Richmond's VFL team went down by just one point to Box Hill on Saturday morning, with an all-VFL lineup at the helm at Box Hill City Oval.

Coach Jack Madgen has provided an overview of each player's Round 8 performance.

Austin Johnson (18 disposals, 4 marks, 3 tackles, 2 clearances)
"Aus played on the wing all day. His work rate was really good. He had his hands full with the way Box Hill wanted to play, but I thought he played his role well for the team. He was a solid contributor on the day, and probably should have hit the scoreboard at least once."

Mohammed Yassine (2 goals, 6 disposals, 5 marks)
"I thought Moey played a solid game as a small forward. We didn't have heaps of entries, but he brought chase pressure, was opportunistic and kicked a couple of goals. I thought he played his role well."

Joel Garner (2 goals, 17 disposals, 8 tackles, 6 clearances)
"Joel played midfield pretty much all day, and was one of our standouts. We lost clearances, but I thought Joel's ability to play his role in team defence and also hit the scoreboard was huge. He's just a really calming presence for us out there."

Harry Scott (19 disposals, 10 tackles, 3 clearances)
"Scott played midfield all day. Even though we didn't win heaps of hit-outs, there was still plenty of opportunities out there that he'd usually take, but unfortunately on the weekend, he wasn't able to take them."

Lachlan Street (21 disposals, 8 marks, 1 tackle)
"Street settled into his role at half-back pretty well. He was composed with the footy, and helped us build our offence up from the back half. I would still love him to work on his defensive positioning, and be harder to play against when the other team has the ball."

Leo Connolly (27 disposals, 7 marks, 2 tackles)
"Leo's ball use was really good on the day. His deceptiveness with ball in hand, and his ability to take the game on, is really strong. We, as a team, missed a few too many opportunities to give him the ball when he was running past, which can really help our offence. There's a few things Leo can work on defensively, but I thought he was strong."

Zaydyn Lockwood (1 goal, 6 disposals, 10 hit-outs)
"Zaydyn rucked all day for us, which is something we haven't asked him to do yet this year, and he came up against an absolute monster for the other team. His follow up work was solid. He had 10 tackles, kicked a goal and was solid around the ground. There's a little bit to learn in his ruck craft in his young career, but I thought he competed all day and tried his hardest in a new role for the team."

Tom McKenzie (1 goal, 13 disposals, 8 tackles, 2 clearances)
"Tom went into the midfield for a bit of a different look. He finished with a really nice goal, but we want him to improve his stoppage craft going forward, to product an all-round performance."

Ry Cantwell (2 goals, 9 disposals, 2 tackles)
"Ry had a bit of a different role up forward, kicked two goals and provided plenty of pressure. I thought he played his role as that medium forward pretty well. He's powerful with breaking lines and has the ability to run and carry. I'd love to see him get the ball off the ground a bit more and use those weapons to help us set up our offence."

Liam George (8 disposals, 4 marks, 4 tackles)
"George played as a high forward, played his role and ran his patterns really well. He caused multiple front half opposition turnovers and set up a fair few scoring shot for us. He was a selfless, connected teammate out there. I liked his game, and he played his role well."

Sam Toner (2 goals, 10 disposals, 4 marks)
"Toner was dynamic up forward with six shots on goal. He looked dangerous whenever the ball was in his area. I feel like there's opportunity for him to be a little bit stronger in the contest. His craft is really good, we just need to give him a few little tips and tricks that will take him to the next level, because he's in some pretty good form."

Kane Loftus (15 disposals, 3 tackles, 2 marks)
"Loftus played half-back and had some really strong aerial moments. He intercepted well, and just looked composed with ball in hand. Box Hill played a pretty challenging brand of offence, and I thought he stuck to the game plan and was solid on the day."

Josh Pollocks (12 disposals, 4 marks, 1 tackle)
"Pollocks played his first game of the year for us, and as a defender, I thought he had some awesome aerial contests. There were a few opportunities to clunk a few more behind the footy, but his commitment to halve a contest when he was out of position stood out. He looked very comfortable back at the level."

Mutaz El Nour (19 disposals, 10 marks)
"I thought Mutaz played exceptional. He played on a really good forward for Box Hill, who has got the better of Mutaz in the past. He really stepped up to the challenge with his match-up only kicking one goal. Mutaz's one-on-one positioning and his intent to defend first is always great."

James Milner (8 disposals, 3 marks, 3 tackles)
"James played his first game for Richmond, and played as a hybrid key forward, which is probably a little bit out of his usual role. He brought the ball to ground, didn't lose many contests and had a few good team-first moments. I think James is at his best when he's hunting the footy and laying tackles, so I'd love to see a bit more of that out of him. He looked calm and like he belonged at the level."

Caleb Nancarrow (11 disposals, 6 marks, 3 tackles)
"It was Caleb’s first game for Richmond's VFL team after playing a few games for Gold Coast in previous years. I thought Caleb was solid down back alongside Mutaz El Nour and Josh Pollocks. Caleb competed hard, used the ball pretty well in offence and had the right intent to defend. He's got some really exciting weapons."

Sean Lai (10 disposals, 3 marks, 2 tackles)
"Sean played on the wing and had some good moments out there, setting up some goals. We had to really be on their team defence responsibilities. I thought Sean did that pretty well for most of the day. I thought he settled into the game well, coming back to VFL after a while on the sidelines."

Aaron Sharkie (25 disposals, 2 tackles, 2 clearances)
"I thought Sharkie played a really solid game. He got involved in offence a lot, which is what we want, because he's a really good ball user. I love when I watch the game back from behind the goals, he is implementing the defensive things we have been educating him about. His defensive intent and his willingness to join in team defence is much improved. He's taking on board the education we give him, and we are seeing him continue to get better every week and add something to his game."

Sam Phillips (11 disposals, 2 marks, 2 tackles)
"I thought Sam had some good contest moments on the wing and half-back. He wants to do the team-first thing all the time and he works hard during the week, so he will continue to grow his game." 

Kai Stewart (2 goals, 13 disposals, 4 marks, 1 tackle)
"Kai played his first game of VFL for Richmond and he bought his strengths. He kicked two impressive goals, his ball use was exceptional and he chased and pressured really well as a small forward. I was really happy with Kai’s game and he should be proud of how he handled himself at the VFL level."

Daniel Lowther (9 disposals, 6 hit-outs, 2 clearances)
"Dan competed hard against some solid key defenders for Box Hill. He took a few big marks. He is still working on his craft as a young forward. His back up ruck work continues to be good for us."

Olli Hotton (10 disposals, 3 marks, 2 tackles)
"Olli played forward for us. He bought some experience and drive into our young forward line. It looked like he found it hard to stay in a forward role mindset as he found himself getting closer and closer to the stoppage as the game went on. He had some great front half defence moments."

Nick Collier (14 disposals, 11 tackles, 1 clearance)
"Nick played a pretty good game as a midfielder on the weekend. You can never question his intent and desire to win the ball. We lacked body work and craft at contests, but around the ground, Collier played his role really well."