Richmond VFL coach Tim Clarke is looking forward to getting the season proper underway this weekend, after a positive finish to the Tigers’ pre-season campaign last weekend.
The Tigers played five practice matches, losing three and winning two – including a hard-fought two-point win over Essendon last weekend.
Clarke said despite the early losses, the VFL Tigers are in-form ahead of Saturday’s Round 1 clash against Footscray at Whitten Oval.
“We’ve seen some really good signs … but we haven’t been able to get it right on the field from a team point-of-view. On the weekend we were able to do that,” he said.
“In the last two weeks, it’s been a much more positive feeling out on the ground.
“We feel we’re making progress every week, and we’re hoping we can hit our straps this week.”
Clarke has been impressed with a number of Tigers so far – including Anthony Miles, Ben Darrou, Chris Knights, Orren Stephenson and Liam McBean.
Importantly, Clarke believes Richmond’s standalone VFL team has been embraced by the entire Club and allowed VFL players to learn the Richmond style of football - a vital component to building on-field success for both sides.
“Our big focus is to play as similar to the AFL team as we can so when our players make the step up, they’re used to playing that style,” he said.
“We want to be a competitive side, we want to a side that can play in finals but, overall, we want to be a good side to develop in.”
Clarke said that the VFL Tigers are excited about playing home games at the ME Bank Centre, thanks to the interface redevelopment made possible with support from the Fighting Tiger Fund and development partners, Jeep and the SCF Group.
Richmond is encouraging its fans to attend the VFL Tigers’ first match against Footscray at Whitten Oval, before the two AFL teams clash at Etihad Stadium in the afternoon. Entry to Whitten Oval is a gold coin donation.
Round 1 VFL match:
Footscray v Richmond
10:30am, Saturday, April 5
Whitten Oval, Footscray
Parking locally: Parking is strictly limited at Victoria University Whitten Oval. If you use the on-street parking in the surrounding streets, please see street signs for relevant restrictions
Train: West Footscray Station, walk down Hocking Street to access Whitten Oval
Trains to Etihad Stadium: there are a number of trains that will leave from West Footscray Station and get you to Southern Cross in time for the start of Richmond’s AFL game:
11.47 arriving at 12.09
12.07 arriving at 12.29
13.07 arriving at 13.27
