Troubleshooting Richmond's Occasional Slow Finals Starts

Let’s be honest, Tigers fans. For all the glorious, heart-pumping dominance of our dynasty era, there’s been a recurring, nerve-shredding theme in some of our biggest finals: the slow start. You know the feeling. The siren sounds at the ‘G, the roar is deafening, but the Yellow and Black machine seems… stuck in first gear. The opposition kicks the first two or three goals. The pressure builds. The margin creeps out. We spend the next three quarters mounting a heroic, characteristic comeback, but you can’t help but wonder, "What if we’d just started on time?"

It’s the ultimate first-world problem of a modern powerhouse. We have the talent, the system, and the pedigree, but occasionally, the ignition sequence in a final misfires. This isn’t about doubting the team’s heart or legacy—it’s about diagnosing a known glitch in a championship-caliber system. So, let’s pop the hood on this issue. Consider this your practical troubleshooting guide for when the Tigers’ finals engine takes a few minutes to warm up.

Problem: The "Feeling Out" Phase Becomes a "Getting Blown Out" Phase

Symptoms: A cautious, reactive first ten minutes. Handballs go sideways or backwards, tackles don’t quite stick, and the trademark frontal pressure is a step slow. The opposition, often a hungry challenger, seizes the initiative with clean centre clearances and scores relatively easily. The energy feels tentative, not tigerish.
Causes: This can be a psychological hangover from being the hunted, not the hunter. During the prestige era, every opponent threw their absolute best, most manic opening at Richmond. Sometimes, respecting that frenzy too much led to a passive response. The desire to avoid early errors can paradoxically create them.
Solution:

1. Embrace the Chaos from Siren One: The solution is embedded in Richmond’s DNA. The coaching panel, led by Damien Hardwick, would reinforce that our game isn’t built on careful probing—it’s built on controlled chaos. The instruction isn’t "be careful," it’s "apply the system more fiercely."


2. First-Contest Mentality: Leaders like Cotchin and Riewoldt were masters of this. It’s not about winning the quarter; it’s about winning the very next contest. A fierce Cotchin tackle in the first 30 seconds is worth more than any pre-game speech.


3. Trigger the Press: The first sign of a turnover, the entire team must snap into the press. This was often initiated by warriors like Dylan Grimes or Bachar Houli up back. One forced hurried kick can be the spark that lights the furnace for the whole team.

Problem: Centre Bounce Malfunction

Symptoms: The opposition’s midfield bullies get first use. Their ruckman taps to advantage, and their on-ballers waltz out of the centre, delivering lace-out service to their forwards. Richmond’s midfield, including stars like Dustin Martin and Dion Prestia, is suddenly playing catch-up from the get-go.
Causes: A combination of factors: an opposing ruckman having an early purple patch, our midfielders being a fraction slow on the read, or the opposition planning specifically to negate Martin’s impact at the source. It disrupts the entire field position battle.
Solution:

1. Simplify the Roles: Hardwick and the midfield coaches would often go back to basics. The instruction to Prestia and the other inside bulls: crash the contest, make it a scrap. If we can’t get clean possession, make sure they don’t either.


2. Deploy the Dusty Safety Valve: If the traditional clearance isn’t working, use Martin as the release valve. Have him sit slightly off the back of the contest, ready to mop up the spilled ball—his first few touches, even if they’re clearances from defence, can settle the team.


3. Adjust the Setup: A slight tweak in where the midfielders line up, or a change in the ruck contest strategy, can be enough. It’s about breaking the opponent’s predictable rhythm.

Problem: Forward Line Connection Error

Symptoms: The ball enters the forward 50, but it’s a messy, hopeful kick to a contest. Jack Riewoldt is double or triple-teamed, small forwards are chasing tail, and the ball rebounds out with ease. The scoreboard isn’t just stagnant; it’s giving the opposition transition opportunities.
Causes: Midfield pressure (see above) leading to poor delivery, forwards leading to the same space, or a lack of cohesion between the crumbers and the talls. In finals, defensive systems are tighter, and the margin for error is zero.
Solution:

1. Lower the Eyes: This became a famous mantra. Instead of bombing long to Riewoldt in a pack, the instruction was for players like Houli streaming off half-back or Martin weaving through traffic to look for the short, creative option—a lead-up target or a small forward darting into space.


