AFL Report Card: Round 22Will Faulkner, Catherine Healey, Ben Cotton and Jack Jovanovski
Foxsports
11 August 2025RICHMONDThis was a game that got away from the Tigers; one that they’ll review thinking they should have sealed the deal. After doing all the hard work to overturn St Kilda’s early momentum and leading by eight points at the final change in what was a low-scoring affair, a lack of composure going forward undid Adem Yze’s side when it mattered most. Richmond ultimately won the contest and clearance battle in a testament to the way they stemmed St Kilda’s outside game, but an inability to generate enough quality entries, especially late, hurt. Fox Footy’s Jordan Lewis said of Richmond’s missed opportunities: “They had their chances going inside forward 50 on a couple of occasions but just couldn’t connect.”
In the votesJack Ross’ fruitful run in the engine room continued last Saturday, finishing as his side’s highest-rated player with 26 disposals and seven score involvements. Swingman Noah Balta was also impressive in the forward half with his competitiveness and consistent ability to bring the ball to ground from marking contests to provide his crumbing teammates opportunities in attack. Tom Lynch kicked just one goal on return but notched an equal-team-high seven score involvements, while Rhyan Mansell booted a team-high two goals on a low-scoring afternoon, was involved in six scores and typically applied plenty of defensive pressure.
Room for improvementAs has been a theme this season, the Tigers’ inability to tackle efficiently contributed to a losing effort. Richmond managed 41 tackles to St Kilda’s 80. In what was a poor start to the match, the Tigers allowed the Saints to play the uncontested game they thrive on, and while Adem Yze’s side was able to arrest most of their opponent’s momentum after quarter-time, St Kilda still finished with 67 more uncontested possessions and 55 more uncontested marks. But most importantly, Yze allowed Wanganeen-Milera to effectively do as he pleased when he moved to half-back after quarter-time. The call not to hard-tag the prolific star proved costly, with ‘Nas’ finishing as the game’s highest-rated player amid eight final-quarter possessions as the Saints overturned an eight-point three-quarter-time deficit.
GradeC-
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