Tom Lynch [merged]

[georgies31]

If we can get our midfield going and work him with Jack watch out.

[one-eyed]

Tom Lynch 'will only get better': Hardwick

Steve Barrett
The Age
14 April 2019

Sounding an ominous warning for AFL rivals, Richmond coach Damian Hardwick reckons prized recruit Tom Lynch is only going to get better once he reaches peak fitness and becomes fully immersed in the Tigers’ style.

Lynch slotted six goals in Saturday’s gutsy, nail-biting seven-point win over Port Adelaide, including the back-breaking sealer with 40 seconds remaining.

Lynch switched to Richmond from Gold Coast as a restricted free agent last summer and, after an interrupted pre-season spent recovering from posterior cruciate ligament (knee) surgery, is setting 2019 alight.

‘‘He just creates a contest; he’s a big, strong boy,’’ Hardwick said.

‘‘Those players are worth their weight in gold.

‘‘When he came in we spoke about the fact he’s going to make players around him better too, giving them opportunities when the ball hits the ground.

‘‘That clutch goal was the reason you bring a player like that to our club.

‘‘We’re very fortunate he chose us and he’s settled in really well.

‘‘He’s just starting to find his fitness – he’s missed six months of footy and he’s played four games now.

‘‘He’s only going to get better.

‘‘Once he starts and continues to understand our system and what’s required at certain times, he’s going to continue to improve and, more importantly, improve us as a side.’’

https://www.theage.com.au/sport/afl/tom-lynch-will-only-get-better-hardwick-20190413-p51dxa.html

[mat073]

Absolute gun.

[JP Tiger]

I do like the way Tom crashes packs & his opponent with intent at every opportunity!  Its the only way to deal with the blockers out there.  Step in front of Tom at your peril!     

[Willy]

Showed a fair bit of mongrel yesterday. Loved it.

[Damo]

He looked like a Tiger yesterday .. flew the flag like a leader

Part of the team for good now

[one-eyed]

Lynch making the most of Riewoldt partnership

By SEN
14 April 2019

Richmond forward Tom Lynch is enjoying partnering with Jack Riewoldt, admitting he’s learned a lot off him in a small period of time.

Although Riewoldt has been out of action with injury, Lynch is taking advantage of the situation, highlighted by his six goals against Port Adelaide yesterday.

The former Gold Coast forward says he never had the opportunity to work with an experienced player like Riewoldt, but is enjoying the opportunity at the moment.

“When I was coming to Richmond, I was pretty excited to partner alongside Jack, who’s obviously been a great player for a long time,” Lynch told AFL Nation.

“His footy brain is probably up there with the best so it’s been great to learn off him.

“I haven’t had that throughout my career, someone a bit older in the forward line.”

https://www.sen.com.au/news/2019/04/14/lynch-making-the-most-of-riewoldt-partnership/

[one-eyed]

Lynch has delivered big time for Tigers already

Jon Ralph
Herald Sun
April 14, 2019 7:00pm

In his limited time as a Richmond player, Tom Lynch has been a one-trick pony.

But what a trick it is.

The Tigers spearhead turned matchwinner against Port Adelaide with a last-gasp goal after Dylan Grimes had saved it down the other end.

When he builds his fitness Lynch will again become the roving forward who at Gold Coast hit up on the wings and assisted teammates as the complete forward package.

Right now in an equation that would thrill coach Damien Hardwick, all he does is kick goals.

His 6.2 against Port Adelaide in the victory that dragged Richmond back to parity put his season total to 16.5 from 30 total kicks for the year.

He barely handpasses (six so far this season), he doesn’t have a hitout as a part-time ruckman and he has taken just 14 marks.

He doesn’t kick many points either, his 16 goals coming from just 23 shots at goal to put him behind only Anthony McDonald-Tipungwuti, Gary Rohan and Isaac Heeney for goal accuracy.

But he has delivered in spades, with the mouth-watering prospect for Hardwick that he can get so much better.

As Nick Riewoldt said at the start of the season, Richmond could have two of the best five forwards in the competition.

Lynch on Sunday said he was surprised but thrilled to receive a contentious double goal for a late push in the back.

He said the Tigers had embraced their underdog tag against Port Adelaide in a victory that saw Sydney Stack back up his debut and Jack Ross thrive with 25 polished disposals in his first game.

“We spoke about it before the game. We are going in as underdogs, let’s embrace it. We love being underdogs,” he said.

“There was all this talk about the big four out but Jack Ross came in and played a sensational game and Stacky backed up and it was Shai Bolton’s first game for the year.

“It was great for him to have the opportunity. (Ross) is a great kid, he doesn’t get flustered. The guys were talking in the midfield about how great he was to play with, he has a really mature head on his shoulders. We have found a player there.”

Lynch told SEN that he couldn’t wait for Riewoldt to return given how much he had learnt from the dual Coleman Medallist.

“It is one of the things coming to Richmond, I was really excited to partner Jack,” he said.

“His footy brain is up there with the best and it’s been great to learn off him. I haven’t had that in my career, someone to learn off which has been great.”

Instead of the backs-to-the-wall 1-3 win-loss record, the Tigers are at 2-2 with Dustin Martin to return against Sydney and Jack Riewoldt the following week against Melbourne.

