RFC recruiting boss Rhy Gieschen post-draft interviews [merged]

[mightytiges]

Gieschen was interviewed post-draft tonight on the AFL website coverage with Twomey, Beveridge and Natalie. From what he said both Cumming and Grlj were the ones we were going to take from a while back.

* Grlj - pretty much keen on him from early on this year. His form in the U18 finals last year stood out. We organised to have him play for our VFL team. We've done it before with Oakleigh Chargers players. The way he fitted in with us pretty much cemented us taking him.

* Cumming - Played senior footy for his club at 14. Came third in the B&F as well. We interviewed him last year so we've been tracking him for a while. Made his SANFL senior debut with North Adelaide this year so we know he can perform in men's footy and against bigger bodies. He's a quality person. Humble but confident in himself. On the field called the silent assassin. Flew up to Mildura last week to meet his family who are quality people.

* We considered offers but in the end we were glad to pick up the two players that we wanted. 

* Proud of our team how we kept everything in house. 

* We have the sixth pick tomorrow night (#31). We're not going to trade/move our pick. With whom is still available, we are confident we will pick up another quality player. 

[one-eyed]

“Needs to be addressed”: Richmond left with mixed emotions after top draft pick slides

“I think when you finish second bottom on the ladder, you probably don’t expect to have Pick 7.”

Mitch Keating
Editor
Zerohanger.com
November 20, 2025

Richmond exited night one of the AFL Draft with mixed emotions after an eventful opening to the 2025 intake.

The Tigers, who finished the season second last, used their opening pick seventh overall in the final draft order, with a combination of draft bids and free agency compensation playing a part in their delayed place in the queue.

West Coast placed bids on Gold Coast Academy talent Zeke Uwland and Carlton father-son Harry Dean at Picks 2 and 3, before the Tigers themselves forced the hand of the Suns and Lions, bidding on Dylan Patterson and Daniel Annable respectively.

With the Eagles also carrying the first two picks into the draft off the back of their compensation for the departure of captain Oscar Allen, the situation saw the Tigers make their first pick, and the third from the open pool, at Pick 7.

Richmond were rapt with taking North Adelaide's Sam Cumming at that selection, before adding Oakleigh's Sam Grlj one spot later.

Quizzed on the outcome of the wait-and-see game the Tigers would end up playing, recruiter Rhy Gieschen stated the AFL's draft system is in need of improvement.

"The system needs to be addressed a little bit," he said on Wednesday night.

"I think when you finish second bottom on the ladder, you probably don't expect to have Pick 7.

"We're really strong and confident with the boys that we have, but I'm not sure that's the way the system was designed in the first place.

"We contributed to that. We bid on two players, and we did that because they're quality players as well. So we think that we contributed to making that a little bit more fair and equal, with those clubs having to work for them.

"It's something that the AFL is looking at, and they've clearly changed rules for next year as well. so it'll be a work in progress to try and get a balance right."

The Tigers will make at least one more selection at the AFL Draft, and have two picks remaining at 31st and 61st in the queue.

Pick 31 is the sixth next pick heading into night two, but mauy also be pushed up due to rival bids on Academy and father-son talent.

Nevertheless, Gieschen knows his team will come away with another highly-rated prospect.

"At this stage, we hold two picks, so we've got two list spots and we can pick two, but we're definitely picking," he said.

"We've got Pick 31 and we're really excited about that.

"We've got some names on the board, probably regardless of what the other clubs do, we're confident with the guy that we're getting, and then we'll just sit and wait."

Father-son talent Louis Kellaway will also be in mind late into the draft, with the Sturt prospect having to play a wait-and-see game of his own.

An early enough bid could see Richmond pass on Kellaway, following suit of multiple clubs that decided against matching bids for their own club-tied talent in the first round on Wednesday night.

"We've had really good chats with Louis. I think I'm on record as saying that we'll just see where the bid comes. It's probably up to the other clubs a little bit," Gieschen said.

"Whether he goes tomorrow night and his name's called out, then we've got a decision to make, or whether he's through to the Rookie Draft, we'll have a decision to make there.

"As you've seen tonight, bids are occurring and clubs have got decisions to make. We've worked really closely with Louis. We love the family. We love the kid. We've just got to evaluate accordingly and make a decision like the other clubs have done tonight."

https://www.zerohanger.com/needs-to-be-addressed-richmond-left-with-mixed-emotions-after-top-draft-pick-slides-171026/

[one-eyed]

https://www.richmondfc.com.au/video/1932205/to-bring-these-two-in-were-super-excited-gieschen

------------------

Why Tigers picked Cumming, Grlj

By Luke Sicari
RFC website
Nov 20, 2025

Richmond National Recruiting Manager, Rhy Gieschen, has broken down why the Tigers selected Sam Cumming and Sam Grlj in the first round of Wednesday’s AFL Draft.

