One-Eyed Richmond Forum
Football => Richmond Rant => Topic started by: one-eyed on May 28, 2025, 11:54:31 PM
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Mid-season report card
Ben Waterworth, Jack Jovanovski, Ben Cotton, Will Faulkner, Catherine Healey and Max Laughton
Fox Sports
May 28th, 2025
RICHMOND (16th, 3-8, 69.2%)
Three word analysis
Exceeded all expectations.
What’s gone right
Many thought the Tigers would struggle to win a game this season, let alone manage three in their first nine and exhibit genuine growth in Adem Yze’s second season. A lot of attention has understandably been focussed on the club’s eight highly-touted first-year youngsters, and while a few have already made an impression at the top level, it’s been players from the two-to-four-year bracket who’ve taken crucial steps in their AFL journeys; the likes of Tom Brown, Sam Banks and Seth Campbell. Banks is currently in the midst of the best patch of his young career; averaging 27.3 disposals over the past three weeks as Richmond’s preferred ball-user exiting the defensive half. His 19.7 disposal average is a whopping 7.7 jump on last year’s number. Brown, too, has flourished — and not only as a terrific kicker of the footy but as an intercepting presence; prompting coach Yze to liken the 21-year-old to premiership stalwart Nick Vlastuin. His 1.8 intercept marks per game are classed as elite among general defenders. Campbell, meanwhile, has been one of the league’s most opportunistic forwards, upping his goals-per-game average from 0.5 last year to 1.5 this year. Otherwise, structurally speaking, the defensive operation under Yze appears to be paying dividends. Over the past six weeks, Richmond has allowed its opponents an average of just 40.2 points from turnover; second in the competition over that time period. The return of Noah Balta, despite the on-again-off-again nature of his playing schedule, has undoubtedly propelled this improvement. And it’s come as former top-10 draft pick Josh Gibcus and 2023-24 first-team regular Tylar Young remain sidelined with injury. Also, the fact that the Tigers have unleashed seven debutants this year — the most in the competition — is also a positive, with five of them draftees from last November.
What’s gone wrong
The engine room is where the Tigers have struggled to really make ground. They lack game-changers between the arcs, and it’s shown in the metrics. In terms of differentials this year, Richmond ranks 18th for points from clearances, 17th for clearances and 16th for contested possessions. Tim Taranto accumulates and is the club’s hardest body at stoppages, but his disposal in open play still lets him down at times, while running mate Jacob Hopper isn’t doing enough damage with his disposals. No.1 draft pick Sam Lalor, ideally, would have been given more run at centre-bounces — attending only 24 per cent of them this year — before last Friday night re-aggravating the hamstring that cost him the back end of his draft year; set to spend four-to-six weeks on the sidelines.
Trade and contract priorities
Tom Brown was Richmond’s best uncontracted commodity before the club earlier this month secured his services through the 2027 season. It leaves Sam Banks — a flourishing 2021 draft pick like Brown — as the Tigers’ utmost retention priority, having been on a hot recent run. Thomson Dow is without a contract beyond this year, and while he’ll miss a substantial period due to a kneecap dislocation, he’s likely done enough to earn a new deal. Elsewhere, calls on veterans Dion Prestia, Kamdyn McIntosh and Tom Lynch will have to be made at some stage.
Mid-season grade
B+
https://www.foxsports.com.au/afl/afl-2025-midseason-report-card-every-clubs-trade-targets-grade-and-review-of-first-half-of-season-analysis-latest-news/news-story/64ec8056997fe1715c61a774d4ca875c
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A for me.
Have won as many or more games in half a season than we were projected to win all year.
Lots of kids playing.
Good stuff.
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B- we’ve been more competitive than I thought, one negative though is that we seem to play worse against teams hhhbwe were chances to beat, Saints, Power, Melbourne for a quarter and a half….
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B- we’ve been more competitive than I thought, one negative though is that we seem to play worse against we were chances to beat, Saints, Power, Melbourne for a quarter and a half….
I think the pattern we're seeing is good teams getting complacent, decent teams belting is for %, and genuine contests against similarly crap teams.
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B+ from me
Kids getting opportunities even though some are clearly not ready, can make out the game style now, seems to be more buy in this year by the players, less sugar coating by the coach after a loss
Future looks exciting
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The win/loss is about what I thought but 2 of the teams we have beaten are above my expectations.
