Draft surprises for Tigers
2:19:09 PM Sat 25 November, 2006
Jennifer Witham
Sportal for afl.com.au
There were a number of reasons the Richmond table was pleasantly surprised on Saturday at the NAB AFL Draft, the first of which involved the relative of a well-known St Kilda forward.
Director of football Greg Miller expressed how shocked he was the opportunity to snap up young forward Jack Riewoldt with pick number 13 evolved, particularly as the Tigers originally wanted to take Nick's cousin with number eight.
The Tigers swapped their number eight selection in the three-way deal that involved Docker Graham Polak arriving at Punt Road during trade week, and it was this arrangement Miller thought would end their chances of snaring the former Tassie Mariner.
"Jack Riewoldt is a player we would have liked at (number) eight but we traded eight away and I had my recruiting manager nervous for the last two months," Miller said.
"But to get him at 13 was a surprise and we're very happy about that."
Miller said the five new Tigers of Riewoldt, Shane Edwards, Daniel Connors, Carl Peterson and Andrew Collins had come from the "best draft I've ever seen" and every club should expect to have received at least two or three good players each.
"It's just sensational," he said.
"We knew that in our first two choices we'd get really, really good players and to slip another one in the fourth round was a big surprise.
"Every club should be rapt because they are all such good players. I've haven't ever seen anything like it.
"We think we got three outstanding players and two good spectacle players. To get three is pretty good."
Miller said the Tigers' prized recruit of Riewoldt will slot in nicely with the crop of forwards the club boasts and will complement the young group of emerging players at Punt Road.
"Riewoldt is exuberant and a very strong mark, he's good on both sides of his body, he's going to add to our mix," he said.
"We've got a great group of young players and his talent and enthusiasm for the game will mix in very well with our group. He's a perfect fit for us."
The Tigers' second pick of Edwards was another highlight of the club's morning, as was the attainment of Connors at pick 58.
Miller said the reason Connors was still available in round four was because his slow times at the Draft Camp - a problem he believes can be rectified - put other possible suitors off the young country Victorian.
"Edwards is modern-day, hard-running footballer. To get an Adelaide boy across, we're really pleased about that. We've done extremely well," Miller said.
"Connors was a star at the Carnival, we rated him from there and we're rapt to get him. His running style needs a bit of attention but the only reason he got through to (pick) 58 is his (slow) test results."
Overall, Miller said the Tigers were "rapt" with their haul that also included snaring Peterson with pick 60 and Collins with 73. The club passed on pick 84.
"We got Polak in and it didn't affect our choices so it's pretty amazing really. Very lucky," he said.
"Polak we knew is a key, Riewoldt is a key, and the rest of our players, certainly Collins, Peterson and Edwards can all run."
http://richmondfc.com.au/default.asp?pg=news&spg=display&articleid=307682
