Gun Richmond midfielder Shane Tuck has attributed the improvement in the defensive aspects of his game this year to the Club’s new assistant coach Ross Smith.

Tuck, who is averaging more than 25 disposals per game this season, and figuring prominently in the competition’s key statistical categories, feels Smith, former assistant coach at Hawthorn, has helped make him a more rounded player.

“I’ve been working really closely with Ross, our defensive coach, and he’s been really good for me,” Tuck told SEN’s Kevin Bartlett.

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“He’s been talking me through my games most weeks and showing me what I’m doing right and wrong . . .

“He’s been really good for the whole club, to be honest.  He’s brought a new defensive structure to the side . . .

“Our defensive structures have really strengthened. “We’re getting lower scores kicked against us, so that’s definitely an improvement . . .”

Tuck is currently ranked 10th in the competition after 12 rounds for total disposals (with 309), first for total handballs (176) and sixth for total tackles (73).

The 30-year-old veteran of 152 league games again was one of Richmond’s best in last Saturday’s 12-point victory over Greater Western Sydney, with 29 disposals (14 kicks, 15 handballs), four marks and six tackles.