If there has been a longer kick of the football by a small player at Richmond than Jayden Short, I haven’t seen them.
In my nearly 60 years of watching the Tigers compete, Short is a standout as a prodigious kick for a player under 180cm in height.
Short, 178cm tall, showcased his booming right boot in last night’s match against Fremantle at Optus Stadium.
The top-class dual premiership Tiger and 2020 Jack Dyer Medallist drifted forward in his half-back role and kicked three superb, team-lifting goals, all of them from beyond 50 metres.
It was another first-rate display by Short, who finished the match with 20 disposals, six marks, three tackles, three inside-50s, four intercepts, 398 metres gained and what was an equal AFL career-high three goals.
When asked in a post-match interview with Channel Seven about his level of confidence in taking those long-range shots at goal, Short replied: “I wasn’t that confident . . . I was playing mid for a few weeks and couldn’t get near the goals.
“But I don’t mind playing half-back and getting a bit of a sniff (of a goal).
“I think I was getting a bit excited and probably should have passed a couple, but, no, I’ll definitely taken them.”
