VFL Tigers primed for Round 1 Brenton Mann,
richmondfc.com.au
Mar 28, 2019 7:27PMRichmond VFL ended its pre-season campaign with a commanding 54-point win over Collingwood on Thursday afternoon.
The Tigers were fierce, ferocious, and continually pressured the Magpies into submission, sealing a comfortable 15.9 (99) to 6.9 (45) win.
In the wake of Alex Rance’s knee injury, all eyes were fixed on two men - Noah Balta and Ryan Garthwaite; each having been ear-marked as the possible heir apparent to fill the void left by the Herculean Rance.
They both showed they’d be up to the task if a senior recall arises in the coming weeks.
Balta looked at home patrolling the defensive half, consistently trusting his speed and athleticism to intercept and disrupt Collingwood’s forays forward.
He also has enormous faith in his skill by foot, picking out targets at will, either on his left or right side.
Balta physically shares a striking resemblance to Rance and plays the game with intoxicating vigour and effort, much like the five-time All Australian.
Garthwaite is cut from a different cloth, the iron-fisted defender from Corowa hard-nosed, diligent and assumes the role of backline general.
He is constantly barking orders, positioning his teammates like chess pieces, which keeps the Tigers’ watertight team defence intact.
The game started with both sides working through a feeling-out process, with the game played between the arcs, which brought Balta and Garthwaite into the game.
It took until halfway through the first quarter for Callum Coleman-Jones to break the goalless drought.
The budding Tiger ruckman belied his hulking 200cm frame by extracting the ball from congestion, pivoting on his left and snapping on his right, much to the delight of his teammates.
Callum Moore is another Tiger tall who is pressing his claim for senior selection and started the game superbly.
Moore is a tricky match-up, possessing elite speedy, strong hands and a springy leap.
He started as the deepest forward and took three marks inside 50 in the opening 10 minutes and had a hand in the Tigers’ second goal.
Moore lead swiftly, marked strongly and immediately turned to the corridor to find Jacob Ballard unmarked.
Ballard converted his set-shot and the Tigers were kicked into gear.
Jake Aarts was next to trouble the scores, after his halting tackle inside forward 50 stopped a Magpies’ defender is his tracks, and Aarts was duly rewarded with a free-kick.
He also converted his set-shot, the nuggety forward’s first of a game-high four-goal haul, which will do his AFL aspirations no harm.
The Tigers cranked up the heat in the second term and cashed in up forward, slamming on three goals in a hurry.
Shai Bolton drew a high tackle in a forward-50 stoppage and slotted his first for the match, while Moore chimed in and Aarts kicked his second.
Collingwood was held goalless until 15:28 had gone in the second quarter, but its first major sprung the Magpies into action.
They kicked goals in quick succession and narrowed the gap to 19 points.
The visitors had a sniff.
That was quashed however when Charlie Thompson, Luke English and Tom Silvestro combined for a steadying major.
The Tigers ended the quarter with a four-goal run, with Aarts adding his third and Coleman-Jones his second.
Richmond’s ability to withstand the surge from Collingwood and then counter-punch with ferocity would have pleased the coaching staff and the Tiger faithful in attendance.
Jacob Townsend also put his name up for an AFL recall with a trademark bullocking midfield performance which highlighted his versatility and growth as a player.
Townsend’s ability to remain strong in the contest, and cool under pressure shone brightly, as did his ability to mark overhead.
He sat out the second half, as a planned rotation.
Jack Ross was another who picked-up where he left off last week, as the bustling on-baller produced another solid four-quarter midfield performance.
Ross is a penetrating player, with deceptive depth to his disposal and willingness to push himself to near exhaustion for the team.
The Tigers opened up a 44-point lead at half-time and controlled the majority of the game thereafter.
Scoring dried-up somewhat after half-time, with both sides committing turnovers, which took the flow out of the game.
Collingwood won the third term, with three goals to one, but was held goalless in the final quarter.
Bolton however was one who shone as the game slowed up, with the newly deployed midfielder looking dangerous and lively at stoppages and hitting the scoreboard.
Bolton finished the game with two goals and is an exciting prospect as a midfielder.
Liam Baker, Thompson, Aarts and Bolton inflicted some late scoreboard pain, as the Tigers finished the game strongly.
TIGERS 3.2 10.5 11.7 15.9 (99)
MAGPIES 0.1 3.3 6.6 6.9 (45)
https://www.richmondfc.com.au/news/2019-03-28/vfl-tigers-primed-for-round-1