A need for speed was addressed, with both players possessing strong pace and showcasing impressive form throughout the past season.

Cumming was Richmond’s first selection at pick seven, with the bull at a gate midfielder/forward described as a strong tackler and clearance player, who is also a difficult forward match-up thanks to his contested marking ability.

Gieschen believes Cumming will greatly complement the Tigers’ current crop of youngsters.

“He is a prototypical mid. He is strong, combative, powerful, and we think he can go forward and have a real impact as well,” Gieschen said.

“We were really pleased to bring him in, and he complements those guys that we brought in last year, (Sam) Lalor, (Josh) Smillie, (Taj) Hotton, through that midfield/forward mix. A good result for us.

“He has been playing senior footy since he was 14, he came third in the senior best and fairest at 14 at Wentworth, which is an amazing effort. He has shown quality form at SANFL level and had the breakout game where he had 21 disposals and kicked three goals.”

Grlj is no stranger to the Swinburne Centre, as he played two VFL games for the Tigers in August.

He raised eyebrows at VFL level, collecting 18 disposals on debut against Gold Coast and another 15 disposals the following week against Sandringham.

Gieschen explained how Grlj’s VFL stint, along with his entire body of work, gave Richmond great confidence selecting him with the eighth pick.

“We really like Sam Grlj. He is a player we have watched for a long time now and we noticed late last season, in particular with Oakleigh (Chargers), he showed some quality form,” he said.

“The VFL form he showed gave us great confidence. He came into our program, fitted in well, our coaches loved him, the boys really loved him, and I think he really adds value to our mix.

“It was really good timing to bring him into our VFL program. He shone there, he played half back and played on some AFL players and really showcased what he can do. That filled us with confidence. We are pumped to bring in Sam Grlj.

“He gives us that bounce and run, we think he could start at halfback, he has got speed, lateral movement, and he ran a 5.55 on the 2k, which gave us great confidence that he can play back, he can play mid, he can play wing. We think he really fills that need for us.”

https://www.richmondfc.com.au/news/1932270/why-tigers-picked-cumming-grlj

[one-eyed]

Speed focus in draft bonanza

Richmond added some much-needed speed to its side during last week’s National Draft.

Jon Ralph
HeraldSun
November 23, 2025

Richmond believes it has quenched its need for speed with a quartet of national draft picks.

The Tigers believe they have finally rounded out their next generation midfield after securing “combative” South Australian midfielder Sam Cumming and Oakleigh speedster Sam Grlj with picks seven and eight in the national draft.

Richmond added 179cm mid-forward Zane Puecker at pick 31 then fellow South Australian Noah Roberts-Thomson (pick 54) as a genuine small forward who can also put on the afterburners.

The Tigers overlooked Rowville bolter Sullivan Robey to instead secure Grlj, with recruiting boss Rhy Gieschen telling Code Sports that Cumming and Grlj were simply higher up on the club’s draft board.

That pair will add to last year’s draft haul which includes midfielders Sam Lalor, Josh Smillie and Taj Hotton.

Gieschen says that all of the club’s new batch of mids can hit the scoreboard but believes coach Adem Yze also has some serious speed to add to the ball-winning brilliance.

“They do complement each other, it’s been a real conscious effort,” he said.

“We have (Jacob) Hopper, Tim Taranto, (Jack) Ross and (Dion) Prestia who are doing a super job for us at the moment but the plan has been to really bring in that next wave of guys to learn under them and eventually make the midfield their own.

“Lalor is a powerful mid forward. He’s unique because he’s classy with ball in hand, Hotton is agile and has speed and can go forward, Smillie is the big bodied 195cm mid who is good at the contest and is a nice kick. We also have (Kane) McAuliffe who has that power, grunt and aggression and then Cumming compliments them.

He’s genuinely combative, aggressive and he’s got a defensive mindset. He loves contact and they can all go forward and take a mark and kick a goal and be dangerous one-on-one.

“We had a real emphasis on speed. We wanted to add speed to our mix. That balance of speed, power, agility, competitiveness, we felt like we got that with all four boys.

It’s something we value highly and to bring in four guys who had that, we felt like we really added to our list.”

https://www.heraldsun.com.au/sport/afl/why-richmond-overlooked-fatherson-prospect-louis-kellaway-amid-speed-focus-in-draft-bonanza/news-story/c34094f79646e4e91727cd4523357d6b#selection-663.0-853.283

[Francois Jackson]

lets hope he knows what he is doing or he will be looking for a job in a few years.

[ajGreen]

lets hope he knows what he is doing or he will be looking for a job in a few years.

Don't think anyone will blame him too heavily if Puecker and Noah Roberts-Thomson don't work out. 

