Richmond assistant coach Justin Leppitsch provides ‘Roar Vision’ with a concise examination of Brisbane’s key on-field attributes ahead of Sunday’s clash at the Gabba.
Key match-up: Toby Nankervis v Stefan Martin
“Lot of similarities with these two ruckmen. Not the tallest ruckmen in the competition, but both really strong, good competitors. Not natural tap ruckmen, but really good around the ground. So it should be a good battle and a very important battle for us this week. He’s (Martin) very good at getting that secondary ball . . . he gets a lot of those quick kicks from stoppages. He’s a very important player.”
Brisbane’s ball movement
“Since the Western Bulldogs game in the pre-season, where they had a win, they’ve dropped in (uncontested) numbers . . . They’ve been a bit more long down the line, like us. Interesting to see what they do with their ball movement this week . . . I think they’re just trying to use all modes of movement at the moment.”
Gun Lion mids Dayne Beams, Tom Rockliff and Dayne Zorko
“They’re a pretty powerful midfield group . . . It’s going to be a really good battle with our guys because we’ve obviously got a really powerful midfield mix as well. I think the midfield battle’s going to be where it’s won and lost this week.”
Rockliff’s big clearance numbers
“He’s always been a very good clearance player . . . a very good extractor from those clearance areas. A lot of his work tends to go unnoticed because he’s the ‘first-hands’ sort of guy, not the spreader like the others, but he’s still an important player to them.”
Daniel Rich’s rebound off half-back
“He’s a very powerful player, as far as metres gained. I think he had over 800 last week, and his disposals are up. So it’s really important for our forward group, which is my area, that we don’t allow him to have too much of the footy because what he does with it is very important. (Tom) Cutler and (Sam) Mayes also get good numbers as well, as young half-backs, but they don’t have the reputation of Daniel (Rich). Overall, they’ve got a pretty good kicking half-back line there.”