VFL Gameday V Northern Bullants 2:05pm | PUNT ROAD END | Richmond Tigers Forum
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VFL Gameday V Northern Bullants 2:05pm

A nice day at the Preston City Oval with my wife watching the VFL boys playing the Bullants.

Many people have posted thoughts on the game, so I will post some thoughts, mainly on the AFL listed Tigers.

Jake Aarts: as expected from Jake at VFL level, cracks in hard and played well.

Ivan Soldo: was good in the ruck, but the oppo were quite poor. Not sure we can play Nank and Ivy together at the moment.

Riley Collier-Dawkins: he must be borderline to get another year, but if he could improve his tank and get to more contests, there is something to work with. He was the best mid on the field.

Thomson Dow: he does some good work around the clearances, good hands, not a penetrating kick. Hope he is ok after smashing into the goalpost when kicking a late goal.

Tom Brown: hardly got near it, was my biggest disappointment for the day, as I was keen to see some run and carry and good foot skills.

Rhyan Mansell: was solid, did what was needed. I reckon he could do a specific job in the seniors if required.

Samson Ryan: took some strong marks and kicked accurately overall. He seems more at home as a forward than the ruck, but that might just be the stage of development he is at body-wise. A bit tricky trying to juggle Soldo, Colina and Ryan in the one team. A funny moment was when he kicked his first goal and let fly with a “let’s go baby!” as the ball left his boot.

Will Martyn: did some nice things. Not sure if he has done enough throughout the year to gain another contract.

Mate Colina: had some almost moments, almost took some good marks, missed a couple of very gettable goals. Very much a project player, although actually moved ok. Biggest man I have seen in a Tigers jumper since the legendary Richard Lounder!

Sam Banks: didn’t do a heap, but I thought he showed some AFL traits with his kicking and run. Given how much of the pre-season he missed, a big pre-season over summer will give us a better idea of what he can do at AFL level.

Judson Clarke: similar to Tom Brown, I was hoping to see more from him, but he wasn’t involved much at all.

Jacob Bauer: good hands and a good kick for goal. He was filthy with himself in the third quarter when he dropped a fairly simple mark within range right in front of us. I told him not to worry and that he would get the next one, which he set one up and then kicked another. He has AFL traits and I reckon he will play in the seniors next year. When the Bullant defender played on from the kick out after a point and kicked it out of bounds without being touched, the Tiger players were all appealing for a free kick. Jake yells to an umpire “there are three of you out there and you all missed it!” I commented to my wife “glad the players are like us fans at times!”.

Sydney Stack: was creative, added good pressure and kicked some goals. I would love to see Stacky get super fit over summer and give himself every chance to use his talent. I would be happy to see him included in the last couple of games, as I reckon he would rise to the level.

At quarter-time, Steve Morris got him to recount the dance from the team meeting the day before, which was around using voice to encourage the team-mates about second and third efforts, had shades of his Dreamtime dance a few years ago. A funny moment was when the players were going to their huddles at 3 / 4 time, some of the Bullant players were sledging Stacky, and he replied with “who are you?”

Hugo Ralphsmith: did some nice things, but didn’t really stand out. Still had a kick smothered at VFL level, which happens a bit at AFL level. My wife commented that Hugo seemed to spend a lot of time outside of the congestion, which is his role, but he does need to get more involved.

Bigoa Nyuon: played really well back deep in defence. Strong in the marking contest and generally made good decisions. I think between a defender and backup ruck, he has some tools that could be handy in the AFL as his confidence grows. Lots of his family at the game.

Lachie Street is a good, solid player who knows our system and makes people around him better. Angus Hicks is lively up forward and I like the look of Tylar Young as a third defender, he might get a rookie spot somewhere.

My wife and I swapped ends each quarter to be at the end the Tiges were kicking and in the second quarter, KMac, Meatball, Shorty, Rossy, Sonz and George were standing near the scoreboard behind us. KMac had his dog with him, which the boys enjoyed patting and Shorty was telling the boys that this pocket was renamed the Short pocket (as Shorty would have played Under 18s there)!