Richmond knew what it had in Lynch as a long-term prospect yet even they couldn’t have believed he could have delivered this much so early.

https://www.heraldsun.com.au/sport/afl/teams/richmond/tom-lynch-has-done-nothing-but-kick-goals-for-richmond-so-far-this-season-jon-ralph-writes/news-story/96c01777710c891a15e714a3cb13118d

[one-eyed]

Underdone, but 'scary' Lynch still getting it done

AFL.com.au
Lee Gaskin
Apr 15, 2019

RICHMOND recruit Tom Lynch is living up to the hype surrounding his high-profile move to the Tigers, but teammate Kane Lambert says he's only scratching the surface of what he's capable of.

"It's scary that he's a little bit underdone, he's having a huge impact," Lambert told AFL.com.au.

"The sky's the limit for him.

"We're not expecting him to kick mountains of goals, that will be a by-product of playing his role, but it's a really exciting time for Tom and our footy club."

Lynch was outstanding for the undermanned Tigers in their gutsy seven-point victory against Port Adelaide at Adelaide Oval on Saturday.

The 26-year-old key forward booted six goals to take his tally after four games for his new club to 16.

He's second only to Greater Western Sydney's Jeremy Cameron with 17 goals in the race for the Coleman Medal.

Lynch is on track to eclipse his previous best of 66 goals in a season set in 2016 when he was playing with Gold Coast.

The former Suns co-captain only played 10 games last year after having a posterior cruciate ligament reconstruction late last season.

He joined the Tigers on a seven-year deal until the end of 2025 and has already shown his worth despite having an injury-interrupted pre-season, which didn't allow him to play in the JLT Community Series.

"I don't know from a goal-kicking perspective, but what I do know is he's just starting to find his fitness," Tigers coach Damien Hardwick said.

"He's missed six months of footy, so he's played three or four games now.

"He's only going to get better.

"Once he understands our system and what's required at certain times, he's going to continue to improve and more importantly, continue to improve us as a side."

Lynch stood up when it mattered against the Power, crashing packs, bringing teammates into the game and kicking a crucial late goal to seal victory.

"He just creates a contest," Hardwick said.

"He's a big boy and he's a strong boy, too … those players are worth their weight in gold.

"We spoke about when he came in, he's going to make players around him better and give them opportunities when the ball hits the ground.

"That clutch goal is the reason you bring a player like that to your club.

"We're very fortunate he chose us, and he's settled in really well."

https://www.afl.com.au/news/2019-04-14/underdone-but-scary-lynch-still-getting-it-done

[one-eyed]

After an interrupted pre-season spent recovering from knee surgery, Lynch is currently training once a week, Hardwick said.

"We imagine probably in the next month or two months he'll start to go to twice a week which will really start to improve his fitness level and his base levels from that."

Riewoldt's return and the four day break might have been a good opportunity to give Tom Lynch a break, with the key forward goalless on Saturday night after playing in every game this season.

But while Hardwick admitted the thought crossed his mind, he defended Lynch's performance last week.

"Look, if there was a week we thought about it [sitting Lynch out] - probably this week.

"But he pulled up remarkably well from the game. Again, his output according to his own feedback wasn't what he required, but he just crashed the pack and made contest.

"He crashed that pack to get Dusty Martin the goal I think in the third and last quarter which was a crucial time, and you know he's only going to get better and fitter as he starts to get back into full training."

Source: The Age

[one-eyed]

Gun Richmond forward Tom Lynch said it was satisfying for the Tigers to win in an attritional manner.

"It was good to just grind away and grind away, and end up getting over the top of him," Lynch told The Age.

"I think all our defensive stuff was really good. It was pretty workmanlike."

Lynch said he was enjoying playing with Riewoldt.

"He’s good to play with, he’s obviously a star. We’ll grow that connection but it worked pretty well."

Having had worked his way back from knee surgery that ended his last season at Gold Coast, Lynch said he was looking forward to the long break, but that his knee was feeling was good.

He also relished the chance to play in the Anzac Day eve blockbuster in front of more than 72,000 at the 'G.

"It was unreal," Lynch said.

"It was a pretty special game. To walk out, obviously The Last Post is playing and all the lights are off. It's pretty amazing. I got a bit of a thrill out of it before the game. It was unbelievable."

https://www.theage.com.au/sport/afl/riewoldt-avoids-suspension-but-braces-for-time-off-with-injury-20190425-p51han.html

[Tigeritis™©®]

IMO he doesn’t lead enough.

He needs to launch himself and smash the packs.

I know he hasn’t had a proper preseason but he isn’t working hard enough off the ball & he complains to the umpires too much.

If he just worked hard leading and presenting and smashing packs then maybe he would get a better result. Looks really slow too, dare I say it, maybe even slower than Caddy.

He definitely not as creative as Jack.

I was expecting better from him but in his defence our midfield isn’t playing very good and our forward 50 entries are putrid.

[Chuck17]

Ahhhhh just like old times

[mightytiges]

Virtually the antithesis of his game against Port where he didn't take any crap from opponents and he did crash packs. Tonight was a shocker especially from a former club captain and high profile recruit. Sure our mids got smashed and the delivery was poor but he dropped several marks someone of his class should take and he didn't work hard enough. If you're being well held close to goal then lead up outside 50 and try to run your opponent ragged.

[Jackstar is back!!!]

Embarrassing