Fremantle are unlikely to tag of any of Richmond’s talented midfielders in Friday night’s blockbuster, according to senior coach Ross Lyon.
With Doig Medallist and renowned tagger Ryan Crowley unavailable, Fremantle has broken the mould of tagging an opposition midfielder each week.
Lyon told 6PR on Monday the last player the side placed a genuine tag on was Port Adelaide’s Travis Boak, back in Round 1.
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Richmond have a wealth of midfielders, such as Trent Cotchin, Brett Deledio and the in-form Brandon Ellis, who comes off a game-high 33 touches against Essendon.
Asked whether a tagger would go to Ellis, Lyon said it was unlikely, but rather the side would rely on its strong team defence,” Lyon said.
“If we don’t tag (Patrick) Dangerfield, I don’t think we’re going to tag Ellis.
“We always keep an eye on it.
“We have guys that can go to them and close them down, if we need too.”
Lyon said Richmond were a very good team.
“They’re going to be a real handful,” he said.
“You don’t win 10 games in a row like they did (last year), without being a very good team.”
Fremantle play Richmond at Domain Stadium on Friday 5 June. Bounce down is at 6.10pm.
