VFL Report: Round 15Richmond VFL coach Steve Morris provides a summary of how the Tigers’ players performed in last Sunday’s win against the Northern Bullants at Genis Steel Oval.
Chad Harris (28 disposals, 86% disposal efficiency, 13 marks, three rebound-50s, six inside-50s)“Chad was absolutely outstanding on the weekend. He had a number of key contests where he went back with the flight of the ball or put his head over the footy. He was strong in his defence and had a huge influence on offence.”
James Trezise (28 disposals, 93% disposal efficiency, nine rebound-50s)“James is in incredible form at the moment, and it’s mostly based off the back of his defensive efforts in recent weeks. We've seen his offensive game grow each and every week, and seeing his speed on offence on the weekend was really pleasing. He's banging the door down.”
Matthew Clarkson (26 disposals, 92% disposal efficiency, nine marks, three rebound-50s, four rebound-50s)“Matthew was outstanding in defence. He used the ball beautifully as we have come to expect from him, but he won it back for us so often on the day and was really composed.”
Thomson Dow (23 disposals, three marks, three inside-50s, six clearances)
“He's been in good form since coming back to the VFL team and has approached his footy in exactly the way that we would expect from him. He won footy in tight and helped us at clearance greatly and was fantastic again on the weekend.”
Cam Olden (22 disposals, 12 contested possessions, 86% disposal efficiency, five marks, five tackles, seven clearances, one goal)
“We've been asking for a spike from Cam, and we sure got it on the weekend. He went into our midfield mix, and his contest work was outstanding. He's a tough player who gets in and under, and it was good to see him hit the scoreboard as well.”
Lachlan Wilson (21 disposals, 81% disposal efficiency, four marks, three clearances)“Once again, just another really solid performance from Lachie. He's such an important part of our midfield, and we just love having him in our side.”
Kaleb Smith (20 disposals, 80% disposal efficiency, four marks, four rebound-50s, five inside-50s, four tackles)“Kaleb was really solid on the weekend. I think his run and drive off half-back was important for us, and he went into the midfield in the last quarter as a bit of a learning opportunity and showed some really exciting traits as a midfielder led by three tackles in a row to create stoppage at the start of the last quarter.”
Sam Davidson (19 disposals, 10 contested possessions, 79% disposal efficiency, eight marks, six goals)“Another outstanding game from Sam. His running power just continues to expose opposition defenders. He made the right decisions at the right time in aerial contests to either mark or spoil and bring it to ground, and he hit the scoreboard heavily with six goals.”
Joel Garner (19 disposals, 11 contested possessions, three marks, three inside-50s, five tackles, six clearances)“Like Chad (Harris), I thought Joel just led the team so well. He played in the midfield for the first three quarters and then across half-back for the last. He was an absolute wrecking ball inside, and his physical presence is something that you can't miss when watching our games.”
Austin Johnson (19 disposals, 95% disposal efficiency, seven marks, four inside-50s, two goals)“I'm a big fan of the way Austin plays his footy. He just knows our system like the back of his hand, and he is such an important part of our charge towards finals. He's a beautiful ball user, great runner, strong in contest, and he hit the scoreboard with a couple of goals on the weekend as well.”
Tom McCarthy (17 disposals, 88% disposal efficiency, seven marks, three marks)“So pleased with the way his form is tracking. He started the season in the midfield, but he's been really selfless in whatever role that he's had to play. On the weekend we asked him to play a role down back and he was outstanding yet again. His closing speed and his run and drive off half-back were clear for everyone to see.”
Liam George (15 disposals, six marks, two goals)“Liam continues to impress as a young 18-year-old player. He is just the epitome of the way we're playing our footy at the moment. He looks as though he's having fun every time he runs out onto the field, and his energy is infectious. He played on the wing on the weekend and kicked a couple of goals, and just is a really smart decision maker, and we saw that yet again on the weekend.”
