Fair few posters popping in for the first time this year!
Great to see.

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dane's trolling again

I thought we were talking about midfield at this point in time and not potential midfield. Apart from jones (vince and cross aren't much chop), those boys are far too green to actually be a sustainable force this season. Judd, Gibbs, Murphy, Carrazzo, Cripps, Curnow, Thomas (when he returns) are more desirable than a bunch of 19/20 year olds

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'too young to remember 95', have envied other clubs since'

Have genuinely thought we'll finish 2015 in the bottom 4, and thursday night's performance simply confirmed my beliefs, didn't see every game of the weekend but from what I did see I think we were in the bottom 3 performed sides..... no surprise for me......

Time to add a red yoke to my colour palette, buy a tweed jacket with leather elbow patches and perfect the "go number 9" chant, methinks

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"Hence you will not say that Greeks fight like heroes but that heroes fight like Greeks"?

Winston Churchill

Pre-season I predicted Richmond to challenge for the top 4 and I predicted us to finish a couple games outside of the 8. So the result Thursday didn't surprise me. Despite visiting the 'best 22' thread and analyzing our recruiting over the offseason, it's still an eye opener to see the lack of midfield talent we are developing.
In answer to the question, yeah it confirmed where we are at (a 10-14 team most likely), but more scarily it showed where we are going to be over the next few years too (not progressing far).

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@cecil_anderson

I don't get understand why anyone thinks Richmond will challenge top 4?

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dane's trolling again

I didn't expect much this year but our lack of run and drive from defence was a real worry. It was like there was no plan other than to kick to the covered tall timber and / or only one designated runner. Very disappointing to watch.

The injury didn't help of course.

But to move to an extra tall in the second quarter seemed to be at odds with the run being a problem.

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Formerly: Ackland the Wonderkid / Army the Wonderkid / quivering mess / molsey / Tony Lynn Fan Club

They finished last season so strongly that you've got to figure they have some talent there, although they played their final in round 23 and got smashed in the elimination final as a result.

Deledio, Cotchin & Martin are classy players through the midfield and with Miles, Ellis and Vlastuin they've got some talent building below. Rance and Riewoldt are good bookends and Chaplin and Griffiths are capable 2nd men. Maric is a quality ruck too. Age wise i think that list is about to hit its peak too. 14-15 wins doesn't seem out of the question.

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@cecil_anderson

I think we got beat for a few reasons.

This includes:

DT injury forcing Smith to come on way way way too early.
Losing DT's run.
Tutt not being selected in Smith's place (purely on fitness).
Injury to KJ killed him.
Yarran played chunk of game injured.
Murphy and Gibbs both underdone. I'd say they're both still feeling their injuries.
Everitt had a bad night.
Casboult is a required player for marking and crashing packs.
Too many taggers (play Carrazzo positively or not at all)

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dane's trolling again

Richmond won't be top 4, and if we're going off of week 1 form, North, Geelong, us and a bunch of other clubs are cooked. I don't think that's quite true.

Let's see how we respond first. I think there's methodology in our recruitment and Jones is not meant to be some sort of answer to all of our forward line prayers. Other players need to pull their finger out and Mick probably needs to shift the methodology a little bit.

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29 different attributes,
And only 7 that you like;
20 ways to see the world,
Or 20 ways to start a fight.

I've said this a few times, but Carrazzo, Murphy, Simpson, Judd and Gibbs all played about 10-15 mins less game time than they normally would.

Everybody else had to pick up the slack of that as well as the loss of Thomas. Smith played as much game time as Gibbs, Murphy and Judd.

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29 different attributes,
And only 7 that you like;
20 ways to see the world,
Or 20 ways to start a fight.

They finished with 14 wins in 2013 thanks to a very favorable draw.
Last year when the season was shot they came home like a train to win 9 in a row.
Its fools gold kind of thing and Blues supporters got sucked in with our late season form.
It easy to win when the season is shot and you can throw caution to the wind.
Its a lot harder to win when it counts.
Early season wins and finals
Richmond are masters at it . It gives their supporters hope and they sign on in droves thinking that next year will be there year.
Another reasonable draw for them and another bottom of the 8 finish is on the cards

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If you allow the Government to change the Laws in an emergency
They will create an Emergency to change the Laws

Something we agree on!

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dane's trolling again

If they win 14 games again then they're going to spend a considerable amount of the season competing for a top 4 spot. I don't see them as a premiership team, but they're capable of 14 wins.
Anyway, my original point was that Richmond are highly likely to finish the season comfortably in front of us, so it did not surprise me to see them beat us. There's been a significant over reaction to that loss IMO.

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@cecil_anderson

We need 4 to 6 weeks, to get the team firing, sort out the Rucks , find some run and who 'll kick the goals . Some significant injuries and personal changes have set us back. The team is evolving.
Not all is lost and Richmond are not finalist in 2015.
Go Baggers, Ciao

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Go Blue Boys

I'm struggling to see how one bad week can completely erase any headway we made last year in terms of attitude & intent.

If that is the case then we are more screwed than I thought. If we were clearly out played by a team that has no chance of making the 8 then ALL is lost. #wearefarked2015

This game against West Coast then Essendon* will tell us where we are at.

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It is not as bad as you are lead to believe.......it is %$#^& worse!!!

Need to win both!

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dane's trolling again

Who would have a clue where we are at?
Patrick Cripps wouldnt. He was our best performed player in the NAB challenge and he couldnt get a look in the centre square Thursday. The kid has just come offf 32 possessions, strong tackles and clearances against Geelong and they dont have faith in him to play in the middle.
Weak as piss. I'd rather win 6 games playing the youngsters where they can develop than win 10 games running multiple taggers and leaving players like Cripps on a half forward flank.
At least give the kid a shot before shitting yourself and playing 4 taggers.

If we werent going to play Cripps on ball, it would be better to play Tutt forward. At least he would know how to make Houli etc accountable.
As for the misguided theory that Cripps cant get the ball on the spread, he had more uncontested possessions than anyone else against the Cats.
He was also our best tackler. I fail to see what message the players are having sent when decisions like this are made.
Same for the members/supporters. If I could see the players are being developed and receiving every opportunity, a transparent vision, I'd understand.
But to lose a game after playing ultra defensive without giving performing, in form players like Cripps a shot first, pathetic.

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Looking forward to seeing our potential realised.

Before the season I thought our list is that of probably a 12th to 16th side and Thursday night very much confirmed that.

From an overall list perspective in terms of winning a flag I think we are along with the Saints in the worst position, West Coast also miles off.

GWS have loads of young talent, as do the dogs and even the demons. We may finish above these 3 sides this year but we wont next year.

Our list profile is absolutely horrible so I would think we will have a really tough time in 2015, 16 and 17.