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18 eighty 5's Blog
Richmond Football Club 2012 
Posted on October 2, 2012 at 12:08 AM.
The AFL (Australian Football League) season has just concluded with the Sydney Swans winning the premiership cup for 2012. No one should have picked that before the season had started. But this aint about the Swans, this is about the mighty Tigers who certainly appear to be on the way up.

To anyone curious, the AFL is aussie rules football a sport only played down here on the sunburnt land. A game consists of four quarters lasting between 25-35 minutes each. It is high contact and the players are elite athletes who run hard and tackle non stop for two hours of play. It is a spectacular game and I freakin love it.

The Tigers haven't payed in the finals for 11 years now but this past season they showed tremendous promise finishing with an 11-11-1 record. Included in those 11 wins were impressive victories against both Sydney and Hawthorn, this years minor premiere and runner up.

2012 had many heartbreaking moments for this young team losing games inside the last minute of play against bottom of the table Gold Coast, drawing inside the last minute against lowly Port Adelaide and coming up short by less than 10 points in nearly all their losses this year. In fact, Richmond was put away in only one game by a big margin but held leads in 19 of the 22 matches played, many of those leads evaporated late turning victory into loss more times than what seems fair.

Next years season opener will be a huge knock down, drag out contest against Carlton, but we will go into that clash on even footing. We have signed some good talent already in the off season that will bolster our forward set up and if we can acquire Chaplin from the Power we will have gained considerably to strengthen our back line. Round one next year can't come soon enough and I can't wait to finally put down the Blues. They have had us for too long.

The Tigers really are a heartbreak club. We skirt the borders of emotion all the time but there is not another club in the land whose team has lacked such ongoing success and can still amass a huge, passionate following believing for better days. We will be playing finals footy next September I am confident of that. This current squad is so exciting to watch!

To the boys from Punt Road, thanks for a promising year.

Eat em Alive Tigers!!
Comments
# 1 ffyfe7 @ Oct 2
Fantastic season to watch this past year. I'm a Crows fan myself and it was heartbreaking but I'm glad that the Swans won it. The only real sour aspect is Tipett leaving, I have no idea how you can replace a forward like him.
 
# 2 18 eighty 5 @ Oct 2
Hey Ffyfe7, the Crows had a huge year. We just picked up Chris Knights, from a crows perspective, is he a handy acquisition? Tippet is a big loss for you guys.

I was talking with my brother reviewing this past season and one question emerged, what of Sydney next year? Could this be a new dynasty? What of the Crows, Eagles and Hawks?
 
# 3 ffyfe7 @ Oct 2
I'd say Knights is a handy acquisition, didn't hear much about him in the media in Adelaide so you can take that either way but I'd say it's a good pick up.

I don't believe the Swans will be a dynasty unless they win multiple premierships, the Eagles have proved they're good enough to make the eight and I personally believe that the Hawks are in their prime and need to take advantage now because they can't rely on Buddy forever.

In regards to the Crows, before this year I thought they were a consistent Top 8 side with last year being the exception. With Sanderson as coach and getting as far as we did I though that even with no changes that Adelaide were serious contenders. Unfortunately, with Tippett seeking a club closer to home it has left the Crows with a large hole in the forward line. Unless we can pick someone up in free agency or find someone within the club that can play the position without feeling as if they need to replace his offensive production then I still think we're a Top 8 side. The finals is where they have always struggled and I think they're a couple of years away from a Grand Final. Of course I'd love to be proven wrong.
 
# 4 18 eighty 5 @ Oct 3
Agreed, Hawthorn need to strike soon before they go the way of the saints and cats. Adelaide and Sydney were big surprises this year, but Sydney were consistently the best. An incredible turn of good form on their behalf, who would have guessed the season they had before the first bounce of the year?

Collingwood will be a curious case next year, they have just picked up Lynch from the Eagles. Dual wielding Cloke and Lynch will be formidable. Dawes is probably on his way out for certain now. Carlton and Essendon will rattle their cause but who knows about either of them. I am seriously expectant the Tigers will grace the eight next year. They were exiting this year but inconsistent, yet against any realm they.were highly competitive. Unfortunately it mattered not if the opposition was lowly or a to side, they were always close games.

