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Flog
MID SEASON REVIEW: RICHMOND TIGERS
As it is the bye round and we have no preview or banter thread to keep us entertained we thought that it would be a great idea to post up a mid-season review of where the club is currently sitting and where we expect them to sit at the end of the season.
We have had a better start to the season than anyone was really expecting, however we are still left with a bitter taste in our mouths over what could have been. 3 losses in a row by less than a goal with only a few minutes remaining on the clock hurt, and it hurt badly. We could have been sitting pretty on top of the ladder with 10 wins and 1 loss going into our bye round – but now isn’t a time to cry over what could have been.
Round 1 Thursday, March 23 Carlton vs Richmond – Venue MCG.
· Result: Richmond 20.12 132 vs Carlton 14.5 89 VICTORY
We should have won this by more but a shaky 3rd quarter and some inaccuracy in front of goal cost us some valuable percentage playing against an extremely inexperienced Carlton side.
Round 2 Thursday, March 30 Richmond vs Collingwood – Venue MCG
· Result: Richmond 14.15 99 vs Collingwood 11.14 80 VICTORY
Another game where inaccuracy cost us some percentage but it was felt by both sides with Richmond kicking 15 behinds and Collingwood 14. It’s always a delight to beat Collingwood. We saw the Cotchin of old return in this game with 26 touches, 2 goals and 2 very important tackles in the last quarter.
Round 3 Saturday, April 08 Richmond vs West Coast Eagles – Venue MCG
· Result: Richmond 11.10 76 vs WCE 8.17 65 VICTORY
I was confident that we could win this game as I don’t rate the Eagles in Melbourne, but WCE did everything in their power to lose this one. They kicked 17 behinds in what was a horror show day for them. Dustin Martin was best on ground even carrying a fractured cheekbone from the game prior, what a player he his – PAY HIM THE DOLLARS RICHMOND.
Round 4 Sunday, April 16 Brisbane Lions vs Richmond – Venue GABBA
· Result: Richmond 17.17 119 vs Brisbane 10.7 67 VICTORY
This was the very easy win that we all thought it would be however it should have been a much greater margin. We continued with our kicking woes with 17 behinds, starting to show shades of Collingwood up forward? 4-0 for the first time since 1995 after this game and we fans were riding high and making big statements about the season to come. Dustin Martin had his quietest game, Grigg amassed 30 disposals and Jack Reiwoldt and Jason Castagna both kicked 4 goals each.
Round 5 Monday, April 24 Richmond vs Melbourne – Venue MCG
· Result: Richmond 12.16 88 vs Melbourne 11.9 75 VICTORY
Behinds, behinds and some more behinds… What is up with our forward line? Another 16 behinds added to the tally this week in what is becoming a familiar site up forward for Richmond in 2017. We were losing by 20 points at 3 quarter time so we did very well to get over this and Jack kicked 6 to help make it possible. We may have got a bit lucky with Melbourne down to only 2 interchange rotations towards the latter part of the game.
Round 6 Sunday, April 30 Adelaide Crows vs Richmond – Venue Adelaide Oval
· Result: Adelaide 21.14 140 vs Richmond 10.4 64 LOSS
Well this was the game where we all knew it could go horribly wrong. Playing at Adelaide oval is the hardest road trip in footy these days and to put it simply it was a nightmare game for Richmond. No one ever wants to see their team lose by 76 points, especially after we lead at 1st quarter time. We looked electric in the first quarter but failed to show up for the rest of the game, and it turned ugly.
Round 7 Saturday, May 06 Western Bulldogs vs Richmond – Venue Etihad Stadium
· Result: WBD 11.14 80 vs Richmond 11.9 75 LOSS
This game is frustrating to look back on. We should have won, there’s not much else to say – we should have won this one. Reiwoldt kicked his 500th career goal finishing with 4 goals for the game. Bontempelli, Macrae, Dahlhaus and Lachie Hunter were all prolific and influential for the dogs, we couldn’t nullify them. I’m not going to talk too much about the umpiring because it’s been over discussed on this board. Dustin Martin was fantastic in a losing side with 28 touches, six clearances and 2 goals.
