Richmond are well aware that repeating as premiers in 2020 won't be just as simple as turning up and going through the motions.
After winning the 2017 Grand Final, Richmond couldn't capitalize on a fantastic 2018 season that saw them finish minor premiers, but fell to Collingwood in the preliminary final.
They bounced back in 2019 to claim two flags in three years.
The disappointment of 2018 was a strong turning point for the Tigers and they took full advantage of turning their misery into success.
2020 will be a different challenge for the Tigers, and GM of football Neil Balme knows within that improvement and development on all fronts for thew club are going to be the keys to again be successful in 2020, especially with the league becoming more competitive.
โYou genuinely have to get better,โ Balme said on SEN SA Breakfast.
โIf we just think that last year is going to be good enough for this year, we are kidding ourselves.
โYou do have to get better, you do have to make sure you consider what the next step is. How we can get better at what we do, what the other teams are going to do and what weโll have to cope with.โ
Balme identified the ways in which the Tigers go about their business in order to achieve ultimate success.
โOur blokes have never really focused on the ultimate outcome,โ he said further.
โItโs been about whatโs the process like, enjoy training, help each other, work with each other and be as good as you can be.
โItโs not doing anything apart from just turning up and enjoying your work. It may sound like a throwaway line but if thatโs what your focus is, itโs much easier to come up again and have another go this week and next week.
โThe outcome looks after itself.โ
Richmond have been heavily regarded as one of the best organisations on all fronts in recent seasons, but Balme says the Tigers as a whole are always working to better themselves.
โI think we are much more organised and better at working out what our game strategy is and what our โPlan Bโ is than we ever were,โ he added.
โWe have some plans we are trying to put into place to get what we did last year a little bit better.
โHopefully it will be good enough, but I think the other teams will be doing the same. Theyโll look very closely at what successful looks like and theyโll work pretty hard to make sure they can combat it.
โWeโre not kidding ourselves that itโs going to be easy.โ
