Track Watch: Standouts in match simulationRichmondFC.com.au
Jan 16, 2026High intensity and work rate were at the forefront to start the week, with Richmond training hard on Monday under sunny and hot conditions.
Training began with winning ground balls at pace along with a three-man weave, which highlighted the clean ball skills of draftee Sam Cumming. The 18-year-old was precise with his hands and composed when under pressure, showing real signs of comfort amongst the group.
Having sharpened their skills, the side quickly put it into practice during match simulation, separated into white vs black jumpers.
From the first possession, allusive forward Jasper Alger was a standout, competing strongly in the air and showing his impressive run and carry when given space.
Alger has returned fit and firing to the track in 2026, showing no fear to compete with bigger bodies in aerial contests. The 19-year-old has gone from strength to strength, putting together a strong pre-season campaign.
Fellow forwards Seth Campbell and Maurice Rioli were back to their best, causing havoc all around the field with their silky smooth kicking and explosive running.
Throughout the centre of the oval, star midfielder Tim Taranto operated like a quarterback, controlling the pace, holding up the ball and strategically picking his targets as he moved it forward.
On Tuesday, the focus shifted to endurance, as the squad utilised the heat room bikes for a gruelling morning spin, before the usual pool sessions rounded out a day of recovery.
The footballs were back out on Wednesday and the energy had lifted once again.
Rhyan Mansell was keenly leading group sprints, while Jonty Faull was working on his goalkicking with Development Coach Luke Breust.
Veterans Toby Nankervis, Nathan Broad, Nick Vlastuin, Tom Lynch and Jacob Hopper led Josh Smillie and Kaleb Smith through a red ball-yellow ball drill, working on their hand-eye coordination and fast feet movement.
Meantime, Noah Balta and Rioli combined in the full-ground drill, with fast movement leading to a scintillating Rioli snap and goal from 45 metres out.
Ben Miller's leadership skills continued on an upward trajectory, as he guided Tom Brown and Luke Trainor through congestion and ball clearance in the defensive half.
At the other end of the ground, it was Campbell and Cumming doing the hard running to feed the ball inside 50 to Liam Fawcett, taking clean grabs and slotting goals from multiple angles.
A keepings-off style match ensued, with Campbell Gray at full voice and impressing as he shut down multiple attempted kick-outs with clean and confident spoils.
And for those keeping track, Patrick Retschko donned the green boots on Wednesday, as he continued to build on his elite speed. He impressed when he fed the ball into Alger, who took an elite diving mark that drew applause from his fellow forwards.
Friday brought some Melbourne sun and a big session to end the week.
Sam Lalor and Josh Gibcus paired up and streamed through a full-ground run through, with the tall defender feeding to the new No.4 with confidence, who then found Lynch on the lead in front of goal.
Full ground running drills were next up, with the majority of the list going end to end in the sun but refusing to let up. Fawcett starred, with his aerobic improvement evident.
Friday also marked another significant step in Vlastuin’s injury recovery, as the star defender participated in some football drills. Vlastuin looked as though he hadn’t missed a beat post his ankle surgery and recovery, clunking marks in the air and hitting up moving leads by foot.
Later in training, the side launched into a full oval scrimmage.
Lalor got his hands on the footy early, bursting through the first centre bounce to win the ball, which he quickly offloaded to Rioli on the wing, only to receive the ball back inside 50, to finish the play with a goal off a left-foot snap 30 meters out. Lalor continues to impress with his explosiveness and clean hands.
Gray showed poise across halfback, jumping at everything that came his way during scrimmage. The 22-year-old appears to be looking more comfortable each session, impressing with his elite intercept marking and composure with the footy.
On the other end of the oval, Mykelti Lefau was dominant, making good leads at the ball, which on one occasion resulted in a mark over the top to a walk-in open goal. Lefau also set up opportunities for his teammates, marking an inbound ball in the pocket, only to pass on the footy to Noah Roberts-Thomson to give him an opportunity at goal.
Alger once again had an impact, with an impressive run through the middle of the ground, hitting up a short 20-meter kick to Harry Armstrong while under pressure. Armstrong took a strong lunging mark and went back to kick the goal from 45 meters out.
Similarly, Fawcett looked to be competing well by getting his hands on the footy on numerous occasions.
Both Mansell and Campbell were damaging around the ground, using their run and carry, and elite foot skills, to move the ball up forward, even linking up on a few occasions.
Richmond’s journey towards Round 1 continues next week in what promises to be another important period of work at the Swinburne Centre.
https://www.richmondfc.com.au/news/1944880/track-watch-standouts-in-match-simulation
