Richmond AFLW senior coach Ryan Ferguson was impressed by his side's consistency over four quarters on Thursday night at Ikon Park, as the Tigers kept Carlton goalless for their third win in a row.
Labelling the performance as a "professional effort", Ferguson said he "was really pleased with our fundamentals".
“(We) started fast, knew it was going to be an arm-wrestle,” Ferguson said.
“Carlton are really strong around the ball, high numbers around the ball, take pride in their contest and their defence, so we knew what we were in for.”
Another particularly pleasing aspect for Ferguson was his side's ability to adjust to the testing wet conditions.
“I think we were nice and strong over the ball. We knew adjusting to the conditions, taking a fraction more time making sure our feet were strong," Ferguson said.
“On a night like this where it is a bit slippery, any time you can get the ball to space forward to one on ones forward.
“We had times where (Brennan) and (Greiser) were fighting two verse one against, but as soon as they brought the ball to ground, our support arrived.
“We wanted to have a balance of when to go fast and get to space but also when they have numbers back, where we need to be a bit more patient. I thought we found that balance reasonably well.”
Superstar Tiger Monique Conti celebrated her 50th Richmond game in style, proving unstoppable with 33 disposals (18 contested), 11 clearances and 580 metres gained.
"I think she's been outstanding the last two weeks, she hasn't been the high-disposal getter, but her impact on the team, the ability to manipulate the opposition, to get others out, to put pressure on," Ferguson said.
"(She) doesn't have to (have) 30 touches to impact the game.
"She had a huge impact tonight, was really lively and got the ball going our way.
"She's in a really impressive patch of form and how she's leading the midfield is really impressive."
As the Tigers continue to navigate their way through through the condensed fixture block, Ferguson holds confidence they'll build on their game week by week.
“This is a critical part of the season, multiple games really quickly,” he said.
“In five days, we go again on Tuesday, so we don’t get to enjoy this for too long.
“It's important that we keep building on what we’re doing. It was a professional performance but there’s so much to get out of the game.
“Carlton gave us feedback in some areas that we need to get better at. We were really strong in some areas that we need to continue. I do feel we’re at a building phase."
