Richmond VFL coach Steve Morris provides a summary of how the Tigers’ players performed in last Sunday's Round 8 loss against Sandringham at Trevor Barker Oval.  

Kaleb Smith (23 disposals, four marks, 11 rebound-50s, five tackles)

“Kaleb was one of the best on ground. It was a fantastic performance once again from him. He's growing as a player each and every week.”

Chad Harris (21 disposals, 76% disposal efficiency, four marks, five rebound-50s)

“Chad tried his backside off down back. I thought he led the boys really well and never gave up on the day.”

Joel Garner (20 disposals, 75% disposal efficiency, seven marks, four rebound-50s, five inside-50s, five tackles)

“Joel won the (Pat Cronin) Medal for being judged best on ground for us on the weekend. His work in the air was a standout and he was a really strong leader for us on a tough day.”

Tom McCarthy (20 disposals, 10 contested possessions, three inside-50s, four tackles, seven clearances)

“Tom has shown over the last month that he's really capable of competing at this level. He was a little bit fumbly on the weekend, but that's an aspect of his game that's been really good up until this point. I’m looking forward to him bouncing back.”

Lachlan Wilson (15 disposals, 11 contested possessions, three inside-50s, seven tackles, five clearances)

“He tried extremely hard. He had seven tackles on the day but was part of a midfield that got beaten by a bigger, stronger and more experienced Sandringham midfield.”

Harry Broderick (14 disposals, eight contested possessions, six tackles, five clearances)
“It was a really great experience for Harry being able to play in the midfield. He played down back and up forward as well, and he used the ball well on the day and also had six tackles.”

Luke Haddara (14 disposals, three rebound-50s)

“Luke is a beautiful ball user who I feel as though didn't reach the heights that he can probably due to nerves in his first game, though I'm certain that he'll get better in time. He was able to find the ball on the day, which was a pleasing aspect of his game.”

Jed Feneley (13 disposals, 77% disposal efficiency, seven marks, seven rebound-50s)

“Jed was actually one of our more experienced players on the ground with just six games to his name. I would love to see Jed progress at a greater rate at the moment as I've got really high hopes for where he could get to. He's got great athleticism, and he's generally been pretty good in defence, but I want to see him continually offer more on offence.”

Jacob Koschitzke (13 disposals, nine contested possessions, 77% disposal efficiency, three marks, four tackles, two goals)

“Jacob was in a forward line that was only serviced with 30 entries. It makes it tough for a big key forward, but I thought he battled away all day, provided a contest, and hit the scoreboard with two of our three goals.”

Cam Olden (12 disposals, six contested possessions, six tackles, three clearances)

“Unfortunately, Cam copped a knock and was pretty sore from pretty early on in the game and that showed in his ability to be able to cover the ground. He still tried extremely hard and had six tackles on the day. He's one of our more important players, so looking forward to getting him up and going with his best footy.”

Thomas Brindley (11 disposals, four rebound-50s)

“Thomas again played down back, and I thought he was solid given the supply that the opposition forwards were given. I’m really looking forward to seeing his run stand out on the wide-open spaces of the MCG against the Bombers.”

Sam Davidson (11 disposals, eight contested possessions, nine tackes)

“Sam is another who will benefit from playing on the MCG, as he's probably one of the best runners at the club. I thought he showed some really good signs. We threw him into the ruck in the last quarter against an experienced ruckman and it was great to see him continue to battle away. He had a game-high nine tackles, and I’m really pleased with the way he's progressing.”

Liam George (nine disposals, six contested possessions, one goal)

“Liam once again looked lively in front of goals. He's a really smart footballer and is progressing really nicely.”

Samson Ryan (eight disposals, four contested possessions, 18 hit-outs, three clearances)

“Samson had a really big battle up against Tom Campbell after Sam (Naismith) went down and he tried hard, there's no doubt about that, but a bit of experience probably did win out in that battle. Looking forward to seeing him continually crack in whether it's in the ruck or up forward.”

Harrison White (eight disposals, one tackle)

“Harry had a couple of chances in front of goal that he just didn't capitalize on, and they were probably chances that he usually would.”

Josh Pollocks (seven disposals, four contested possessions, 86% disposal efficiency, three rebound-50s)

“I thought Josh had a really solid game in his first game with the club. He took one really good contested mark in particular and I thought his aerial spoils were strong. It's a really good starting point for Josh.”

Sam Frangalas (six disposals, three contested possessions, four tackles)

“Sam showed that he’s really tough around the footy with a couple of bone-crunching tackles. He's got a fair bit of work to do in terms of understanding the way we want to play in our system, and he knows that, but he's continually getting to work on that at training.”

Nick Guiney (six disposals, five contested possessions)

“Similar to Cam Olden, Nick copped a heavy knock early in the game and that unfortunately saw him in the square for most of his game until he had to pull the pin halfway through the third quarter. Hopefully, he can pull up okay.”

Austin Johnson (six disposals, 100% disposal efficiency)

“He was almost the best player on the ground alongside Joel Garner in the first quarter, but unfortunately copped a very heavy head knock and won't play for the next month with our 21-day concussion protocols.”

Archie May (six disposals, three contested possessions, 86% disposal efficiency, three marks, five inside-50s)

“I think Archie can have a much bigger influence than he's having at the moment. He knows what he's capable of and he's very close to being able to do it. Once he starts bringing the physicality that I've seen in him throughout preseason and at training to games, I think we're going to see a very different version of Archie May.”

Nicholas Collier (four disposals, 75% disposal efficiency, two tackles)

“He’s trying his backside off in our system and unfortunately was a bit of a victim of the way we moved the ball on the weekend, playing up forward. It was a really tough day for him, but I appreciate the effort that he's putting into learning our game plan and playing his role.”

Matthew Clarkson (three disposals, one inside-50)

“One of the best kids you'd look to coach. He's just a wonderful person and leader around our footy club as a young player. Unfortunately, he wasn't used overly often on the weekend although I thought he got into good spots and communicated well. We then moved him down back, but they were under fire down there as well.”

Sam Naismith (three disposals, four contested possessions, 100% disposal efficiency, four hit-outs)

“Really disappointing and shattering news to come out of the game. I have absolutely loved coaching Sam, and he's been an amazing leader for us with our young players, and I really appreciate everything he's done for me and the group. Just shattered for him and sending lots of love his way.”