Assessing your club's defenders (afl site)

[one-eyed]

Lists by positions: defenders, part two
Jennifer Phelan
afl.com.au
February 2, 2014

With the NAB Challenge approaching, AFL.com.au will examine all the defenders, midfielders and forwards on your club's list. 

RICHMOND

David Astbury: Is expected to figure early in the season if he holds his form after an outstanding injury-free pre-season. Is fifth/sixth in running and has played at full-back and also up the ground.

Jake Batchelor: Is also benefitting from a full pre-season. Has major strengths including spoiling and one-on-one work, and is working on deficiencies to allow more consistent football at AFL level.

Troy Chaplin: Is rated ahead of where he was 12 months ago in regards to his knee. Is being managed well and the Tigers are rapt with how much training he's done. Will be important in a leadership sense again.

Ben Darrou: The developing third year rookie has surprised coaching staff with the inroads he's made, working with Mark Williams and Greg Mellor. Played on Aaron Edwards in an 18-on-18 game and showed promise. Pushing to play in the NAB Challenge.   

Matt Dea: Has had a strong pre-season after calf and shoulder injuries in 2013. Has played on Tyrone Vickery and Jack Riewoldt in a bid to increase his scope of opponents and give him more chance of playing seniors this year.

Dylan Grimes: Has to be managed through summer because of his injury history but has had more of a pre-season than he has in the past. His versatility will be important if he can manage his first full season in five years. 

Ben Lennon: First-year player who is comfortable playing midfield and forward but is learning the craft across half-back with the ball in front of him. Has impressed with his kicking and it's possible he could be eased in.

Dustin Martin: Has spent time training with the defenders this summer and will play back, forward and through the midfield. Will be used to attack off half back and help set up with his time spent in defence to develop his all-round game.

Matt McDonough: Drafted as a forward but has been playing in defence this pre-season. Has trimmed up, can find a target on both sides and is considered to have put together a really promising summer ahead of his second season.

Steven Morris: The Tigers' hardest trainer has taken his fitness to another level over the summer. Does everything at 110 per cent and may play on the ball at times this year given his impressive engine.

Alex Rance: Will look to put together a consistent season after a commanding start to 2012 and a strong end to last season. Is supremely fit, has had a full pre-season and is rated as one of their most important defenders.

Nick Vlastuin: Hasn't shown any signs of trailing off after 18 games in his debut season. Has increased his fitness, having not possessed a natural midfielder's engine, but will push into the middle at times this year.

http://www.afl.com.au/news/2014-02-02/lists-by-positions-defenders-part-two

[Phil Mrakov]

Grimes isn't having a full pre season ? I thought he played in the Carlscum final. Is he injury agin ?

[the claw]

no mention of houli mcintosh, newman,petterd or griffiths. mcintosh aside thats a good thing imo.
if hes not training with the defenders i  really dont get the reluctance of the club to play mcintosh in defense. trying lots of other options when the obvious is staring them in the face.

i firmly believe if astbury can hold down one key defensive role, atm that is to be seen but heres hoping,  .i dont think too many people realise the importance to find another good solid kpd  lets hope astbury is it. imo if he can do the job the back half could go something like the following.

morris - chaplin - rance
mcintosh - astbury - vlastuin.
it allows both mcintosh and rance to be more running types than defenders. it comes with the advantage of size and height and little lost in speed  agility and run..

in mcintosh - i believe we have a potential mackie or birchall.  imo hes potentially a better stopper  than those two to go with the run and decent foot skills he would provide.. play him not as a tall but an accountable running defender with the advantages his height provides.

the one who misses is grimes. and i have a lot of time for him as a player.
thing is hes never going to be big enough to play as a permanent kpd. so as a third tall option he needs to be more like a birchall or mackie  or alex rance. and quite honestly he doesnt atm have that componenet in his game. he doesnt get a lot of ball and when he does find a little bit theres no run. he really needs to add to this side of his game. not saying he cant play or hes no good defensively hes v/good in the air.  he just needs to add to his game and stay healthy.

imo steve morris -  is in a similar boat. while we dont want small forwards running amock we need morris to add just a little more run to his game and make his opponents accountable that way.
he really needs to keep his feet at all times as well. hes been around alex rance too much.

 darrou - gotta love the size height ratio. theres been some real good defenders who have been around 190cm but close to 100kg. with that size and strength it makes em hard to beat in one v ones.you cant budge em.
hes been rookied for the third yr they must see something good  this is what half  the rookie draft is about in many ways patience and development.

matt dea - i really like this player. i was going to say kid but at 22 turning 23 hes no longer a junior. reckon hes been a work in progress but hes now gotta take some decent strides forward.
straight line player who attacks man and ball hard with imo good skills.needs to improve decision making but that always was going to take time.  imo theres a spot in the back half up for grabs for a medium sized player he needs to grab his chance when it comes with both hands.

 batchelor - i have some  big issues with him. one is pace one  is height and size. to me its like hes not big enough or tall enough to play on kpps hes just not got the pace to play on smalls. the other is just how much he fumbles you need to be clean in defense.

lennon - i dont have a problem with the club playing him out of defense its a good place to learn the caper from.   you have to be able to do the primary job in doing so.
im not sure plying so many mids forwards back is the way to go we are screaming out for a really skillful quality sml forward lets develop mcdonough that way. if dusty motor hasnt improved i can see him getting run into the ground by a hard working forward or maybe we are going to forgo altogether the defensive side of the game.
besides how many proven quality sml/med forwards do we have yet we wish to play the 3 with the most forward line potential back. lets at least get areas settled and right before we start tinkering around too much.

rance well i have issues with him as everyone knows.  why not just take away a lot of the need to play one v one on big blokes and allow him to do what hes doing anyway  that is run and carry.give him grimes third tall role and see what happens. of course all depends on astbury taking strides forward.

vlastuin - this kid can do what luke hodge does down back in time. smart, courageous makes good decisions, tough,  leads from the front and uses the ball well most times.

[1980 I Was There]

Over the past thirty years one of Richmonds biggest downfalls has been kicking back into play after an oppositions behind.
Every year I cringe and cringe and then cringe some more at the way the ball comes out. You just knew it was going to end up being another goal for the opposition after we turned it over once again before even getting past the defensive 50.

2013, is the first time in a very very veeeeeeeeeery long time that have I seen this being executed well and I actually, for the first time in thirty years went through a whole season, confident, that we weren't going to turn it over (continuously).

This is a part of our teams game that needs to stay strong and confident.
Keep this up, and it's just one more step to making finals and not just making up the numbers either.