Richmond assistant coach Blake Caracella provides Richmond Media with an insight into Kane Lambert's AFL journey and playing form.
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His rookie selection in 2014 after missing five national drafts
"He famously said at the Best and Fairest that there were a thousand picks before he got picked. So, it was a long time and he worked really hard. He played at a number of clubs, the Northern Blues and then Williamstown as well. So, he did it the hard way but he learnt how to play the game. A lot of recruiters look at those smaller types as not being as valuable as the taller midfield types but he’s been fantastic. His ability to win the ball and run and link us up and defend. He knows his teammates, he knows the game plan. He’s a team-first player and he’s a fantastic player to have in the team."
His professionalism and hard work over summer
"He works his little butt off, Kane. He comes in the top three in the time trial most times we do it and he leads by example. He’s fairly quiet, he has got a lot of leadership potential and he’s starting to grow that.… I think because of his background of always being told to play a role, he’s always learnt to go and do that. Now, he really puts the team first as well. He’ll go and play the role he’s given each week and that can change from half-forward to midfield to wing as well. At the moment he’s getting a lot of tags from opposition clubs, he’s finished third and second in the Best and Fairest the last two years…teams try to stop his influence."
No. 1 at Richmond for contested possession (average)
"(Contested possession) is the play inside the pack, winning the ball, loose ball gets, which Kane is a really good at. His ability to run and link us up but also get from contest to contest and win those ground balls is why he’s No. 1 for contested possessions…and we missed him when he missed those weeks (Rounds 10-15) mid-season."
His goalkicking ability
"He’s kicked a couple of bags the last few weeks. We’d like him to probably get some more goals. You can see in the goals he’s got the last few weeks, he’s had close attention to him as well, so he’s had to beat tackles and get away from opponents. In the past he’s been on his own a bit more but teams are paying more attention to him now and he has to learn to win the hard ball one v one, but also run hard and win the loose ball as well."
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His running ability
"He runs so hard and so fast. Sometimes it’s hard for him to catch up to the ball, if we’re all running quick and he’s behind the ball, it’s hard for him to catch up. But when we do take a mark, he’s always the one who’s catching up and getting the next handball and either scoring the goal or passing the ball inside 50."
His run and link with handball
"We’ve seen the last two or three years that (Richmond) gets a lot of handball, a lot of forward handball, we gain territory through handball, we’re certainly No. 1 in the league for gaining distance through handball. But that also comes with run, to run then handball, and Kane is one of the best exponents at that."
