Richmond's VFL side went down to Essendon at Windy Hill on Saturday by 18 points.

Coach Jack Madgen has provided an overview of each player's Round 9 performance.

Samson Ryan (2 goals, 17 disposals, 27 hit-outs)
"Samson rucked all day and spent a little bit of time forward. He hit the scoreboard twice, which was pleasing. He battled in the ruck against a pretty good VFL ruckman for the other team. His aerial contest was a little bit off on the day, and I would have liked to see him have a little bit more reference in team defence. Samson continues to try and lead well when he's at VFL level."

Liam Fawcett (1 goal, 8 disposals, 7 marks)
"Fawcett had a challenging day with the way Essendon defended. I would have loved to see him be a bit stronger in the contest in some situations, because at his best, I back him in to get it done, regardless of who he's up against. His off-ball running patterns were pretty solid, and I love it when he's getting used in between the arcs. He's a very mobile key forward." 

Tom Sims (3 disposals, 2 hit-outs, 1 clearance)
"Sims brought some awesome energy pre-game and we were all excited to saw him back in action. It was very unfortunate to see him go down in the second quarter with an MCL injury. We are right behind him and wish him all the best in his recovery."

Kaleb Smith (21 disposals, 5 marks, 4 tackles, 3 clearances)
"Smith had his moments on the weekend. He is still is honing his defensive craft. His run-and-carry game was stopped a bit over the weekend. I'm sure he'll be better for that game under his belt, coming back from injury."

Mohammed Yassine (2 goals, 7 disposals, 3 tackles)
"Yassine finished the day with two goals. We want to work on him moving his contest work up the ground more. He is at his best when his pressure and work rate is really high, so we'll be working with him on that."

Joel Garner (15 disposals, 5 tackles, 4 clearances)
"Joel had some great moments. His intent and ability was really good, as he set the tone with his physicality. I would love to see him use his size and strength and really test the other team's tackle ability in the future."

Harry Scott (1 goal, 18 disposals, 8 clearances, 7 tackles)
"I loved seeing some of the stuff Scott has been working on come out in the game. His stoppage craft was much improved on the weekend, and his ability to stay attached at centre bounce was good. He finished off a really nice forward 50 stoppage goal. The work now is to join team defence as a midfielder, which will limit the other team's uncontested mark game."

Lachlan Street (16 disposals, 2 marks, 1 clearance)
"Street had his moments, with some good come-forward plays and a body on the line moment, which the team really rallied around. I thought Street found it difficult to defend the other team's small crafty forwards on the weekend, which is something that we can keep working on."

Mutaz El Nour (1 goal, 18 disposals, 6 marks)
"Mutaz kicked the first goal for us on the weekend, which was awesome. He celebrated like a defender as well. His aerial contest was a standout again, with some big spoils and intercept marks. I'd love to see Mutaz set up his back line the way he wants it. He continues to play at a really high standard."

Leo Connolly (22 disposals, 4 marks)
"I really enjoyed watching Leo's game. His craft and deception with the ball was a standout. Had some good contest moments behind the footy as well. I still feel like the team can get the ball in Leo's hands more. I thought his work rate and intent to defend was the best I've seen this season."

Zaydyn Lockwood (6 disposals, 4 hit-outs, 2 marks)
"Zaydyn had his hands full on the weekend with some good VFL key forwards for Essendon. When Zaydyn is backing his ball reading and rotating off his opponent at the right time, he is really hard to beat in a contest. I like his ability to go into the ruck as well when needed. He just provides us something a little bit different in there." 

Tom McKenzie (20 disposals, 3 tackles, 2 clearances)
"Tom's stoppage work was much improved from last week, especially at centre ball up. He still has a bit to learn in team defence, like the rest of our midfielders, like having a tighter reference to an opponent when the other team has the ball. He needs to be cleaner when winning his own football as well."

Olli Hotton (23 disposals, 6 marks, 3 clearances)
"I thought Hotton had a decent impact on the day. He still has a bit to learn in team defence as a forward and as a midfielder. His stoppage craft was pretty good. We want to improve his ball movement inside-50."

Nick Collier (13 disposals, 3 marks, 8 tackles, 2 clearances)
"Nick had a tough day. He always puts his body on the line. I thought he held the corridor in defence well on the day. I think we can help him and the midfielders find their composure going forward."

Ry Cantwell (1 goal, 12 disposals, 3 marks)
"Ry had some moments and some chances to execute, but just wasn't able to. We will work on educating him as a forward, which I think will give him more opportunities and help him be involved on the scoreboard."

Liam George (15 disposals, 3 marks, 2 tackles)
"I thought George played his forward role pretty well again on the weekend. His compliance and team-first mindset was good as always. He will work on his goal execution going forward, as we believe he can be even more dangerous at his best."

Sam Toner (3 goals, 24 disposals, 10 marks)
"Toner worked really hard on the wing and up forward, finishing the day with three goals. Sam's forward craft has been really solid. We will work on helping him be stronger in the contest and really get more of his own footy. There is a bit of education for Sam on his wing responsibilities as well."

Kane Loftus (10 disposals, 4 tackles, 1 clearance)
"Kane had some good defensive moments on the day, but I know he can be better. He lacked composure when he won the ball back, but there'd be heaps to learn for him in terms of his wing role."

Josh Pollocks (17 disposals, 8 marks, 3 tackles)
"Pollocks had some good aerial moments on the weekend, putting his body on the line. He still needs to find the balance between mark and spoil. We will work with him to learn to lead and set our team defence better, as he can see the whole field."

Caleb Nancarrow (10 disposals, 4 marks, 1 clearance)
"Caleb had some good contest moments on the weekend. He looked like he was pretty hard to play against. His intent to defend was pretty good. He continues to grow and learn with each game he plays for Richmond, and we see his strengths more as gets comfortable at the level."

Sean Lai (2 goals, 14 disposals, 5 marks)
"Sean kicked two really nice goals in the first quarter, and had some nice contest moments. We will endeavour to help expand his knowledge and confidence on the wing. I thought we saw his weapons on the day, but it’s the stuff in-between that he needs to be more consistent with."

Aaron Sharkie (22 disposals, 7 marks, 2 clearances)
"I was really pleased with Sharkie's game. His intent to defend was really good. A few times he was setting up his teammates behind the football with communication. I thought he used the ball relatively well. We’ve got to keep reminding Sharkie that there's nothing wrong with hitting an easy kick. He’s got a lovely kick, and we want to give him confidence that he can hit a target always."

Kai Stewart (1 goal, 6 disposals, 1 tackle)
"It was a tough day for Kai and our small forwards. The ball didn't come to ground as much as we would have liked in our forward 50. In only his second game, there's plenty of learning out there for him, so hopefully you can take that and learn  in his young career."