The rating is an A purely in round 1’s result.
This is all about season by season progression - the key report card is this time in 2027.
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PROs:
- Getting 3 wins on the board early in the season already eclipsing last.
- Getting games into Faull, Armstrong, Lalor and Sims.
CONs
- Injuries to Smillie, Armstrong, Lalor.
- Some experienced players still being named regardless of form.
- Losing to North (only because we have their pick and want to keep them down the bottom).
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A for me.
Have won as many or more games in half a season than we were projected to win all year.
Lots of kids playing.
Good stuff.
Said it all +1
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SEN's mid-term grades
Andrew Slevison
SEN
7 June 2025
Richmond
“The greenest and rawest of students are being shown the way by some fabled seniors and a second-year teacher.
“Everyone expected a dunce but the Tigers have shown they are so much more.
“The class of 2024 has done plenty to help stuff this rebuild which appears to be well ahead of schedule. B+.”
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FULL LIST OF GRADES:
ADELAIDE: A
BRISBANE: A
CARLTON: C-
COLLINGWOOD: A+
ESSENDON: B
FREMANTLE: B
GEELONG: A-
GOLD COAST: A-
GWS GIANTS: B-
HAWTHORN: C
MELBOURNE: D
NORTH MELBOURNE: D
PORT ADELAIDE: E
RICHMOND: B+
ST KILDA: B-
SYDNEY: E
WEST COAST: C+
WESTERN BULLDOGS: A+
https://www.sen.com.au/news/2025/06/05/sens-mid-term-grades-all-18-afl-teams-assessed
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Damian Barrett from his Sliding Doors column:
(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/GsuSsBJakAATQ1u?format=jpg&name=small)
https://www.afl.com.au/news/1335571/if-the-dogs-are-still-questioning-if-they-should-re-contract-bevo-then
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Thanks db for your idiot comments
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When it comes to Barrett , think Cornes with glasses , not happy unless he’s is being negative , come to think of it he may be a ghost writer for someone on this forum ?
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Biggest concern is the wins that seem to have everyone thinking improvement.They have been mostly on the back of older players.
We play like we are doing our best to limit getting belted.
Really good that kids are getting games but do they really have a choice.Most of the kids are not really having good games week to week but that is to be expected.
Long term improvement will not come on the back of older players it will come on the back of a pile of kids we drafted last year and the coming two or three seasons.
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Biggest concern is the wins that seem to have everyone thinking improvement.They have been mostly on the back of older players.
We play like we are doing our best to limit getting belted.
Really good that kids are getting games but do they really have a choice.Most of the kids are not really having good games week to week but that is to be expected.
Long term improvement will not come on the back of older players it will come on the back of a pile of kids we drafted last year and the coming two or three seasons.
You think we're worse than last year?
Surely nobody thinks the 7 or so drafted players are supposed to be winning us games this year. Or next.
Season is going perfectly to plan bar some injuries which is mostly expected, just a game of duck duck goose.
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Thought it would be impossible to be as bad as last year.
What im saying is im not sure of what improvement we have had obviously some, but i worry it seems to be mostly on the back of older players who will also need replacing in the not too distant future.
Any games the youngsters get should hold them in good stead for next year thats when we will see how they are really tracking.
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Thought it would be impossible to be as bad as last year.
What im saying is im not sure of what improvement we have had obviously some, but i worry it seems to be mostly on the back of older players who will also need replacing in the not too distant future.
Any games the youngsters get should hold them in good stead for next year thats when we will see how they are really tracking.
We won't see significant on field improvement for a while.
Playing the kids and seeing their talent is succeeding this year.
And next year.
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(https://resources.richmondfc.com.au/photo-resources/2025/06/10/95c52d55-e9ed-49d4-85e5-54feae84f9ed/l0DRZQRw.png?width=2480) (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qiPpnYeOFXM)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qiPpnYeOFXM
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Looks like they're in the dock as the co-accused. Most fitting. :shh
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I feel the main reason why we have exceeded expectations this year is because the senior core have played out of their skin . Individually they have played the odd poor game but as a collective we couldn’t have asked for more .
Compared to last year we have had a golden run with injuries and availability.
