Richmond assistant coach Justin Leppitsch provides ‘Roar Vision’ with a snapshot of Brisbane’s strengths ahead of this Sunday’s clash at Etihad Stadium.
Key match-up: Nankervis v Martin
“He’s a very good player, Stef Martin . . . a good ruckman and a good follow-up player, as well. It’s a big job for ‘Nank’ this week. Stef probably got the points last time they played, so hopefully Toby can have a really good influence this week for us . . . They both gather that next possession pretty well. Whoever can hit the scoreboard might be the difference in the match-up.”
Lions’ A-grade midfield group
“This is the maturity of their group – the 27-28-year-olds through the midfield. They’ve got the Daynes (Beams and Zorko) and (Tom) Rockliff . . . very good players in their own right. Beams, All Australian, Rockliff, All Australian, and Zorko, who might be this year. They’re of good quality, so we really have to respect them in that part of the ground.”
Zorko’s impact
“Follow-up run is his strength . . . the ability to break the lines. And he’s a very long, accurate shot for goal as well. So we’ll have our work cut out (with him) this week. Whether we put a full tag on him, he’ll definitely get some attention, I’m sure, from our midfield group. We’ve got to be conscious of how damaging he actually is.”
Conservative ball movement in the back half
“They like to build their uncontested marks . . . they’re AFL No. 18 for fast transition. They really try and probe from the back half. They switch the ball a lot . . . a lot of backwards kicks. But once they do probe and get through, they will score. They’re AFL No. 2 for scoring shots from deep 50. So we have to be really conscious that we defend really well in our front half of the ground.”
Countering their playing style
“I guess there’s a few ways to do it. You can either take out the first kick and make sure, at least, you turn it over . . . and really work back hard the other way. Or make sure you defend the back half of the ground and allow those kicks around the boundary. So, at least in that part of the ground, we can win the ball back. So there’s a couple of modes you can go against this sort of offense . . . We’ll want to put a lot of defensive pressure on them.”
Hipwood’s impressive development up forward
“He’s got that long, gangly running technique. But he can get up the field, as well as stay deep, he’s got that long leap, can kick multiple goals, is really courageous, and has aggression as well. So he’s going to be a hard player for us to stop . . .”
