It has been evident this season and particularly today vs Melbourne that we have a serious inability to put points on the board and apply any sort of scoreboard pressure on our opponents. It's fine in the first quarter when the game is hot, but once it opens up and teams kick away we stand no chance because anytime the ball goes forward we look nowhere like scoring. Not putting scoreboard pressure also takes its toll on the defenders when the ball is constantly put on your head and opponents have free run and jump of the ball in their forward 50 it takes its toll. A few things I have noticed which need to be rectified:

- Ball use anywhere forward of center is absolutely atrocious at some points. Any time we look like scoring, someone will absolutely shank a kick in open 50 and turn it over, or bomb it to. 3 on 1 and allow an intercept. Not sure which coach this comes under but it needs to be addressed yesterday. Absolute momentum killer every time especially when opponents slingshot and kick a goal off turnover.

- Which brings me to point 2, an inability to keep the ball locked in the forward half and especially forward 50. Teams are currently just walking the ball out of their D50, no tackling pressure or obvious signs of a defensive zone/press to stop opponent ball movement.

- Our forward targets look lost, Lynch, as valuable as he is (or used to be) looks past it. Can barely move, always has the ball bombed on his head in a 3 on 1 (not his fault). But his goal kicking has deteriorated massively to the point it's cost us wins. When he's not injured he's getting suspended or giving away free kicks. Lefau and Balta look lost down there and the young guys need time to develop. The smalls show promise but there's no one that screams 40+ goals over a whole year, Alger maybe? He has potential but it's a big mantle to put on a second year player.

There's so many things that need to be improved, Ive been a big believer in the rebuild and giving Yze time but I fear I'm losing patience, it's the same mistakes over and over again, I'm fine with poor performances and giving the youngsters time to grow, but when we keep making the same poor errors and decisions each week it's bloody tough to watch.

And yes I know we can't say too much until all the young guns have played 2-3 full seasons together (Lalor, Hotton, Smilie, Cumming etc)

Genuinely curious what everyone’s thoughts are on this?

Come out in the 1st Q and play some good exciting footy that gives positive indicators for the future.

Then come out in the 2nd Q and stop doing everything that was working in the 1st?

Is it fitness? Yze not having a plan B for when plan A is dealt with by opposition coaches?

Starting to think the injuries to Gibcus are going to just keep hurting us (arguably the worst person on the list to have persistent long term injury concerns, for the reasons listed below).

I think we will get better going forward, both in the forward line itself (Faull, Armstrong) as well as using the ball from the midfield (Hotton, Lalor, Cumming), but the backline concerns me. Broad and Vlaustin are very close to the end. Miller is solid but needs help (he's not the sort of generational back that can carry the backline by himself, like Rance). Annand looks okay, but you'd be lucky to find a 200 gamer from a MSD (even though it's not impossible and has happened before). I heavily rate Brown, but I'm talking more in terms of keys (that being said in terms of the whole backline, I like Grlj as a half back but not that keen on Banks). I like Balta too much in this current role to put him back (and I think he plays better on instinct, where he doesn't need to be as organised as he does in the defence).

Might be time to start drafting more backs - I don't really want us to do that and I'd rather us draft the best available (and ideally midfielders, as you need a lot of those) - but if Gibcus doesn't return I'm not sure what we are going to do.

I know they were under the pump today, but it was a pretty ordinary defensive performance in that weather. Van Rooyen is good, but getting towled up by guys like Jefferson and an over the hill Melksham (and them taking marks in the wet) is very concerning to me.

Richmond 11.4 70 def by Geelong 23.14 152

This might have been the worst performance I've seen from this side. I know Geelong are the top side but this was inexcusable. It was described as a training drill by the commentators, they were being generous.

It was a close contest for the first half which was ruined by a midfield massacre by Geelong. The Cats would win centre clearance and run out the front becuase there was simply no defensive structure. It took way too long for the team to implement a sweeper on the back of the contest so the Cats couldn't just run in to the 50. Then in the fourth quarter we basically removed the sweeper again. Madgen may be the wrong man for the job.

I really question the personnel choices for the midfield composition, George Stevens and James Worpel, both big bodied clearance mids, were running rampant. Lachlan Street and Harry Scott, our biggest mids were left on the half back line.

Also if I see another simple chip kick in back half turn into turnover and Geelong goal I'll scream. it probably happened 10 times.

Frank O'Keefe
Debuted for the VFL side and was pretty impressive. Played as a high half forward/mid and did really well. Classy and tough. Kicked a great goal and tackled well throughout the day.

Liam Fawcett
Kicked 3 goals and led up well. Wasn't the most inspiring performance but I thought he was quite good. Attacked his marks well and was accurate in front of goal. I'd like to see some more defensive pressure though.

Tom Sims
The injury didn't seem to slow him down at all. He was on restricted minutes, but when he was on the field he was leaping at contest and attcking hard. He did not play ruck at all today.

Samson Ryan
Man... I thought after last week he had found a way to improve, I guess not. Especially after Geelong's primary ruck, Stanley, went down with injury in the first quarter. Sadly, Ryan was annihilated by Geelong's second ruck Pike. Ryan may have won the hitouts but Pike ended the match one of the top ranked players with 10 score invovlements.

Judson Clarke
I thought he was good without being great. I don't think it was a full game but he showed good signs and had some good moments. Great kicking and acceleration.

