Richmond development coach Ryan Ferguson provides ‘Roar Vision’ with an insight into top rebound defender Bachar Houli’s importance within the Tigers’ line-up.
High fitness levels
“He’s amazing with his ability to stay fit and have an immediate impact when he’s come back. He had an interrupted pre-season, and a couple of injury setbacks during the year, but the way that he comes back . . . plays half a game in the VFL and shows the young guys how to gut run, and then impacts immediately when he comes back in the (senior) team.”
Exemplary attitude
“He’s as professional as anyone. Goes about it in a quiet way, but he leads by example and a lot of our young guys can learn a lot from him.”
Elite runner
“He knows when to run and he runs hard. You watch him from behind the goals – his power, gut running and high-speed stuff is as good as anyone I’ve ever seen.”
No. 1 at the Club for uncontested possession
“I think everyone that watches Bachar play knows how valuable he is when he’s got the ball in his hands. And he uses it really well . . .”
Metres gained and retained
“I love it when he straightens us up . . . takes the ball, cuts towards goals, takes a bounce. That’s when we’re really looking sharp. And he becomes a pretty dangerous player for opposition teams to have to watch when he plays like that.”
His ability to find targets inside 50
“It’s his composure to take a second, weigh it up, allow us to make some space for him, and then to hit that kick, rather than just blasting it. That’s really important.”
Coming good at the business end of the season
“He showed last year with his run in the finals and his impeccable form . . . Hopefully, he’s ramping up in a similar way this year. He’s starting to get some footy under his belt and I think he can smell finals around the corner. He can smell the big games and he likes those moments . . . There’s something about his personality, his composure and his ability to stay calm, but also step up and deliver.”
His off-field demeanour
“He’s similar to the way he plays. He’s that calm, impeccable sort of person. It’s hard to fault him . . .”
