The Richmond VFL side got back on the winners list in Round 6, defeating Box Hill last Saturday night. Here’s how coach Jake Batchelor assessed the performance of each player.

Kaleb Smith (31 disposals, 10 marks, two tackles)

“A great game, all three phases were strong. He was engaged with his teammates and had some big plays when the moment arrived for him. He stepped up and played his role extremely well.”

Kane McAuliffe (23 disposals, eight marks, 11 tackles, two goals)

“Best on ground, he was extremely impactful around the ball. He drove his legs, was aggressive with his tackles and his follow-up work was great. He was also very alert and active on defence.”

Tom McCarthy (22 disposals, seven marks, seven tackles)

“Played as a half-back but entered most centre bounces for us. We saw how damaging he can be with his feet and his ability to drive his legs.” 

Tyler Sonsie (20 disposals, three marks, two tackles)

“Really impactful game as a high half-forward, didn’t go chasing the ball and played his role really well and was really selfless in our forward 50.”

Joel Garner (19 disposals, five tackles, four clearances)

“Played as a midfielder most of the day and was just tough and combative and really vocal for us as you expect for the stand-in skipper, great game.”

Lachlan Wilson (18 disposals, three marks, five tackles)

“Played like a man possessed. It only says five tackles but his ability to step into the contest and keep the numbers in the screen was absolutely immense for us and I think he’s one of the players that when he plays well, we play well.”

Jacob Koschitzke (18 disposals, 10 marks, seven intercept possessions)

“A great performance as a key-defender, he was strong in the contest, played the system well and won the ball back well for us. He had some big moments when the game was getting close.”

Jacob Blight (18 disposals, seven marks, five intercept possessions)

“Strong role as a defender working with Kozzi and Campbell Gray, he had some good opportunities, and he used his feet really well. He was involved in our attack really strongly and had some good aerial moments.”

Josh Smillie (17 disposals, one mark, four tackles)

“Great improvement from last week, he was tough on the inside, drove his legs well and used his body extremely well for us. He also improved his defensive awareness.”

Judson Clarke (16 disposals, two marks, seven intercept possessions)

“Played the wing role really well, inside and outside, and ran all day. Equal second highest intercept possession winner and he had a great body spoil on the Box Hill ruck to save a goal late.”

Sean Lai (15 disposals, six marks, two tackles, two goals)

“He had some huge moments that we showed and celebrated at half-time around stepping into the contest and producing multiple efforts. It was an awesome result that he got to kick two goals in his second game as well.” 

Austin Johnson (13 disposals, four marks, two tackles, one goal)

“Great game on the wing, his running power is through the roof. He’s a really efficient goalkicker for us as a winger. He doesn’t necessarily get heaps of the ball but he makes the most of every opportunity.”

Campbell Gray (12 disposals, six marks, nine intercept possessions)

“He won the ball back for us the most with nine intercept possessions and four intercept marks. He kept working on the fundamentals of his defence with reading the play. His tackling was strong, his aerial contests were strong and like every week his effort was strong.”

Liam George (12 disposals, three marks, two tackles)

“After not playing last week, he came straight back in and played his role really well as a front and centre forward. He got up the ground to help us defend and really helped us set the ground up which helped our team move the ball.”

Nicholas Collier (12 disposals, three marks, two tackles)

“Not getting heaps of statistics at the moment but his running power, reading the cues and playing team defence is really strong. His day will come where the ball finds him a bit more, but I’m really impressed with how he’s tracking.”

Mutaz El Nour (11 disposals, three marks, two tackles)

“He continued his really strong form in the backline by simplifying his role of defence and aerial play. There’s a couple of opportunities to tidy up some ball use but the non-negotiables of his game are going really well.”

Massimo Raso (10 disposals, one mark, three goals)

“The front and centre specialist, he’s going really well at the moment. He’s taking on feedback around his defence as well as crumbing patterns and he’s putting them into action straight away.”

Thomas Sims (nine disposals, three tackles, six hit-outs)

“Played second ruck for us and competed really strongly. Six spoils as a key-forward is an interesting statistic but I loved that when he was behind, he played the percentages and embraced the role.”

Liam Fawcett (nine disposals, two marks, one tackle)

“Barely got out marked all day against two opponents, he brought the ball to ground so the small players could get to work. The game will come where they all stick for him.” 

Jasper Alger (nine disposals, three marks, two tackles, three goals)

“Improvement from last week in terms of finishing his work, he had a great opportunity to share the ball inside-50 which he did really well. It was great team first behaviour.”

Jacob Bauer (eight disposals, three marks, one goal)

“Another one that just played his role and will be better for that. He made the ground really big when we needed to attack and impacted the scoreboard. It was a good improvement on last week.”

Oliver Hayes-Brown (four disposals, two marks, eight hit-outs, two goals)

“Kicked two of our first three goals and looked really potent when he was forward for us. He’s still learning the ruck craft but I think he’s improving well.”

Mate Colina (one disposals, one tackle, three hit-outs)

“Tough game and a tough day for him, he hurt his knee at the first centre bounce and fought really strongly throughout the rest of the game to continue to help us get rotations in, so he will be missed.”