Richmond’s VFL coach Tim Clarke continues his exclusive off-season assessments at richmondfc.com.au of the young Tigers who played under him at Coburg this year. Today he looks at the 2013 form and future prospects of defender Jake Batchelor.

Jake Batchelor profile

Born:  13/2/92

Height:  188cm

Weight:  87kg

Recruited from:  Frankston Bombers (Vic)/Dandenong Stingrays TAC Cup team

Draft history:  Selected by Richmond at pick 30 overall in the 2010 National Draft

AFL debut:  Round 1, 2011 v Carlton

AFL games:  39

Goals:  0

Tim Clarke says:  “Jake was an interesting one this year.

From a VFL point of view, he never played as well at that level as he did in the AFL.

When he came down, you’d be excited that you were getting a senior player.  But his output, particularly early in the season, wasn’t there.

I think that led to his confidence dropping a little bit, although he did start to come good in the second half of the year at VFL level.

He started to get more of the footy and started being more aggressive in the contest.

We know Jake can play at senior level . . . he’s a good player.  But he’s just got to get his ground-level work right and probably also get a little bit more involvement with the ball.”