Richmond may rethink its use of Mohammed Ali-style ‘rope a dope’ tactics, coach Terry Wallace has admitted after the club’s 157-point loss to Geelong on the weekend.
Wallace said the Tigers had decided to adopt the tactic, which Ali used to defeat heavyweight rival George Foreman in the 1974 ‘rumble in the jungle’, after observing a butterfly at training.
“It looked like a great plan,” Wallace told the bladder.com. “Ali huddled up against the ropes for several early rounds, absorbing such a pounding that everyone, including Foreman, pretty much assumed the bout was over.
“We all know how that fight worked out, so before this week’s ‘Tuesdays with Terry’ the rotating group of player assistants and I agreed a great way to beat the Cats would be to pretty much roll over for the first few quarters and let them pound the living shit out of us.
“We’d flirted with this in round one, when Kane Johnson won the toss, won the first possession, then kicked the ball 50m the other way. But this time we thought, we’re 5 and 0, it’s time to do this thing properly.
“In hindsight, Ali also had the plan of coming off the ropes and whaling into his tired opponent. That was the bit we overlooked.”
“Oh, well, back to the five year plan,” Wallace said.
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‘Rope a dope’ tactic flawed, Wallace admits
