dallas, Texas, where Tim has three half-brothers – Davis, Hudson and Griffin.
“The boys are all much younger than me, but they are all over (the AFL),” he said. “They know all the players and all the stats.”
Phillip comes to Australia to see his son play once or twice a year, and will arrive in the coming days hoping to see another Tigers win.
Tim hopes that win comes on Sunday against his old side, the Giants. He had 36 disposals and kicked a goal against them last year.
“I was nervous last time, but this will be just like any other game,” he said. “‘Hopp’ (Hopper) hasn’t gone through it yet, so he could be a bit more nervous than I am.
“I’m sure there will be some chat with the (Giants) boys ... Toby (Greene), Wardy (Callan Ward), Cogs (Stephen Coniglio) and Tom Green. But hopefully we can get the win.”
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