VFL Round 13: Richmond vs Northern Blues @ Preston - Sat, July 11 - LIVE on Ch 7

[one-eyed]

VFL stats courtesy again of grimlock from BF:



http://www.bigfooty.com/forum/threads/round-13-richmond-v-northern-blues-preston-city-oval-saturday-12-12pm-11-07-15.1103567/page-10#post-39562767

[one-eyed]

Back-to-back wins for VFL Tigers

By Catherine Durkin 
July 12, 2015

A third-quarter resurgence has led the Richmond VFL squad to a comprehensive win over the Northern Blues at Preston City Oval on Saturday afternoon.

After an evenly contested and low scoring first half, largely due to the torrential rain and hail that punctuated the second quarter, the Tigers lifted in the second half, culminating in a five goal to one final term in Richmond’s favour.

VFL coach Tim Clarke said he was thrilled with the players’ endeavour around the contest.

“We had wind today, we had rain today and our boys kept adjusting. The way they competed inside, the way they tackled, and put the Blues players under pressure was terrific,” he said.

“We had that expectation at our footy club this weekend, both last night and today. I thought the midfielders led the way in that area after quarter time and it was really pleasing.”

Clarke shrugged off suggestions that missed scoring opportunities early could have ultimately cost the team, with both teams held goalless in the second quarter.

“I think it’s hard sometimes to talk too much about how the boys convert goals. It’s more about trying to find a free target, trying to get more central shots on goal,” he said.

“The reason we won the game in the end was the way the players competed. Richmond footy is in, it’s hard and we try to make the game as physical as we can to win the game.”

AFL utility Dave Astbury played an influential game up forward and kicked two crucial goals late in the game, which spurred the Tigers to victory.

“The best thing about Dave is he is starting to get back to his best footy,” Clarke said.

“Whether he is playing forward or back for us, we are trying to train him up as that utility. He’s really starting to jump up at the ball now.  He took a couple of strong contested marks today in wet conditions.

“He’s going to be a really valuable player for our footy club in the next eight to 10 weeks so we need to get him up and coming so when an opportunity comes he’s ready to take it.”

Recently-upgraded rookie Matt Thomas continued his exciting recent form, leading the charge once again in applying pressure around the contest. He collected 27 touches, won nine clearances and applied 11 tackles.

Matt McDonough (23 disposals) and Ben Lennon (25 disposals) both had solid games on the wing and up forward, joining Thomas in putting their hands up for senior selection.

Richmond returns to the ME Centre next Sunday for its Round 14 clash with Port Melbourne.

FINAL SCORES
Richmond                   2.0       2.3       4.4       9.9 (63)
Northern Blues            2.2       3.6       4.6       5.9 (39)

GOALS
Richmond: McBean 2, Astbury 2, Scott, Cachia, Knights, McKenzie, McDonough
Northern Blues: Johnson 2, Watson, Viojo, Jaksch

BEST
Richmond: Thomas, Kruse, Astbury, McKenzie, McDonough, Barlow

http://www.richmondfc.com.au/news/2015-07-12/backtoback-wins-for-vfl-tigers

[one-eyed]

VFL match highlights ...

VIDEO: http://www.richmondfc.com.au/video/2015-07-13/vfl-round-13-highlights

Thomas highlights ...

VIDEO: http://www.richmondfc.com.au/video/2015-07-13/vfl-round-13-thomas

[Penelope]

uh oh.

a highlights package of thomas.

are we getting buttered up for something unpleasant?

[Diocletian]

St. Kilda will be buttering us up for something unpleasant if he plays.

[Lozza]

Its undeniable that Thomas gets the hard ball, the main issue with him is his disposal and looking at the highlights he mainly handballed which seems to be his best method. When kicking he seems to sling onto his boot and generally from what i have seen of him previously he turns the ball over more often than not. Having said this if he can get first hands on the ball in the middle and get it out to our runners by hand then thats a good thing, just need to minimise the damage his turnovers cause in between.

[one-eyed]

Richmond’s VFL coach Tim Clarke's summary ...

Matt Thomas
27 disposals, 11 tackles, nine clearances
Continues his rich vein of form.  He continues to lead from the front.  His decision making has been terrific. He’s really pushing hard for senior selection.

Ben Lennon
25 disposals, nine marks
Continues to play his role through the midfield.  He’s really starting to get hold of the wing position, and is starting to play good, AFL standard football.  He’s pushing hard for senior selection this week.

Matt McDonough
23 disposals, 11 tackles, one goal
Played a good mix of midfield and forward.  Impacted the game in both positions.  We were really impressed with his intensity around the contest, and the tackle pressure he put on.  He’s playing some good footy, and is pushing hard for senior selection.

Chris Knights
17 disposals, four tackles, one goal
Really good involvement for three quarters.  He’s a smart player as a half forward.  He gets involved, and had three shots at goal.  We expect him to continue his form over the next two or three weeks.

David Astbury
14 disposals, two goals
Was very good in the contest, and is playing really good, AFL standard footy.  Whether he’s playing forward or back, he’s impacting the game well.  He did a really good job on Liam Jones, then moved forward and kicked two critical goals late in the game.

Matt Arnot
11 disposals, four tackles
Is developing as a small back at the moment.  Continues to get the job done defensively.  We’re still looking at getting him more involved offensively, and that’s his challenge over the next few weeks.

Liam McBean
Two goals, eight disposals
Struggled early in the game to get split on his opposition players.  Didn’t really impact as a key forward.  He gave us some assistance in the ruck, then played deep forward.  In the last quarter he started to impact, kicking two critical goals late.

Reece McKenzie
One goal, eight disposals, 15 hitouts
Continues to impact well in the critical contests.  He wants to kick more goals, but his focus has been on providing us with a good target up the ground.  He continues to do that.  We’re really happy with his development.

Connor Menadue
Seven disposals, three tackles
Continues to play down back, and is still learning the role.  We expect him to get more offensive involvement, and that’s the challenge for him.  Defensively he’s been really good, and he’s playing his role well for the side.

Ivan Soldo
Six disposals, 10 hitouts
Played his second game of VFL footy.  He rucked most of the second half, and showed he’s going to be a solid ruckman for us in the future.  He’s still developing, and we’re really excited to see him play another game for us this weekend.

http://www.richmondfc.com.au/news/2015-07-14/the-vfl-report-round-13

[The Machine]

Loved the game of Soldo, so impressive for one so young an inexperienced. Mckenzie was fantastic and aggressive. Young Dunkley moves well but if does not improve his kicking he might have a short career