Wallace says let history judge me

Terry Wallace wants history to judge his tenure at Richmond despite his quitting as
Tigers coach before the halfway point of the AFL season.
Wallace said on Monday he and the Richmond board had agreed that he should stand
down so the Tigers could get on with preparing for life beyond 2009, and so he could
seek a position at a rival club.
Despite retaining a passion for the game, Wallace is resigned to knowing that at 50
and after two separate coaching stints, that position is unlikely to be a head
coaching role.
Richmond, currently in 15th spot with just two wins, will name a caretaker coach on
Saturday and outline their search for a full-time replacement.
Wallace wants to stay involved at AFL level and could become the latest former
coach, following the likes of Neil Balme, Neale Daniher and Chris Connolly, to take
an operations position and oversee a football department.
Wallace's four-and-a-half season reign at Richmond will end with Friday night's
clash against the Western Bulldogs, the club he coached from 1996-2002 with far more
success.
He took the Bulldogs to preliminary finals in 1997-98, but the best he could achieve
with the Tigers was ninth (twice).
His Richmond success rate of 37.75 is lower than that of predecessor Danny Frawley
(39.82), who took the Tigers to the 2001 preliminary final but was much maligned at
the end of his tenure.
Wallace played for Richmond in 1987 and said he returned as coach to get the club -
which has reached the finals just three times since its 1980 premiership - "back on
top".
He failed, but was confident his successor would inherit a playing list rich on the
types missing when he took over - players aged in their early 20s capable of
producing 10-year careers.
"My last tick in the box won't be determined for a few years," he said.
"You've got your own checklist as a coach and my last (item on the) checklist is `Do
the players who are running around who are 21, 22 years of age, do they develop into
the players that this footy club wants?'
"That will either be a tick or a cross in my box in two, three, four years time."
Wallace took a swipe at Richmond's planning before his time, as the club was a
"basket case" off-field and only appointed its first full-time recruiting manager
and development coach in recent years.
Despite boasting the class of Brett Deledio (the No.1 pick in the 2004 national
draft) and Trent Cotchin (No.2 in 2007), Richmond's recruiting has been their
Achilles in recent years and Wallace highlighted how influential it was in coaching
success.
"I look at the two clubs I've coached, do I get any credit for the players who are
at the Bulldogs or does (recruiter) Scotty Clayton get all the credit?" he said.
"Or should I take the pain and the punishment for decisions that were made at
Tigerland?
"It is the unknown, but the bottom line is the buck stops with the senior coach and
I've got no issue with that."
That said, Wallace said injuries to senior players Matthew Richardson, Nathan Brown
and Ben Cousins had played a major part in their bad start to 2009, along with
losing close games prior to Saturday night's three-point win over Fremantle.
Richmond's caretaker is likely to come from assistant coaches David King, Wayne
Campbell, Craig McRae and Jade Rawlings, with Brian Royal considered unlikely given
his close ties to Wallace.
Wallace's departure gives Richmond an early start over rivals who could be on the
look-out for coaches for 2010, as the futures of Collingwood's Mick Malthouse, North
Melbourne's Dean Laidley and Port Adelaide's Mark Williams remain uncertain.
Geelong's Mark Thompson, the Bulldogs' Rodney Eade and West Coast's John Worsfold -
the other coaches out of contract - are considered safer bets to be at their current
clubs next year.