Richmond's rich rookie pickingsrichmondfc.com.au
By Tony Greenberg | Thu 10 December, 2009Richmond will be hoping to strike gold again when the 2009 AFL rookie draft is held next Tuesday (December 15), immediately following the pre-season draft.
The Tigers have a decent track record in unearthing rookie talent, since the AFL rookie system was introduced back in 1997.
Greg Tivendale was a rookie pioneer for Richmond. Recruited from Gippsland Power and the Rythdale-Officer-Cardinia club, Tivendale started life at Tigerland as a rookie, before being elevated to the senior list in 1998. He went on to play 188 senior games with the Club, kick 125 goals, and provide stellar service in a career spanning 11 seasons (1998-08). From 1999 until 2005, Tivendale played 135 games in-a-row, underlining his admirable durability and consistency.
Kelvin Moore was rookie-listed by Richmond from Yarra Valley Old Boys, and subsequently promoted to the Club’s senior list in 2004. Since then, he has played 65 league games and developed into one of the Tigers’ most reliable defenders. In 2009, his value to the team was officially recognised, when he was appointed to the playing leadership group.
Nathan Foley, recruited from Colac/Geelong Falcons, won his promotion from the rookie list to senior list at Tigerland through sheer weight of numbers. He continually racked up big possessions playing for Richmond’s VFL affiliate Coburg. Eventually, early in the 2005 season, opportunity arose for Foley on the senior list, and he gratefully seized it. Ironically, he made his senior league debut with the Tigers on the same night that Nathan Brown wrecked his leg in that horrific incident against Melbourne at the then Telstra Dome. Today, with 84 games under his belt, Foley is acknowledged as one of Richmond’s most important players - a speedy, creative, ‘ball-magnet’ midfielder, who is also the team’s vice-captain. He finished runner-up in the Club’s 2007 Best and Fairest count and represented Victoria in the 2008 Hall of Fame Tribute match against the Dream Team.
Will Thursfield, a product of Ormond Amateurs and Sandringham Dragons, had a meteoric rise at Richmond in 2005. In the space of just a few weeks, he went from playing VFL reserves football with Coburg, to Richmond’s senior side. The rangy defender has experienced his fair share of ups and downs since then. After such an impressive start to his AFL career, Thursfield seriously damaged his knee early in the 2007 season and underwent a total reconstruction. His form over the past couple of years has been patchy, but he passed the 50-game milestone during the ’09 season and, at age 23, he’s now served his football apprenticeship and appears ready to blossom.
Angus Graham, a 201cm ruckman from King Island, was taken by the Tigers with their first selection in the 2005 rookie draft. He was elevated to the senior list in 2007 and made his debut with Richmond late that season. But a broken ankle proved a major setback for Graham, restricting him to just VFL duties in 2008. This year, Graham strung together 16 games and showed some really promising signs, particularly during the first half of the season. Given that big men take longer to mature, in a football sense, Punt Road hopes are high that Graham, at just 22, can establish himself as a key player in the Tiger line-up.
Jake King attracted the attention of the Richmond recruiters while playing VFL football for Coburg and he was subsequently rookie-listed by the Tigers. In 2007, King was promoted to the senior list early on, and he ended up playing 19 games for the season. He impressed with his pace, fierce determination and attack on the football. Although King hasn’t quite recaptured the eye-catching form of his debut AFL year, there were clear signs late in the 2009 season that he still has a bit to offer at the game’s highest level.
Robin Nahas was one of the few shining lights for Richmond in an overall bleak 2009 season. The small forward, who starred for 2008 VFL runner-up Port Melbourne, kicking more than 50 goals, was chosen by the Tigers in last year’s rookie draft, but soon found himself on the senior list when former captain Kane Johnson was placed on the long-term injury list. Nahas played 19 games and kicked 21 goals in an exciting debut season.
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