Richmond VFL coach Steve Morris provides a summary of how the Tigers’ players performed in last Saturday’s Dreamtime win against Essendon at the MCG.

Joel Garner (30 disposals, 77% disposal efficiency, seven marks, nine inside-50s, nine tackles, seven clearances)

“He was outstanding. He won best-on-ground honours with 30 disposals, nine tackles and seven clearances. He drove the ball inside 50 on nine occasions and was just brilliant.”

Thomas Brindley (24 disposals, 79% disposal efficiency, 10 marks, three inside-50s, five clearances, 10 hit-outs)

“We set Tom a massive task in the ruck, and he answered beautifully. He had 24 disposals and whilst we didn't get many first hands on the ball, he was brilliant around the ground with his elite running capacity.”

Kaleb Smith (23 disposals, six marks, five rebound-50s, one goal)

“Kaleb again had a good game on the weekend. He’s had a great six-to-eight weeks of footy, and he kicked his first goal in Richmond colours and it was an absolute ripper. I’m really looking forward to seeing his continued progression.”

Chad Harris (23 disposals, 10 marks, five rebound-50s, three tackles, three clearances)

“Ever reliable down back was Chad. He continues to lead this young group extremely well alongside Joel (Garner) in the absence of (Lachlan) Street. He’s a really calm head down in defence and plays our system really well.” 

Sam Davidson (20 disposals, 10 contested possessions, 80% disposal efficiency, seven marks, four inside-50s, three tackles, three goals)

“It was his best game for the club. He was outstanding on the MCG in the wide-open spaces. He's one of the very best runners at the footy club, and it was really clear that he was covering the ground better than most.”

Lachlan Wilson (20 disposals, 75% disposal efficiency, five marks, five inside-50s, seven tackles, one goal)
“He had another outstanding game and is having a cracking year. He wins the ball in and under for us and is a smart decision-maker both offensively and defensively and kicked another beautiful goal on the weekend.”

Tom McCarthy (20 disposals, seven marks, five tackles, three clearances, one goal)

“Tom is part of that engine room with Lachlan (Wilson) who is doing a really good job at the moment. I've seen some real growth in his game and his patterns over the last few weeks and am looking forward to that continuing. He kicked his first goal in Tiger colours and the boys celebrated accordingly.”

Harry Scott (19 disposals, three marks, four tackles, four clearances)

“I was really pleased with Harry. He's been made to earn his debut, and he stepped out on debut and held up his end of the bargain, finishing with 19 disposals and four tackles. He’s a big body, but it was his clean hands in tight that really stood out.”

Jacob Koschitzke (19 disposals, 79% disposal efficiency, 10 marks, three rebound-50s, one goal)

“He went back when (Tylar) Young went down. He kicked an early goal up forward but was a standout on the ground for the remainder of the game down back. I loved the way he read the play, and he played our system really well. It was great for him to add another string to his bow.” 

Nick Guiney (18 disposals, 89% disposal efficiency, six marks, six rebound-50s, one goal)

“He's piecing together a really nice year. He was pretty sore after the Sandringham game and didn't finish that game off, however, he had 18 disposals and kicked a beautiful goal on his left foot last Saturday. He's a really solid player who gets his job done week in and week out.”

Liam George (18 disposals, three marks, three inside-50s, one goal)

“Liam is progressing really nicely. He understands the way that we want to play, and whilst he still makes the occasional mistake in our system, he is growing every week. He's a really talented kid who uses the ball well and is going places.”

James Trezise (17 disposals, 88% disposal efficiency, five marks, three rebound-50s, four tackles)

“It was his first game back from a head knock, and it was good to see him back out there as he's had an interrupted year. Some of his contest work was outstanding, and his defensive game was really good. Looking for that to be the launchpad for a good little consistent block for him.”

Archie May (17 disposals, 11 marks, five inside-50s, four goals)

“It was Archie's best game for the club by quite some way. He's been progressing nicely, but I thought his game was a real standout on the weekend. I've said this plenty of times, but I really think he's just scratching the surface of his abilities, and I'm looking forward to seeing the sort of player he will be in 18 to 24 months.”

Cam Olden (15 disposals, 13 contested possessions, five tackles, three goals)

“It was great for Cam to get some reward. He’s had a quiet month of footy and expressed some frustration to me throughout the week surrounding that, but he was brilliant on the weekend. He kicked a sensational goal after crumbing front-and-centre and finished with three goals on the day. It was also his defensive efforts that I was proud of and pleased with.”

Josh Pollocks (13 disposals, eight contested possessions, five marks)

“Josh started down back and did a bit of a swap with (Jacob) Koschitzke when he went down back and played key forward. He hasn't trained for a minute with our forwards since he arrived at the club. but was a really big part of the reason as to why we were able to play such great footy. He won or halved everything in the air and played his role to perfection.”

Sam Banks (13 disposals, five marks, three inside-50s)

“He played the first three quarters, and his run and carry certainly stood out. Sam is a player who's had a run of bad luck lately, but I’m looking forward to seeing him get some consistent minutes under his belt.”

Harrison White (12 disposals, two goals, two marks)

“It was good to see him hit the scoreboard on the weekend. He finished with a couple of goals and gave another one off late in the game. We know he's a really classy player when he's at his best, and we saw glimpses of his best on the weekend.”

Matthew Coulthard (10 disposals, six contested possessions, four marks, two goals)

“Matthew could have easily finished with four or five goals. I felt as though he ran his patterns really well and could have been rewarded even more than he was on the day. He was pretty crook throughout the week so it was good to see him display that resilience and provide some evidence that even when he's not at his best, he can still have a big influence on matches.”

Harry Broderick (10 disposals, two marks, two rebound-50s)

“I thought Harry was really clean on the day and played his role really well down back. He's a player that can play several different positions for us, and that's important to our program.”

Jed Feneley (nine disposals, 78% disposal efficiency, four marks, four rebound-50s)

“I challenged Jed pretty strongly last week surrounding his physicality, and didn't he respond. I thought he was outstanding in the contest and just did the basics really well on the day.”

Ry Cantwell (eight disposals, three marks, three tackles)

“Ry played his first game for the club and I thought he held his own down back. He showed a couple of real glimpses of what we know he's got. He's got speed and power and he's a beautiful decision maker. He's going to be a really nice player in time, and we saw glimpses of that on the weekend.”

Nicholas Collier (four disposals, two marks, three tackles)

“I would challenge you to find a better four-possession game in the history of VFL footy. He played his role extremely well. He applied defensive pressure and made good decisions off the ball, and I'm really pleased that he's bought into our program in the way that he has. He's a young player who's been rewarded early on in his time at Richmond, and if he continues to play his role in the way he did on the weekend, he's going to be in Tigers colours much more often.”

Tylar Young (one disposal, one inside-50, one mark)

“Just a tragedy that Tylar has gone down with a season-ending knee injury. He's a much-loved player within our club and we wish him well in his recovery. I’m looking forward to seeing a bigger and stronger version of Tylar back out on the field in 2025.”