Richmonds half-step back will continue for the rest of the AFL season, with the two strides forward to come next year.The Tigers were widely tipped to snare a top-four berth this season but are 13th on the ladder, four wins outside the eight, with seven rounds to go.Coach Damien Hardwick raised eyebrows after his sides round-three loss to Adelaide when he said the Tigers might need to take a half-step back to go forward after losing three elimination finals in succession.Early hopes Richmond could retool their team on the run and still play finals evaporated as the losses mounted and, with September off the agenda, the coach will continue to give opportunities to the likes of Oleg Markov, Jason Castagna and Liam McBean.Weve always spoken about those kids and weve been really excited about them but they werent ready at the start of the year, Hardwick told reporters on Thursday.We were probably at a stage where we were looking to jump up (the ladder), but thats where that half-step backwards to go two steps forward came into it.The season hasnt gone to plan for us; were well below our expected level of performance. As a coaching and playing group, we accept that and weve got to get better.I think mathematically we can still make (finals) - our focus is still on winning games - but its also about giving the side a springboard into 2017.The futures of key forward Ty Vickery and speedy defender Chris Yarran remain key issues as the Tigers plan for success.Vickery is languishing in the VFL but, while he might be out of form, he isnt out of favour.Im a big fan of Tys ... he can play, Hardwick said when quizzed on Vickerys future.Yarran returned to the club a fortnight ago after taking leave to seek treatment for a mental health issue.Calf and foot injuries have kept the former Carlton star sidelined all season and Hardwick remains unsure if hell make his debut for the club in 2016.Hell just keep working through that (rehab), he said.Hes missed a significant amount of training and, when hes right to play, hes right to play.When that is? Were not to sure at this stage. 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Gareth Bale Jersey .Y. -- Canadas Kaillie Humphries and Heather Moyse have another World Cup gold medal after winning the two-women bobsled race on Saturday in Lake Placid, N. Joe Allen Jersey . The Swede became the first golfer to win the PGA Tours FedEx Cup and European Tours Race to Dubai in the same season. "It is still taking a little time to sink in what Ive achieved this week as was the case when I won the FedEx Cup but then it just kept getting better and better as the days went on and I am sure this will be the same," he said. The NRLs under-20s competition will be scrapped at the end of next year, Australian Rugby League Commission chairman John Grant has confirmed.The youth competition has been on borrowed time since former NRL head of strategy Shane Richardsons whole-of-game review last year but there was speculation it may continue beyond 2017 in some capacity.Instead, statewide under-20s competitions will be rolled out in NSW and Queensland, while the NSW and Queensland Cups will be expanded to take on an elevated role in rugby leagues development pathway, Grant said.Theyll be more on television, theres going to be more clubs in the competition and theres going to be stronger connections through to the NRL clubs to make sure we get players from the NRL who arent playing for their team each weekend to come back into the tier two competition, Grant told reporters in Brisbane on Friday.The national under-20s competition has been plagued by concerns it is not an adequate finishing school and puts undue pressure on young players.Grant defended the ARL Commissions attempts to limit the earning capacity of NRL rookies as negotations continue over a new collective barganing agreement.The Rugby League Players Assocation is philosophically opposed to capping salaries but Grant said it was a sensible way to fix to a clear problem.The fact is we taake young men in our game away from their homes too early, we put them into intensive competitions, we ask too much of them and quite frankly weve had some disastrous outcomes, he said.ddddddddddddThats all about giving them expectations beyond what is reasonable at the time and frankly paying them too much money will do that.We understand the RLPAs situation and weve got an obligation to negotiate with the RLPA around these sort of things. But by the same token, were really trying to respond to the issues weve got.Meanwhile, Grant indicated a name change may be on the cards for the NSW and Queensland Cups as their current monikers dont ring true given the level of current and future international involvement.The Papua New Guinea Hunters have played in the Queensland Cup since 2014 while the entry of a Fijian team into the NSW Cup is expected to be approved in the coming weeks.What it does for PNG is fantastic, rugby league is their national sport and it really means something to them. Its the same with Fiji, Grant said.We have players in our NRL competition that come from all of those places and weve got to make sure theyve got local rugby league that they can see thats at the elite level. ' ' '