The kids have all shown glimpses and it looks like we have nailed the draft - but they will require a number of pre seasons before they become solid and reliable AFL players.
We could have won 5-6 games but that wouldn’t be a true reflection of where we are at , we are currently a bottom 3 team.
There’s competition for spots , hopefully that will lead to more wins this year . Plus the injection of more elite youth is exciting.
I don’t think our improvement will be linear. We could lose more games next year , I
guess it depends on list management decisions at the end of the season.
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Tiger leaders maintain strong belief
Richmond’s leaders reflect on the first half of the campaign.
By Henry Milic
RFC website
13 June 2025
Tiger leaders, Toby Nankervis, Tim Taranto and Nathan Broad, have reflected on the season so far, giving their thoughts on how the side has performed across the first 13 rounds.
Nankervis said the belief within the group hasn't wavered, despite the side suffering some heartbreaking losses after letting some winnable positions slip.
“I think it has been a really positive start for us,” Nankervis said.
“Clearly, it would have been nice to get some more wins, but I think our system is really stacking up against every team we play, and I have great confidence that we can compete with anyone.
“I think that will be a great platform for the back half of the year.”
Broad highlighted the importance of developing the next generation of Tigers as they rise through the ranks.
“We have seen a lot of growth from our young kids and a lot of development, which has been awesome,” Broad said.
“We are in the industry of winning games, and we could’ve won a couple more, but we have seen some growth from the kids, and we are really excited for the second half of the year.”
Nankervis added that the next crop of Tigers have already become key contributors for the side.
“The guys have come in with so much energy,” Nankervis said.
“To think some of the guys are just 18 years old and they are playing like a 100 game player is a real testament to how hard they have been training and the work they have been putting in during the week."
Taranto feels the team can compete with anyone, but insists they need to keep building upon their systems to deliver a more consistent performance.
“There is that belief that we can win any game that we go into,” Taranto said.
“The main thing is just to keep that system building and teaching the young boys how to play consistently for four quarters.
“You just really review the standards, the culture and the trademarks that we believe in every week really honestly, and if you do that consistently over time, wins will come.”
The leadership group had high praise for coach Adem Yze and the rest of the coaching staff, who are dedicated to guiding Richmond through its current journey.
“Yze has been amazing, and he really has got strong relationships with everyone,” Taranto said.
“He has a really good connection with the young boys and older boys, so that is his strength, and he will continue to grow that.
“Having the likes of Blake Caracella come in and have fresh ideas, as well as Truck (Ben Rutten), he has been amazing in taking control of the mindset side of things with the group, which has been a real growth of the program.
“It is just great to see that everyone, no matter who you are, is looking to improve, coaches, players, older players, and we are always giving each other honest stuff.”
https://www.richmondfc.com.au/news/1803556/tiger-leaders-maintain-strong-belief
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RICHMOND
Positive: Defending turnover — third for points against from turnover.
Negative: Stoppage — 17th for clearance differential, and last for points against from clearance.
The Tigers have improved their ability to defend turnovers over the course of the season, ascending to third in the competition over the past six weeks. And they’re in great company over that period, with only Collingwood (29.8 points conceded) and Geelong (34.2) allowing less than Richmond (36.6). But as has been the case for the vast majority of this season, Adem Yze’s Tigers have struggled in the midfield. They’re bottom-two for generating clearances, and they’re dead-last for defending their opposition once they lose at the initial stoppage.
https://www.foxsports.com.au/afl/afl-2025-champion-index-analysis-column-stats-every-clubs-best-and-worst-statistical-trend-in-past-six-weeks-essendon-bombers-collingwood-magpies-carlton-geelong/news-story/b1ea00c4de4e1c725a78a4048654a585
Despite the influx of youth, Yze is ready to attack the second half of the season to try and fast track the development of his Tiger cubs. “We are not content with where we sit. We know what the outside noise is and where the predictions were with where we are going to finish, but we are still trying to grow and climb,” Yze said. “We are not happy where we are, we are still second last on the ladder. We are trying to fight our way back up the ladder and fast track the development of our younger players.”
https://www.foxsports.com.au/afl/afl-2025-the-blowtorch-round-15-preview-every-clubs-burning-questions-analysis-stats-how-to-watch-on-fox-footy-commentators-latest-news/news-story/7ed5585011127e571d5954aa42d69453