A young lad got a photo with Meatball and the lad was telling Dion that he was going to have a shot at goal from behind the fence. He didn’t kick a goal and Meatball said to him “you will have to play for Carlton!”. George was on the phone for most of the second quarter, I thought it might have been Zips congratulating him on his form as the sub against Port!

During the 3rd quarter at the other end of the ground, a couple of young lads aged around 6 were playing with sticks, and one started hitting the other one. That lad went to the other lad’s dad to dob and came back to say that the dad had said to put the sticks down. The dad then came over and the son proceeded to tell his dad to F off several times and walked off. The dad said to a couple of guys near me “when he is up before the magistrate in court, he might realise I was right!”.

All in all, a top day being able to get up so close to the action and hearing and seeing everything that happens in a game of footy. My wife said if you wanted to take an international visitor to a game of footy and get the full impact of how hard they hit, that type of ground would be good to give them a look at the pace and intensity of the game up close. Go Tiges!
Agree re Mate. He had an almost game. I think he needs to change his body shape and work on his strength. His lower body seems to small for his upper body.

If he can work on his strength he may start to take those overhead marks that he is getting both his hands too.

I felt sorry for Mate as he got a shot on goal and Maric leaned over the fence and shouted "Just like we practised Mate" He proceeded to shank the ball for a point. His kicking was really bad on the day. He is dropping it way to high which causes him to shank most of his shots on goal and field kicking.
 
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Great we had so many do well on the weekend, fantastic for confidence, but geez our opponents looked really poor.

They were Suburban footy poor, so holding off pushing too many up just yet.

Sampilands excepted of course!!
 
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Great we had so many do well on the weekend, fantastic for confidence, but geez our opponents looked really poor.

They were Suburban footy poor, so holding off pushing too many up just yet.

Sampilands excepted of course!!
They were poor. All mid sized players. I am guessing their tallest player was in the 6'3 6'4 and there was only one of them. It was ridiculous when at stages we had Mate, Sampson and Soldo all up forward.

It is important we get games into Mate but we are playing one player short when Soldo and Sampson are also in the team. Whilst we may get into the finals that teams makeup will hold us back unless they drop Mate for a running type
 
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Great we had so many do well on the weekend, fantastic for confidence, but geez our opponents looked really poor.

They were Suburban footy poor, so holding off pushing too many up just yet.

Sampilands excepted of course!!
Yes, the structure of the reserves comp needs to be looked at. Again. as mentioned in another thread, they play 18 games across 22 weeks, and at least 4 or 5 of those games are against teams that are not up to standard.
 
They were poor. All mid sized players. I am guessing their tallest player was in the 6'3 6'4 and there was only one of them. It was ridiculous when at stages we had Mate, Sampson and Soldo all up forward.

It is important we get games into Mate but we are playing one player short when Soldo and Sampson are also in the team. Whilst we may get into the finals that teams makeup will hold us back unless they drop Mate for a running type
Thats the lot of a reserves team unfortunately. they have had games where we have lacked talls, now we are too many.

I do wonder if consideration was given to trying to find a lower level team for Mate to play in this year. probably hard to find an appropriate option, especially for a 7fter.
 
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Very impressive and exciting display from our talls in Ryan, Bauer and Biggy most notably. Soldo good too,

Tyler Young also a handy looking prospect. RFC needs to hide him, the lad looks worthy of a rookie spot.

Stack and RCD big games Riley lifted big time in the second and into the second half and very influential through the middle and contests. winning clearances.

Aarts tried hard as usual, made some errors as usual and did some good things too, standard Jakey game, and a good game from Martyn also.

Clarke and Brown a little bit disappointing today.

