Richmond VFL coach Tim Clarke provides an exclusive summary of how the AFL-listed players performed at VFL level in Saturday’s loss to Port Melbourne.

See all the stats from the game, download them here.

Shaun Grigg
30 disposals, 9 clearances, 8 tackles
Played a good game in his first game back. We expect that type of performance from Shaun, given he’s a regular senior player in our side. He just needs to work on a couple of little things in his game to make sure the transition into senior football is a smooth one.
 

Ben Lennon
27 disposals, 5 clearances, 6 inside 50s
Found a lot of the ball on the wing. Excellent run defensively and also put the ball inside 50 regularly. Ben is still working heavily on his contested game at the moment and will continue to do that to make sure it transfers into his game and he becomes a regular senior player.

Matt Arnot
19 disposals, 8 tackles, 3 clearances
Played mostly through the midfield and a little bit of half forward late in the game. Was good inside but we expect a better game from him. We needed to match Port Melbourne inside and we needed him to be one of our bulls on the day.

Aaron Edwards
18 disposals, 6 marks
Again was one of our better forwards. He worked tirelessly on the lead, came into the midfield in the third quarter when we needed a bigger body and was able to impact in contests. He’s not hitting the scoreboard at the moment but his work rate and intensity is at AFL standard.

Ben Griffiths
1 goal, 18 disposals, 10 marks
Probably played his best game of VFL footy this year. Crashed two or three packs in the last quarter and kept his feet, which resulted in scoring opportunities. He had a big game and is pushing for senior selection.

Chris Knights
16 disposals, 3 clearances, 4 tackles
Played most of the game as a high forward, a slightly different role to what he’s been playing lately. Ended up with a quieter game by his standards but we expect that he will bounce back this week.

Brett O’Hanlon
16 disposals, 4 rebound 50s
Played across the wing. Had a down day offensively but his work rate back and forth on the wing was what we expect. We just need him to have more involvement.

Ben Darrou
14 disposals
Played one of their key forwards and allowed him too much ball up the ground. Had two goals kicked on him but they were both over the back of the pack. He played an OK game but below his standards.

Liam McBean
2 goals, 14 disposals, 5 marks
Had a quiet day when you watched his game but ends up finding a decent amount of ball. Going by his stats, you’d usually say that’s a solid game but for him our standards are quite high. We need to continue working on his contested stuff as that’s going to make him a good AFL player.

Brad Helbig
13 disposals
Continues his good form off half back. He played a very good defensive game on one of their key inside midfielders. His ball use offensively was the only thing that let his game down. He didn’t get enough of it and turned it over a couple of times, which is unlike him.

Matt McDonough
2 goals, 12 disposals
Played a different role this week playing as a forward. Didn’t have the same impact on the game that he’s had recently. Although he kicked two goals, he didn’t make the most of his opportunities. Hopefully he can have a better game this week.

Matt Dea
11 disposals, 3 rebound 50s
Had a tough day on one of their lively forwards. Got beaten early but then bounced back and played a very strong defensive game. It was hard for him to get involved offensively but he contributed solidly.

Shaun Hampson
11 disposals, 43 hit outs
Very good in the ruck giving our guys first use. Played well up forward and took marks, which is what we expect him to do. Wasn’t as dominant as we’d like him to be but was still solid in both positions.

Cadeyn Williams
11 disposals, 4 inside 50s
Played on-ball for the first quarter-and-a-half then got moved forward. We expect more involvement from him, we need more possessions and contested ball from our midfielders.

Todd Elton
8 disposals
Played a good defensive game. Didn’t get used a lot offensively but he continues to improve as a key defender.

Orren Stephenson
7 disposals, 22 hit outs
Played as a key forward this week to give other guys an opportunity in the ruck, which probably hurt his game. Still contributed, took marks and had shots on goal but he plays his best footy in the ruck so that’s what we’ll look at doing in the next few weeks.

Todd Banfield
5 disposals, 7 tackles
Had a quiet day offensively. Was able to get involved with his tackling and his pressure has been at AFL standard in the last three weeks. We just need him to get more offensive ball, which he’s been working hard on at training.