Richmond fans should keep the faith and back coach Damien Hardwick despite club’s poor form this season, says Dermott Brereton

THEY says it’s good for the AFL when Richmond wins but even better when they lose. Dermott Brereton has an in-depth look at the Tigers.

Round 11: Essendon v Richmond Trent Cotchin & the Tigers post game AFLR1114 Picture: Wayne Ludbey

THERE is a running gag that goes on among the ex-league players that are in the media, they say, “It’s so good for the competition when Richmond is up and running and winning games. But it’s even better when they’re losing.”

And unfortunately for the Tigers, it’s true from their viewpoint. No one has been more scrutinised than the Tigers this season.

TALK’S CHEAP, TIME FOR TIGERS TO DELIVER

The Tigers are so important to our competition. They are an old club. A club that has a brilliant history, but a recent past with very little success. No matter how many facelifts they have, the same appearance eventually re-emerges.

They have an enormous amount of followers. But not all of them surface until success is a weekly occurrence.

Reece Conca needs to improve his fitness to add depth to Richmond’s midfield. Picture: Wayne Ludbey

The Tigers have been studied, dissected, talked about and written about this season to within an inch of their life. For column space, no other team gives the scribes so much excitement to study and pass a verdict upon.

I can’t help but adore that club. For there would be no other team that offers so much exposure to so many human emotions in the space of seven days.

Maybe St Kilda can take you through a similar maze of emotions over a season, but the Tigers can do it in hours. They can be besotted by their fans on a Friday, sceptical on the morning of a match and loathed just three hours later.

Then by Monday the administration will field a great deal of phone calls from despondent supporters who have seemingly misplaced their membership cards in the MCG car park after the weekends’ game.

And now the cycle the Richmond supporters go through is about to enter the “question the coach” phase.

What I can and will say to those supporters is that if I were a board member that sat in the Richmond hierarchy, I would see Hardwick through this difficult season and give him the surety that I would link my own position to that of his.

That does not mean he is without a blemish. We all make mistakes. But Hardwick can coach. Make no mistake.

Jack Riewoldt let the cat out of the bag two weeks ago that the 2014 game plan had been slightly tweaked to try and emulate the kicking prowess and ball movement of Hawthorn’s game.

After all, they were the market leader by virtue of the fact that they are the reigning premiers. Unfortunately the skill set among a few was not capable of carrying out the task, either by foot skills, pace or endurance.

So it was then sought to move closer to the 2013 game style once again. But confidence had been eroded and some inconsistencies and bad habits have crept in. And a 3-7 win loss is the result.

Dustin Martin doesn’t have the fitness to be an elite AFL midfielder. Picture: Wayne Ludbey

From a naive viewpoint, I can see one error which the Hardwick led staff have allowed. And it is a dilemma that every coach under pressure has to navigate.

There is a time early on in every coach’s tenure where he lays the ground rules. He will outline the non-negotiables in his coaching philosophy. These will include things such as laying tackles when appropriate.

Placing your body over the ball and or staying on the path without wavering in the face of an oncoming opponent.

The list of these goes on, but by and large they are mostly to do with a form of physical bravery, or team rules.

Richmond and Hardwick have a problem in so far that; some players who kick the ball well can also break the non-negotiables.

And some others that will never break the non-negotiable, just keep kicking the ball back to the opposition, aren’t fast enough, or just simply not good enough when exposed to the elite.

Dan Jackson is one player who is willing to make the sacrifices to get the most out of himself. Picture: Colleen Petch

So Hardwick is compromised. Who should he play? What type of player would you select when it came down to the choice between two types. The ‘goer’, or the skilful player?

I would personally back the ‘goer’. Preferring to die on the sword in the immediate, rather than negotiate for a peaceable outcome that will elongate mediocrity.

There will be short to medium term pain, but once that period has been negotiated, you must have a team that will not unravel against three of the other top four teams if you have designs on being the 4th team yourself.

Hardwick has wanted to stay competitive and win while the season is mathematically still alive for Richmond. And to do that, he has had to live with the compromise.

In each game there would not be a quarter of football that goes by whereby he doesn’t wince at some of his players reluctance to commit to certain actions out on the ground that he himself would charge head long in to as a player. In fact he craved it as a player.

He also has players who are compromised in fitness. Port Adelaide is the league ladder leaders and clearly the league leaders in fitness. They are now the yardstick to be measured by.

So hypothetically, which of Richmond’s top line on-ballers are fit enough to force their way into Port Adelaide’s best six midfield rotation group?

Richmond has suffered in the absence of ruckman and on-field leader Ivan Maric.

Cotchin on a balance of pure ability/ fitness, yes.

Dustin Martin would not cut the grade for their fitness regime is currently out of his reach. He would be made to play elsewhere until he reached the standard.

Reece Conca would suffer the same fate. Daniel Jackson would cut the grade for fitness. He is one willing to do what it takes.

But all of this leads us to the next problem. It’s a problem where a specific art in coaching can never be written in a handbook.

It is; how do you clamp down and come down on your senior players and possibly end their careers without losing the support of the group?

Senior players on the wrong side of the reimposed non-negotiable can mutiny against a coach and infect others.

Trent Cotchin is one reason why Richmond fans should keep the faith.

Or you can have several key figures that are men’s men. And they will buy in and make the group live the mantra.

Does Richmond have enough of those players? Jackson, Cotchin, Ivan Maric and second-year player Nick Vlaustin. But who else will back their coach and say no more to compromise?

There is enough of a talent base at Richmond for them to be a good side. A very good side.

And although Tiger supporters have heard it all before, keep the faith. Believe!

Don’t just desire to make the eight or aim to win one final. Aim to win a premiership within two-three years. Build to it. Make no compromises along the way, even if you need to take a momentary step backwards. But keep the faith.

Originally published as Richmond fans should keep the faith and back coach Damien Hardwick despite club’s poor form this season, says Dermott Brereton