Richmond's loss to North Melbourne was not a thrashing, but it was a tedious affair that left fans wondering if any progress has been made. Games between bottom sides can be entertaining, but Sunday's match was blighted by cynical coaching, uncontested marks, and a sense of futility. Several older players seemed to have checked out, forwards barely got opportunities, and most of the best young talent watched from the stands.
Injuries hamper progress
Such a performance would typically draw heavy criticism, and a coach with nine wins from 60 games would usually be under pressure. However, Richmond's situation is tempered by a drip feed of injuries affecting nearly every body part: hips, feet, knees, collarbones, throats, groins, brains, ligaments, and tendons. The nature and uncertain timelines of these injuries have added to the frustration. Tom Lynch lost his voice box and required speech therapy, Josh Smillie was sent to Philadelphia to reprogram his body, and Sam Lalor is still nursing a 'partial Achilles tear,' a term that has not been entirely convincing.
Sam Lalor: The sorely missed dux
Lalor, the top pick in the 2024 draft, is the most sorely missed. His ability to read the ball off the ruckman's palm, tilt backwards exiting a stoppage, and execute perfect shoves to buy time and space evokes memories of a young Dustin Martin. He is a player who gives hope and worries opposition coaches. During Richmond's sleepy loss at the MCG, he would have provided moments of assurance. Now, the 34-year-old Martin plays for Port Douglas, and the 19-year-old Lalor remains unavailable.
The super draft of 2024
Lalor was the dux of the 2024 draft class, considered one of the best collections of young talent in recent years. Fans paid $25 to watch the club draft eight new players, including six in the first round. The draft was difficult to predict, with no clear standouts and considerable depth. Carlton was ecstatic to snare Jagga Smith at pick three, and Fremantle was rapt to get Murphy Reid at 17. Richmond's haul sparked optimism, but there were risks: Lalor had missed football with hip, quad, hamstring, and ankle injuries and had never done a proper pre-season. Taj Hotton was coming off an ACL tear, and Jonty Faull had missed six months with stress fractures. All eight selections were private schoolboys, mostly tall, and many had played together in underage teams. A lot of them are now pictured on crutches.
Waiting and hoping
Richmond laid their bets and waited, as all rebuilds require teaching, hoping, and waiting. Everyone knew it would be a slog with thrashings and periods where nothing goes right. They knew they would watch rivals win premierships, that many draftees wouldn't work out, and that the coach might not see the rebuild through. Eighteen months on from that super draft, progress tracking was expected, but it is the following year's draft that has provided speed and durability. Seth Campbell, a key figure in wins under Adem Yze, was taken late in the rookie draft, where most selections were clubs redrafting delisted veterans.
A frustrating and unusual rebuild
Some rebuilds are incremental, some ill-defined, some dead ends. Richmond's is none of those; it is incredibly frustrating and unusual. There have been memorable performances under Yze: the win over Sydney in the haze at the MCG when the Swans were the best home and away team, the comical win over Carlton in round one the following year, and honourable losses like last week against Brisbane in Hobart. But mostly, there has been a drift, a deferral, a constant asterisk that makes it impossible to develop a cohesive style of play or to judge the team's progress. This extract is from Guardian Australia's free weekly AFL email, From the Pocket.
