Richmond VFL and development coach Craig McRae wasn’t at Adelaide Oval last Saturday night to witness, up close, talented Tiger small forward Tyson Stengle make his senior league debut with the Club.

Earlier in the day, McRae had guided an undermanned VFL Tigers’ team to a gutsy win against Essendon at Windy Hill, so the logistics meant he couldn’t make the trip to Adelaide with the Club’s AFL side.

McRae saw Stengle’s debut unfold via Fox Footy’s live coverage of the match, and was suitably impressed with the 18-year-old’s first-up effort at the game’s highest level.

Stengle kicked two crucial goals and certainly didn’t look out of place in Richmond’s attack alongside fellow highly-promising, young small forwards Daniel Rioli, Dan Butler and Jason Castagna.

“It looks like he played his role really well . . . It was exactly what he was doing at VFL level,” McRae said on this week’s edition of Roar Vision’s ‘Coaches’ Corner’.

“I’m really happy for him.

“He’s been working hard at his craft.

“He’s a really likeable kid around the place and is really coachable.”

McRae outlined the key aspects of Stengle’s game that make him such an exciting prospect for the Tigers.

“It’s amazing, watching him at VFL (level), that he just never gets tackled,” McRae said.

“He’s got a great ability to be really composed in traffic and get out of traffic. He’s really strong with his core and keeps his feet really well, too.

“And then, once he’s got the ball, he’s a great decision-maker . . . he uses the ball extremely well inside 50.

“He’s also got the ability to play deep and mark over his head really well, one-on-one.

“As the season’s gone on, he’s impacted the scoreboard . . . but his pressure around the ball’s been very good, too . . .

“He’s a really clever player.”