The Talls efforts today very exciting Tiger fans. Add in Miller and Cumberland and there is some prospects to go forward with.
On Tyler Young he would be our #8 tall defender ?
Considering how impressive Balta and Gibcus are at AFL, and the continued improvement of Miller and Biggie (all 4 under 23) I cant see any need to have another tall back on the list.
 
Gee Northern Bullants were well drilled. Impressive organisation and skills, though obviously let down by the playing stocks.
Credit to Ben Hart.
Is he worth consideration as an assistant coach?
 
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I also liked Roumeliotis for them. A medium forward, 190cm brick outhouse with pace.
Sure he looked like a suburban footballer and too heavyset, which he is. 4 knee recos. Trimmed down he would go alright
 
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Re: VFL R20: Richmond vs Northern Bullants @ Preston City Oval, Sun. Aug. 7​



Richmond VFL coach Steve Morris provides a summary of how the Tigers’ players performed in Sunday's 82-point win over the Northern Bullants at Preston City Oval.


Riley Collier-Dawkins (30 disposals, 23 contested possessions, 12 clearances, five inside-50s)

"Had a very good game on the weekend with 12 clearances and a huge 23 contested possessions. He was dominant, particularly from centre bounce, he burst clear on a number of occasions and gave our forwards first use."


Jake Aarts (29 disposals, five tackles, one goal)

"Once again, Jake was outstanding for us, he's been in terrific form lately. He worked up and down the ground playing mainly as a forward, but his work-rate and his ability to win contested ball really did stand out."


Thomson Dow (23 disposals, nine clearances, one goal)

"Thomson once again looked dynamic in-and-around stoppage. He won nine clearances including seven from centre bounce. He teamed up with Riley really well and was able to give us midfield ascendancy."


Bigoa Nyuon (22 disposals, nine marks, six rebound-50s)

"The most pleasing aspect of his game was the fact that he started slowly and it didn't affect the remainder of his game, which was outstanding. He took a number of intercept marks and backed himself in the air, which was really pleasing."


Hugo Ralphsmith (21 disposals, three tackles, one goal)

"Played a little bit down back and also on the wings. I thought he had a really good game driving out of our back half and being a really good connector for us with his run and carry. He also hit the scoreboard late in the last quarter."


Samson Ryan (18 disposals, 12 marks, 13 hit-outs, five goals)

"I thought the last game he played was his best game for the club, and he bettered that effort once again. He was outstanding on the weekend, he took three contested marks, hit the scoreboard heavily and his hands were extremely strong. He made the most of his advantage in aerial contests throughout the day."


Sydney Stack (18 disposals, four tackles, three goals)

"He looked switched on from the first bounce and was really engaged. He made his teammates better, which is something we continually challenge Sydney to do, and he hit the scoreboard heavily, kicking three goals himself. But, it was his small acts that pleased me most."


William Martyn (17 disposals, five marks, four rebound-50s)

"He had another solid game, he's been in terrific form this season. He's pretty reliable down back, he gets involved in a lot of our offensive chains, but he's also pretty ruthless in defence and that's what we love about him."


Sam Banks (17 disposals, five marks, one goal)

"He's move to defence over the last couple of weeks and played a little bit of wing on the weekend, but mainly in defence. He's a beautiful ball user, he's getting himself in really good positions and he's starting to play to our system really well which is pleasing to see. He also hit the scoreboard with a beautiful finish from outside 50m.


Rhyan Mansell (15 disposals, three marks, three inside-50s)

"I thought he had a so-so first half, but followed that up with a sensational second half. It was really pleasing to see him bounce back to his absolute best form. He led the way in terms of our attack on the contest and willingness to play to our system, and I think all Richmond supporters enjoy watching the way he plays and goes about it."


Jacob Bauer (12 disposals, eight marks, four inside-50s, four goals)

"In the first half he certainly looked to be our standout forward. He's a real presence up forward and he took four contested marks, highlighting his aerial power. One thing you know about him is that he'll throw absolutely everything at the contest, he's been really important for us."


