ALAN Richardson is on the verge of the most unwanted of coaching records.
Should St Kilda lose – as expected – to a barnstorming West Coast on Saturday in Perth, the Saints coach will hold the equal-worst record of any coach to 100 games since 1967.
From 99 games coached to date, including one at Port Adelaide in 2013 as Ken Hinkley fell ill, Richardson has 34 wins to his name.
It is a tally he will share with Robert Shaw's record with Fitzroy and Adelaide between 1991-1995. Shaw coached the Crows until the end of 1996 and finished with 130 matches.
In VFL/AFL history, only Bill Stephens (25 wins at Fitzroy) and Jake Hale (33 at South Melbourne and Hawthorn) had lesser records from their first 100 matches, both men doing the bulk of their work in the 1950s and 1960s.
Michael Voss (38 wins) and Mark Harvey (41) both showed promise in their tenure but were cut short on, or just after notching the ton.
Richardson's contract was renewed in November by the 10-person Saints board until the end of 2020 after two finals near-misses.
However, the 1-8-1 record since has caused questions to be asked by the same board.
Head of football Simon Lethlean last week put the spotlight on the players in the 40-100 game bracket, the same players Richardson will lean on in the remaining 56 games on his on contract.
The immediate task will be made tougher with star defender Jake Carlisle (suspension) and Nathan Brown (knee) out for the next two matches. Dylan Roberton (heart) and Koby Stevens (concussion) have been ruled out for the rest of the season.
Even Richardon's former captain Nick Riewoldt shared concern last week for his short-term future as the pressure mounts.
After the trip west, Richardson's 100th St Kilda match will be against Sydney at Etihad Stadium before Gold Coast on the road, Melbourne at the MCG and Port Adelaide in Adelaide.
He will take comfort in Damien Hardwick starting with 42 wins from his first 100 matches at Richmond. He had to wait until game 182 to guide Richmond to a breakthrough premiership.
Alastair Clarkson, Adam Simpson and Ken Hinkley have all built on their records after passing the ton and Richardson will be hoping for the same to play out for him.
YOUR COACH'S FIRST 100 GAMES
CLUB | COACH | WINS FROM FIRST 100 | WINNING % |
Adelaide | Don Pyke | 40 from 59 (67.7%) | 59 games @ 67.7% |
Brisbane | Chris Fagan | 6 from 32 (18.8%) | 32 games @ 18.8% |
Carlton | Brendon Bolton | 19 from 59 (32.2%) | 59 games @ 32.2% |
Collingwood | Nathan Buckley | 55 from 100 (55%) | 146 games @ 52.1% |
Essendon | John Worsfold^ | 60 from 100 (60%) | 336 games @ 50% |
Fremantle | Ross Lyon^ | 64 from 100 (64%) | 272 games @ 58.5% |
Geelong | Chris Scott | 74 from 100 (74%) | 177 games @ 70.1% |
Gold Coast | Stuart Dew | 3 from 9 (33.3%) | 9 games @ 33.3% |
Greater Western Sydney | Leon Cameron | 53 from 100 (53%) | 103 games @ 51.4% |
Hawthorn | Alastair Clarkson | 51 from 100 (51%) | 315 games @ 61.9% |
Melbourne | Simon Goodwin* | 19 from 33 (57.6%) | 33 games @ 57.6% |
North Melbourne | Brad Scott | 52 from 100 (52%) | 189 games @ 51.3% |
Port Adelaide | Ken Hinkley | 56 from 100 (56%) | 124 games @ 57.3% |
Richmond | Damien Hardwick | 42 from 100 (42%) | 192 games @ 52.1% |
St Kilda | Alan Richardson* | 34 from 99 (34.3%) | 99 games @ 34.3% |
Sydney | John Longmire | 68 from 100 (68%) | 183 games @ 67.8% |
West Coast | Adam Simpson | 63 from 100 (63%) | 103 games @ 64.1% |
Western Bulldogs | Luke Beveridge | 48 from 81 (59.3%) | 81 games @ 59.3% |
*Alan Richardson (Port Adelaide) and Simon Goodwin (Essendon) coached one match before joining their current clubs. Brendon Bolton (Hawthorn) coached five games before joining Carlton.
^John Worsfold's first 100 games came from his time at West Coast. Ross Lyon's first 100 games came from his time at St Kilda.
YOUR COACH'S CONTRACT STATUS
Adelaide – Don Pyke - 2021
Brisbane – Chris Fagan – 2019
Carlton – Brendon Bolton – Rolling contract
Collingwood – Nathan Buckley – 2019
Essendon – John Worsfold - 2020
Fremantle – Ross Lyon - 2020
Geelong – Chris Scott – 2019
Gold Coast – Stuart Dew – 2020
Greater Western Sydney – Leon Cameron – 2020
Hawthorn – Alastair Clarkson – 2019
Melbourne – Simon Goodwin – 2019
North Melbourne – Brad Scott – 2020
Port Adelaide – Ken Hinkley – 2021
Richmond – Damien Hardwick – 2021
St Kilda – Alan Richardson – 2020
Sydney – John Longmire – 2020
West Coast – Adam Simpson – 2019
Western Bulldogs – Luke Beveridge - 2020
