Richmond coach Adem Yze is elated with the growth and development of his young squad ahead of a blockbuster Sunday afternoon meeting with Hawthorn at the MCG.
The Tigers have had six debutants, the most in the AFL, through the first seven games of the season, with all of them showing positive signs at senior level.
Along with the first-year players, several other youngsters have shown impressive strides throughout 2025, including the likes of Seth Campbell, Sam Banks, and Thomson Dow, just to name a few.
Yze says the progression of the Tiger Cubs has been rewarding and fills him with enthusiasm.
“The excitement's kept me up. Watching our younger boys just grow every week is really exciting for a young coach,” Yze said.
“The excitement has kept me up, not worry.”
After three games in 11 days, Richmond has enjoyed a 10-day break between last Thursday’s Anzac Day Eve clash with Melbourne, and Sunday’s meeting with the Hawks.
It will be another big occasion for the Tigers, with Hawthorn celebrating its centenary game, and Yze is looking forward to watching his team perform in front of what promises to be a bumper crowd at the ‘G.
“Our players had a nice refresher over the weekend. They ran on top of the ground this week in training, and we’ll get another big session into them today, and we can't wait to get out there,” Yze said.
“We know Hawthorn's got a big weekend planned, we're wrapped that we're part of that, and hopefully we can put on a good show.
"It's a bit ironic. In Dusty's 300th we played against the Hawks, and they spoiled the party that day, so it might be a bit of payback.”
Despite the festivities that will surround the match, Yze’s sole focus is on preparing Richmond for a challenge against a quality outfit that made the semi-finals last season and is currently occupying fourth spot on the ladder.
“We'll try and take away their strengths. We know they’re really potent on offence, they're very good around stoppage, so we know what they're good at and what we need to take away from them,” Yze said.
“A lot of the noise around Hawthorn is around their ball movement but their contest craft and their midfield crew are in really good form. That's where the game starts, they’re really potent at centre bounce.
“We want to make sure we start the right way around contest and clearance, and then obviously take away their ball movement. We know how potent they can be on offence, so that should be exciting and hopefully we can test them the other way as well.
“We just know they're a good team. They're a top-four team and a big challenge for us and we can't wait.”
The Tigers and Hawks meet at the MCG on Sunday afternoon, with the first bounce scheduled for 3:20pm.
