The two clubs that won all four AFL premierships between 2017 and 2020 squared off Sunday in a clash that didn’t look particularly enticing when the fixture was released last November. Heading into 2025, there were predictions of winless seasons and comparisons with the darkest days of Fitzroy. But the game between Richmond and West Coast boiled down to a last-gasp tackle. It was the kind of tackle that was supposedly given its last rites a fortnight ago, a tackle that saw a goal-bound but moribund fourth gamer ambushed like a cheetah on an impala. These things are a mix of technique, speed, luck and, most crucially, will. Tom Brown had all four in spades, and Richmond had another win.
Back in early March, if the Tigers’ coach, players and supporters had been offered three wins by Mother’s Day, they wouldn’t have hesitated in accepting. All they really wanted was to be as competitive as possible, to get some games into their draftees, and to steal four points here or there. They’ve achieved all of that already. Hell, they achieved that in their first game against Carlton. Throw in an unexpected victory over a not entirely beloved triple-premiership coach now at the Suns, and a hard-fought win over the Eagles, and the Tigers have much to be positive about.
After a rapid decline and the occasional greatest hits concert, the club pinned its future on last year’s draft. They sold hundreds of tickets to watch the event at Punt Road despite the event’s reputation for being a tough watch. But 90 minutes into the telecast, Ben Dixon was on my list, and Richmond had the nucleus of what it hopes will be its next premiership team.
The Tigers only selected homegrown kids, and most of them were from the same school competition, but they didn’t exactly play it safe. A lot of those picks were risky. One had suffered multiple concussions. One had torn an ACL. One missed three months with a fractured back. Most of them were tall. It’s hard to predict what tall kids at that age are going to be like in half a decade’s time. They take longer to develop than a Nick Watson or an Isaac Kako. They can be total busts or suddenly improve out of sight.
The draftees we’ve seen so far have all been good, and a few of the better prospects are still in the shed, but the older players have impressed just as much. It would have been easy for a few of them to phone it in, to collect their cheques, and to offer a bit of grudging guidance. Instead they’ve provided what has been lacking at other rebuilding clubs – premiership experience, physical and verbal protection and what the coach calls “the footy chip”.
In their season opener against the Blues, it was the mid-tier bracket of players, the ones who didn’t play in the flags, who got the Tigers across the line. In the win over the Eagles on Mother’s Day, it was the veterans leading the way. It was Toby Nankervis, a blunt instrument and a bone rattler, exactly the sort of captain a young team needs. It was spearhead Tom Lynch, who has barely been sighted for three years, but who is so important structurally, physically and verbally to the side. And it was Kamdyn McIntosh who ran in straight lines and patrolled his wing with a tradesman’s alacrity.
And then there is coach Adem Yze, who was on a hiding to nothing last year. As a player, he had a charmed run with injuries. But his team was gutted ahead of his second season in charge. He’s renowned for his tactical acumen, but all he could do was coach effort, spirit and pressure. Then he lost one of the competition’s most exciting players, a recent best and fairest, and two of the most popular players from the Tigers’ golden era.
The fact that Yze is not a forceful media personality – certainly not like his predecessor – has worked against him. He was even criticised for not exhibiting sufficient gravitas went announcing the captaincy in February. It was claimed he lacked “aura”. What the hell do we want from a coach? Yze has to drag his side off the bottom of the ladder, teach a bunch of beanpoles how to play the game, and defend one of his best players in Noah Balta who is now subject to a curfew.
Apparently he also has to project himself like Tony Soprano berating his capos.
At so many other clubs, the concept of a “rebuild” is a protean one. From month to month, depending on results and the coach’s PR skills, it’s either a rebuild, a re-stump, a re-wiring or a total re-do. Richmond haven’t had to worry about that. They have been upfront about what they are aiming to do and what we should expect. They’ve already covered their line, exceeded all expectations and given every indication they’re a team for the long haul.
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