AFL 2021: Tom Lynch ready for big year as injuries and departures give young Richmond players Round 1 opportunity to shine
Damien Hardwick encouraged his side to ‘push the envelope’ with its on-field aggression last year. And Tom Lynch isn’t about to change the way he plays.
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Richmond forward Tom Lynch has warned he has no plans to change his aggressive style, declaring he is determined to get back to his deadly best in 2021.
The Tigers spearhead won his second premiership medal last year after leaving Gold Coast at the end of 2018.
Although, he booted 32 goals from his 19 games in 2020, after kicking 63 goals – the second highest he’d kicked in a single season – in his first 25 games at Tigerland in 2019.
“I was a probably a bit quieter in the end last year compared to my season before, so hopefully I can get back to my 2019 form,” Lynch said.
“I’m looking forward to that and playing my role for the team.”
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Lynch’s physicality and on-field aggression was a feature of his game in 2020, and it landed him in hot water on a number of occasions.
He was cited for striking three times, including being sent directly to the AFL Tribunal for an incident involving Bomber Michael Hurley in Round 13.
It didn’t worry coach Damien Hardwick, who publicly encouraged his side during last year’s finals series to “push the envelope” with its on-field aggression.
Asked if he would continue to play on the edge in 2021, Lynch replied:
“I’m looking forward to playing my best footy.
“When I’m attacking the footy really hard, that’s when I play my best footy and I’m looking forward to that.”
The 28-year-old star struggled with well-documented knee issues when he first arrived at Punt Rd at the end of 2018, although he said he was in good nick ahead of Round 1.
“I’m feeling great, to be honest,” Lynch said.
“I’ve completed most of it and it’s been a shorter pre-season, which I think the AFL players have enjoyed coming back in January.
“I feel fit and ready to go and looking forward to the season ahead.”
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The Tigers spearhead said it was not hard to stay motivated as Richmond this year pushes for its first premiership three-peat in its 135-year history.
“You don’t get tired of winning, that’s for sure,” he said.
“It’s a new season and last season feel like a long time ago.
“We’re back at Punt Rd and really excited about being back in Melbourne in front of our home crowd so we can’t wait for the season ahead.”
New blood: Why scary good Tigers can get even better
- Jon Ralph
Trent Cotchin says the new generation of Tigers will turbocharge the club‘s three-peat aspirations as he described new father-son recruit Maurice Rioli’s best as “electrifying”.
The three-time premiership captain yesterday said Richmond’s stars were showing no signs of complacency and being driven by the kids who missed out in last year’s premiership.
The likes of Thomson Dow, Jack Ross, Riley Collier-Dawkins, Callum Coleman-Jones and Mabior Chol will all push for regular game time in a Tigers side likely to miss several triple premiership players in Round 1.
Bachar Houli (calf) is unlikely to be ready after an interrupted summer, while a recent low-grade hamstring injury for Dion Prestia will also put him in doubt.
Prestia yesterday signed on for another three years at Richmond, extending his contract until 2024, while star defender Dylan Grimes was locked in until 2023.
But a Tigers side that has lost Jack Higgins and Oleg Markov to rival sides will need reinforcements to come from their younger brigade.
Cotchin has no doubt they are capable after the club’s first practice match on Saturday.
He says their emergence is only one of the reasons the Tigers have a chance at a third consecutive premiership.
“Looking back to the Grand final we didn’t play our best footy in the first half. We had a couple of injuries, so trying guys in different roles has been interesting through the pre-season and even in our practice match on Saturday, someone like Dowey was exceptional and other midfielders, half backs and wings put their hand up.
“It was almost the thing I was most proud of last year, the way those guys attacked the season. They didn’t really get a good crack at it in hub life. They were playing 10 v 10 and 12 v 12 and seeing their growth was really impressive and something that will hold us in good stead moving forward.”
Maurice Rioli’s cameos this summer have been breathtaking, even if he will ease into the season through the VFL as he works on his training loads.
“He is electrifying. He has got a lot of talent, a lot of those Rioli traits but he is also his own person,” Cotchin said.
“There have been a couple of times where he’s had to chase-down tackle where someone quick has got the footy and even he makes up five or 10 metres.
“The key is not to put too much pressure on guys who are coming into a pretty well-oiled system but hopefully he’s picking up the expectations of him as a player and as a Richmond man and that holds him in good stead in the early parts of his career.”
Cotchin said as the only premiership captain of a Grand Final played at night he favoured tradition as the league considers a decision on the start time for this year’s decider.
“(I would prefer) 2.30pm, because given my bed time is pretty early in the night. I got back to the hotel at 1am or 1.30am and I wasn’t far off bed and I didn’t get to really celebrate it with the boys.
“I always love the sun out but I can understand it from a ratings point of view and from an atmosphere point of view it was pretty cool.”
THE SITUATION EVERY DEFENDER IS DREADING IN 2021
Geelong defender Lachie Henderson says the league’s new man-on-the-mark rule will make some passages of play “undefendable” and believes scoring will only increase as a result.
The new rules allow the defender closest to the player who has marked a short period to decide whether to immediately retreat before being told to “stand” by the umpire.
Henderson says if a supporting player charges into space inside 50m with no other defender in sight, the defender will just have to stand and watch while it is kicked to them.
Previously a player could man the mark then abandon it to pick up an opponent running into space.
The Cats veteran says he has experimented with abandoning the mark and standing on it and neither gives him any comfort about his ability to stop goals.
“We have been working on it a fair bit. It’s going to be interesting to see how much it changes the game,” he told the Herald Sun.
“It is definitely going to open the game up and make it harder to defend. There are all kinds of different ideas getting thrown around at the moment, it will be interesting to see how it is going to work.
“I think everyone has tried individually different things. I was of the opinion to sit back at the start, now I am of the opinion to stand there, but when you are on the mark it’s so hard for you having done it for your whole career to not move side to side.
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“You have just got to see Jarrod Harbrow run past, I don’t want him to get the footy. You are going to try to stop him and it’s 50m.
“I reckon there will be (more goals). I was saying to Scarlo (defensive coach Matthew Scarlett) there are going to be passages of play that are going to be undefendable. You will have to just put it to the side and move on. And in turn that will lead to more goals.”
AFL football operations boss Steve Hocking told the Herald Sun a summer which will have 500 umpire visits at club training sessions by Round 1 should have everyone confident about how the rule is officiated.
A continual frustration of fans is that new rules are officiated to the letter of the law, leading to a spate of 50m penalties, before umpires relax their interpretation as the season progresses.
In Round 1, 2018 umpires were hot on the 10m protected zone, leading to four Carlton goals from 50m penalties in the Blues’ clash against Richmond.
But the league is hopeful that players and umpires working in concert through the summer during match simulation will help ease fears about too many 50m penalties this season.
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