Talented, young Richmond big man Samson Ryan took another impressive step in his football development in last Saturday’s practice match against Melbourne at Casey Fields.
Ryan replaced star key forward Tom Lynch at three-quarter time and was excellent in the final term taking five marks, four of them contested grabs, and kicking a goal.
Had he been more accurate with his set-shot kicking, he would have finished with three goals for the quarter.
What made the 206cm, 22-year-old’s performance all the more meritorious was the fact that he had played in the VFL curtain-raiser between the Tigers and Demons, dominating in his ruck role.
Richmond assistant coach Andrew McQualter paid tribute to Ryan in his post-match press conference.
“What a credit to Samson Ryan coming on in the last quarter,” McQualter said.
“He played three quarters earlier in the VFL, had a spell, and then was able to really impact the game in the last quarter. So, a great effort from him.”
