Standing tallMatt Murnane
February 25, 2012TY VICKERY says he and forward partner Jack Riewoldt want to be to Richmond what Travis Cloke and Chris Dawes are to Collingwood.
That comes as no surprise. It's something tall forward duos at most clubs aspire to.
But what might lift the eyebrows of those outside Tigerland perhaps even Richmond supporters is that, at least statistically, Vickery and Riewoldt are already the equal of Cloke and Dawes.
It went unnoticed as the Collingwood tag team and Geelong's James Podsiadly and Tom Hawkins led their respective teams to the grand final, but Vickery and Riewoldt were actually the most productive tall-forward pairing in the AFL last year.
In terms of total output, the Tigers' one-two punch kicked the most goals (98) and latched onto the most marks inside forward 50 (107) of any tall forward combination during the home-and-away season, not including finals.
That Vickery and Riewoldt played more combined games than the likes of Cloke and Dawes (85 goals, 101 marks), West Coast's Josh Kennedy and Quinten Lynch (76, 88) or Podsiadly and Hawkins (66, 93), certainly helped elevate their standing, but the raw numbers remain significant.
Lance Franklin and Jarryd Roughead at Hawthorn are the other pair Vickery and Riewoldt measure themselves against.
For Hawthorn to have two great key-position players and them not run into each other is really eye-opening to watch. For me and Jack, there is a few things to learn watching those two guys go about their work, Vickery said.
Injury restricted Roughead to just 11 games and 16 goals last season, yet Franklin's Coleman Medal-winning haul of 71 goals in the normal season was still enough to place the Hawks pair second behind Vickery and Riewoldt in terms of total goals, a combined 87.
But even if you go back to 2010, when both Franklin and Roughead were up and running, the 98 goals the Tigers pair scored this year stacks up pretty well against the 111 goals the Hawks duo slotted the year before.
But enough about last year. That Vickery is starting to fulfil the potential expected of a No.?8 draft pick was established when he finished fifth in the Tigers' best and fairest.
So, just how excited should Tigers supporters be about what the 21-year-old can do with Riewoldt this season? Start with the bad news first.
Vickery suffered a few setbacks to his pre-season training before Christmas after post-season surgery on an ankle.
It took a little bit more time to heal than what we thought it would and then I was running a bit funny because I had to compensate for the ankle, he said. And that led to my hips getting a bit sore.
But that's where the setbacks stop.
All that is behind me now, we got on top of it and identified it pretty early, he said.
Ever since Christmas, it's all been very smooth and I've had a pretty good month leading into the NAB Cup.
Vickery played every game during a break-out season in 2011 and says he has learnt from players such as Riewoldt about how to manage his body and ensure he gets up every week an under-estimated feat for tall forwards who take punishment from two, sometimes three, defenders.
Should the ankle injury flare again or anything else Vickery will follow Riewoldt's example from last year about how to play hurt.
The Tigers' full-forward required four post-season surgeries on both hips, a finger and an ankle following a season where he finished second in the Coleman Medal with 62 goals.
If it wasn't for me reading it in the newspaper, I probably wouldn't have realised how serious it was because he never carried on, Vickery said of his teammate. He just did what he had to do to prepare himself and then to play the way he did was amazing.
Playing with the explosive Riewoldt has been a learning curve in many ways for Vickery, who admitted he was intimidated by his teammate's lively presence when the two first became a regular partnership last season.
It took a while to start. It was tough to play with someone who draws the ball so much, he said. You try to get out of the way because you are so intimidated almost by him.
But after a full season of getting used to each other, the two have developed a chemistry.
With veteran Brad Miller providing the grunt work and small forwards like Jake King and Robin Nahas the flair, Vickery said the Tigers had a forward mix worthy of the supply it will receive from the best midfield Richmond has assembled in a long time Trent Cotchin, Dustin Martin, Brett Deledio, Nathan Foley and others.
Vickery will slide into the midfield if required this year, but he is not the answer to the ruck problems the club struggled to overcome last year.
He is a genuine forward-50 target who can read the play, take marks and kick goals.
Coach Damien Hardwick sat Vickery down at the end of 2010 his second season spent as a lightweight ruckman battling fully grown heavyweights and told the 200-centimetre athlete he would spend the 2011 season learning how to become a key forward.
That gave me a lot of confidence knowing I wasn't going to go there for two weeks and, if I didn't get a kick, then get moved back into the ruck, he said.
I knew I had time to settle in and learn the role. The coaches stuck by their word and kept me there through thick and thin and that's where you make the improvements.
Vickery booted 36 goals last season and finished second at the Tigers for contested marks. He lifted his output in nearly every statistical category, including disposals, marks, score assists, contested possessions and inside 50s. More importantly, 38 per cent of his disposals came inside the forward 50, compared to 14 per cent the year before. When Vickery runs out this season, he will be a player Tigers fans expect to perform rather than hope he will and that is a pressure the level-headed big man believes he can handle.
I think there is a lot of improvement this year. I was pleased with my season last year just because there was so much of the unknown going into it, said Vickery, who is pursuing a law degree outside football.
I didn't know how well I was going, learning how to play forward or whether I would play much seniors. But with that year under my belt, I'm expecting a better return this season.
Having shown he has the skills to be effective close to goal, this pre-season has been about consolidation and fine-tuning the education process.
And about bulking up. Vickery has worked hard in the gym, and eaten plenty away from it to weigh in at 96 kilograms this pre-season. But he still needs to get bigger.
It's hard to tell standing next to opponents what I need to get to because I'm so much taller. But you do notice it in some contests against the bigger centre half-backs, said Vickery, whose dad John is the strength and conditioning coach at Punt Road.
I probably need to put on another two or three kilos, then I'd be happy.
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