Wallace confirms 2009 will be his last

Besieged Richmond coach Terry Wallace concedes he won't be coaching next year and
that his days at the AFL club are numbered.

Wallace, who is in the final year of his lucrative five-year deal with the Tigers,
will notch 500 games as a player and coach when he takes charge against Fremantle on
Saturday night.
But the 50-year-old admits he doesn't know when he will be shown the door by
Richmond, although he confirmed he would definitely not be coaching next year.
"I'm not going on next year as a coach, that's where that sits," Wallace said in
Perth on Friday.
When asked whether he had been guaranteed his job until round 22, Wallace replied:
"I'll do what the Richmond footy club needs me to do.
"I've said publicly before that we'll just keep in contact, myself and the club ...
it's always a moving picture.
"You just do what you think is right at any course in time.
"I'll just do what's right for the Richmond footy club and that's what I'm doing."
Last week, Wallace revealed he had lost 4kg within a matter of days as the stress of
the club's disastrous start to the season and reports of a player revolt hit home.
But Wallace declared he was "fighting fit", despite the perception his health was
suffering.
"I think I've fielded 20 calls from home today about 'hope I get well' and that I'm
ill and all these sorts of things," he said.
"I don't know where they come from or how they start, but I'm fighting fit and
looking forward to coaching tomorrow night.
"I made one comment just to let people know that the stress actually does impact you
and has an effect.
"I said over three or four days I lost a few kilos and all it says to you is make
sure that you look after yourself when you're going through stressful times, and
that's anyone.
"That was more a comment for the general public to say we all deal with the stresses
of industry, whether it be the AFL industry or any other industry, and that's the
most important time to look after yourself, which I've done."
Meanwhile, Wallace revealed former Eagle Ben Cousins, who broke his hand against
Port Adelaide in round eight, may have been given another week off to recuperate had
Saturday night's fixture against Fremantle not been in Perth.
"I think in normal circumstances he might have been touch and go for the game but
there's no way he was going to miss the opportunity to come back home and play, so
he's right," Wallace said.
"He'll certainly come out and play tomorrow night.
"There's still a bit of swelling there.
"But there's no real risk of further injury with the plate sitting across the break
site, so from that point of view we've got no problems with it."
Wallace, who played 174 games for Hawthorn, 11 for Richmond and 69 for the Western
Bulldogs, before coaching 148 games for the Western Bulldogs and 97 games so far for
Richmond, said he had given little thought to his 500-game milestone.
"It doesn't mean much," he said.
"Personally when it's all done and dusted and you sit back and have a look back at
what you've achieved, that's when you look at those sort of things and say 'well
that was a nice time in your life.'
"But a win to get up at the moment, that's where it sits 100 per cent."