Richmond players took to the field in a short hit out with West Coast on Wednesday afternoon.

The scrimmage comprised of two 10-minute blocks and was played on a condensed field with tighter boundary lines following some standard training drills.

“It wasn’t a massive hit-out but it provided the boys that contest they won’t necessarily get when training,” Richmond VFL coach Xavier Clarke said.

Clarke was pleased with the standard and intensity the players brought to the contest. 

“We want to see boys as much as they can playing the ‘Richmond way’. We know that’s high pressure and being able to use the ball how we need to. We were happy with what we got out of it.”

Clarke’s summary on how each player performed:

Jack Ross

“Played really well. Played a bit of mid and then drifted as a forward at times for a rest, he kicked two goals and was one of our highlights for the scrimmage.”

Patrick Naish

“’Naishy’ played down back. We know that he can use the ball well. Playing down back we continue to encourage him to work on his contest work and being able to defend and hit a body. I thought he had opportunities to do that and got through fine.”

Riley Collier-Dawkins

“Riley played mid. He did not play last week due to shoulder soreness, so it was his first hit-out for a couple of weeks.

“He showed glimpses of what he can do - hitting bodies around contests. Around stoppages, I thought he had a couple of really good passages where he won the ball which was really good to see.”

Fraser Turner 

“Fraser played down back, he uses the ball well and we know he can do that and win the ball. Similar to ‘Naishy’, he is still working on his contest method, defending and that mentality.

“He’s a good ball user when he gets it in hands, so it was good to see him playing to his strengths and that part of the game.”

Luke English

“Luke played majority forward and kicked the first goal of the game which was really nice for him.

“He’s a workhorse and I think the good thing about him is you can plonk him anywhere and he just has a great attitude and cracks in and gives a good red-hot crack.”

Will Martyn 

“Will played on-ball mainly, and we are really seeing what he can do the last few games. He is really good with his hands in tight which is great and he is very clean, which is something people are taking note of. We think he might be a good player for us in the future, if he continues tracking on the way he is.

“He continues putting his hand up which has been great.”

Mabior Chol 

“'Cholly' was ruck and forward. Funnily enough he actually played for West Coast in the second block, so we had ‘Marbs’ and ‘CJ’ going at it in the ruck which was quite interesting to watch.

“The boys were great embracing it, in particularly Marbs. When you need to go to another team just for numbers and to balance it out, you can see it as a negative, but he was great.” 

Hugo Ralphsmith

“Hugo played down back, just purely for numbers. He has been playing majority forward, but I think he sees the game really well, he runs and carries, and is really good with the ball in his hands, plus his contest work is not too bad. It was good to see him play a different role and still have an impact on the game.

“Hugo has been here in the Queensland hub since the start and has done some really, really good things in the scrimmage games. We think this kid might be a pretty good player for us.

“A debut might be this year, maybe not, but definitely in the future because he’s showing us some really nice things.”

Ben Miller 

“Played down back and held his own. His contest work has been his biggest strength over the last few scrimmage games that we have played in, so it was good to see him continue to do that.

“He was named in the squad for the AFL game on Wednesday night, so he’s doing a lot right at the moment.”