Yze up to the “test” of the DogsBy Henry Milic
RFC website
21 June 2025With the young Tigers squad well rested after their bye last week, Senior Coach Adem Yze is confident his side is ready for the opportunity to test themselves against a quality opposition in the Western Bulldogs.
“We look at it as a great opportunity for our Club to test ourselves against a really good team,” Yze said on Thursday.
“We can’t wait for the opportunity. We will go in there as a footy Club with our VFL playing beforehand.
“We understand what’s coming and we have some tough games ahead, but those tough games give us a good opportunity to play against really good players.”
Yze gave his thoughts on how he will look to combat the impact of Bulldogs key forward Sam Darcy.
“He is obviously a talented player (Darcy) and it didn’t take him long to get back into form (after returning from injury),” Yze said.
“Noah Balta is obviously down there as well, Nathan Broad has done jobs like that before. But I do know that he is a big guy, and probably both of them will share that responsibility.
“Steve Morris (Backline Coach) will look at that and look at the reasons as to why we would go either way."
Minimising the Bulldog’s run through their stoppage work will also be a focus for Yze's side come Sunday.
“Their numbers are amazing on how potent they are at stoppage, and with that is obviously a threat, but a huge opportunity,” Yze said.
“I love the look of our midfield, and they see that as a great opportunity to test ourselves against one of the best midfield teams in the comp.
“When you look at stoppage scores across the board, our backs have to be ready for it and our mids have got a responsibility for it. We want to maximise the ones that we win."
Despite the side dropping their last four matches, Yze said the goal remains the same for the second half of the season.
“Nothing has really changed. We expect our players to get better every day and come in and improve, and as a group, we expect to be competitive,” Yze said.
“We are in a process of playing, performing, reviewing and doing that at a high level.
“It has been good for everyone (the bye week). It gives us a breather, and now we are looking at the second half to see what we can do.”
https://www.richmondfc.com.au/news/1809419/yze-up-to-the-test-of-the-dogs
