Richmond’s VFL team showed admirable resilience and composure, plus a good deal of class, in defeating Casey by 35 points at the Swinburne Centre’s Punt Road Oval this afternoon – 17.19 (121) to 13.8 (86).
The visitors stunned the home side, scoring the first five goals of the match in just over 10 minutes of play.
But the Tigers dug deep and stuck to the process, clawing their way back into the contest to trail by just 11 points at quarter-time after a combined 14-goals opening term.
It was all Richmond in the second quarter, with promising, young ruckman Ivan Soldo’s dominance at the centre bounces and stoppages providing the likes of Anthony Miles, Liam Baker, Jacob Ballard and Brandon Wood with numerous opportunities through the midfield.
Up forward, quick, slick, small Tiger forwards Shai Bolton and Tyson Stengle were creating havoc for the Casey defenders.
The Tigers hit the front 13 minutes into the second quarter, when Bolton pulled down a spectacular mark and kicked truly.
Bolton kicked another six-pointer a few minutes later and Stengle manufactured a couple of goalscoring chances through typically clever play, but was wayward with his finishing work.
The overwhelmingly pro-Richmond crowd then erupted when talented, young Tiger tall forward Callum Coleman-Jones took a well-judged mark and kicked his first goal at VFL level for the Club.
By half-time, Richmond’s lead had grown to 21 points, following its six goals to one second quarter.
Up to that stage it had been a free-flowing, high-scoring contest, but the third quarter saw both sides wasteful in front of goals.
Stengle soccered through the Tigers’ first goal of the third term just before three quarter-time, to give them a handy 20-point lead at the final change.
The highlight of the last quarter from a Richmond perspective was the impressive work deep forward of Coleman-Jones.
He kicked the Tigers’ first goal for the term after a good mark and followed it up with a smart one from a handball-receive about 40 metres out.
Another tall Tiger forward – Mabior Chol – also featured in the Yellow and Black highlights reel during the final quarter.
Chol slotted the last goal of the match from a tight angle after clunking a now trademark big grab.
Teammate Callum Moore, who threatened to take Mark of the Year on a couple of occasions throughout the match, also was particularly prominent in the last quarter with his pace and aerial ability.
It was a meritorious victory by Richmond, especially given the fact Casey made such an explosive start to the game.
Big Soldo finished with a massive 60 hit-outs, to further underline his development as a ruckman, Miles was at his ‘ball-magnet’ best, racking up 35 disposals (21 contested possessions, 11 clearances), the Club’s rookie list pick Baker, 22 disposals, impressed with his link play, VFL-listed pair Ballard, 25 disposals and Wood, 25 disposals, were extremely productive around the packs, Oleg Markov and Connor Menadue provided good run-and-carry, while captain Steven Morris showed excellent leadership as per usual.
Other young Richmond-listed players to show some encouraging signs during the match were Noah Balta (13 disposals, four marks), Patrick Naish (16 disposals, three inside-50s, three rebound-50s), Corey Ellis (16 disposals, six tackles), Nathan Drummond (15 disposals, six tackles), Ryan Garthwaite (eight disposals, three marks, four rebound-50s) and Ben Miller (14 disposals, four marks, five rebound-50s).
Notable Tigers not included in the VFL side were Sam Lloyd, Nathan Broad, Jack Higgins and Shaun Hampson.
Match details
Richmond 6.3 12.8 13.14 17.19 (121)
Casey 8.2 9.5 11.6 13.8 (86)
Goalkickers – Richmond: Coleman-Jones 3, Bolton 2, Baker 2, Chol 2, Grewar 2, Aarts, Moore, C. Ellis, Drummond, Stengle, Balta.
Best – Richmond: Miles, Soldo, Baker, Ballard, Wood, Bolton, Markov, Menadue.