Ivan Soldo (nine disposals, five marks, 50 hit-outs, two goals)

"We're a much better team with Ivan in it, there's no doubt about it. He's a real presence in the ruck and also up forward. It was another good game from him."


Mate Colina (eight disposals, six hit-outs, two inside-50s)

"Had a really improved game. He provided us with a real contest up forward and I think he's getting better each and every week. If we can tidy up his set-shot goal-kicking, he will certainly increase his game impact. Big steps forward on the weekend."


Judson Clarke (seven disposals, two marks, two inside-50s)

"Played on the wing for the very first time. It was one of those days where our wingers got by-passed in our ball movement for most of the day and didn't have much of an impact. But he ran really good patterns and played his role for the team."


Tom Brown (four disposals, two marks)

"Like Judson, he struggled to get involved offensively on the day. He is new to his wing role and that, coupled with the way the game was played, probably reduced his impact."

https://www.richmondfc.com.au/news/1194429/vfl-report-round-20
 
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Swap Brown for Holmes. We should have got him the first time!
Yes, Saigon. I have made this point elsewhere. We abstained from taking our pick, trading it to Geesalt who grabbed Holmes. Lazy, slack decision. He's elevating to possibly an A grade mid - BOG in their last game against the Aints.
Were our recruiters still drunk or too hungover post '20 flag? Couldn't be bothered to go for him? Given our poor record with early picks.

It seems as if people are not too impressed with some of the latest haul either - Brown, Banks and Clarke (less so).

At least the Sonz is coming along well. But I expect better.
 
Yes, Saigon. I have made this point elsewhere. We abstained from taking our pick, trading it to Geesalt who grabbed Holmes. Lazy, slack decision. He's elevating to possibly an A grade mid - BOG in their last game against the Aints.
Were our recruiters still drunk or too hungover post '20 flag? Couldn't be bothered to go for him? Given our poor record with early picks.

It seems as if people are not too impressed with some of the latest haul either - Brown, Banks and Clarke (less so).

At least the Sonz is coming along well. But I expect better.
Jake Bowey next taken as well. O’Driscoll, Berry, Gulden taken in next 10 or so.
 
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Yes, Saigon. I have made this point elsewhere. We abstained from taking our pick, trading it to Geesalt who grabbed Holmes. Lazy, slack decision. He's elevating to possibly an A grade mid - BOG in their last game against the Aints.
Were our recruiters still drunk or too hungover post '20 flag? Couldn't be bothered to go for him? Given our poor record with early picks.

It seems as if people are not too impressed with some of the latest haul either - Brown, Banks and Clarke (less so).

At least the Sonz is coming along well. But I expect better.
Way too early to be making calls on 19 year olds. In fact Brown, Banks and Clarke have all shown plenty at times this year.
Interestingly a Geelong supporter mate of mine was complaining to me last year about the cats swapping picks with us and taking Holmes who he said looked underwhelming.
Brown has actually had a couple of really good games recently but seems to struggle with consistency. Hardly unusual for a first year player
 
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Holmes had played ONE NAB League game, as a bottom-ager, for 15 disposals. His athletic profile was well-known, but still, it was an inspired and gutsy decision by Wells to take him that early when most had him a lateor rookie pick.
 
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Yes, Saigon. I have made this point elsewhere. We abstained from taking our pick, trading it to Geesalt who grabbed Holmes. Lazy, slack decision. He's elevating to possibly an A grade mid - BOG in their last game against the Aints.
Were our recruiters still drunk or too hungover post '20 flag? Couldn't be bothered to go for him? Given our poor record with early picks.

It seems as if people are not too impressed with some of the latest haul either - Brown, Banks and Clarke (less so).

At least the Sonz is coming along well. But I expect better.

We went into the draft with 2 picks- we used them on Samson Ryan and MRjr.
Out if interest which would you prefer we dont have?
 
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