VFL SEASON PREVIEW: RichmondVFL website
5 April 2019Richmond VFL senior coach Craig McRae gives his thoughts on the club’s upcoming Hard Yakka / Totally Workwear VFL season.
2018 FINISH: 5th (14-6 record)
2018 HONOURS: Anthony Miles (J.J. Liston Trophy – joint)
2018 BEST AND FAIREST: 1. Anthony Miles / 2. Corey Ellis / 3. Jake Aarts
2018 AFL DRAFTEES: Jake Aarts (Richmond – rookie)
OTHER CURRENT AFL DRAFTEES FROM CLUB:
Selected in 2017: Derek Eggmolesse-Smith* (Richmond) 0 games
2019 SEASON START: vs Geelong @ GMHBA Stadium, Friday April 5 (CLICK HERE for full fixture)
KEY RECRUITS
Lachlan Street (21yo in 2019, from Frankston YCW): “We’ve retained 15 of the players who were here last year and topped up with some younger guys looking for opportunities. Lachie is one of them, and he looks exciting as a tall midfielder with good decision-making ability and a strong body. He has really excited us in the pre-season.”
Luke Nelson (22yo in 2019, from Noble Park): “Luke is a smaller forward who kicked four of our eight goals in a VFL practice match against Essendon earlier this year. He looks exciting as an opportunist around goal.”
POTENTIAL BIG IMPROVERSHugh Beasley (24yo in 2019, 23 VFL games): “Hugh had an interrupted season last year through injury (two VFL games) but he’s done a full pre-season. He’s an ex-Brisbane AFL player (six games in 2015-16) who’s a good leader and a strong body for us as a key defender.”
Daniel Coffield (23yo in 2019, 43 VFL games): “Daniel was also limited early last year with some knee issues, but he’s had a good pre-season as well. Our back line could consist of two or three AFL-listed key defenders as well as Hugh though, so Daniel might have to play a bit higher up the ground.”
Blake Grewar (26yo in 2019, 14 VFL games): “Blake is a former Brisbane AFL rookie (in 2017) and probably had an average season last year by his own high standards. He played in the Northern Territory over the off-season to keep his fitness up and looks like he’s ready to produce his best. He played as an inside midfielder/forward in 2018 and hopefully we’ll be able to give him more time in the midfield this year.”
Shaun Mannagh (22yo in 2019, 20 VFL games): “Shaun is such a great trainer and he always looks like he’s growing as a player – we always hope to see that natural progression in young players. He’s learning the craft of playing more as a forward this year after playing mostly on a wing in 2018.”
Charlie Thompson (20yo in 2019, six VFL games): “Charlie had some terrific games last year as a 23rd player and hopefully he gets some more opportunities this year. We’re trialling him as a forward instead of playing him as an inside midfielder. He’s a terrific trainer.”
ELIGIBLE 23rd PLAYERS TO WATCH
Nick Baltas (21yo in 2019, no VFL games): “Nick was on our list last year but had some injuries. He’s a lively forward who has showed he’s capable of doing exciting things.”
Lewis Diggins (20yo in 2019, no VFL games): “Lewis won Beaumaris’ best-and-fairest last year (in VAFA Premier B Division). He was on our list for a full year in 2018 and started to understand what it takes to play at this level.”
LEADERSHIP MATERIALCaptain: Steven Morris (31yo in 2019, 34 VFL games)
“Steve is an outstanding leader and character, by voice and by action. He keeps the group together. I think his leadership has evolved because now there are enough players around him that have been here long enough to know what’s required and he can sort of direct them a bit more, rather than delegate. He’s also such a great connector for us between the VFL and AFL lists, because he knows what it takes to play at the top level (87 AFL games for Richmond from 2012-17).”
Leadership group members: Jacob Ballard (25yo in 2019, 59 VFL games)
Tom Silvestro (24yo in 2019, 51 VFL games)
Daniel Coffield (see above)
Hugh Beasley (see above)
James Fletcher (24yo in 2019, 23 VFL games)
Brenton Credlin (25yo in 2019, eight VFL games)
TEAM STRENGTHS“We’ve kept the core of our VFL list together and you can see at training that the third and fourth-year players just understand our system better now. It’s just about what opportunities they have with the AFL-listed players coming into the team.
“We’re going to be a lot younger in AFL terms after losing players like Anthony Miles, Sam Lloyd, Corey Ellis and Tyson Stengle (via trades to other AFL clubs). There’s an obvious change in dynamic because we’ve replaced them with first-year AFL midfielders, but I think having more experienced VFL players will be where our strength lies.”
ASSISTANT COACHING PANELBack line coach: Ryan Ferguson (retained from 2018)
Midfield line coach: Xavier Clarke (retained from 2018)
Forward line coach: Paul Griffiths (retained from 2018)
Coaching coordinator: Mark Sophoulis (retained from 2018)
HEADLINE YOU WANT TO SEE“Something around ‘VFL Tigers mirror the AFL Tigers’ in the way they attack the ball and pressure the opposition – that’s the goal.”
https://vfl.com.au/vfl-season-preview-richmond-2019/