How is the Sth Aussie public feeling about the predicament of Port? They are in a very poor way.
 
# 5 ffyfe7 @ Oct 3
I think Richmond are definitely on the up and should be in the eight this upcoming season, god knows how much the Richmond fansbase has suffered.

There always been a massive rivalry between the Crows and Port which basically divides South Australia. There is always friendly ribbing like when Port lost to GWS or how Port currently leads the Crows in the Showdown tally. Port are in serious financial trouble and most of their talent are leaving because a serious rebuilding effort is needed.

I think even the Power fanbase knows that they aren't going to be competitive for a long while and will have to hope that they can at least beat Adelaide in the Showdowns (I hope not) so they don't have to go into hiding. I really hope that Port doesn't die due to financial issues because the rivalry is a massive part of our state since South Australia has no NRL team and is really footy dominated.
 
# 6 18 eighty 5 @ Oct 3
If Port fail to climb out of their current situation it would be a big blow to the competition. Though the AFL is aggressively pursuing market share on the central eastern and north eastern coast, its undeniable following lies in Victoria, Sth Australia and WA, I'd even put Tassie in there and hope they score a team for themselves soon enough.

It will be a long climb for the Power because they are at present a bit of a laughing stock and who would want to go play there given the current state of things. They have lost another coach, the Board is in disarray and players are wanting to leave.

They are such a storied team in their own right and it surely must gall the crap out of them to be where they are now. It seems since they got annihilated by Geelong in that grand final some years back they haven't been able to stop the slide. Leaving the SANFL to come join the AFL they would have been a big decision for such a proud and successful club, they would not want it to come to a tragic end now. I hope the AFL give them some support, but then again the Bulldogs and Demons are in similar straits, not internally, but competitively and they lack sufficient fan support which is one thing the Power do have, well at least when they are up and rolling.

I wonder how a team like the Bulldogs will re emerge in this current climate without fan support. They won't be back in the Eight for some time. On a similar note it was good to see Brisbane putting up a pretty competitive season. If the Lions fail miserably on field and the Suns can't get it together it will be a challenging time for Aussie rules in a state that loves rugby.

I don't understand why the NRL hasn't pushed into SA, is there not enough support? I think south Australians are as passionate about sports as we here in Victoria. I am sure if you did get an NRL club and it was successful, you wouldn't get the same appallingly cold reception the Storm have received. It is disgusting how they treat Melbourne in their competition. If they don't like Victoria, then don't expand into that territory, but without Victoria onboard you could never have a truly national competition because of the sheer population size of the state and the raucous devotion to all things sport. They know this and that is why they toss us one of their State of Origin matches nearly every year.

This is veering down another tangent but gee I wish the Formula One grand prix would move back to SA. I attended 1990 grand prix with old great Ayrton Senna racing. I looooved it and the track is just magic. I love F1 but have never been to see it in Melbourne since the move. I don't really like the track but it is in a pretty nice spot. I used to go to Adelaide every year many years ago when I was a teenager because I had relatives there in Medindi Gardens, don't know if that is spelled correctly. I walked into the city every day, loge it there. I am planning a return with my beautiful girl soon.
 
# 7 ffyfe7 @ Oct 3
They tried a rugby team in Adelaide for the Super League called the Adelaide Rams back in '95 where they played for the '97, '98 seasons and then disbanded. They had the 5th highest attendance in the inaugural season but they dwindled in the second season because the team was pretty bad. I think at this stage it would be too late because of the AFL has meant that kids have grown up with the sport and while the NRL gets televised here, it is usually at around 1am so no one really watches it.

I think with the F1 while it would be nice to have it back in Adelaide, it wouldn't be financially viable. Adelaide has the Clipsal 500 which is great and costs significantly less, Melbourne may get the international exposure but they also hemorrhage money. In my opinion they can keep it although after 2015 there might not be an Australian GP if Melbourne can't fit the bill.
 
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