Richmond great Matthew Richardson was quick to jump on the Nick Vlastuin bandwagon.
Following Vlastuin’s AFL debut for the Tigers in Round 5 of the 2013 season against Fremantle at Domain Stadium, Richardson wrote on the Club’s website:
“All Tiger eyes were on the Club’s first pick in the 2012 AFL National Draft in his debut AFL match – and he certainly didn’t disappoint.
“Vlastuin looked composed and he did the basics well, which I think is a really good sign first-up.
“Of the 11 possessions he picked up, five were contested, he applied four strong tackles, which is a trademark of his game, and he took the right options at the right times.
“He also showed fine courage going back with the flight of the ball and looked mature beyond his years out on the field of battle.”
Five years on, and with Vlastuin preparing for his 100th game of league football, against Melbourne in the big Anzac Eve clash next Tuesday, ‘Richo’ again was full of praise for the top-notch Richmond premiership defender.
“First and foremost, he’s brave. He puts his body on the line, whether it’s in a marking contest or at ground level. So you can rely on him as a teammate because you know what he’s going to do,” Richardson said on this week’s edition of the Club’s official podcast ‘Talking Tigers’.
“He wins the ball back for his team, he’s got good poise, and he can play on a small or a tall . . . he plays taller than what he is. And he uses the ball equally as well.
“When he came back last year after having some injury issues, and got a bit of continuity in the back half of the season, I think he was nearly the most important cog (in the defence) . . . The whole backline just took a different shape with him down there.”
Vlastuin, who turns 24 tomorrow (April 19), is averaging 15.6 disposals, 4.9 marks, 2.8 tackles and 2.3 rebound-50s per match throughout his AFL career and is regarded as one of the competition’s best small defenders.
In the last 10 matches of Richmond’s 2017 premiership season, when he returned to the senior line-up, he averaged 18.8 disposals, 7.8 marks and 5.6 rebound-50s per game.
