St Kilda have rushed this, haven't they?
Went up quicker than the dwarf's duds. Strangest thing was that Richardson had emphatically ruled himself out of coaching the Saints on Tuesday night. That had changed just hours later. But St Kilda were always going to need to move quickly. They needed to have a senior coach in place by the national draft on November 21. They did themselves few favours with the timing of Scott Watters' sacking. And with Richardson, they do get a highly rated coach-in-waiting.
Who is Alan Richardson?
He's 48, a former Collingwood player in the 1980s and 1990s, and a well-respected assistant coach at AFL level since 2003. He has been an assistant at the Western Bulldogs, Essendon, Collingwood, Carlton and most recently director of coaching at Port Adelaide under Ken Hinkley. He has been linked to at least five senior coaching vacancies in recent years and got none. He also was on the shortlist for the St Kilda job two years ago. But he missed out to Scott Watters, who he now replaces.
Can he coach?
Who knows? Assistant coaches can go one of two ways. Is he Chris Scott or Ken Hinkley? Or is he Mark Neeld, Peter Rohde, or dare we say it, Scott Watters? No one knows for sure until they actually get a job whether they can do it or not. Much these days comes down to who the media trot out as candidates, and whether the selection panel knows what it's doing. Regardless, whether an assistant can step up is always the big unknown.
Surely an experienced head coach would have been a better fit for St Kilda
After the Watters experience, you would think so. And there were plenty available. Mark Williams was obviously spoken to and a deal couldn't be done. Michael Voss, John Worsfold, Rodney Eade, Brett Ratten. These were people who could have fitted the bill. St Kilda, who have a young list already and three top 20 draft picks they will build their next decade around, have taken a big risk. The selection committee will have to live or die by this decision.
What are Richardson's perceived strengths?
Richardson has one of the sharpest football minds in the game, and his influence has been heavily felt at Port where he and Hinkley have turned the Power from a rabble 12 months earlier to a finals team. He has worked through all levels as an assistant – from development and player academy roles to a senior assistant's job primarily around footy strategy. His development skills will be invaluable working with a Saints player list with so little experience. It bears striking similarities to Port's list at the end of 2012 when he started there. That worked out well. The Saints are clearly pinning their hopes on him achieving similar things.