Richmond AFLW coach Ryan Ferguson was impressed by his side’s performance over four quarters on Saturday afternoon at the Swinburne Centre, as the Tigers defeated Collingwood to record their fifth win of the season.
With rolling storms and lightning resulting in an extended half-time break on Saturday afternoon, Ferguson labelled the 36-point win as “a really mature performance.”
“We prepared for any conditions because we knew the weather might be around, and we’ve played wet weather footy the last couple of weeks,” Ferguson said.
Citing his side’s maturity on Saturday afternoon, Ferguson was pleased with the performance after lightning delays saw the game enter an extended half-time break.
“To come out after half time…stay composed, come out and almost start the game again (and) assert our authority, really happy with that.”
“We allowed the players to have their own time…we let them relax and let them be who they need to be (at half time), and they controlled that really well,” he said on the extended half-time break.
Another pleasing aspect for Ferguson was his side’s ability to play to the wet conditions, particularly, his talls such as Caitlin Greiser, Tamara Luke and Katie Brennan.
“You still need competitors and targets in the wet.”
“The players have the skillset to play those conditions, and I thought all our talls impacted and brought our smalls into the game,” Ferguson said.
Like Ferguson, Eilish Sheerin was pleased with the side’s performance over four quarters on Saturday afternoon.
“A big thing we’re focusing on this year is consistency and getting better every game,” Sheerin said.
“We really grounded out today, we wanted to bring step-in, we wanted to bring pressure because we know that’s going to be really challenging for teams.
“It’s our Richmond brand. to see that consistently over the four quarters is great for Ferg, it’s great for the team and building that identity.”
The dual All-Australian was strong for the Tigers, collecting 17 disposals, three marks, six tackles, 353 metres gained and two goals.
“It’s nice to be contributing to the team, whether that’s around the ground, at the contest, or getting on the scoreboard,” the dual All-Australian said.
Sheerin was full of praise for a fellow goalkicker on the day, Caitlin Greiser, who collected eight disposals, three marks, four tackles and a goal in her 50th AFLW game.
“She’s such a great player, but an excellent human,” she said.
“She’s the first one to get around all the other girls and it was great to celebrate that huge milestone which is huge in the women’s game.”
