This year:8 wins, 1 draw, 13 losses, 86.35 percentage.
This year's grade: C
Positives from this year: Plenty. Eight men - Brett Deledio, Trent Cotchin, Dustin Martin, Bachar Houli, Nathan Foley, Robin Nahas, Tyrone Vickery and Jack Riewoldt played all 22 games. Deledio has his knockers, but he had a very good season predominantly across half-back and earned a spot in the All Australian 40-man squad. Cotchin had clearly his best season at AFL level, averaging 24 touches a game and impressed when given the captaincy in Chris Newman's absence late in the year. Martin booted 33 goals and averaged 22 possessions per game. Houli proved one of the AFL's best recruits and a reliable contributor.
Foley overcame his injury curse, while pocket-rocket Nahas averaged 19 touches and kicked 29 goals for the season. Vickery emerged as a tall forward with 36 majors and Riewoldt, who may not have hit the heights of 2010, but a haul of 62.26 for the year cannot be sneezed at. Another off-season recruit Shaun Grigg slotted in beautifully, averaging just short of 22 possessions and only missed the one game. Alex Rance found greater consistency and developed into Richmond's key man in defence in the absence of Kel Moore.
Jake King offered value as a small forward with 25 goals for the year and former Demon Brad Miller proved useful in his 14 games. Recruits Reece Conca and Jake Batchelor played 17 and 16 games respectively. Richmond also showed an ability to take a scalp by beating North Melbourne, Fremantle, Essendon and Sydney - teams that finished higher than the Tigers on the ladder.
Negatives from this year: A few. Richmond may have received much-needed funds for selling home games to Darwin and Cairns during the year, but the Tigers ultimately paid the price. Losses to Port Adelaide in the Top End and Gold Coast in Far North Queensland were unforgivable slip-ups, but agree with Damien Hardwick and don't blame the venue for Richmond's poor performances. If you still are, then that's a kop out. Ordinary preparation was a factor on the trip to Darwin and bad football in Cairns.
Richmond's performances against the league's elite illustrate they still have a bit of a way to go. Losses by 71 to Collingwood, 63 against Hawthorn, 103 to Carlton, 62 against the Cats and 57 at the hands of West Coast tell the real tale.
Important defender Kel Moore missed the entire season with a hip troubles that required multiple operations, while injury cut down young ruckman Tom Derickx and promising defensive talls Dylan Grimes and David Astbury. Ben Griffiths was restricted to only four appearances, while Richmond didn't get enough out of their ruckman Angus Graham and Andrew Browne. This season means Richmond has only made the finals once in the past 15 seasons.
Likely departures: Troy Taylor went home to the Northern Territory early in the year and won't be back. Mitch Morton played just nine games this season and his AFL career is at the crossroads after 71 games and 105 goals. Still 24, Morton could be a good fit for GWS or even Gold Coast, who could do with an experienced forward. Is Luke McGuane in a similar predicament? He played 14 games this year, but would be only a back-up option if Moore and Grimes return.
Matt White's season was plagued by injury and is someone that has trade value. Tom Hislop, Ben Nason and Daniel Connors look set to have some nervous times ahead after playing just 12 games between them for the season. Irishman Jamie O'Reilly is another that may find himself out of Punt Road after adding one game to take his career tally to four.
Next year:
Type of Players needed: Priority No.1 is an experienced, quality ruckman. Angus Graham has shown glimpses of talent along the way but lacks consistency. Andrew Browne's a trier, but limited and best served as a back-up. Adelaide big man Ivan Maric has been linked with a move to Punt Road and would bring 77 games of experience to the table. Whether he's the answer is something that remains to be seen. Richmond have some developing key defensive talls, but if an experienced tall backman came up in trade week the Tigers should pounce. Another midfielder to add depth to an emerging rotation would be handy and maybe allow Martin to spend more time down forward as he's got a keen eye for goal.
Likely improvement: The blueprint for developing sides is to get as many games of experience into the right players as possible. It is something Richmond has done under Hardwick and will continue to do so in 2012. The Tigers possess a young spine with Vickery, Riewoldt, Rance and Post, all of whom still have room to development. It will help if Griffiths, Moore and Grimes can get on the ground for a full season. You can only see Martin and Cotchin getting better, particularly if they are getting the benefits of a ruckman that provides better ball.
Finals next year? Yeah, why not. Richmond is a team on the rise and there's no doubt that Hardwick is the right man at the helm. The Tigers have the foundations in place to be a good side and really it's just a matter of time with this group that Richmond will be a force once again. Provided they can again get a reasonable run with injury to key players, the Tigers should end a decade-long finals drought come September 2012.