Terry Wallace - Richmond Tigers

[The Optimist]

Terry Wallace - what can you say about him that hasn't already been said?

I think that you will find that he will become a long term Richmond Tigers coach. Now perhaps not as long as Tom Hafey who coached for 11 seasons and perhaps not as long as Jack Dyer who coached for 12 seasons (Tom Hafey coached more games though - 248), but he will most probably go again after his first contracted 5 year period finishes.

Terry brings to the Richmond Tigers (as does the Richmond Tigers board bring to Terry Wallace) a sound long term committment to bring enduring success to the Richmond Tigers. This success has eluded the Richmond Tigers for the best part of 25 years now.

However, Terry Wallace's strengths are not just his committment, but his media friendly nature that delivers the Richmond Tigers a considerable return in marketing dollars that many other coaches just can not provide.

Yes, I hear you that being media savvy and friendly does not bring you a premiership.

Agreed.

However, he is more than that. He is a very astute match day coach as well. You may recall the he was the only coach to stop a rampaging Essendon Bombers in the 2000 season (I think) in the 20th game of the season using the now infamous flooding tactics that threw Kevin Sheedy off his game and the Western Bulldogs won the game and stopped the Essendon Bombers from, winning their 20th straight game. There are many other examples of his skill in the coaches box.

To be a good leader you must be able to put a good team in place and allow that team to take responsibility for their roles. Terry does this very well. The Richmond Tigers have developed a very good coaching group under Terry Wallace and they have been recruiting for the past 3 drafts. It is still too early to determine how good these guys will be, but after the 5th season under Terry Wallace they will need to be playing their part in influencing games significantly. The jury is out on this, but they will be given every opportunity to be the best that they can be under Terry Wallace and the rest is in between their ears as to how much that they really want it.

Terry Wallace will succeed at the Richmond Tigers, it is only when this will happen and not if.

If I was to look into my crystal ball I would say top 4 in 2009 and the plan being to stay there for a while as opposed to in and out like in 2001/2.

After having only played for the Richmond Tigers for one season Terry Wallace is back to finish the job that he came over to do many years ago and that is to take the Richmond Tigers to premiership glory.

[Brades]

I'm not a fan of Wallace. He's more show and talk than getting results. He's never really done anything for a side yet.. where as Eade for the Dogs has.

[The Optimist]

A bit harsh, given the fact that all of the best players that are running around at the bulldogs were put in place by Terry Wallace.

Again, he was given the responsibility of building a side from the groud up and it is only now getting there.

I think when you start with nothing it is very hard to win a premiership, but if you start with the makings of a great side where the work has been done then you only have to tweak to get a premiership.

If you wish to take the Sydney Swans as an example (Rodney Eade's old side) Paul Roos did not put this team together Rodney Eade basically did this.

So I think that if Terry Wallace has enough time at the Richmond Tigers then I beleive that he has the ability to do this. What is the right length of time - well it might be 10 years. But if he was to do this then he would have overachieved because the odds say that you will only win a premiership every 16 years now.

[Brades]

Indeed they were, but that isn't just the coach, there is alot of people that go into a recruiting staff and the ultimate decision usually rests with the recruiting manager.

A decent coach, but not a premiership winning one.

[The Optimist]

Not yet anyway!

[TalkingFootball]

Top quality Salesperson, maybe the best footy "salesperson" ever.

However, until he has won a premiership I'm yet to be convinced he is the tigers messiah.

Wallaces 5 year deal was more a reflection on Richmond's tragic past in regards to how they treat their coaches.

Mate when the pressure pours on ... as always the Tigers will turn on their own.

[The Optimist]

Richmond had the worst list in the AFL 3 years ago and whilst it is nowhere near the best list in the competition it is improving and will continue to improve.

A coach unfortunately has to recruit and coach for the "now" - however, Richmond realised that they needed to make a 5 year comittment to allow some long term thinking in their list development.

Terry Wallace CAN coach this is not up for debate. He is one of the best match day coaches in the AFL, so Richmond would do well to allow him to do this job for a minimum of 10 years to ensure that list development is the key criteria.

Richmond have been the absolute worst team in the AFL for the past 25 years and this is due solely to their short term view of list development and coaching contracts.

Coaches who have 2-3 year coaching contracts will only develop their list in this time frame. Coaches in their last year will recruit for today and trade their 1st and 2nd round draft picks.

Richmond will not do this in Terry Wallaces first 5 years.

His commitment is to retain as a minmum a 1st round draft pick every year.

Wallace is good and whether or not he wins a premiership is debatable and somewhat up to the gods, but if a coach is coaching for 15 years he must have at least one premiership under his belt (looking at the odds).

If Wallace coaches Richmond for 10 years by rights he should bring one home to Richmond.

Let him do his job as he is doing the best he can with the stock that he has available.

Yes coaches are measured on results (by the media and the uninformed only), but at Richmond in Terry's first 5 years he is not being measured on results alone.

[Johnny Drama]

Terry Wallace spent two years in the media prophesizing and spinning propaganda about himself so that a club might think he was worth an investment. Richmond took the bait and it shouldnt be surprising considering their recent history.

When he said that " a decade of opportunity would begin in 2011'" thats ridiculous, he is already thinking about his next contract. The salary cap and the draft are designed to make every team competitive, internal decisions are where teams fail.

[Judd3]

I think he's a great coach, he took the Bulldog's within a whisker of a Grand Final in 97, and made the Prelim again the next year in 98. He's a darn good coach, and he coached his beloved Bulldog's to that famous win in 2000 against the Mighty Bombers, their only loss of the season.

Big Deal if Richmond aren't winning, he doesn't play on the firld for them.



Wallace is class.