RICHMOND are on the board this AFL Women’s season after accounting for GWS by 11 points at home yesterday afternoon.

Speaking post match, Richmond coach Ryan Ferguson noted how good it was to get off to a good start, especially after how things went last week.

“From the time the siren went last week, obviously the disappointment of not being able to get that job done pretty quickly turned to preparation for the week and wanting to start fast,” he said. “So all our plans and training were to really come out and put an immense amount of pressure on and start with a real team energy that was going to, Hopefully give them trouble early and then we just wanted to be able to sustain that for a whole four quarters.

“Obviously they’re a really strong running team and if you give them a chance they can, they run in waves and they’re going to trouble a lot of teams this year. So, felt like we really were able to take that away from them, particularly in the first half.”

GWS came back at the Tigers hard in the second half, but Richmond displayed a lot of grit to hold on for the win, which really impressed the coach.

“Yeah, I felt like there’s so much to learn from that game that we’re going to be better for it, but there were still some hallmarks of our game that held up even when challenged,” he said. “So the ability to stay connected, to drive energy into our teammates and not ride the roller coaster of what does this mean on the scoreboard or to go into personal stories or just, alright, this is a challenge.”

Richmond had a number of key inclusions into the side this week, and the efforts of both Sarah Hosking and Tessa Lavey really impressed Ferguson.

“I thought both provided great leadership on field, competitive run,” he said. “Just that never say die attitude of I’m going to invest in every contest that I’m even close to, and they both just gave us a huge impact and a big lift so really appreciative for that.

“They’ve been a long time not playing footy. Tessa’s missed the whole year last season and Hosko’s challenges to get off minimal training to play the way that she did is a testament to her character.”

Someone else who really impressed the Tigers’ coach was captain Katie Brennan.

“She just gave us everything that we required in every moment, didn’t she?” Ferguson said.

“It wasn’t always going to be easy that she gets so much attention and she just keeps fighting and competing.

“I thought she was really lively today. Quick feet, just ready to read and react to the ball. And again, just do whatever was required. For her teammates, she was willing to do so. I thought she led it in a terrific way.”