Richmond assistant coach Justin Leppitsch provides a snapshot of the Tigers’ forward line preparations, plans, personnel, and potential for season 2017 in this ‘Roar Vision’ exclusive.
Department of youth
“On average, it’s a pretty young group, the forwards, but having Jack (Riewoldt) there and ‘Griff’ (Ben Griffiths), tends to pump the age up a little bit . . . I’m really enjoying working with the young boys.”
Tall timber growth
“All of our young ‘talls’ are improving . . . (Todd) Elton, (Mabior) Chol and (Callum) Moore. They’ve been really good to work with. It’s hard for me to compare to last year, but I’m really impressed with their work-rate. And they seem to be improving with every week . . . It’s a good sign.”
Riewoldt’s inspirational influence
“He’s been a great leader for us, Jack. He really drives the whole thing, particularly this year. He’s taken a bigger role again in that because he’s the most experienced (forward). And he’s a really smart footballer and really well respected. So he’s a really important player for us and a really important leader . . .”
Big Ben clocks on
“He’s just got back from his groin injury and surgery, Griff, and it’s good to have him out there. He’s got an important role as that second ruck and forward. It’s a tough role. There’s a lot of running, and then you’ve got to go forward and give a contest as well. So there’s a fair workload in it. I’m really looking forward to working with him a bit closer now that he’s back . . .”
Shining small-forward draftees Bolton and Stengle
“They’re brilliant, young boys . . . really impressive in their work-rate and what they want to give to the game. I think Shai’s going to be a good one for those ‘Supercoach’ guys out there . . . I’ve got a feeling he might play some (senior) footy this year for the Tiges.”
Rising pool of Tiger talent
“The depth’s going to be really important for us this year, as it is in every year . . . We’ve got some good competition for spots. Even a lot of the players the Tiger supporters wouldn’t know much about, like (Jason) Castagna and (Dan) Butler, they’re really fighting hard with the young draftees, along with some guys that have been around a few years. So it’s a pretty exciting time for the Tiges. I think it (internal competition) is crucial . . . Often you go into a season and you’re not sure you’re going to have it, but I think we’ll have that, particularly early on in the season, while we’re an injury-free team . . .”
Forward focal points for 2017
“We’ve really got a defensive focus. Defence and effort . . . And we’re not shying away from the fact that we want to really measure our effort, and measure the contested part of our game, and measure how we want to pressure up the opposition. You can focus on so many things as a coach. You can look at your structure, you can look at your forward patterns . . . But I think the effort within our group’s the most important thing this year. We’ve spent a lot of time on it, and what it looks like. The last thing’s how we support each other as a unit, and how we look, and how we want to be perceived by the outside world. We’ve spent a bit of time on that and I think we’ve made some good inroads with the boys. Hopefully that filters through to the games and we can get some good results.”
