Talented, young Richmond defender Tom Brown produced the best performance of his AFL career in the Round 5 loss to Fremantle at Barossa Park.
The 21-year-old, playing his 24th game at senior level with the Tigers, was excellent right throughout the contest. He showcased his astute reading of the play, composure under pressure, rebounding ability and elite foot skills.
Brown finished the match with an AFL career-high 24 disposals, eight contested possessions, five marks, five rebound-50s, an equal team-high eight intercepts and an AFL career-high 584 metres gained.
The previous most disposals he’d had in a game for Richmond’s senior side was 18, which highlights just how effective he was against the Dockers.
So far this season, Brown is averaging 14.8 disposals, 4.8 marks, 4.2 rebound-50s, 5.0 intercepts, 3.0 score involvements and 360.0 metres gained per match.
Speaking to Richmond Media after the 61-point defeat, Brown explained how the playing group needs to remain positive when the opposition attains momentum throughout the contest.
“Our execution in the second half wasn’t good, including myself, I had a couple of turnovers, we had a couple of turnovers that resulted straight into goals,” Brown said.
“That really hurts us and hurts our spirits, we got to do better to stay up and stay out of our shells and keep communicating through those momentum shifts.”
The Tigers face the undefeated Gold Coast Suns on Saturday night at Marvel Stadium.
