Ivan Maric’s return to football through the VFL was dampened by a 29-point loss to Box Hill at the ME Bank Centre on Saturday afternoon.
Maric, who only played a half in his first match since last season’s elimination final, had 10 disposals, 13 hit-outs and four clearances in the loss. He used his body well, ran hard and dutifully assisted fellow ruckman Orren Stephenson.
The Tigers started well, sparked by fluent inside 50 entries and strong marking by Aaron Edwards. He kicked the Tigers’ first major and then turned provider, setting up another goal kicked by Luke Conca, giving the team an early lead.
Experienced pair Ricky Petterd (28 disposals) and Brad Helbig (22) were strong across half-back. They spoiled, marked and rebounded well all day.
Matt Dea delivered an impressive performance in defence, his best since returning from a hand injury. He found a lot of the ball and often beat two opponents in marking contests.
The Hawks piled on seven goals in the second term, despite another impressive display by Anthony Miles. The ultra-consistent midfielder finished with 31 disposals and combined well with Nathan Batsanis, who continued his run of form with another strong showing.
Matt Thomas was superb in the middle and also finished with 31 possessions and 10 clearances. He was a stand-out contributor in-and-under packs, with 20 of his touches coming from contests.
After half time, the teams traded goals but the Hawks remained in control. The Tigers struggled to reduce the margin with poor conversion at times, but a terrific chase from Stephenson stopped a certain Box Hill goal.
Despite the margin, the Tigers never stopped working and were valiant in their loss to the VFL powerhouse.
RICHMOND 3.3 5.4 6.8 8.12 (60)
BOX HILL 1.3 8.6 10.7 13.11 (89)
Goals: L.Conca 3, A.Edwards 2, Elton, Banfield, McBean
Best: Thomas, Miles, Dea, Petterd, Batsanis, Edwards
Injuries: Batchelor, Achilles soreness