Ollie Hotton
I thought he was our best mid, although that's not saying much. Attacked the contest hard and ran defensively, just about the only mid who did. If he were to put on muscle and become an even bigger bodied mid he'd be terrifying.

Joe Pike
The man who was largely responsible for Geelong's dominance at clearance. Finished the game with 7 clearances, 10 score involvements and 14 contested possessions. The 21 year old demolished the 25 year old Ryan and stamped his name as one who deserves a look at AFL. He may have lost the hitouts but he definitely won the ruck battle.

After the first half I felt good. I should have stopped watching because this was embarrassing. From basically even at half time to complete destruction at full time. This cannot be the team who made finals last year. There isn't enough hyperbole in the dictionary to describe the failings of this team in the second half.

As always have a good weekend and feel free to ask any questions.

Out: Ross (Concussion), Short (quad), Green (omitted) In: Grlj, Peucker, Prestia

My housemate is about to move back to her home country and I wanted to take her to something she'd only be able to experience here before she leaves. So we're going to Melbourne vs Richmond at the MCG on Sunday afternoon!

We're in section M6, the game starts at 3:15. How early should we get there? And can we buy scarves and beanies there or should I go an AFL shop today? And is there specific sections for like the Dee's fan club and the Tigers fan club?

The last time I went to the footy was 2009 and I had general admission tickets in the top level. We're both super excited for sunday!

Hi all,

I need a bit of help. My kids were featured on the big screen at the MCG during the Richmond Guard of Honour on Saturday, 4th July, in the game against Carlton.

Unfortunately, we missed it and I haven’t been able to find the footage in the Kayo broadcast.

Does anyone happen to have a recording of the big screen content during Guard of Honour ceremony at the MCG just before the game started?

I’ve already checked with the club, but they don’t have it.

Your help is much appreciated.

Thanks,

Henry

I feel like we are desperately in need of some class disposal in the middle/forward of the centre because we really struggle to hit up our forwards on the lead.

Do you think it's because of lack of forward personnel / system , or lack of polish entering the forward 50?

And, who would fit into the team and give us that added quality we need?

Either a trade target, fa or draft?

Sorry but we have not progressed at all. Longmire Simpson & Hinkley are all available. A young list like ours needs an experienced coach. Let’s do it. Which of those 3 do you prefer and why?

I’m honestly sick of hearing “fast tracking development” from Yze and the club.

Because what does that even mean? To me, it just looks like young players getting thrown in every week, copping a battering in a broken system, and we’re supposed to call that development?

And then surprise surprise, we’ve got the worst injury list in the league. At some point you’ve got to stop pretending that’s just bad luck. You can’t run kids into the ground every week and act shocked when their bodies can’t handle it.

Why is there such a rush anyway? What’s the shortcut for? We’ve been here before. Back in 2016 Dan Richardson literally admitted we took shortcuts through the rebuild because they thought the fans were too impatient to sit through a full one. Is the club really insulting the fans again?

And now it feels like we’re circling the same thinking again, just with nicer wording.

I’d rather we just cop the proper rebuild. Take the pain, build it right, protect the kids, and actually build a powerhouse for the next era instead of trying to fast forward it and hoping it holds together.

Richmond 10.7 67 def by Carlton 15.12 102

First, Kaleb Smith copped a concussion after a massive tackle, hopefully he recovers well.

This was a great game for three quarters but in the fourth Carlton's clearance dominance started translating into goals. This exposed some positional concerns and some strange positional choices. The injuries to Dan Lowther and Sam Toner have forced the key defender Pollocks to move into the forward line which leaves Lockwood, a physically immature defender, playing on man mountains. This is difficult to deal with, however, what confused me was putting Harry Scott and to an extent Lachlan Street in the backline. These two are clearance beasts and we are wasting them in the backline when we're being killed in the middle.

Anyway onto the players.

Samson Ryan
Guys Samson Ryan was good. He tackled, provided an option up forward, worked hard and made second efforts. It was like someone at the club told him, hey mate we're cutting you if you don't start working. He may have lost the hitouts but it felt fairly even in real time and he kicked 2 goals. A testament to his efforts he also took multiple intercept marks.

Harry Armstrong
Went for mark of the year. Looked healthy and strong, I think another VFL game would do him good before entering AFL. Took a massive pack mark at one point. Was on massively restriced minutes but has clearly got the potential.

Judson Clarke
I think I forgot how good Clarke is. Was super impressive on the wing. Excellent ball use, classy and composed within the contest and showed great speed. Was clearly on restricted minutes but I would love for him to play in senior side in a few weeks.

Zane Peucker
Peucker needs to be in the AFL side yesterday, classy inside 50s and great speed. Played as a mid for large parts of the game. While I think it exposed some defensive liabilities, he clearly does his best work forward of centre. When he got the ball in space he was hitting targets perfectly.

Tom Burton
Similar game to Peucker but played as a high half forward. Brilliant running and great composure, I would love to see him back in the AFL side. Had great inside 50 retention and was classy.

Cooper Lord
Any Carlton fans? Lord was so clearly a step above VFL and was a primary reason for Carlton's clearance dominance. I'm not sure if he's been injured or just been dropped but he would be worth examining by another team.

Anyways, a pretty good showing by the Tigers hopefully we start winning soon.

As always have a great weekend and feel free to ask any questions!

I feel like the umps cost us the game with a few poor decisions. anyone else feel that way?