Round 8 Sunday, May 14 Richmond vs Fremantle – Venue MCG
· Result: Fremantle 10.12 72 vs Richmond 10.10 70 LOSS
Quite frankly I don’t even want to talk about this game; David Mundy with a goal after the siren to win the game for Freo. This… this was painful to experience and a bitter pill to swallow. That disallowed goal which the Umpiring boss admitted was a mistake would have got us over the line. Need I say more? Let’s just forget this week.
Round 9 Saturday, May 20 GWS Giants vs Richmond – Venue Spotless Stadium
· Result: GWS 11.12 78 vs Richmond 10.15 75 LOSS
Another heart breaker for Richmond; but while we lost with less than 2 minutes on the clock and a strange no call from the umpire on a Jeremy Cameron illegal smother we can only blame ourselves for this one. Another 15 behinds, our forward line is misfiring dreadfully this season and is something we need to address if we want to be a serious contender. 61 inside 50s for 10 goals 15 behinds is poor, very poor. Toby Nankervis was fantastic against a tougher, bigger and more experienced opponent in Mumford.
Round 10 Saturday, May 27 Richmond vs Essendon – Venue MCG
· Result: Richmond 11.15 81 vs Essendon 10.16 66 VICTORY
Finally we snagged another win in Dreamtime at the G. Losing this one would have been shades of a nightmare season coming, but we managed to get the better of an up and down Essendon side. Once again our inaccuracy up forward must be mentioned. We had 52 forward half turnovers and 71 inside 50s to result in 11 goals, 15 behinds. This game should have been a massacre, but sadly we just failed to impact the scoreboard. Dusten Martin picked up the Yiooken award for best afield with his 30 touches – boy oh boy is he looking the goods for a sneaky Brownlow victory.
Round 11 Saturday, June 03 North Melbourne vs Richmond – Venue Etihad Stadium
· Result: Richmond 14.17 101 vs NM 9.12 66 VICTORY
FINALLY. Finally… We managed to beat North Melbourne (I’m ignoring that game where they dropped most of their team). This was a fantastic win for club and player morale and Dustin Martin was immense with 38 touches and 2 goals, another 3 Brownlow votes. Putting all the good aside – we kicked another 17 behinds and continue to fail to impact as heavily on the scoreboard as we should.
Summary:
· 7 wins and 4 losses overall (6 wins in Melbourne and 1 win interstate)
· 5 wins and 1 loss at the MCG
· 1 win and 1 loss at Etihad stadium
· 1 win and 2 losses interstate
Ladder position:
· 4th – 28 points, 111.6 %
Remaining games:
Round 12 BYE
Round 13 Saturday, June 17 Richmond vs Sydney Swans – Venue MCG
· Expected win at the MCG where we are in red hot form
Round 14 Sunday, June 25 Richmond vs Carlton – Venue MCG
· Expected easy win against an inexperienced Carlton side at the MCG
Round 15 Saturday, July 01 Port Adelaide vs Richmond – Venue Adelaide Oval
· Expected loss against a fit and firing PA side at the ground where we have some terrible memories.
Round 16 Saturday, July 08 St Kilda vs Richmond – Venue Etihad Stadium
· Expected win against a Saints side that is struggling to win games they should this season
Round 17 Sunday, July 16 Richmond vs Brisbane Lions – Venue Etihad Stadium
· Expected win against the bottom of the ladder side
Round 18 Sunday, July 23 Richmond vs GWS – Venue MCG
· Expected result – uncertain 50/50. We should have beat GWS at their home ground and playing them at the home of footy swings the odds in our favour but boy does their team look like a sweet outfit.
Round 19 Saturday, July 29 Gold Coast Suns vs Richmond – Venue Metricon Stadium
· Expected result – uncertain 50/50. Honestly we should win this game and win it convincingly but the Gold Coast has shown some signs of improvement this season scalping a few of the better teams. If it was at the MCG I would say we win easy, but our interstate record is not looking fantastic.
Round 20 Sunday, August 6 Richmond vs Hawthorn – Venue MCG
· Expected win against a struggling and inexperienced Hawks outfit.
Round 21 Saturday, August 12 Geelong Cats vs Richmond – Venue Skilled Stadium (Could be swapped to the MCG due to expected crowd numbers)
· Expected result – uncertain 50/50. If we play them at the cattery then I say this is a game we could easily lose while if we play at the G then it’s one we can win.
