A win in the contested ball was one the many positives that Richmond VFL coach Tim Clarke took from the Tigers’ crucial win over Casey on the weekend, but wants his side to back it up with another strong performance against Geelong this weekend.

The Tigers were never behind against Casey and built a comfortable, match-winning lead after quarter-time. Clarke was pleased with the win but admitted the Scorpions’ were down on their pressure at the ball.  

“The boys played the best brand of footy that we’ve played all year,” he told Roar Vision.

“Casey tried hard but they were undermanned going into the game and we knew that. They weren’t able to put us under enough pressure and the boys really made the most of it.”

“We had 25 marks inside 50 halfway through the fourth quarter so it was brilliant to be able to get that good delivery from our midfielders, but also for our forwards to make the most of it.”

Key to the Tigers performance was winning the contested ball after struggling to do so in recent weeks. Clarke said the turnaround was encouraging but insists that the Tigers must continue to improve that area of their game.

“The boys were terrific inside all day…to be able to outhunt our opposition this week was a big improvement on the last two or three (games), but it’ll remain a focus for us because for us to be competitive, we’ve got to win more of the ball on the inside.”

Clarke was impressed but not surprised by the return to form and five-goal haul of Liam McBean, who trained strongly alongside AFL counterpart Ty Vickery during the week.

The young forward will look to hit the scoreboard again on Saturday night at Simonds Stadium when the Tigers take on the Cats for the second time this season after defeating them by 51-points at home in Round 5.

“They’re a terrific club, they’re a very good side,” Clarke said.

“They’ve had a couple of down weeks this year but playing down in Geelong is always a tough game, we were lucky enough to beat them when they played us here last time. I’m sure that they’re going to be pretty hungry to get us back.”