Tigers can fix list with aggressive trading, free agency: Jon RalphJustin Talent
SEN
02 May 2016, 07:22PMRichmond’s underperforming playing group is not at the point of a total rebuild just yet, says Jon Ralph.The Herald Sun football writer says that Richmond’s list management team can refresh the team with smart, aggressive trading and taking risks on free agents.
Ralph says that everyone bar Richmond’s elite players should be put up for trade, with a view to taking any offers that seem beneficial to the club.
“You don’t go into a total rebuild but you try and add four or five players quick smart. You throw all of the blokes beyond (the elite) on the trade table,” Ralph said on SEN’s The Run Home.
“So that’s (Ty) Vickery, (David) Astbury, (Reece) Conca, (Nick) Vlastuin and (Ivan) Maric and any of those blokes. If someone is prepared to give you significantly over the odds, you absolutely think about it.”
The football reporter says that this trading philosophy is much more suited to modern footy than how the club have approached previous trade periods.
“I reckon what they have done in the past is they trade one or two players they don’t want,” Ralph said.
“That’s not the way you trade these days. You trade to get better scenarios than you currently have.
Ralph says that solely relying on the draft will simply not work for the under-fire side.
“There’s no point just saying ‘we are going to go to the draft, we’re going to get one very nice player, maybe a pick 10 or a pick 12’ and then just hope we get better because that is what they have been trying to do and none of them have been a step change for them,” he said.
Ralph also says that despite this year’s free agents not being of competition leading quality, going after players like Jack Watts or Chris Mayne would be of little risk for the Tigers.
“Right now they’re desperate for a second forward. Jack Watts is a risk but he is a free agent, he is going to cost you nothing, even if you need to jettison off one of your third string players to create some salary cap room,” he said.
“Chris Mayne, he is 27 years old. He kicked 28 goals last year, I know his goalkicking has absolutely vanished (this season) but he is a free agent, he can cost absolutely nothing.”
http://www.sen.com.au/news/afl/05-16/tigers-can-fix-list-with-aggressive-trading-free-agency-jon-ralph#SprvhowvtKtm2PwR.97
