Reigning Jack Dyer Medallist Daniel Jackson has likened his talented, tall teammate Ty Vickery to ex-Tiger Jay Schulz, who is now starring up forward for ladder leader Port Adelaide.
Schulz, 29, played 71 games in seven seasons at Richmond, from 2003-09 and kicked 58 goals.
He showed glimpses of his undoubted ability with the Tigers, but struggled for consistency.
Since joining the Power at the end of 2009, Schulz has booted 181 goals in 80 games with them, including 26 this season, and is now regarded as one of the competition’s best key forwards.
Vickery, 23, and in his sixth season with Richmond, has kicked 90 goals in 82 games, but has copped his share of criticism along the way.
“He’s one of my better mates at the Club, so I talk to him about just continuing to work on what he knows he needs to work on,” Jackson said on 3AW.
“The coaches are very good at building up his confidence.
“He’s still relatively young. I had the privilege of playing with Jay Schulz, and for many years and everyone used to accuse him of being laconic, but he was actually quite a hard worker.
“It’s just the way he naturally carries himself, that led to that criticism.
“He’s gone over to Port, and I don’t think a huge amount’s changed . . . maybe a fresh environment, with fresh eyes, has more just changed that attitude, and he’s now thriving.
“I think Ty’s the same. He often looks a little bit laconic in the way he goes about it, but I spend a lot of time, even in my off-season, training with him, and he trains as hard as anyone. When he’s in the boxing ring, he’s as feisty as anyone.
“We see that, maybe not quite as much as everyone would like on the footy field, but I think, again, it’s just a matter of time.
“Big guys take a bit longer to build that confidence up.
“I’ve still got 100% faith that he’s going to be a huge player in this competition over the years to come.”