[Tiger Khosh]

lets hope he knows what he is doing or he will be looking for a job in a few years.

Don't think anyone will blame him too heavily if Puecker and Noah Roberts-Thomson don't work out.

Those 2 are the bonuses. Much higher chance of those picks not making it based on all previous drafts.

They will be judged on whether the top 10/20 picks in the last couple of drafts turn out.

[Francois Jackson]

lets hope he knows what he is doing or he will be looking for a job in a few years.

Don't think anyone will blame him too heavily if Puecker and Noah Roberts-Thomson don't work out.

Those 2 are the bonuses. Much higher chance of those picks not making it based on all previous drafts.

They will be judged on whether the top 10/20 picks in the last couple of drafts turn out.

Spot on. We didn't  have too many first round misses in our premiership years. He has better picks this time so let's see.

[one-eyed]

Talking Tigers Draft Special: One-on-one with Rhy Gieschen


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T3Qfmkd_C5I

[Knighter]

lets hope he knows what he is doing or he will be looking for a job in a few years.

Don't think anyone will blame him too heavily if Puecker and Noah Roberts-Thomson don't work out.

I will - there were plenty of better options available

[Tiger Khosh]

lets hope he knows what he is doing or he will be looking for a job in a few years.

Don't think anyone will blame him too heavily if Puecker and Noah Roberts-Thomson don't work out.

I will - there were plenty of better options available

You can’t really say that without naming who those better options are……then we can see in a few years if you knew better than the recruitment team.

[Francois Jackson]

lets hope he knows what he is doing or he will be looking for a job in a few years.

Don't think anyone will blame him too heavily if Puecker and Noah Roberts-Thomson don't work out.

I will - there were plenty of better options available

You can’t really say that without naming who those better options are……then we can see in a few years if you knew better than the recruitment team.

i wont, though good luck to him if he misses with a few of our top 10's

[ajGreen]

The bigfooty tiger cast interview is very good.

[one-eyed]

Tigers address need for speed

Rhy Gieschen explains Richmond's focus on pace this off-season.

By Henry Milic
RFC website
Nov 26, 2025

Richmond National Recruiting Manager, Rhy Gieschen, believes this year’s recruits are set to address the Tigers' 'need for speed' heading into the 2026 season.

Having acquired four youngsters (Sam Cumming, Sam Grlj, Zane Peucker, Noah Roberts-Thomson) in the National Draft, along with Patrick Retschko in the trade period, Gieschen is confident Richmond has added run and explosiveness to the list.

“We are in a blessed position by taking the eight players we did in last year’s draft – we were able to weigh up what our list needed a little bit more,” Gieschen told Matthew Richardson on a special draft edition of Talking Tigers. 

“There were players that we moved towards the top of that list because of that.

“Sam Grlj is one where we needed speed, run, rebound, and he gives that real point of difference with that.

“When I came to draft night, he was one that was at the top of our board, and we were really lucky to be able to take him.”

Gieschen highlighted the Tigers’ back and forward line depth, noting that the 2024 draft brought versatile talent across both ends of the ground.

Due to the strong tall stocks, the focus then shifted to adding run and speed.

“Blair (Hartley) and I walked away from last year’s draft and loved the crop that we had, but we looked at each other and said that it is time to bring in some speed and some outside run,” Gieschen said.

“We felt like we got that nucleus and spine settled and sorted with Noah Balta, Josh Gibcus, Ben Miller is playing really well, Campbell Gray we think can come on, and our key backs are going really well.

“We picked up the key three forwards in last year’s draft, plus Liam Fawcett, who I think can play some really good footy for us.

“So, we did have some positional needs that we were keen to address with some outside speed."

The hard-running wingman Retschko has already impressed since joining Richmond, recording the fastest time in the team’s pre-season Bronco Test.

“He was a really high talent at 16 and did his ACL that year in 2022, so I remember watching in 2023, he was a bottom ager when he came back and had some really strong form for Oakleigh,” Gieschen said.

“His top age year last year was strong, he played Vic Metro, he played wing, and he used to run these 2km time trials in his warm-up before the game.

“We had our Bronco test (Monday), and he won it, which is a really strong start to his pre-season.

“We clearly needed some run and some outside running power, and he fitted that need well for us.”

Above all else, speed and football talent included, comes character.

Gieschen is confident that this year’s recruits embody the qualities needed to become great Richmond men.

“With our ratings, it takes into account everything, and character is certainly one of the traits that we have as the highest,” he said. 

“That is probably one of the pleasing things when we walked away this year, we can go to sleep at night knowing that we have four really strong characters.

“Guys who will come over, do all the work and connect with the boys, so it is really high on our priority list.”

https://www.richmondfc.com.au/news/1935557/tigers-address-need-for-speed