1 Damien Hardwick’s computer meltdown. As he and Matthew Knights were chasing the Essendon job in 2007, to replace Kevin Sheedy, Hardwick’s poor reaction to a malfunctioning Powerpoint presentation was seen to lead to Knights landing the position. 2 They never stopped taking their first-round pick in the draft. Even with the misses — Ty Vickery, Ben Lennon, Reece Conca’s injury history, Corey Ellis’ modest start — they just kept going. Now first-round picks Nick Vlastuin, Brandon Ellis, Daniel Rioli, Alex Rance and Jack Riewoldt are all having careerbest years. 3 The Tigers nailed their rare early picks. The only top-five picks on their list are captain Trent Cotchin (pick No.2, 2007) and best player Dustin Martin (No.3, 2009). 4 In 2013 board members Malcolm Speed and Maurice O’Shannassy tussled for the presidency. Thrust forward was the most unlikely compromise candidate, an American lawyer and board member. Peggy O’Neal has turned into an inspired president who backed Hardwick at his most vulnerable last year. 5 After taking Aaron Fiora over Matthew Pavlich and Richard Tambling over Lance Franklin, the Tigers got to the 2007 draft and arrived at pick No.18. Terry Wallace told them, whatever they did, take the big bloke over the small. So they took Alex Rance over Scott Selwood (22) and the rest is history. 6 Richmond defended Martin to the hilt when “chopsticks-gate” hit. Even if his father thought the club could have done more, Martin felt supported enough in his time of crisis to re-sign with the Tigers eventually. 7 Cotchin found a personal mentor who urged him to bare his soul and open himself up. And he started playing like his father-in-law, renowned Footscray hard man Rick Kennedy. He redefined his reputation and, in the process, brought the players together. 8 Blake Caracella felt Chris Scott stopped listening to him about Geelong’s gameplan. They are still close friends — and Caracella’s wife still works at Geelong — but it paved the way for him to help invigorate Richmond’s ball movement in 2017. At Geelong, he wanted quicker ball movement from defence, a tactic he brought to Richmond. 9 Martin Hiscock and his “Focus on Footy” group completely blew their board challenge. They lacked a point of difference and seemed so inept, it strengthened the position of the incumbents and Kevin Bartlett, who made the No.29 his own, helped save Richmond in 1990; and (right) defender Nathan Broad, who was plucked from the WAFL, shows the players’ love for coach Damien Hardwick. sucked the oxygen from subsequent board challengers. 10 Collingwood believed Neil Balme was too soft. The Magpies wanted an in-your-face mover and shaker in Graeme Allan as their football manager, not Balme’s quiet and calm brand of leadership. He had no choice but to jump ship and has led the resurgence at Richmond. Above all else, Richmond needed a cuddly bear who affirmed what it was doing right and fixed what it was doing wrong. 11 Justin Leppitsch was sacked as Brisbane Lions coach. His stellar work on Rance’s footwork and defensive craft in his first assistant stint at Richmond had turned Rance into a champion. Leppitsch became the forward coach who combined with Riewoldt to overhaul the Tigers’ attack. 12 The Tigers got rid of the ridiculously big leadership group that never ended. Instead, Cotchin, Riewoldt and Rance form a tight-knit bunch who lead on the field and by example off it. Rance and Riewoldt never got along that well, but now they are as thick as thieves. 13 Brett Deledio got sick of Richmond and headed to Greater Western Sydney. Not only did the Tigers get first and thirdround picks for him, his departure opened up a half-forward spot for Dan Butler or Jason Castagna. That led to the pressure game that has won the Tigers so many games. 14 Richmond learnt from its losses. It was mocked as mentally weak when it lost to the Western Bulldogs, Fremantle and GWS in Rounds 7-9. But in the next week’s Dreamtime game against Essendon, its leaders were exemplary in the final frantic minutes. Cotchin was huge, Rance marshalled the defence and Riewoldt kicked a big goal. The Tigers had worked it out. 15 Vickery believed he could turn his career around at Hawthorn. He seduced Richmond’s coaches with his potential in 119 games, luring them into playing him most weeks. Only when he was gone and Ben Griffiths was out concussed did Richmond realise playing one ruck and one key forward could change its entire game style. 16 The Tigers started picking on rivals. They exploited Sydney’s salary cap issues by dragging away required player Toby Nankervis for pick No.46 and recruited Gold Coast midfielder Dion Prestia, even if he did cost them pick No.14 and megabucks. 17 Richmond was so bad in 2016, it was handed a dream draw this year. The Tigers won their first five games, of which only one opponent (West Coast) ended up playing finals. Even when they lost four in a row in Rounds 6-9, it gave them a buffer to rebound and make the top four. 18 In the final five homeand-away games, they played only one club that played finals — Geelong, for a 14-point loss at Simonds Stadium. Needing wins to make the top four, they beat Gold Coast, Hawthorn, Fremantle and St Kilda to finish third. 19 Mrs Hardwick. She told her husband to pull his head in, stating he wasn’t the man she married. How many people could deliver that message in a way that makes you listen, rather than want to sleep on the couch for the next four years? 20 Great injury management and durable players who have hardly missed a game in the past eight years, and freakish good luck with collision injuries. Rance, Cotchin, Martin, David Astbury, Dylan Grimes, Shaun Grigg, Daniel Rioli and Brandon Ellis have played every game; Kane Lambert, Kamdyn McIntosh and Nankervis have missed one, Riewoldt and Butler two. 21 They mined the state leagues. Nathan Broad was a mature-ager taken at pick No.67 from WAFL club Swan Districts; Lambert was a VFL star no one believed would make the grade. Broad might play on Tom Lynch tomorrow; Lambert has had a careerbest year. 22 Like his great mate and mentor Alastair Clarkson, Hardwick has started to innovate. No one has ever got through to a Grand Final with a five-man mosquito fleet, let alone a 190cm ruckman (Grigg). Hardwick pushed Ellis to halfback and turned Prestia into a tagger. 23 Hardwick’s players love him and always have. The Tigers lost 10 games by five or more goals last year, but the players mobbed him like he was their father when they beat Collingwood in Round 20. He hadn’t lost that emotional connection despite Richmond’s poor year. 24 The Tiger Army. When Richmond wanted to clear its debt, the supporters, and benefactors such as David Mandie, came from everywhere. It means Richmond has state-ofthe-art facilities, $2 million in the bank, $20 million in assets and the cash to fund a standalone VFL team that replicates the game style and coaching in the senior team. 25 “Damien’s first wish for recruiting was that they have good kicks and character,” former football manager Craig Cameron said of Hardwick’s demands when he arrived at the club. A team that once butchered the ball has built a game plan on ball retention. Martin has made his mistakes, but they don’t have too many ratbags or distracting controversies. 26 The footy gods started smiling on Richmond, which often played teams this season with their best player out or sore. For instance, in the prelim it took on a GWS team without Shane Mumford and Jeremy Cameron, and with Steve Johnson under a fitness cloud. 27 Riewoldt grew up. The dual Coleman medallist might not have been receptive five years ago to playing a totally teamoriented gameplan where so many of his acts are selfless. 28 The footy gods II. When they played the Giants in Round 18, the rain came tumbling down when GWS was all over them. The Tigers flicked a switch and out-grunted the flighty GWS. Wins like that shored up a top-four spot. 29 KB. The man who wore the No.29 jumper with distinction riles Carlton fans, rules traditionalists and the AFL. But Kevin Bartlett helped save the club’s skin with the 1990 fundraising drive, meaning Richmond still existed to turn into a powerhouse today.
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