Richmond VFL coach Tim Clarke has praised the efforts of his defenders, but admits the Tigers must improve their ball use ahead of Saturday’s clash against Werribee.
The Tigers started well in last weekend’s loss to Box Hill, but turnovers, which were ultimately punished by a quality side, proved costly.
“The boys were really competitive, we came out there and we had a really good first quarter,” Clarke told Roar Vision.
“A couple of turnovers early in the second quarter and Box Hill really stepped up their game, and we just couldn’t go with them in that quarter. They turned a two-goal lead to us into a two-goal lead for them at half time.”
Despite the result, Clarke was impressed with the Tigers’ entire defensive unit. He said every defender played their role well, and was particularly pleased with the performance of Matt Dea.
“All of our defenders I thought were terrific. You put Matty in that category, you put Dylan Grimes in that category, Benny Darrou, they’re all fantastic back there,” he said.
“I think Matt, after coming back last week, is pushing for senior selection,” Clarke said, “given that we lost Dave [Astbury] to an injury, we’re going to need someone.”
Ivan Maric played three quarters in his return from injury, in front of a capacity crowd at the ME Bank Centre. While Clarke was happy with the ruckman’s comeback game, he expects improvement.
“His ruck work was okay. We expect his second efforts and his work around the ground to improve over the next two weeks,” he said.
“Hopefully he can be back in our senior team in the next couple of weeks.”
Clarke is wary of a talented Werribee outfit, but believes his side can win the all-Tiger duel at Avalon Airport Oval.
“They move the ball very well and they’ve got some really good forwards that we’re going to have to look after,” he said.
“If we lose a couple of our backs up to the senior level, we’ll have to make a few adjustments, but we’re confident that we’ve got the game that can beat them.”
