Five VFL games were played on Saturday afternoon in Round 9 of the competition, headlined by Richmond recording a dominant win over Essendon in a precursor to the Dreamtime at the ‘G match.
The Tigers ran out 33-point winners over the Bombers, however the margin could have been greater had Richmond kicked better than 10.19 on the day.
They held the lead from the beginning of the clash and continued to kick away throughout the day, Matthew Parker playing a leading hand with 22 disposals and four inside 50s.
Teammate Hugo Ralphsmith finished with a game-high eight inside 50s, while Noah Cumberland – who’s yet to feature at AFL level – kicked three goals.
Ralphsmith took home the Sir Pastor Dough Nicholls award for his performance.
Noah Cumberland with the finishing touches for @RichmondVFL 🙌
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For the Bombers, Brayden Ham finished with 20 disposals and a goal, while untried draftee Garrett McDonagh also kicked a major in his 20 possessions.
Earlier in the day, it was a reversal of the AFL result as Gold Coast defeated the Western Bulldogs by 25 points.
Elijah Hollands is still yet to debut at the top level, however the high draft pick can’t be far away after yet another strong performance in the reserves.
Suns young gun Elijah Hollands with a superb snap 🌟
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The 20-year-old gathered 25 disposals and laid an impressive seven tackles, while fellow midfielder Charlie Constable gathered his 34 disposals for fun.
In what was otherwise mostly a dirty day for the VFL bulldogs, Jamarra Ugle-Hagan booted three goals after going goalless last week.
Fellow forward Josh Schache kicked two, while Sam Darcy gathered 12 disposals in just his second VFL match.