Swingman Jacob Koschitzke replaced Blight in the Black team’s defence on Friday — clearly the stronger of the two with senior regulars aplenty — and could find himself an early piece of Richmond’s defensive puzzle this season amid widespread unavailability.
Koschitzke, following an inauspicious maiden season at Tigerland playing in attack, has been training as a defender throughout the pre-season.
On Friday at Punt Road, Koschitzke initially spent match simulation with the Yellow side, which was mainly made up of fringe Tigers and a handful of VFL-listed players.
Morris said Koschitzke is “absolutely” pushing for a Round 1 berth in defence.
“Kozi is one of those players where we know what he’s going to give us up forward, but we want to find out whether there’s something more that we might be missing down back,” he said.
“With Noah missing the first part of the season, it’s important that we’ve got some insurance there (in defence), and Kozi’s putting his front foot forward.
“I’m looking forward to seeing his progression down back in our group of backs over the coming weeks.”
With Josh Gibcus (knee), Noah Balta (suspension) and Tylar Young (knee) out of action to start the season, there is a wide-open window of opportunity for the former Hawthorn forward.
Koschitzke was named at full back in the 2018 U18 All-Australian side.
https://www.foxsports.com.au/afl/afl-2025-tom-lynch-suffers-concussion-at-richmond-tigers-training-injury-update-jacob-blight-jacob-koschitzke-preseason-track-watch-punt-road-latest-news/news-story/45f584263012f45f761816e0eeb0fee2
