Richmond development coach Andrew McQualter provides an exclusive summary of the AFL and VFL-listed players who featured in last Saturday’s match against Essendon.

AFL-listed players

Reece Conca
26 disposals, seven clearances, eight tackles, four centre clearances

Probably our best midfielder for the day. His ability to be clean in the contest and make good decisions with the ball is really standing out.  Is improving each week.

Jason Castagna
20 disposals, eight handball receives, one goal, six tackles

Had a bit of a mixed game. He played back in the first half, and was okay, apart from a few skill errors.  Was moved forward in the second half and we thought he had a reasonable impact with his pressure around the ball.

Jayden Short
20 disposals, three clearances, 13 uncontested possessions

‘Shorty’ had a bit of a frustrating game for us, going a bit outside what we expect from him. He wanted the ball in his hands, which was great, but he just didn’t do the basics well at times.

Nathan Broad
19 disposals, six marks, 11 uncontested possessions

Stood up well in another solid performance, playing mainly through the wing and defence.  Is in good, consistent form at the moment.

Adam Marcon
17 disposals, six marks, four inside 50s

Was a bit quieter than normal. That was a little bit our (coaching staff) fault for not playing him in the right position at times, but he just struggled to impact the game and wasn’t as clean as he usually is.

Oleg Markov
17 disposals, eight marks, three inside 50s

Showed some really good signs . . . we saw some positive AFL traits from him.  Is getting better each week, but still has room for a fair bit of improvement. There was a defensive edit we, and he, were both pretty disappointed with, but I’m sure he’ll learn from that.

Jacob Townsend
17 disposals, six tackles, four clearances, one goal

Had an okay game. Was able to impact around the contest with his big frame and, apart from a couple of concentration lapses on his direct opponent, we think he did a reasonable job.

Liam McBean
16 disposals, 10 marks, four contested marks, three inside 50s

Had a different role to what he usually has. Played a little bit higher up the ground, and was able to take 10 marks, which was really pleasing. He took the ball out in front with his hands, and played like a big man, but unfortunately he wasn’t able to hit the scoreboard for us.

Mabior Chol
15 disposals, eight marks, 10 uncontested possessions

Produced a really impressive performance in his first game as a defender for us. We thought he looked really comfortable there — especially early in the game. Was caught out a bit when he fatigued later on, but for the majority of the game there were some good signs from him.

Ivan Maric
29 hit-outs, one goal, three clearances, four tackles

Had his best game for our VFL side this year. He really played ‘big’, his contest work, long down the line, was good right throughout the match, and he was able to take four contested marks. Also gave us aerial dominance in the ruck.

Andrew Moore
15 disposals, five tackles, five handball receives

A fairly ‘vanilla’ display from him, especially in the first half, when he fumbled too much and wasn’t able to make the most of his half chances. Is another player who’ll be striving for an improved performance next week.

Nathan Drummond
14 disposals, five marks, three inside 50s

Is a real feel-good story.  We were extremely pleased with what he produced in his first game back after 13 months out with a serious knee injury. He looked fit and strong, and his decision-making was good apart from a couple of inside-50 kicks.  Overall, it was a great return by him.

Dan Butler

11 disposals, one goal, four marks, three tackles

Slightly down on what we expect from him.  Wasn’t able to impact the contest as much as we would have liked, and his defensive pressure was slightly off.  It was good, however, to see him able to hit the scoreboard.

Todd Elton
10 disposals, one goal, four marks 

In his first game up forward for the season, some of his positioning was not quite where we wanted it to be. But he’ll look at the vision and get better at that.  It was good to see him back out on the park after being sidelined with injury in recent weeks.

Callum Moore
Eight disposals, five marks, two contested marks

Started the game like a house on fire.  Had three shots on goal in the first 10 minutes, but unfortunately couldn’t capitalise fully on them. Again looked really dangerous up forward at times, and he’ll continue to improve.

Ivan Soldo
12 hit-outs, five marks, two tackles

We were pretty disappointed with Ivan’s game, as we thought he didn’t compete hard enough in the contest. Some of his ruckwork was okay, but overall it was a disappointing performance from him. He’ll be keen to bounce back next week.

VFL-listed players

Jacob Ballard
20 disposals, three tackles, eight handball receives

Had a reasonable game, although he was a little fumbly at times. His size and ability to win the contest really stood out.

Tom Langford
17 disposals, 12 uncontested possessions, five handball receives

Was a bit down on what we expect from him. Some of his ball use wasn’t at the level he’s capable of. Is sure to improve next week.

Ryan Gale
14 disposals, nine marks, 11 uncontested possessions

Was a solid contributor in defence throughout the match. At times, he flew when he didn’t need to, but generally competed well and helped ensure their key forwards didn’t have much of an impact.  

Tom Silvestro
13 disposals, four tackles, three inside 50s

Same as always, played his role and worked really hard.  Didn’t have the impact on the game in the first three quarters that we would have liked, but with his fitness, he lifted in the last quarter.

Daniel Coffield
11 disposals, four marks, nine uncontested possessions

Another solid effort from this young player.  Looks strong in the contest and is constantly improving.  And, he’ll get better with each game he plays.

Ash Morris
11 disposals, four marks, five handball receives, three tackles

Was solid, but a bit quieter than a couple of weeks ago, when he played his first game for us.  Still made some good decisions with the ball, and did some good defensive work.

Anthony Scott
11 disposals, four marks, two tackles

Was slightly down on his usual output up forward and Essendon’s backs were able to hurt us quite a bit on the rebound.  Will be looking for a quick return to form next week.