Richmond’s acting senior coach Brendon Lade has spoken of the X-factor potential of talented teenager Oleg Markov, who played his first game for the Tigers in last Friday night’s opening-round NAB Challenge match against Fremantle.
Markov, the second pick (No. 50 overall) for Richmond in last year’s National Draft, was impressive after being introduced to the on-field action in the second half.
“Oleg had been training up forward all pre-season and he’d done some little things here and there. Then, in an intra-club (practice match), we put him on the wing, and he just took to it like a duck to water and did some really good things,” Lade told 5AA.
“In the game on the weekend (against Fremantle) . . . his speed and his endurance were amazing.
“Look, he’s still got a long way to go . . . He’s only 80-odd kilos now, and he’s about 6.2 or 6.3 (188cm).
“So, he’s got a bit of work to go with his body, but there are some exciting signs for him, with what he can produce for us.”
Development coach Andrew McQualter passes on some advice to Oleg Markov ahead of his first #NABChallenge match pic.twitter.com/5xXp3KEt4x
— Richmond FC (@Richmond_FC) February 19, 2016