Thomas Brindley (14 disposals, 93% disposal efficiency, four marks)“Whilst his numbers don't suggest it, he was absolutely dominant on the weekend. I thought his decisions to spoil so many times and clear the landing zone were really impressive. Whilst he played in the ruck earlier in the season, he's making a case for it to be pretty difficult to move him from defence anytime soon. Really pleased with the way he's attacking his footy.”
Nick Collier (14 disposals, 93% disposal efficiency, six marks, one goal)“Nick is just one of those blokes that continues to get the job done. He's asked to play a pretty selfless role, and he puts pressure on, runs, chases, tackles, and sets the ground up beautifully to allow others to get a lick of the ice cream. He's a selfless footballer who we love having a part of our team.”
Oliver Hayes-Brown (13 disposals, nine contested possessions, three marks, three inside-50s, tree tackles, six clearances, 40 hit-outs)“Yet another step forward for Ollie playing significant minutes in the ruck. It’s really pleasing to see his game grow each and every week, but I continue to challenge him to have a bigger and bigger influence now, as the expectations of him are rising each and every week.”
Steely Green (12 disposals, three marks, three inside-50s, two goals)“Steely was really good on the weekend once again, similar to Nick (Collier). He runs his patterns well and is really important for us on defence, and he hit the scoreboard again on the weekend.”
Nick Guiney (10 disposals, 80% disposal efficiency, three marks)“Ten possessions doesn't sound like much, but I think he's our defensive system leader. He just understands what to do and when to do it every single time. I love the way he plays his footy. He comes forward hard, never shirks a contest, and he's such an important player for us.”
Harrison White (10 disposals, 80% disposal efficiency, four marks, three inside-50s, one goal)“Harrison was asked to work at his game really strongly at local level over the past month. We had identified a couple of areas he had to work on, and he came back into the team following two best-on-ground performances at local level. He played his role really well on the weekend, and it's great to see him enjoying his footy back at VFL-level.”
Matthew Coulthard (nine disposals, 78% disposal efficiency, three marks, three tackles, two goals)“Matt didn't have huge numbers, but I thought he impacted the game once again. He had a huge effort to chase and put pressure on which led to a goal. Those sorts of efforts are something that we value greatly and look forward to continuing to see from Matt as that's something he's really capable of. He also kicked one of the better goals you'll see at this level from the boundary. He's a classy player who is in reasonably good form.”
Liam Thomas (eight disposals, 75% disposal efficiency, three marks, six hit-outs, two goals)“The growth in Liam's game over the course of the season has been amazing. He was coming from a long way back at the start of the season as a really raw young prospect as a key forward. We saw him in so many more contests on the weekend, and he either won or halved those. He also followed up really well at ground level. I think he's a player with huge upside as we look forward into season 2025 and beyond.”
Luke Haddara (seven disposals, three marks, two inside-50s)“Luke came into the team this week and was a part of a back seven or eight that was really strong. A couple of things in his defensive system that he'll get used to in the way that we play, but he had a really important contest late in the game in defensive-50 where the opposition were almost certain to kick a goal, and he won the ball back for us. We know he's a beautiful user by foot, so I think he's a player that can help us.”
Mohammad Yassine (six disposals, three tackles, one goal)“Mohammad's defensive acts have just been second to none. He makes smart decisions on defence, and his intensity can never be questioned. I think we can get more value out of him on the offensive side of his game. It's something that we've spoken to him about, and he'll get to work at it. But he's a player that can really help us, and I really enjoy the way he plays his footy and goes about it.”
Harry Scott (five disposals, three marks, one inside-50)“For a young 19-year-old midfielder to go forward and play as a key forward was a really big ask. But having watched the game back, he did a lot right on the day. Unfortunately, he broke his wrist early in the game, but he went back out onto the field and continued to battle away hard at contest for us. Unfortunate about his injury, but the pleasing news is he will be back in the fold come finals time. He's a player that's grown his game immensely throughout the season, and I feel he's really growing as a person also.”
https://www.richmondfc.com.au/news/1597539/vfl-report-round-15
