VFL R9: Richmond vs Essendon @ Frankston Oval, Sat. May 24

[one-eyed]

Final Score

Richmond    2.4    6.8    7.11    10.14-74
Essendon     2.2    3.4     4.8     7.10-52

Goals: Alger 2, Lefau 2, Sonsie, Prestia, Trezise, Fawcett, George, Wilson.


Blight was BOG. A wall tonight down back.
Sonsie next with 35 possies.
Prestia touchwood has got through the game. Played half of each quarter. Had 20 possies.

[Tiger Khosh]

Man that reporter was grilling Sonsie lol.

[WilliamPowell]

Blight has killed them all night.

Deserves a recall and block of games IMO.

Down back, no stuffing around with forward/ruck.

Agree he's been good but his disposal at times has been really poor. Those short switch kicks have been costly at times. Thank goodness the Bumblings are so pathetic

[one-eyed]

Individual Stats:

Sonsie          35 disp (22k, 13h, 10c, 25u, 57.7%), 7m, 7t, 4cl, 5in50,   -    ,   5int, 1si, 1g.
Blight           25 disp (19k,   6h,   6c, 15u, 76.0%), 9m, - ,  -  , 2in50,   -    , 11int.
Trezise          21 disp (10k, 11h,   6c, 14u, 85.7%), 1m, 1t, -  , 4in50,   -    ,   5int, 1si, 1g.
Prestia          20 disp (11k,   9h, 13c, 11u, 60.0%), 3m, 2t, 4cl, 4in50,  -    ,   5int, 1si, 1g.
Clarke           17 disp (16k,   1h,   4c, 11u, 58.7%), 8m, 1t, 1cl, 2in50,  -    ,   6int, 3si, -  , 2b.
Hayes-Brown 17 disp (  4k, 13h, 11c,   6u, 64.7%), 3m, 2t, 6cl, 3in50, 28ho,  1int, 2si.
Alger             13 disp (  7k,   6h,  8c,   6u, 61.5%), 3m, -  , 2cl, 2in50,   -    ,  1int, 2si, 2g, 1b.
Fawcett          12 disp (  9k,  3h,   9c,   4u, 75.0%), 5m, 2t, 1cl, 2in50, 10ho,  2int, 1si, 1g, 1b.
Young            11 disp (  8k,  3h,   1c,   8u, 54.5%), 3m, 1t,  -  , 1in50,   -    ,  3int, 1si.
Bauer              9 disp (  7k,  2h,   2c,   7u, 66.7%), 4m, 2t,  -  , 4in50,   -    ,   -   , 2si,  - , 1b.
Lefau               8 disp (  6k,  2h,   3c,   4u, 75.0%), 4m, 2t,  -  , 3in50,   -    ,  3int, 1si, 2g.
Kosi                 7 disp (  5k,  2h,   3c,   3u, 100% ), 1m, 3t,  -  , 1in50,   -    ,  5int.



Disposals  356 - 377
Kicks        212 - 198
Hanbdalls  144 - 179
Marks         85 - 64
Tackles       49 - 74
Clearances  34 - 40
Inside 50s   58 - 41
Hitouts        38 - 36
Frees          19 - 24

https://www.afl.com.au/vfl/matches/7343#team-stats

[one-eyed]

25 disposals, 19 kicks, 11 intercept possessions, 9 marks 👀

Take a bow Jacob Blight, a deserved best on ground tonight! 👏


https://x.com/RichmondVFL/status/1926265081903362524

[one-eyed]

VFL Tigers roar over Essendon in Dreamtime clash

By Connor Burns
Richmond Media
25 May 2025

In a tough contest, Richmond’s VFL side held strong to run out comfortable 22-point winners against Essendon in the annual Dreamtime game.

The Tigers started well with quick goals to small forwards Liam George and Jasper Alger in the first 10 minutes of the game.

Richmond had all the play against the wind in the first stanza of the game before Essendon turned the tide with goals to Alwyn Davey Jnr and Luamon Lual nearing the end of the first quarter, seeing the Tigers take just a two-point lead into quarter time.

Early in the second quarter, midfielder Tyler Sonsie launched a bomb from outside 50 to ignite the Tiger Army, but Xavier O’Neill responded minutes later for the Bombers, as the arm-wrestle continued. A wholesome moment ensued as star veteran Dion Prestia, in his first game of the season, got on the end of some fast ball movement to get on the scoreboard.

With a strong breeze, the Tigers were wasteful for the next 10 minutes, before Alger’s second goal of the game got them going. Minutes later forward Mykelti Lefau kicked truly from a set shot to help Richmond establish a 22-point lead at half-time.

Despite Essendon kicking to the scoring end, the Tigers were able to possess the ball and control the game coming out of half-time. But it was the Bombers who found the big sticks through Oskar Smartt to remain within touching distance.

After just one goal in the first 25 minutes of the quarter, James Trezise produced a crucial major to give the Tigers some much-needed breathing room. It gave them a 21-point lead with one quarter to play.

Richmond started the last quarter strongly with Lachlan Wilson and Liam Fawcett kicking early goals to push the Tigers' lead out to beyond five goals. When Lefau kicked his second goal, courtesy of a unique soccer goal, the game was all but over.

Essendon kicked late consolation goals through Smartt, who kicked his second and third goal late in the term, but it was the Tigers' night as they secured a 22-point victory to move into the VFL’s top eight teams.

