How Richmond (eventually) nailed the 2010 draftBy Andrew Slevison
SEN
2 Oct 2018Tom Lynch has officially chosen to join Richmond from the Gold Coast Suns.
Once the papers are signed, the Tigers can rest knowing that they absolutely nailed the 2010 National Draft, albeit almost a decade after the fact.
On that particular day, Richmond used Pick 6 to select Reece Conca, who has shown great promise but has thus far not reached the expected heights of a high draftee in his injury-interrupted 104-game career.
The other players to make their way to Punt Road in November 2010 were:
Pick 30: Jake Batchelor (Delisted in 2017 after 84 games)
Pick 47: Bradley Helbig (Delisted in 2014 after 16 games)
Pick 51: Dean MacDonald (Delisted in 2012 after 0 games)
Pick 63: Tom Derickx (Delisted in 2013 after 2 games. Picked up by Sydney – 13 games)
At first glance, this may not seem like a successful selection plan stumped up by the Tigers.
But eight years later, it has turned to pure gold.
When Lynch becomes a Tiger, the yellow and black will hold Picks 6,7,9 and 11 from the 2010 draft, provided Conca does not return home to Perth.
Josh Caddy and Dion Prestia – initially taken by the Suns at 7 and 9 respectively – made their way to Richmond in the trade period of 2016 and were key performers as the club broke a 37-year premiership drought in 2017.
Caddy joined from Geelong in exchange for Picks 24 and 64 (with Pick 56 also going to the Tigers), which now appears great value.
Prestia and Pick 24 were secured by Richmond who sent Pick 6 and a future second-round selection to Gold Coast. The overall result of 2017 tells us that is another shrewd piece of business by the Tigers.
A twist of fate saw Caddy and Prestia come together again after four years apart and now, eight years after their AFL journey commenced, the Victorian trio will reunite at one of the biggest clubs in the land.
Lynch’s proposed move comes at the perfect time for the Tigers who were beaten in this year’s Preliminary Final by arch enemy Collingwood.
They'll give up seemingly nothing bar salary cap space to land Lynch.
2018 premiers West Coast showed that two tall forwards are certainly still in vogue despite Richmond’s smaller structure conquering all in 2017.
Lynch and reigning Coleman Medallist Jack Riewoldt will present an enormous headache for any defence while Caddy, who ironically joined the Tigers for more midfield minutes, will act as a third key attacking option and a very dangerous foil indeed.
Prestia is a vital cog in Richmond’s midfield and will be tasked with the role of providing scoring opportunities for Riewoldt and his two good mates, who are set to team up quite possibly with success not too far out of reach.
It just goes to show that getting things right on draft day by forecasting the expected output of largely unproven youngsters is an extremely difficult and unenviable task.
However, if you are able to manage your list well enough, in the end it can all work out in your favour.
https://www.sen.com.au/news/2018/10/02/how-richmond-eventually-nailed-the-2010-draft/
