A-Z preview of Tigers’ 2019 season: Part 3

In a special series running throughout this week at richmondfc.com.au, Tony Greenberg is highlighting the anticipation and excitement leading into the Tigers’ 2019 season with an A-Z preview. The letters L-P take centre stage today.

L is for Lynch

The arrival of Tom Lynch at Tigerland undoubtedly was the major highlight of the AFL’s recruiting period at the end of last season. Lynch clearly was the best player available during that time and the Tigers did extremely well to secure his services as a restricted free agent from Gold Coast. There’s been plenty of discussion during the pre-season as to how Lynch will fit into a Richmond forward line that has functioned so well over the past couple of years with Jack Riewoldt as the one tall target surrounded by a swag of speedy, slick small forwards. Well, you can never have enough good players, and Lynch is a top-class key forward. Yellow and Black barrackers have plenty to look forward to with the Lynch-Riewoldt combination in attack, and the likes of Rioli, Butler and Castagna ready to swoop on any available crumbs.

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M is for MCG

Richmond established a phenomenal winning record at the MCG last year – 22 in-a-row until suffering that preliminary final defeat at the hands of Collingwood. It’s folly to suggest the Tigers will embark on another unbeaten run on their beloved home ground like that in the upcoming season. But with 13 games there throughout the home-and-away rounds, it’s fair to assume they will emerge victorious in plenty of them, to shore up their position in the upper level of the league ladder.

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N is for New rules

Nobody quite knows how the AFL’s new on-field rules for season 2019 will play out. At face value the two main ones – the 6-6-6 starting positions for centre bounces, and extra space for players taking kick-ins from behinds – appear to suit Richmond. The reason behind the rule changes is to produce more free-flowing, instinctive football and one-on-one contests. If the Tigers can win their fair share of centre clearances and quickly pump the ball forward, then they clearly have the firepower through the potent combination of Riewoldt and Lynch (plus the nippy small forwards) to fully capitalise. Up the other end of the ground, Jayden Short and Bachar Houli have the pace and long kicking ability to exploit the kick-in changes.

FIXTURE View Richmond's 2019 AFL premiership season fixture

O is for Options

Some football critics have questioned the depth of playing options available to the Richmond selectors in 2019 when they sit down to pick the team each week following the post-2018 season departures of Reece Conca, Anthony Miles, Sam Lloyd and Corey Ellis. That, however, has been offset to a fair degree by the procurement of Tom Lynch (from Gold Coast) and Mav Weller (from St Kilda), together with the greater opportunity the Tigers will be looking to offer to younger players such as Oleg Markov, Connor Menadue, Ryan Garthwaite, Shai Bolton, Noah Balta, Callum Coleman-Jones and Patrick Naish, in order to find out more about their capabilities at the game’s highest level. In terms of options through the all-important midfield area, Richmond is well placed, with players of the calibre of Trent Cotchin, Dustin Martin, Dion Prestia, Kane Lambert, Shaun Grigg, Shane Edwards, Jack Graham, Jack Higgins, Josh Caddy and Mav Weller.

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P is for Punt Road Oval

A Richmond A-Z wouldn’t be complete without significant reference to the Club’s iconic headquarters. Many talented Tiger cubs will push their claims for AFL selection throughout the 2019 season via VFL home games at the venue. Richmond’s VFLW team, in its second season, again will play home games there, as a prelude to joining the AFLW next year. Punt Road open training sessions will continue to be an attraction for Yellow and Black barrackers. And it will be interesting to follow the progress of the Tigers’ plans for another major redevelopment of the famous ground.

TRAINING Don't miss Saturday morning's open training session at Punt Road