Richmond great Matthew Richardson highlights six key points arising from the Tigers’ 64-point victory over St Kilda at the MCG last Sunday.

1. Ty Vickery produced his best game of the year
Last week’s match was an opportunity for Ty to step up, in the absence of Ivan Maric. The big man didn’t disappoint. He was a headache for the Saints’ defence, and worked hard to pick up 18 disposals around the ground too.  It looks like his confidence is back with his marking, after the shoulder troubles he’s had in the past.  He took a career-best 11 marks for the match and competed well in the ruck against Ben McEvoy.  He also played with energy and aggression, and looked lively for the whole match.  It was impressive to watch how he responded so positively after giving away an off-the -ball free kick in the second quarter.

2. Aaron Edwards has slotted into the Richmond side perfectlyI mentioned Edwards last week, but I simply can’t ignore the contribution he made to the win over the Saints.  It was clearly his best game for the Club since coming across from the Kangaroos.  His first half was outstanding – he led hard, marked everything and had 16 touches.  We have always known Edwards to have a huge workrate, but it was his field kicking which stole the show on Sunday.  He also creates space for other forwards by leading hard and long, making him the perfect option to support Jack Riewoldt and Ty Vickery.

3. Matt Arnot’s approach is infectious
We had heard all about Arnot’s attributes leading up to his first game for the Tigers.  That he was strongly built, hard at the football and fearless – traits we know fit in nicely with Damien Hardwick’s style.  It took him a while to break into the side, which shows he has a great approach to his game by continually working hard at Coburg but not quite breaking through.  He told Hardwick weeks before his selection that he didn’t want to be gifted a game – he wanted to earn it.  He was Richmond’s second first-gamer for the season, but didn’t waste a second making an impression.  He ended up with a team-high seven tackles on debut, which says a lot about his attitude and desire to be a team player.

4. Spreading the goalkicking load is crucial
The best sides in the competition are the ones who have multiple goalkicking options.  Successful teams like Sydney, Hawthorn and Collingwood have prided themselves on not relying solely on one or two options to kick a winning score.  It has become a very important part of the modern game.  The Magpies averaged 10 goalkickers per game in 2010, their premiership year.  It was great to see the Tigers have 10 individual goalkickers against the Saints, on top of 12 the previous week against the Western Bulldogs. The Tigers are not relying on a big bag from Jack Riewoldt, which makes them more unpredictable going inside forward 50.  And the midfielders are starting to hit the scoreboard, which always helps.

5. The Tigers are winning the must-win games
It sounds like a cliché, but winning the games you’re supposed to win is crucial.  The big knock on the Tigers over the last few seasons has been dropping games against teams around, and below them, on the ladder.  Pleasingly, to this point Richmond has been able to account for the teams they were expected to defeat.  It’s important this remains the case for the rest of the run home, and claiming a scalp or two along the way will put the Tigers in a strong position to play in the finals.

6. The Richmond faithful always comes out in full force
Rain, hail or shine, you can always rely on the Yellow and Black army coming out in full force to cheer on the Tigers.  This year, the support from the Richmond fans has been amazing.  At the MCG on Sunday, in the difficult twilight slot, another crowd in excess of 50,000 was there to make life difficult for the Saints.  After 14 rounds, Richmond has the second-highest average crowd (51,306) in the AFL, behind only Collingwood.  The Club has recorded three crowds of more than 80,000 in 2013.  It’s a huge factor for the players on the ground - that spirit and noise really does lift them on game day.