Round 22 Sunday, August 20 Fremantle vs Richmond – Venue Domain Stadium
· Expected result – uncertain 50/50. We already lost to Freo in Melbourne so playing them at Domain is not looking like a great prospect. We should never have lost that game however and if things go well we could win this, we like playing at Domain.
Round 23 Sunday, August 27 Richmond vs St Kilda – Venue MCG
· Expected win again against St. Kilda who are misfiring this season and don’t play as well at the G which is where we play our best.
Summary of remaining games:
· 6 wins, 1 loss and 4 50/50 games
· Expected end of season – 15 wins and 7 losses (presuming we win 2 of the 50/50’s)
· 60 points finishing anywhere from 3rd-6th
Player reviews:
1 Nick Vlastuin
· Fracture to his scapula has cause him to miss games but is looking to be back after the bye
· Midfield experiment doesn’t seem to be working as well as we hoped. His best football this season has been running through the backline
2 Dylan Grimes
· Continues to be a strong performer for us, albeit for a few shaky moments in a couple of games.
· Takes a contested mark with those long arms but looks weak if he’s played on bigger and stronger opponents.
3 Dion Prestia
· May have found form in round 11 with a fantastic 35 disposal game (a few clanger kicks still but a much better overall performance)
· Potentially playing injured for a lot of the season
· Has kicking issues but looks to be on the improve
· Was he worth pick six? Undecided as yet but if he carries form from round 11 onwards then maybe.
4 Dustin Martin
· Future Brownlow medallist
· The most exciting midfielder in the competition to watch, nobody else quite has the ability to shrug a tackle, “Don’t argue” and just all around be as amazing as Dusty
· Spending more time forward and to devastating effect
· <3
5 Brandon Ellis
· Form over the last couple of games has been fantastic – had arguably his best game ever against essendon.
· Slow start to the season (I’m still convinced he is being played out of position on the HB line)
6 Shaun Grigg
· As always Grigg gets amongst the ball, a lot.
· His worst game in a long time versus North Melbourne in round 11
· Usually good, but sometimes some very poor handballs.
· We actually saw Grigg(s) playing in the ruck this season
.
7 Ben Lennon
· Is not being given an opportunity
· Performing well at VFL level and kicking goals
· Potentially doesn’t fit into the 2017 game plan where defensive pressure is one of the number 1 roles of our forwards.
8 Jack Riewoldt
· Fantastic start to the season which has tapered off in recent games
· Lost his kicking boots and has been missing easy set shots
· Is leadership getting to him?
9 Trent Cotchin
· This bloke is a Brownlow medallist, need I say more?
· Shades of 2012 Trent Cotchin have been appearing lately, he does things that simply no one else can
· #1 player I want to see at the bottom of a pack where no one should be able to get it to a teammate, because he does. Week in, week out.
· Champion
10 Shane Edwards
· Injury troubles this season and missed a chunk of games.
· Was rushed back in after his injury – never should have been gifted that game
· Not the Edwards we are used to, misfiring with his usually adept fast handballs
11 Jake Batchelor
· Not much to say here from me – has not played a lot of footy for us this year and I don’t think he will.
12 David Astbury
· Alex Rance mk 2.0
· Astbury has come on in leaps and bounds this season, the combination of him and Rance is just mouth-watering to watch
· Takes the #1 forward so that Rance can float about on the #2 and be more damaging getting the ball forward.
14 Bachar Houli
· We missed Houli last season, he provides so much run coming from the half back line into the forward 50.
· Does make a few mistakes here and there with poor disposal but when he is hot, he is hot.
15 Jayden Short
· Up and down season from Jayden.
· In more recent games has been looking more like the Short we remember from last season.
· Electric pace when he gets the ball and goes – which is what we want to see him do.
16 Shaun Hampson
· Won’t play a game this season.
17 Daniel Rioli
· We got the good Rioli
· Strength is amazing considering his size
· Occasionally tries to do too much and gets caught out but will be a player to watch for the rest of the season.
