What does Richmond’s best 23 look like in 2024? (HeraldSun)

[one-eyed]

What does Richmond’s best 23 look like in 2024

Richmond will be a different team next season with the core of its golden era gone. Who can step up and be part of the next Tigers premiership push?

Jon Ralph
HeraldSun
August 16, 2023

Richmond’s main concern with its round 1 team next season is not that only 14 of the club’s 2020 premiership team are still at Punt Rd.

It is that Richmond has only one likely A-grader on its list who is aged 23 and under, that being Josh Gibcus.

While Essendon is safe in the knowledge it has drawn significant improvement out of most of its best 22, Richmond can’t make the same claim this season.

Tylar Young is a huge find, Jack Ross has had a good year on the wing, and Noah Balta mixes extraordinary moments with games where he switches off defensively.

It is why the Tigers list needs work, and why the new coach’s key priority next year will be finding out which of the 10 or so kids under 23 with real talent can become A-graders.

That list includes Noah Cumberland, Ben Miller, Tom Brown, Judson Clarke, Samson Ryan, Tyler Sonsie, Thomson Dow, Hugo Ralphsmith, Maurice Rioli and Sam Banks.

All have had moments – Ryan is a strong contested mark, Dow was excellent with 21 possessions against St Kilda on Sunday, Clarke has 11 goals from 13 games, Cumberland has huge talent but has been shown tough love to improve his attitude.

There is still a strong nucleus of young talent in the form of Liam Baker, Jack Graham and Tim Taranto (25), Young (24), Shai Bolton (24), Noah Balta (23) and Josh Gibcus.

But by round 1 next year Dustin Martin, Dylan Grimes and Marlion Pickett will be 32, Dion Prestia and Tom Lynch will be 31, and Nathan Broad will be 31 in April.

So much depends on Lynch, who might have helped the Tigers win two or three more games this year with a 50-goal haul.

But no one would consider Richmond a premiership contender with the current list, and few would even tip them for a top-eight finish.

It is the nature of winning three flags in four seasons from 2017-2020.

https://www.codesports.com.au/afl/afl-2023-what-does-richmonds-best-23-look-like-in-2024/news-story/dc553b061b5eecaf589f364d5a55dc4a

[pmac21]

B:    Brown     Young      Vlastuin
HB:  Baker      Balta        Banks
C:    Short     Taranto      Clarke
HF:  Bolton     Gibcus      Martin
F:    D Rioli     Lynch       Cumberland
R:    Nank      Hopper      Prestia
Int:  Sonsie    Dow          Broad       Grimes
Sub: Rioli Jnr
No Jack, Soldo, Coulthard, Ross, Mansell, Graham, Young, Pickett, McInthosh, Bauer from last weeks game
No Tarrant, Cotch retired.

[Tiger Khosh]

B:    Brown     Young      Vlastuin
HB:  Baker      Balta        Banks
C:    Short     Taranto      Clarke
HF:  Bolton     Gibcus      Martin
F:    D Rioli     Lynch       Cumberland
R:    Nank      Hopper      Prestia
Int:  Sonsie    Dow          Broad       Grimes
Sub: Rioli Jnr
No Jack, Soldo, Coulthard, Ross, Mansell, Graham, Young, Pickett, McInthosh, Bauer from last weeks game
No Tarrant, Cotch retired.

You’ve got young at full back though lol. I like the general look of it.
Would prob swap a couple of players positions like banks/short, Rioli/baker and try to find a spot in the 22 for Bauer, Coulthard and MRJ but as long as all of our young players and getting a decent chunk of games.

[the claw]

B : Vlastuin 187/88 29/209 - Balta 194/100 24/83  - Bauer 192/86  21/3. Reckon Dylan should retire build from the back hence Bauer.

HB: Rioli 179/76  26/158 - Gibcus 196/??  20/18 - Brown 187/??  20/0. Its young but Gibcus and Brown are early draft picks and defenders.

C : Banks 187/?? 20/5 -  Taranto 187/88 26/135 - Broad 192/89 30/124. Keep saying it Broad as a defensive winger and Banks who we have got a few games into as the offensive winger allowing a kid like Brown to play his natural role.

R: Nankervis 199/102 29/134 - Martin 187/93 32/287  - Bolton 175/77 25/111. Dusty, Taranto, Bolton our best mids by a margin.

HF: Cumberland 183/80  23/18  - Bradtke  196/95 21/0 -  Clarke 180/72  20/16. Options. mature kpf recruit. and Campbell.Yep we bloody need another kpf if its not Bradtke then it has to be a mature draftee.

F : Ryan 206/?? 23/15  - Lynch 199/99  31/216 - Coulthardt 176/76  22/4. Our best kpf with a very promising ruckman who can play fwd while he develops his craft. This is where we are at development.

Int: Hopper 187/86 27/128 - Prestia 175/82  31/211 -  Baker 173/72  26/108 - Sonsie 181/?? 21/10 - Ross 187/85  23/61.Midfield depth two younger mids being DEVELOPED a vet in Prestia and a big inside solid player in his prime in Hopper. Last one a 26 yo tiger who can pinch hit most areas.

Reckon i prefer this. Its about developing all types not just a bunch of midgets who are out of positon just to find a way to fit em in.

[Diocletian]

Everyone seems to have forgotten Ryan's first few games after Nank was out injured and he was basically first ruck were his best and the first time we'd had anything even resembling a dominant ruckman who actually hit out to advantage arguably this century.

[Simonator]

We gotta game games into some players to see if they can develop.
For me it looks like:

Baker Young Gibcus
Rioli balta vlastuin

Short bolton ross

Bauer Ryan coulthard
Mrj lynch dusty

Nank Taranto hopper

Ic could be any of graham, cumberland, sonesie, down, brown, banks 

Blooding plenty of young talent here. I suspect some of the players in this list won’t be here next year though so shall be interesting

[one-eyed]

According to the HeraldSun:

Richmond's best 23 in 2024

B: Dylan Grimes, Noah Balta, Tylar Young

HB: Nick Vlastuin, Josh Gibcus, Daniel Rioli

C: Jayden Short, Tim Taranto, Jack Ross

HF: Liam Baker, Samson Ryan, Dustin Martin

F: Shai Bolton, Tom Lynch, Noah Cumberland

Foll: Toby Nankervis, Dion Prestia, Jacob Hopper

Inter: Sam Banks, Jacob Bauer, Nathan Broad, Judson Clark

Sub: Tyler Sonsie

Emerg: Marlion Pickett, Jack Graham, Kamdyn McIntosh, Ivan Soldo

Source: HeraldSun.