Richmond great Matthew Richardson highlights six key points arising from the Tigers’ one-point loss to Fremantle at Patersons Stadium last Friday night.

1. Brandon Ellis produced the best performance of his AFL career so far.

I mentioned last week that Ellis had shown an admirable attitude to spend three consecutive games as Richmond’s sub, and still manage to have an impact when he’d come on to the ground late.  The 19-year-old was given the opportunity of a starting spot in the line-up against Fremantle at Paterson Stadium last Friday night, and he responded superbly, racking up a career-high 25 disposals in his 26^th appearance at the game’s highest level.  Ellis appeared to have a real appetite for the contest, he provided the team with valuable run, and also displayed some terrific courage.  It was a very impressive, mature performance against a high-pressure team, and it should hold him in good stead for the weeks ahead.

2. Nick Vlastuin looks the goods.

All Tiger eyes were on the Club’s first pick in the 2012 AFL National Draft in his debut AFL match – and he certainly didn’t disappoint.  Vlastuin looked composed and he did the basics well, which I think is a really good sign first-up.  Of the 11 possessions he picked up, five were contested, he applied four strong tackles, which is a trademark of his game, and he took the right options at the right times.  He also showed fine courage going back with the flight of the ball and looked mature beyond his years out on the field of battle.

3. The Tigers must learn how to close out games.

It was extremely frustrating to see the team lose another close game after that run of near misses in 2012.  Hopefully, however, the lessons learned from this latest narrow defeat will now be clear in the players’ minds, and they’ll know exactly what to do next time.  That said, clearly there were some positives with the way the Tigers went about it on Friday night.  They kept persevering, even when the match seemed to be slipping right away, and fought back bravely to regain the lead with just 90 seconds to play.  Unfortunately, they couldn’t complete the job, but it should give them confidence to know they can match it with a difficult opposition that enjoys such a strong home-ground advantage.

4. Ty Vickery is not far off a breakout game.

The big forward is starting to find some consistency after missing the second half of last season with shoulder problems.  He’s kicked nine goals in the five games so far this season and I really liked what I saw from him against the Dockers last Friday night.  Vickery took a team-high eight marks, kicked three valuable goals, and gave Ivan Maric a chop-out in the ruck, winning 10 hit-outs.  When Vickery jumps at the ball, he’s really hard to beat, and he’s also a pretty reliable shot for goal.  It looks like he’s growing in confidence with each game, and I reckon a dominant display from him is just around the corner . . .

5. Chris Knights showed why the Club was keen to recruit him.

The ex-Crow was a dangerous player for Richmond last Friday night, kicking three team-lifting goals and helping set a few others up with constructive play, particularly early in the game.  Knights is getting some continuity now with his football, after struggling with injury over the past couple of years, and that’s good news for the Tigers.  He is versatile enough to accumulate possessions going through the midfield, as well as kick goals, with his booming left foot, when playing up forward.

6. The AFL’s goal review system is a farce.

Get the technology right, or get rid of it.  As it currently stands, the system is simply not working and it’s detracting from our great game.  Until such time as the proper mechanisms are in place to make correct judgments, go back to the way it was with goal umpires left to rule on their own.