18 Alex Rance
· Started the season very slowly and honestly did not look like the Rance of old
· Lifted over the last 5 or 6 games, without him our defence would struggle a lot
· Will play a major role as always for the rest of the season
· At least a 5 goal worse side without him
20 Ivan Maric
· Sorry big Ivan but it’s time to become a coach.
21 Jacob Townsend
· Should stay in the VFL
· Playing forward is his only chance at getting games in the seniors
· Apparently can kick goals but I have serious doubts about his ability at the senior level.
22 Josh Caddy
· Slow, has the turning circle of a truck
· Is more damaging as a forward option than a midfielder
· Was worth pick #27/Tyrone Vickery
· Probably a little bit over rated
23 Kane Lambert
· Has surprised me this season, looked good in the last few games
· Can be damaging up forward
24 Ben Griffiths
· Is made of glass
· We really need him to come back as a second tall option and I hope he can recover sooner rather than later.
25 Toby Nankervis
· The biggest win of trade week by a country mile
· Plays nearly all game time in the ruck
· Is great around ground and looks good in front of goal
· Shades of Big Iv back in the day
26 Anthony Miles
· Will play most of the season in the VFL and appears to not fit into the new gameplan
· Will leave the club end of season after requesting a trade
27 Sam Lloyd
· Doesn’t appear to fit into the new game plan
· Isn’t kicking goals like he was last season
28 Taylor Hunt
· Playing mostly in the VFL where we all have thought he belongs these last few years but occasionally I wonder if we miss the run he provides? Probably not
29 Shai Bolton
· Played the last few games and looks great when he has the ball
· Needs to work on getting in the game more because when he has it he is damaging
· Only 18 years old, think this guy was a great pick
30 Reece Conca
· Was having a career best season prior to his injury
· Playing off half back suited him far better than the midfield
· Really disappointing his body isn’t up to it
31 Oleg Markov
· What happened to Markov? Has fallen off a cliff this season.
· Will play mainly in the VFL until he recaptures his form from last year
· Looks best off half back but we have so many that look good off half back, fighting for spots.
32 Corey Ellis
· “Silk” has done nothing in my eyes this season to live up to his nickname
· Needs to do a lot of work to get up to scratch. Can play but disappears way too often
33 Kamdyn McIntosh
· Don’t get me wrong, I love Kamdyn but does anyone else think there is not much going on upstairs at times?
· Can play, is fast but makes a few howlers every game
34 Jack Graham
· No comments – indefinitely injured
35 Nathan Broad
· Injured I think? Don’t know much about him honestly this season.
37 Connor Menadue
· Not sure about this kid, can clearly play but he only seems to turn up half the time?
· Needs to work on consistency and refine his disposal
38 Steven Morris
· The decision to rush Morris back into the side after his knee injury kept him out most of last season continues to confuse me
· If played should only be in the back half of the footy
· Probably won’t see much of him this season
39 Nathan Drummond
· No comment - injured
40 Dan Butler
· I really like Butler, but I was the loudest screaming for him to be dropped before he missed a week from injury
· Week off did him good, came back fresher and looks more like the Butler from early in the season
· Has come on in leaps and bounds
42 Ryan Garthwaite
· Being played in the backline in the VFL
· Not much info as I don’t watch the VFL but think this guy should be moved forward and used as a 2nd tall to help Jack
43 Todd Elton
· Honestly think we should delist at the end of the year
· Doesn’t offer much and just dislocated his shoulder in the VFL
46 Jason Castagna
· Love this kids work – knows where the goals are
· Probably should have missed a few games due to form but seems to always keep his spot
47 Ivan Soldo
· Needs to work on his fitness levels – is currently way behind the grade
· Had a great debut playing against a Bulldogs outfit that was throwing people like Lin jong in the ruck
· Will only get better and I’m glad we got a chance to see him but he’s not AFL standard yet.
Coaching Department:
The Richmond coaches get a tick from me this season. The return of Leppitsch and the addition of Caracella has been fantastic for the club. The game plan this year has looked far better and to put it simply, we are winning more games. I feel that our close losses came down to the players more than the coaches as at that point in the game there is little the coach can do, it’s the players that are kicking so many behinds too.
Overall Grade: B+
Anyway guys – that’s my thoughts of our season so far and the rest to come. Please feel free to air your own opinions or tear mine apart .
