Richard Tambling
Richard Tambling
Personal information
Full name	Richard Tambling
Date of birth	12 September 1986 (1986-09-12) (age 23)
Place of birth	Northern Territory
Recruited from	Southern Districts (NT)
Draft	4th overall, 2004 Richmond
Height/Weight	180cm / 80kg
Position(s)	Midfield/Forward Pocket
Club information
Current club	Richmond
Number	30
Playing career1
Years	Club	Games (Goals)
{{{years}}}	Richmond	66 (47)
1 Playing statistics to end of {{{statsend}}} season .

Richard Tambling (born 12 September 1986) is an Australian rules footballer in the Australian Football League.

[edit] Early Life

Richard has Indigenous Australian heritage and his ancestry can be traced to the Woolna, a Northern Territory tribe.^[1]

[edit] AFL career

In the 2004 AFL Draft Tambling was a first round selection, the number four pick overall, and drafted to the Richmond Football Club. Richmond had the opportunity to recruit Lance Franklin, some say this was bad judgement made by the Richmond recruitment personnel.^[2] In comparison to Franklin, Tambling's tenure at Richmond has been enigmatic. He had long been considered a dominant player up in the Northern Territory with his explosive speed and ability to read the play; he only confirmed that status throughout the 2004 pre-season. Terry Wallace was particularly impressed, saying he and Deledio were the "best young kids in the country". However, criticism followed as lower draft pick Lance Franklin (pick number five that year) has become a superstar of the competition whist Tambling has struggled.

[edit] 2005 and 2006

He played in 12 games in the 2005 AFL season and a further 21 in the 2006 AFL season. In the latter stages of 2005, Tambling struggled with injury, including a broken toe and a consistent hamstring problem.

[edit] 2007

The speedy youngster came under scrutiny in previous seasons, but showed what he can do when he booted four first-quarter goals against West Coast in round five.

[edit] 2008

Tambling has further developed his game in season 2008 and has spent more time in the midfield. While his time on ground may not be big, Tambling has proved a handy midfielder who has the ability to win the contested football and kick goals.

[edit] 2009

The constant criticism of the underperforming midfielder reached new heights in the round 3 match between the Western Bulldogs and the Richmond Tigers. Tambling's game was viewed by many experts as one of the worst performances of faltering career due to the amount of costly turnovers from his small total of 12 possessions. He received a bronx cheer from the Richmond fans after getting his first kick which also happened to be a turnover. Coach Terry Wallace later explained that Tambling had become a father in the two days earlier, which had affected his sleep before the match. ^[3] Tambling was dropped from the Richmond team for the following match against the Demons. After a week at Coburg, he returned to the AFL in arguably the best form of his career. Very influential against Sydney, Fremantle, and the West Coast Eagles, he was finally showing the ability that was expected of him with his high draft pick. Going on to reach the best form of his career, he was awarded with several BOG performances in the latter part of the season and became one of the most important players in the Richmond lineup.

[edit] Notes

[edit] External links

• Richard Tambling profile on the Official AFL Website of the Richmond Football Club
• Richard Tambling's statistics from AFL Tables