Richmond assistant coach Justin Leppitsch has sounded a warning to the Tiger team on the eve of the Round 6 clash with the Brisbane Lions.
The Tigers go into Saturday night’s game warm favorites following their first win of the season, against North Melbourne at Etihad Stadium last Sunday.
But Leppitsch, a three-time premiership player with Brisbane, has offered some cautionary advice to the young Tigers as they prepare to take on the Lions, who are in 16th place on the league ladder, after five rounds, without a win.
“I know a few of Brisbane’s younger players, better than most, because I worked with them a few years ago,” he said.
“Their list definitely isn’t in as bad a shape, as what people think, particularly their midfield . . . their future looks pretty good.”
Leppitsch stressed the importance of the players respecting their opponents, regardless of how inexperienced, or little known, they may be at the game’s highest level . . .
“When you talk about lack of identity of (opposition) players, it can, potentially, lead to players thinking they’re a better chance, which also leads to poor thoughts going into games. And, the chain reaction of that can, potentially, be bad,” he said.
“It’s important for the players to respect their opposition every week.”
Leppitsch also pointed to areas of the team’s game last Sunday night that needed to be worked on, despite the first-up victory . . .
“There were big patches in the game where we didn’t do what we wanted to do, particularly late, when the game started to get tight. Our kick-ins fell away a little bit and we just went away from the plan a bit,” he said.
“So, we’ve addressed those and hope to, like every week, improve.”
