Richmond VFL coach Craig McRae believes a number of his young players are eager to break back into the AFL side before the season is out, which has played a part in their success at VFL level.
The Tigers smashed Box Hill on Saturday by 65 points, and have stormed into the VFL Grand Final, winning 11 of their past 13 matches.
McRae's men kicked six goals to zero in the first quarter and displayed maniac forward pressure similar to that of their senior side, as the Tigers' coach says a number of his star performers are putting up their hands for senior selection.
“Sam Lloyd’s form over the last month has been sensational, Anthony Miles continues to rack them up, Jayden Short, Oleg Markov, Corey Ellis and Shai Bolton; there’s a few waiting for opportunities,” McRae told SEN Breakfast on Monday.
“This time of the year there’s normally a lot of band aids being put on and a lot of injections, but we are very fortunate we only have one injury on our list at the moment.
“Peter Burge and the other sports science department have done a fantastic job. Early in the year we had a lot of injuries to guys like Reece Conca and Shaun Hampson, but these sort of guys are all coming back from injuries and have had a good run into the finals.
“It's good management and good fortune I’m sure.”
Given the AFL side's lack of tall forward options, it has meant Richmond's VFL side has had to play with an abundance of talls, although McRae has made it work in recent weeks.
Todd Elton and Ivan Soldo, who have played 13 games between them at AFL level, were both left of out Saturday's preliminary final side, with McRae opting to play Ivan Maric, Shaun Hampson, Ben Griffiths and Mabior Chol all in the same side.
While McRae does admit playing a lot of talls is a challenge, his side has certainly risen to the occasion this season.
“We’ve got all the talls in our VFL side. It’s been something we have talked about in match committee and it’s been well debated,” McRae said.
“Maybe we are ahead of the curve, who knows. We are creating an enormous amount of pressure in our forward line and it’s making a huge difference.
“It’s a challenge at VFL level because all those talls are playing with us now but at the moment it's working for us.
"The speed of the game is enormous; it’s gone to a new level this year.”
The Tigers will meet Port Melbourne in Sunday's grand final, after the Borough defeated ladder-leaders Williamstown by 23 points.