Let’s all try and relax during the bye week and hope we come back fresh for round 13!
As it is the bye round and we have no preview or banter thread to keep us entertained we thought that it would be a great idea to post up a mid-season review of where the club is currently sitting and where we expect them to sit at the end of the season.
We have had a better start to the season than anyone was really expecting, however we are still left with a bitter taste in our mouths over what could have been. 3 losses in a row by less than a goal with only a few minutes remaining on the clock hurt, and it hurt badly. We could have been sitting pretty on top of the ladder with 10 wins and 1 loss going into our bye round – but now isn’t a time to cry over what could have been.
Round 1 Thursday, March 23 Carlton vs Richmond – Venue MCG.
· Result: Richmond 20.12 132 vs Carlton 14.5 89 VICTORY
We should have won this by more but a shaky 3rd quarter and some inaccuracy in front of goal cost us some valuable percentage playing against an extremely inexperienced Carlton side.
Round 2 Thursday, March 30 Richmond vs Collingwood – Venue MCG
· Result: Richmond 14.15 99 vs Collingwood 11.14 80 VICTORY
Another game where inaccuracy cost us some percentage but it was felt by both sides with Richmond kicking 15 behinds and Collingwood 14. It’s always a delight to beat Collingwood. We saw the Cotchin of old return in this game with 26 touches, 2 goals and 2 very important tackles in the last quarter.
Round 3 Saturday, April 08 Richmond vs West Coast Eagles – Venue MCG
· Result: Richmond 11.10 76 vs WCE 8.17 65 VICTORY
I was confident that we could win this game as I don’t rate the Eagles in Melbourne, but WCE did everything in their power to lose this one. They kicked 17 behinds in what was a horror show day for them. Dustin Martin was best on ground even carrying a fractured cheekbone from the game prior, what a player he his – PAY HIM THE DOLLARS RICHMOND.
Round 4 Sunday, April 16 Brisbane Lions vs Richmond – Venue GABBA
· Result: Richmond 17.17 119 vs Brisbane 10.7 67 VICTORY
This was the very easy win that we all thought it would be however it should have been a much greater margin. We continued with our kicking woes with 17 behinds, starting to show shades of Collingwood up forward? 4-0 for the first time since 1995 after this game and we fans were riding high and making big statements about the season to come. Dustin Martin had his quietest game, Grigg amassed 30 disposals and Jack Reiwoldt and Jason Castagna both kicked 4 goals each.
Round 5 Monday, April 24 Richmond vs Melbourne – Venue MCG
· Result: Richmond 12.16 88 vs Melbourne 11.9 75 VICTORY
Behinds, behinds and some more behinds… What is up with our forward line? Another 16 behinds added to the tally this week in what is becoming a familiar site up forward for Richmond in 2017. We were losing by 20 points at 3 quarter time so we did very well to get over this and Jack kicked 6 to help make it possible. We may have got a bit lucky with Melbourne down to only 2 interchange rotations towards the latter part of the game.
Round 6 Sunday, April 30 Adelaide Crows vs Richmond – Venue Adelaide Oval
· Result: Adelaide 21.14 140 vs Richmond 10.4 64 LOSS
Well this was the game where we all knew it could go horribly wrong. Playing at Adelaide oval is the hardest road trip in footy these days and to put it simply it was a nightmare game for Richmond. No one ever wants to see their team lose by 76 points, especially after we lead at 1st quarter time. We looked electric in the first quarter but failed to show up for the rest of the game, and it turned ugly.
Round 7 Saturday, May 06 Western Bulldogs vs Richmond – Venue Etihad Stadium
· Result: WBD 11.14 80 vs Richmond 11.9 75 LOSS
This game is frustrating to look back on. We should have won, there’s not much else to say – we should have won this one. Reiwoldt kicked his 500th career goal finishing with 4 goals for the game. Bontempelli, Macrae, Dahlhaus and Lachie Hunter were all prolific and influential for the dogs, we couldn’t nullify them. I’m not going to talk too much about the umpiring because it’s been over discussed on this board. Dustin Martin was fantastic in a losing side with 28 touches, six clearances and 2 goals.
