Richmond VFL development coach Ryan Ferguson provides ‘Roar Vision” with an insight into talented, young Tiger Connor Menadue’s development in the first instalment of ‘Coaches’ Corner’ for 2018.
Expectations of him this season
“He’s not a kid any more . . . We want him to step up this year. He’s had a bit of a role change. Played mostly wing last year and this year he’s trained as a ‘half-backer’. And he can be a really attacking half-backer. He defends really well, but we think he can give us some drive from that part of the ground. He’s playing a lot stronger now, he’s driving his legs, he’s explosive, he’s hard to tackle. That’s what we want to see him bring to his game more often. And hunt the footy and find the footy. We want the ball in his hands . . . He’s naturally quick and we want to see him use that. So we’re looking forward to what he can do.”
His pre-season preparation
“He did the most part of the pre-season. Had a couple of setbacks just later, so he missed his chance to really get involved in JLT games, but he still got a big part of pre-season. He’s two games back in and looking pretty good.”
His form in last weekend’s VFL practice match v Northern Bullants
“It was only his first full game. He played, I think, 60 percent the week before . . . He had 21 disposals, a lot of rebound. The best thing about it was his leg drive, his explosiveness, which is what we want to see out of him. He was really explosive off the mark, breaking lines, a lot of metres gained.
Defensive aspects of his game
“The good thing about Menadue is that he’s not all-out, just purely attacking and not defending. He’s a really smart player. He defends well, he can read the ball and intercept, and he can attack. So he’s really sound in that manner.”
Progress in his fourth AFL season
“He’s two games in now and we’re starting to see him get his form. Being a development coach, I’d like to see him pressing up and playing AFL footy shortly. But obviously he’s got to work his way into the team. If he’s pressing hard, obviously that sets our club up really well. We’ve got lots of guys like that.”