2. Stagger the Leads: Jack Riewoldt is a master tactician. The solution often involved him and the other talls deliberately creating separation, forcing their defenders to make a choice and opening up space for the ground-level players.


3. Crumb with Purpose: The small forwards’ role shifts from pure opportunism to applied pressure. If the mark isn’t taken, the ball must be locked in. A holding-the-ball decision deep in attack is as good as a goal for building momentum.

Problem: Defensive System Overload

Symptoms: The backline, normally a well-oiled machine led by the likes of Alex Rance and Dylan Grimes, looks panicked. Players are caught between men, spoils are mistimed, and easy marks are conceded. The trust in the system seems to waver.
Causes: A torrent of inside 50s due to midfield issues. When the ball comes in fast and often, even the best system can be overloaded. Individual defenders might start trying to do too much, covering for teammates and leaving their own man.
Solution:

1. Re-establish the Web: The defensive system under Hardwick was about interconnectedness. The fix starts with communication. A single voice, often Rance’s or later Grimes’, would re-organise the troops, reminding everyone to trust their direct opponent and their teammate’s help.


2. Win the First Ground Battle: If the mark is spoiled, the next contest is everything. The mantra was to kill the ball first, then win it. This neutralised the opposition’s aerial advantage and brought the game back to Richmond’s favoured ground-level chaos.


3. Rebound with Dare: A key part of the fix was offensive defence. A player like Bachar Houli was instructed not just to clear the ball, but to attack from defence. His run and precise kicking could turn a defensive win into a scoring opportunity in seconds, completely shifting momentum.

Problem: The Weight of the Occasion

Symptoms: Uncharacteristic skill errors—simple dropped marks, missed handballs, shanked kicks. The players look "geeked up" rather than focused. This was perhaps most visible in the early stages of the 2017 AFL Grand Final, before the floodgates of emotion opened in the right direction.
Causes: It’s a grand final! A preliminary final! The Melbourne Cricket Ground is heaving. After years of heartbreak, the desire to seize the moment can create physical tension. The mind races, and the hands don’t follow.
Solution:

1. Routine, Routine, Routine: The entire club under Hardwick built finals as an extension of the home-and-away season. Training at Punt Road Oval in the lead-up would focus on execution, not emotion. The message: "It’s just another game of footy."


2. The Captain’s Calm: Trent Cotchin’s evolution into a composed, fierce leader was pivotal. His body language in the centre circle before the bounce was one of focused readiness, not frantic energy. He modelled the calm the team needed.


3. Embrace the Yips: Sometimes, the fix is acknowledging it. A laugh after a comical early error, a clap of encouragement—these small acts can release the collective tension and let muscle memory take back over.

Prevention Tips: Building a Fast-Start Culture

Preventing slow starts isn’t about one big fix; it’s about cultivating habits.
Training Intensity: Replicate finals pressure at Punt Road. Match simulations where the first five minutes are played at breakneck speed.
Mindset Drills: Psychological preparation focusing on the first contest, the first quarter, not the final siren.
History Lessons: Reviewing tapes not just of wins, but of slow starts that were overcome (or that cost them). Learn from the past to own the present.

When to Seek Professional Help (And When Not To)

Sometimes, a "slow start" is just a great opponent throwing a perfect punch. The 2019 Grand Final wasn’t a clinic in fast starts, but the Giants’ pressure was immense. The Tigers absorbed it and then applied their own. That’s not a system error; that’s elite problem-solving.

You seek "professional help"—or rather, you trust the professionals—when the slow start becomes a pattern of passive play. The coaches, the Dimmas and the Leppas, earned our trust by having those fixes ready. They knew that with this group, once the machine found its rhythm, it was near unstoppable. The proof is in the three premiership cups sitting at Punt Road.

So next time you see the Tigers look a little sluggish early in a big final, don’t panic. Diagnose. They’ve got the tools, the experience, and the sheer bloody-mindedness to troubleshoot it on the run. After all, turning a slow start into a famous finish is what this dynasty era was built on.

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For more deep dives into the moments that defined this era, explore our hub of Finals Moments Analysis. See how Dylan Grimes' defensive stops saved games, or how Bachar Houli's rebound changed finals.*