Round 8 Sunday, May 14 Richmond vs Fremantle – Venue MCG
· Result: Fremantle 10.12 72 vs Richmond 10.10 70 LOSS
Quite frankly I don’t even want to talk about this game; David Mundy with a goal after the siren to win the game for Freo. This… this was painful to experience and a bitter pill to swallow. That disallowed goal which the Umpiring boss admitted was a mistake would have got us over the line. Need I say more? Let’s just forget this week.
Round 9 Saturday, May 20 GWS Giants vs Richmond – Venue Spotless Stadium
· Result: GWS 11.12 78 vs Richmond 10.15 75 LOSS
Another heart breaker for Richmond; but while we lost with less than 2 minutes on the clock and a strange no call from the umpire on a Jeremy Cameron illegal smother we can only blame ourselves for this one. Another 15 behinds, our forward line is misfiring dreadfully this season and is something we need to address if we want to be a serious contender. 61 inside 50s for 10 goals 15 behinds is poor, very poor. Toby Nankervis was fantastic against a tougher, bigger and more experienced opponent in Mumford.
Round 10 Saturday, May 27 Richmond vs Essendon – Venue MCG
· Result: Richmond 11.15 81 vs Essendon 10.16 66 VICTORY
Finally we snagged another win in Dreamtime at the G. Losing this one would have been shades of a nightmare season coming, but we managed to get the better of an up and down Essendon side. Once again our inaccuracy up forward must be mentioned. We had 52 forward half turnovers and 71 inside 50s to result in 11 goals, 15 behinds. This game should have been a massacre, but sadly we just failed to impact the scoreboard. Dusten Martin picked up the Yiooken award for best afield with his 30 touches – boy oh boy is he looking the goods for a sneaky Brownlow victory.
Round 11 Saturday, June 03 North Melbourne vs Richmond – Venue Etihad Stadium
· Result: Richmond 14.17 101 vs NM 9.12 66 VICTORY
FINALLY. Finally… We managed to beat North Melbourne (I’m ignoring that game where they dropped most of their team). This was a fantastic win for club and player morale and Dustin Martin was immense with 38 touches and 2 goals, another 3 Brownlow votes. Putting all the good aside – we kicked another 17 behinds and continue to fail to impact as heavily on the scoreboard as we should.
Summary:
· 7 wins and 4 losses overall (6 wins in Melbourne and 1 win interstate)
· 5 wins and 1 loss at the MCG
· 1 win and 1 loss at Etihad stadium
· 1 win and 2 losses interstate
Ladder position:
· 4th – 28 points, 111.6 %
Remaining games:
Round 12 BYE
Round 13 Saturday, June 17 Richmond vs Sydney Swans – Venue MCG
· Expected win at the MCG where we are in red hot form
Round 14 Sunday, June 25 Richmond vs Carlton – Venue MCG
· Expected easy win against an inexperienced Carlton side at the MCG
Round 15 Saturday, July 01 Port Adelaide vs Richmond – Venue Adelaide Oval
· Expected loss against a fit and firing PA side at the ground where we have some terrible memories.
Round 16 Saturday, July 08 St Kilda vs Richmond – Venue Etihad Stadium
· Expected win against a Saints side that is struggling to win games they should this season
Round 17 Sunday, July 16 Richmond vs Brisbane Lions – Venue Etihad Stadium
· Expected win against the bottom of the ladder side
Round 18 Sunday, July 23 Richmond vs GWS – Venue MCG
· Expected result – uncertain 50/50. We should have beat GWS at their home ground and playing them at the home of footy swings the odds in our favour but boy does their team look like a sweet outfit.
Round 19 Saturday, July 29 Gold Coast Suns vs Richmond – Venue Metricon Stadium
· Expected result – uncertain 50/50. Honestly we should win this game and win it convincingly but the Gold Coast has shown some signs of improvement this season scalping a few of the better teams. If it was at the MCG I would say we win easy, but our interstate record is not looking fantastic.
Round 20 Sunday, August 6 Richmond vs Hawthorn – Venue MCG
· Expected win against a struggling and inexperienced Hawks outfit.
Round 21 Saturday, August 12 Geelong Cats vs Richmond – Venue Skilled Stadium (Could be swapped to the MCG due to expected crowd numbers)
· Expected result – uncertain 50/50. If we play them at the cattery then I say this is a game we could easily lose while if we play at the G then it’s one we can win.
