Richmond’s VFL coach Tim Clarke provides an exclusive summary of the AFL-listed players who featured in last Saturday’s match against Essendon at the ME Centre’s Punt Road Oval.
Matt Arnot
22 disposals, six clearances, six tackles
Had a mixed game. Was competitive in patches, picked up more than 20 disposals, and was good inside with his clearance work and tackling. But he fumbled a bit with the ball and his kicks didn’t always hit the targets. Overall, we expect a better game from him this week.
Jayden Short
20 disposals, 10 contested possessions, three clearances
Was impressive in his high-forward role. Accumulated 20 touches, hit the scoreboard twice, and had another two shots for goal. Is really starting to hit his straps as a small forward, and we are excited about what he’s going to be bringing to the team over the next few weeks.
Nathan Gordon
19 disposals, one goal
Played his best game for three or four weeks. His critical contest stuff was very good. He kicked only one goal, but had a few other opportunities. The other area of improvement we need to see from him now, is his tackle pressure and heat around the ball. When that happens, I think we will see him pushing hard for a return to the senior side.
Matt Dea
16 disposals, five marksAgain was very efficient defensively, chopping off a lot of Essendon’s attacks. He didn’t get as much of the ball, but the defensive role he played for the team was terrific, and his critical contest work was AFL standard.
Ben Lennon
16 disposals, one goal
Had a fairly good game, but is still not making the most of his opportunities. As a forward, we need him marking the ball more and giving himself greater opportunity to kick goals. We need him competing more heavily around the ball, too. He should be getting more clearance work for the quality of player that he is. We expect him to take his game up a level next match.
Matt McDonough
16 disposals, three clearances, one goal
Played midfield in the first half, and then a little bit down back, before being ‘subbed’ at three-quarter time to be prepared for the AFL as a carry-over player. Was probably a little down on his customary high standard clearance work and competitive work inside. But we expect his form to pick up this week.
Sam Lloyd
14 disposals, one goal
Played a solid game up forward, but didn’t impact the scoreboard enough, finishing with just one goal, two behinds. It’s been a theme over the past few weeks that he hasn’t taken his opportunities. Really important this week that he works on his goalkicking and his opportunities in the forward-50 area, to make sure the touches he has really impact the scoreboard.
Round 7: Richmond VFL v Essendon VFL gallery
Todd Elton
Eight disposals, two goals
Played back for the first quarter. Fumbled a bit early, which resulted in a couple of goals for the opposition. Was moved forward after that, due to Dave Astbury getting injured, and provided us with a good target. Had four shots for goal, managing to kick two. We expect him to finish better than that, but we were really excited to see him go forward and have an impact.
Reece McKenzie
Seven disposals, six marks
Did some really good things throughout the match. Took half a dozen marks, with two or three of them being contested. Is starting to show traits that he’s going to be a real player for us. Just need him to have more involvement and put himself in positions where he can get the ball kicked to him. Hopefully, he can also hit the scoreboard in the next couple of weeks.
Shaun Hampson
Four disposals, 38 hit-outs
Battled on well after copping a knock on his knee in the first quarter. Again was very good with his hit-outs, but we expect him to have more involvement around the ground. He’s getting to contests, but just needs to win more of them to really push hard for senior selection.
