After relishing his first taste of AFL football, draftee Riley Collier-Dawkins is hungry for more.
The 19-year-old midfielder was steady in his first hit-out on Sunday, his early impact leading to six touches in Richmond's 12-point JLT win over Melbourne.
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Post-game, Collier-Dawkins was enthusiastic, labelling his first outing in the yellow and black as a “great learning experience.”
“It was pretty quick, and very heavily contested but it was a great hit-out,” he said.
“Surprisingly enough, I didn’t have many nerves, I was just really excited to get out there, and just a great experience and I’m very glad I did it.
“(My focus was) just to play my role, making sure I work offensively just as hard as I work defensively, and that was something I put a lot of emphasis on out there.”
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After spending his junior years as one of the biggest on the field, Collier-Dawkins, who stands at 193cm, said adapting to the sea of big-bodied players was testing.
“(The biggest challenge was) not being the biggest out there,” he said.
“There’s some pretty big bodies out there and they’re smashing and crashing in the pack, so that was pretty challenging and something I had to adapt to pretty quick.”
The first-round pick hasn’t disappointed in his short time at Tigerland, his ball use and tenacity impressing at the Club’s recent intraclub contest.
As his first pre-season at Tigerland comes to an end, Collier-Dawkins said he was pleased with his early progression.
“I’ve certainly got a lot fitter and a lot bigger over my time at the Tigers, it’s been a really good pre-season, hopefully I can carry some of that form into the main season,” he said.
Collier-Dawkins shares the same goal as all young prospects; to play senior footy. In the interim, as his AFL craft blooms, he is steadfast on developing his game with each hit-out.
“Everyone aspires to play (senior football), but if I can ply my craft through the VFL that’s something I’ll do, just making sure I get better each time,” he said.
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