On The Prowl: Why Richmond Is The Surprise Packet Of The AFLW Season

The Richmond Tigers have taken another strong step forward in their young AFLW existence.

After 2 fantastic rounds of footy, we’re starting to see which teams have made improvements and which teams may struggle in the 2022 season.

Of course, the AFLW season will have its struggles as many other codes have had – COVID has already resulted in two clubs being unable to field a team while many a star player has had to miss a week due to the virus.

However if we’re to focus on the positives, and there are many, we note that the standard of footy has once again taken a massive leap forward and the Tigers are certainly a headline act in that regard.

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Playing each of their first two games in primetime, Friday night action has certainly helped the public’s perception of Richmond improve considerably from what many thought would be a season full of struggles.

As was expected to be the case with any expansion club, the Tigers were always going to take a little time to find their feet. 

An extremely encouraging three-win season with a decent percentage of 84.6 indicated a level of improvement, but 2022 has already seen the club take massive strides with coach Ryan Ferguson switching things up tactically.

In 2021, the Tigers played a pronounced uncontested style that capped them as a middle-of-the-road team offensively with their ball movement directionless at times and, defensively, covering the opposition and hunting was well down – they averaged just 47.3 tackles per game, 2.6 tackles less than the second-worst team in the competition (Collingwood) and 5.5 off North Melbourne in third-last.

Good efficiency forward of centre really helped Richmond stay in touch last season, but 2022 has seen a proper, finals-style approach adopted.

The team’s average disposals per game has dropped from 214.7 to 194.5, the marking has dropped from 40 to 26.5 per game, but the tackling has increased to 56 per game, ranked seventh in the league.

The numbers pass the eye test, where the Tigers have been ferocious in their attack around the ball and smooth in extraction from stoppages when they win the first possession.

Crazy efficiency on the scoreboard has certainly been of great assistance, kicking 10.1 against the Saints and 6.2 against the Demons, but this has been well-earned given that the team has averaged the least disposals per score in the competition.

The transition play has been direct and intentional, even if the ball use is rough at times, and it’s a large reason for Richmond’s offensive improvement.

Questioning the viability and the sustainability of the way the Tigers have kicked off the season is completely reasonable, particularly looking at Round 2’s defeat to Melbourne.

Richmond started off the match superbly, attacking the Premiership favourites around the contest and using lightning-fast hands in the midfield to create space ahead of the stoppage, ultimately giving the attacking midfielders time to create a score.

They then failed to score in the second quarter as Melbourne completely took over, winning nearly 10 clearances in a row. Richmond looked fatigued by a particularly demanding style of play.

After half-time however, the Tigers were able to find a happy medium and apply an amount of pressure that was difficult for the opposition to deal with, while having enough energy to counter-attack. It resulted in Richmond winning the second-half by 10 points.

On the day, the Tigers had 49 less disposals and 31 less marks, but finished with the same number of inside 50s as the Demons, nearly broke even in contested possessions and had 21 more tackles.

Round 1 saw a demolition of a St Kilda team due to struggle in a professional, systematic manner that a good team is expected to perform in, while the loss to the Demons showed grit and determination indicative of a team on the rise.

Almost every highlight involves Monique Conti, who’s been incredible at getting from contest-to-contest with her improved fitness base and great reliability. Averaging 27 disposals, 16.5 contested possessions, 6.5 tackles and 322 metres gained so far, we can expect her to remain prominent throughout the season.

For all of Conti’s outstanding work though, what makes this efficient, hungry Richmond team a clear improver this season are the surrounding players.

Tessa Lavey has been great as an attacking, outside conduit between stoppages and forward entries, averaging 15.5 disposals, 252 metres gained and 4.5 inside 50s a game.

Harriet Cordner and Rebecca Miller might’ve struggled a little defensively without Sarah D’Arcy intercepting, but their own work to peel off and provide strong rebound, both ranked in the top-10 at Richmond for metres gained, is vitally important to this gung-ho, slingshot style of offence.

Gabby Seymour’s work as an undersized ruck is superb, averaging 16 disposals, 11.5 hitouts, 6 tackles and 5 intercept possessions to ultimately be another midfielder for the Tigers, particularly when the athletic Poppy Kelly is available to the team.

And while Jess Hosking’s kicking is a concern, much like a number of rebounding defenders at Richmond, the sheer want for the contest and willingness to put her body on the line is the new standard for what this AFLW team represents, and what it will represent going forward.

Offensive weapons such as Katie Brennan, Courtney Wakefield and Christina Bernardi are already handfuls for the opposition, let alone with the amount of space they’re getting now, and all are really benefitting from the hard work higher up the ground that Richmond is getting out of its players.

It would be remiss of anyone diving into Richmond to ignore the clean hands of 21-year-old Maddy Brancatisano that has been instrumental in the team’s clearance work, as well as the hard-nosed, inside work of first-year player and prolific VFLW veteran Meagan Kiely, averaging 5.5 tackles per game.

Richmond has only had the aforementioned duo of Kelly and D’Arcy, as well as important players Tayla Stahl and Kodi Jacques for one game, while star second-year midfielder Ellie McKenzie is still recovering from a calf injury.

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Some may question whether two games provide enough of a sample size to judge a team, but we’re already a fifth of the way through the season and the quality of footy is good enough to know what to expect going forward.

There is plenty of upside in this Richmond team with the players due to return and the early signs of been extremely impressive.

To some who had them as a bottom-four contender, this comes as a rude awakening, but the Tigers are a team that’s young, hungry and willing to stand up to any opposition to prove their worth.

More tough challenges await in the near future, but this group is playing a style of footy that can take it to anyone on their day.

Expect Richmond to push for finals in 2022 and continue to trend towards being the first expansion team to make a Grand Final, and perhaps win it, in the near future.

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