There are plenty of talking points to come out of Round 12 of the AFL, and Adem Yze suddenly finding himself under the pump after Richmond's 114-point loss. Is the pressure fair?
Let's get to this week's overreactions column, where we judge the biggest takeaways as legitimate or irrational.
Adem Yze should be feeling the pressure to keep his job
The Tigers are reeling after a 114-point loss to the Swans at the SCG on Saturday afternoon. At one stage it looked like Sydney could pass the 200 point barrier (they finished on 170 from 45 scoring shots), dominating all parts of the ground, with differentials in disposals (+113), inside 50s (+26), and marks inside 50 (+21) the most stark.
It's put the blowtorch firmly on Richmond coach Adem Yze, now into his third season at the helm of the rebuild with a win-loss of 9-49 (15.5%). Some footy pundits have even declared he's getting a "free pass" and isn't under enough scrutiny.
Verdict: Overreaction
There are some short memories in footy media. Richmond are barely a week on from an impressive win over Essendon in the annual Dreamtime game, their second win for the season. Sure, the Tigers won five matches in 2025, but that was widely considered overs. There were many in the media who thought they may even go winless in 2025.
Let's look at their wins so far this season: West Coast and Essendon. Two teams many think should finish bottom four. So the Tigers are beating who they should -- or could. To have two wins already on the board, and with the injury list as long as the federal budget papers, is impressive.
This season, the Tigers have already used 37 players, more than any other team other than Carlton, which has undergone a regime change. Here are just some of the names who have missed significant chunks this season: Sam Banks, Sam Cumming, Josh Gibcus (out for the year), Sam Lalor, Tom Lynch, Rhyan Mansell, Kane McAuliffe, Toby Nankervis, Hugo Ralphsmith, Maurice Rioli Jr., Tim Taranto, Luke Trainor, and James Trezise. Combine this with not being able to get good looks at draftees from the past three drafts, like Josh Smillie, Judson Clarke, and Taj Hotton, and two wins suddenly looks like a fine result.
Young, inexperienced teams are always going to struggle against battle-hardened sides like the Swans, at home. Richmond isn't the first, and won't be the last team to get belted at the SCG. Sydney has the best percentage in the league, and a high-flying attack.
What's important at this stage of the Tigers' development is getting games into the kids, and culture -- and the players seem to love what Yze brings to the table, fostering a great environment for development despite the many setbacks.
Yes, the 15.5% win-loss isn't great, but what did everyone expect going into a scorched earth rebuilt? Alastair Clarkson, Leigh Matthews, Ron Barassi, and the aforementioned Chris Scott combined wouldn't be getting much more out of this Tigers side.
Give Yze -- and the Tigs -- time.
-- Matt Walsh
Want more ESPN in your Google search results? You can now tell Google to prioritise our coverage when you search for sports news. It takes about 10 seconds.
Google has rolled out a feature called Preferred Sources. It lets you choose which publishers appear at the top of your search results when news breaks. Pick ESPN, and our coverage of the NBA, NFL, NHL, MLB, WNBA, college sports, ONE Championship and global football will show up more often when you search for what's happening.
You stay in control. Google still shows you other sources too - your selections just get more weight when they're relevant.