Round 22 Sunday, August 20 Fremantle vs Richmond – Venue Domain Stadium
· Expected result – uncertain 50/50. We already lost to Freo in Melbourne so playing them at Domain is not looking like a great prospect. We should never have lost that game however and if things go well we could win this, we like playing at Domain.
Round 23 Sunday, August 27 Richmond vs St Kilda – Venue MCG
· Expected win again against St. Kilda who are misfiring this season and don’t play as well at the G which is where we play our best.
Summary of remaining games:
· 6 wins, 1 loss and 4 50/50 games
· Expected end of season – 15 wins and 7 losses (presuming we win 2 of the 50/50’s)
· 60 points finishing anywhere from 3rd-6th
Player reviews:
1 Nick Vlastuin
· Fracture to his scapula has cause him to miss games but is looking to be back after the bye
· Midfield experiment doesn’t seem to be working as well as we hoped. His best football this season has been running through the backline
2 Dylan Grimes
· Continues to be a strong performer for us, albeit for a few shaky moments in a couple of games.
· Takes a contested mark with those long arms but looks weak if he’s played on bigger and stronger opponents.
3 Dion Prestia
· May have found form in round 11 with a fantastic 35 disposal game (a few clanger kicks still but a much better overall performance)
· Potentially playing injured for a lot of the season
· Has kicking issues but looks to be on the improve
· Was he worth pick six? Undecided as yet but if he carries form from round 11 onwards then maybe.
4 Dustin Martin
· Future Brownlow medallist
· The most exciting midfielder in the competition to watch, nobody else quite has the ability to shrug a tackle, “Don’t argue” and just all around be as amazing as Dusty
· Spending more time forward and to devastating effect
· <3
5 Brandon Ellis
· Form over the last couple of games has been fantastic – had arguably his best game ever against essendon.
· Slow start to the season (I’m still convinced he is being played out of position on the HB line)
6 Shaun Grigg
· As always Grigg gets amongst the ball, a lot.
· His worst game in a long time versus North Melbourne in round 11
· Usually good, but sometimes some very poor handballs.
· We actually saw Grigg(s) playing in the ruck this season
.7 Ben Lennon
· Is not being given an opportunity
· Performing well at VFL level and kicking goals
· Potentially doesn’t fit into the 2017 game plan where defensive pressure is one of the number 1 roles of our forwards.
8 Jack Riewoldt
· Fantastic start to the season which has tapered off in recent games
· Lost his kicking boots and has been missing easy set shots
· Is leadership getting to him?
9 Trent Cotchin
· This bloke is a Brownlow medallist, need I say more?
· Shades of 2012 Trent Cotchin have been appearing lately, he does things that simply no one else can
· #1 player I want to see at the bottom of a pack where no one should be able to get it to a teammate, because he does. Week in, week out.
· Champion
10 Shane Edwards
· Injury troubles this season and missed a chunk of games.
· Was rushed back in after his injury – never should have been gifted that game
· Not the Edwards we are used to, misfiring with his usually adept fast handballs
11 Jake Batchelor
· Not much to say here from me – has not played a lot of footy for us this year and I don’t think he will.
12 David Astbury
· Alex Rance mk 2.0
· Astbury has come on in leaps and bounds this season, the combination of him and Rance is just mouth-watering to watch
· Takes the #1 forward so that Rance can float about on the #2 and be more damaging getting the ball forward.
14 Bachar Houli
· We missed Houli last season, he provides so much run coming from the half back line into the forward 50.
· Does make a few mistakes here and there with poor disposal but when he is hot, he is hot.
15 Jayden Short
· Up and down season from Jayden.
· In more recent games has been looking more like the Short we remember from last season.
· Electric pace when he gets the ball and goes – which is what we want to see him do.
16 Shaun Hampson
· Won’t play a game this season.
17 Daniel Rioli
· We got the good Rioli
· Strength is amazing considering his size
· Occasionally tries to do too much and gets caught out but will be a player to watch for the rest of the season.
18 Alex Rance
· Started the season very slowly and honestly did not look like the Rance of old
· Lifted over the last 5 or 6 games, without him our defence would struggle a lot
· Will play a major role as always for the rest of the season
· At least a 5 goal worse side without him
20 Ivan Maric
· Sorry big Ivan but it’s time to become a coach.