Sonsie looked a class above once again, finishing the game with 35 disposals, seven tackles and a goal. Jacob Blight won the Sir Doug Nicholls Award for best on ground, as he had 25 disposals, 19 kicks, 11 intercept possessions, and nine marks.

Prestia finished with 20 disposals in a successful return, while Tylar Young also came back from an ACL injury and had 11 disposals.

Richmond     2.4    6.8    7.11    10.14    (74)
Essendon      2.2    3.4    4.8      7.10    (52)

Goals: Lefau 2, Alger 2, Wilson, Trezise, Sonsie, Prestia, George, Fawcett

https://www.richmondfc.com.au/news/1790074/vfl-tigers-roar-over-essendon-in-dreamtime-clash

[Simonator]

Dare say Bauer won’t be finding himself on an afl list at the end of the season.

I had high hopes for him, all the athletic traits. Seems to sook it up a lot though

[Andyy]

Dare say Bauer won’t be finding himself on an afl list at the end of the season.

I had high hopes for him, all the athletic traits. Seems to sook it up a lot though

Think you're right.

Reckon it's worth playing him wing or backline for the rest of the year though.

Kicking is too poor to be a forward.

[Tiger Khosh]

Dare say Bauer won’t be finding himself on an afl list at the end of the season.

I had high hopes for him, all the athletic traits. Seems to sook it up a lot though

Think you're right.

Reckon it's worth playing him wing or backline for the rest of the year though.

Kicking is too poor to be a forward.

X3

Would rather put minutes into Fawcett, Faull, Armstrong, Simms.

Lynch there as the experienced head to lead them and Mykelti there as depth.

[crackertiger]

Bauer is a selfish player. Always interrupting our other keys forwards trying to take hangers. Ridiculous player. I think he would be better off half back.

Doubt he gets another contract based on current output..

[Andyy]

Bauer is a selfish player. Always interrupting our other keys forwards trying to take hangers. Ridiculous player. I think he would be better off half back.

Doubt he gets another contract based on current output..

Agreed with that point about crashing our own packs.

He is very athletic though. I wonder if he could be a poor man's Jeremy Howe. Great leap, spoil or mark, then just dish it off to someone who can actually kick.

[Hard Roar Tiger]

Agreed Andy although I get the feeling that the main issue with him might be between the ears

[one-eyed]

Player by player VFL report: Round 9

The Richmond VFL side got a 22-point win in the annual Dreamtime game last Saturday night. Here’s how coach Jake Batchelor assessed the performance of each player.

Tyler Sonsie (37 disposals, eight tackles, seven marks, one goal)
“Another really strong performance above VFL level, he was clean, he was tough and it was good to see him get rewarded with a goal.”

Jacob Blight (26 disposals, 13 intercept possessions, nine marks)
“Very strong performance above VFL standard, he competed in the air and followed up on the ground. He was quite neat with ball in hand, a strong performance from him.”

James Trezise (21 disposals, two tackles, one goal)
“He played three quarters on the wing, and last quarter he went to the backline. He’s tough, he reads the play well and his ability to step through traffic and take on the tackle is becoming a real weapon of his.”

Dion Prestia (20 disposals, four clearances, three marks, one goal)
“Great to have Dion back, his leadership, voice and calmness under pressure was extremely noticeable, so well done to him.”

Oliver Hayes-Brown (18 disposals, 28 hit-outs, six clearances, three marks)
“Keeps improving week on week, I’m really proud of his growth, his effort, his physicality and his ability to take on tackles and step through opposition is becoming a highlight.”

Judson Clarke (17 disposals, eight marks, one tackle)
“Finding his groove on the wing, particularly on a skinny ground at Frankston he still finds space but his ability to get back and support our defence was extremely noticeable.”

Jasper Alger (13 disposals, three marks, two goals)
“Once again he got three shots on goal, getting high up the ground. He has amazing aerial craft for a first-year player, brings the ball to ground at minimum all the time. He’s improving which is exciting”

Liam Fawcett (12 disposals, eight hit-outs, five marks)
“Another really strong game as our second ruck this week, he looks big and strong. The socks up mentality helped him no doubt.”

Tylar Young (12 disposals, three marks, one tackle)
“Great to have his leadership, his physicality and his defensive intent back in our team. No doubt with him finishing at three quarter-time, I think our defence just slipped a little bit, so looking forward to getting a full game into him this week.”

Jacob Bauer (nine disposals, four marks, two tackles)
“Slow first-half with his positioning relative to his opposition, and then we saw some really strong growth in there. He’s trying his backside off to play his best role for the team and no doubt the rewards will come soon.”

Mykelti Lefau (eight disposals, four marks, two goals)
“First full game back, he got through the whole game unscathed. Once again there were a couple of classic Mykelti efforts where his physicality and hitting bodies is really powerful and really influential.”

Jacob Koschitzke (seven disposals, one mark, three tackles)
“He played a really strong game, he didn’t quite get as many touches as he was probably hoping for but his diligence in system, his execution to come forward and lay some really strong tackles was noticeable.”

https://www.richmondfc.com.au/news/1793189/player-by-player-vfl-report-round-9

[Andyy]

Was surprised and impressed by Lefau's speed.

Looking forward to giving him another crack. Different dynamic to Lynch.