Collingwood finished comfortable 30-point winners over Richmond in Tuesday night’s Community Series match at Ikon Park.
The Tigers started fast in their first real test under new coach Adem Yze, but the reigning premiers quickly got on top during the second quarter and never looked back in a slick outing.
After resting most of their experienced players in last week’s scratch match against North Melbourne, the Magpies were nearly at full strength with veterans Scott Pendlebury and Jeremy Howe the only two kept on ice.
For the Tigers, they rested Nick Vlaustin but were without the likes of Toby Nankervis and Tom Lynch who continue to recover from injuries.
Unfortunately for Richmond, Jack Graham came from the ground late with what appeared to be a quad concern.
The final score read 10.16 (76) to 5.16 (46) in favour of the Magpies.
Check out the key takeaways for both teams below.
Patrick Lipinski looks back to his 2022 best
Patrick Lipinski finished 2023 as a premiership player, but he didn’t have the year he would have hoped for from an individual perspective.
That was partly due to two shoulder surgeries which left him hampered and robbed him of some of his fitness.
With those woes seemingly behind him, Lipinski looks to be covering the ground as well as he ever has and is bobbing up inside 50 and hitting the scoreboard as his opponents are left trailing behind.
Lipinski finished Tuesday’s game with two goals and 23 disposals. After bursting onto the scene for the club in 2022, he could recapture those heights again in 2024 if his body allows.
Lachie Schultz is going to be a forward weapon for Craig McRae
Off-season recruit Lachie Schultz looks like a perfect fit in black and white.
In his first official hit out for the club, the former Docker finished with a goal and 14 disposals, with his intensity inside 50 once the ball hit the ground a standout.
Coming across to the club with high expectations, Schultz looks set to at least be a walk-up starter for Opening Round with his pressure game and smarts around goal helping him slot into McRae’s front six.
Young talls show good signs after entering the game late
Collingwood youngsters Reef McInnes and Charlie Dean showed some nice signs after entering the game in the second half.
While neither player had a real chance of stuffing the stat sheet given they played less than half a game, both looked well and truly up to the level when the ball entered their area, particularly in the air.
Standing at 194cm, McInnes, who is a former first-round pick, could even partner Brody Mihocek in Opening Round as his main competitor for the spot Ash Johnson failed to fire on Tuesday.
As for Dean, he also could be a chance of playing in a tall defender role with doubt over Nathan Murphy’s immediate availability. Billy Frampton is the other option for that role.
While they might still be on the fringe, the duo did their hopes of a best-23 call-up no harm.
Other Magpies notes:
Jordan De Goey (one goal, 22 disposals) and Nick Daicos (one goal, 21 disposals) were dominant as the duo look primed to have a huge say again in 2023.
Isaac Quaynor (23 disposals), Brayden Maynard (21 disposals), John Noble (21 disposals) and Will Hoskin-Elliott (24 disposals) allowed Collingwood to control the ball off half-back.
The game plan still looks in good shape with Collingwood’s pressure forcing Richmond to over handball. The players appear just as connected as they were in 2023.
Yze’s game plan is clear to see but connection is currently lacking
The Tigers started Tuesday’s game brilliantly, having eight of the first nine scores of the game.
While they didn’t make Collingwood pay for their early dominance due to inaccuracy, it was a good sign that new coach Adem Yze would have loved to see.
Looking back on the Damien Hardwick era, the Tigers were renowned for their pressure and quick ball movement and that appears to also be a hallmark of Yze’s game.
One area that looked improved was Richmond’s contested game as they won the contested ball count 128-126.
Areas to work on could be their midfield/forward connection, with the Tigers not getting enough reward for getting the ball inside 50 on 51 occasions. They'd love to make more of their opportunities.
Another aspect that cost the Tigers on the night was perhaps the overuse of handball - which was no doubt partially thanks to Collingwood’s pressure. The Magpies kicked 259 times and handballed 119 times while the Tigers kicked 184 times and handballed 159 times.
Tigers don’t need to sweat if Nankervis isn’t ready to start season
With Toby Nankervis out of Tuesday’s game with a heel issue, Richmond got a good look at the ruck combination of Sam Naismith and Samson Ryan and it didn’t disappoint.
While the Tigers will obviously welcome back their captain as soon as he’s ready to go, Naismith proved that he’s more than capable of holding down a number one ruck role in the meantime with 11 hitouts, 13 disposals and a couple of shots on goal.
He could even form a quality two-ruck pairing with Nankervis if the Tigers want to go taller in 2024.
Josh Gibcus is going to feel like a new recruit
After missing the entire 2023 season with a nightmare hamstring injury, Josh Gibcus feels like a new recruit for Richmond.
The 20-year-old spent headed to Qatar in the off-season during his path to recovery, and that has appeared to pay off after a strong performance on Tuesday.
The athletic defender finished with eight disposals but did incredibly well in the air to nullify Collingwood’s big forwards as none of their talls kicked multiple goals.
Richmond will hope that the former No. 9 pick at least doubles his career tally of 18 games in the upcoming campaign.
Other Tigers notes:
Shai Bolton (19 disposals) again looms as a genuine superstar and he can go to the next level if he improves his finishing (zero goals, three behinds).
Young midfielder Thomson Dow (one goal, 20 disposals) showed some great signs on the inside and could be set to become a best 22 regular.
Tim Taranto was again at his prolific best, picking up 26 disposals in a strong performance.