21 Jacob Townsend
· Should stay in the VFL
· Playing forward is his only chance at getting games in the seniors
· Apparently can kick goals but I have serious doubts about his ability at the senior level.
22 Josh Caddy
· Slow, has the turning circle of a truck
· Is more damaging as a forward option than a midfielder
· Was worth pick #27/Tyrone Vickery
· Probably a little bit over rated
23 Kane Lambert
· Has surprised me this season, looked good in the last few games
· Can be damaging up forward
24 Ben Griffiths
· Is made of glass
· We really need him to come back as a second tall option and I hope he can recover sooner rather than later.
25 Toby Nankervis
· The biggest win of trade week by a country mile
· Plays nearly all game time in the ruck
· Is great around ground and looks good in front of goal
· Shades of Big Iv back in the day
26 Anthony Miles
· Will play most of the season in the VFL and appears to not fit into the new gameplan
· Will leave the club end of season after requesting a trade
27 Sam Lloyd
· Doesn’t appear to fit into the new game plan
· Isn’t kicking goals like he was last season
28 Taylor Hunt
· Playing mostly in the VFL where we all have thought he belongs these last few years but occasionally I wonder if we miss the run he provides? Probably not
29 Shai Bolton
· Played the last few games and looks great when he has the ball
· Needs to work on getting in the game more because when he has it he is damaging
· Only 18 years old, think this guy was a great pick
30 Reece Conca
· Was having a career best season prior to his injury
· Playing off half back suited him far better than the midfield
· Really disappointing his body isn’t up to it
31 Oleg Markov
· What happened to Markov? Has fallen off a cliff this season.
· Will play mainly in the VFL until he recaptures his form from last year
· Looks best off half back but we have so many that look good off half back, fighting for spots.
32 Corey Ellis
· “Silk” has done nothing in my eyes this season to live up to his nickname
· Needs to do a lot of work to get up to scratch. Can play but disappears way too often
33 Kamdyn McIntosh
· Don’t get me wrong, I love Kamdyn but does anyone else think there is not much going on upstairs at times?
· Can play, is fast but makes a few howlers every game
34 Jack Graham
· No comments – indefinitely injured
35 Nathan Broad
· Injured I think? Don’t know much about him honestly this season.
37 Connor Menadue
· Not sure about this kid, can clearly play but he only seems to turn up half the time?
· Needs to work on consistency and refine his disposal
38 Steven Morris
· The decision to rush Morris back into the side after his knee injury kept him out most of last season continues to confuse me
· If played should only be in the back half of the footy
· Probably won’t see much of him this season
39 Nathan Drummond
· No comment - injured
40 Dan Butler
· I really like Butler, but I was the loudest screaming for him to be dropped before he missed a week from injury
· Week off did him good, came back fresher and looks more like the Butler from early in the season
· Has come on in leaps and bounds
42 Ryan Garthwaite
· Being played in the backline in the VFL
· Not much info as I don’t watch the VFL but think this guy should be moved forward and used as a 2nd tall to help Jack
43 Todd Elton
· Honestly think we should delist at the end of the year
· Doesn’t offer much and just dislocated his shoulder in the VFL
46 Jason Castagna
· Love this kids work – knows where the goals are
· Probably should have missed a few games due to form but seems to always keep his spot
47 Ivan Soldo
· Needs to work on his fitness levels – is currently way behind the grade
· Had a great debut playing against a Bulldogs outfit that was throwing people like Lin jong in the ruck
· Will only get better and I’m glad we got a chance to see him but he’s not AFL standard yet.
Coaching Department:
The Richmond coaches get a tick from me this season. The return of Leppitsch and the addition of Caracella has been fantastic for the club. The game plan this year has looked far better and to put it simply, we are winning more games. I feel that our close losses came down to the players more than the coaches as at that point in the game there is little the coach can do, it’s the players that are kicking so many behinds too.
Overall Grade: B+
Anyway guys – that’s my thoughts of our season so far and the rest to come. Please feel free to air your own opinions or tear mine apart .
Let’s all try and relax during the bye week and hope we come back fresh for round 13!
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