In the rare absence of star key forward Jack Riewoldt, Richmond had three players step up and fill the void superbly throughout last Saturday night’s clash with Gold Coast at Metricon Stadium.
The eye injury to Riewoldt, which forced him to miss his first match in four years, was the catalyst for lively small forward duo Daniel Rioli and Jason Castagna, along with impressive, mature-age, big man recruit Toby Nankervis, to produce some eye-catching efforts in the Tigers’ forward line.
Rioli kicked all three of Richmond’s goals in the first quarter, Nankervis booted three goals during the second term, and Castagna finished with three goals from six shots all-up.
VIDEO: Nankervis roars up forward
Nine goals between them, out of the team’s total of 14, was a pivotal factor in the Tigers securing their 12th win of season 2017.
It was an AFL career-high goal return for both Rioli and Nankervis, while Castagna consolidated his ranking as the second best goalkicker among the competition’s rising star contenders.
Castagna’s tally of 23 goals is five behind the number one player on that list, young Brisbane key forward Eric Hipwood.
Seven times this season, Castagna has scored multiple goals in a match, with his AFL career-high of four coming in Richmond’s Round 4 victory over Brisbane at the Gabba.
Rioli has an overall total of 18 goals from his 18 games in 2017. He’s notched multiple goals on five occasions.
Nankervis, who had just three goals during a 12-game senior career at Sydney, has nine goals in his debut season with the Tigers.
