DRAFT DAY HORRORS ..... Missed opportunities the recruiters would love to have over again
By Ben Casanelia
Inside Football, Dec 09 - Feb 10 edition.
Every club has its draft hits and misses. Assessing teenage potential is an inexact science, after all. But some horror stories are worse than others - just ask the Tigers ....
In eight of the 10 drafts up to this year, Richmond's drafting has been little short of disasterous.
From Aaron Fiora with pick No.3 in 1999 and Jarrad Oakley-Nicholls pick No.8 in 2005 to Dean Putt with selection 51 in 2007, the Tigers have conjurred disaster after disaster from almost every draft class.
Most damning is the fact that since '99 the players taken immediately after Richmond's selections comprise a team that, on paper, would win a premiership.
Certainly a forward line containing Lance Franklin, Matthew Pavlich, Mark LeCras, Kurt Tippett, Angus Monfries and Chris Knights - all players the Tigers could have taken - would provide any opponent with a headache.
While the non-drafting of Pavlich (No.4) and Franklin (No.5) in 1999 and 2004 were poor decisions with the benefit of hindsight - the Tigers instead settled on Aaron Fiora (pick No.3, 1999) and Richard Tambling (No.4, 2004) - the failure to snare any of Tippett, Knights, Monfries or LeCras is equally mystifying.
After taking Tambling in 2004, the Tigers settled on Danny Meyer (now at Port Adelaide) with pick 12. Essendon drafted Angus Monfries with pick 16 (sic).
Later in the same draft Luke McGuane (pick 36) was drafted in preference to Mark LeCras who was snapped up with by the Eagles with pick 37.
McGuane could well develop into a productive player, but LeCras emerged this year as a bona fide star.
The nightmare didn't end there after Dean Limbach was added to the Tiger list with pick 52. Adelaide took Chris Knights with pick 56.
Two years later the Crows again took advantage of the Tigers' draft ineptness when they took Kurt Tippett with selection 32 - six picks after the Tigers went for the diminutive Shane Edwards at 26.
Others to escape the Tigers include David Hille, Shaun Higgins, Adam Selwood, Garrick Ibbotson, Nathan Van Berlo and Josh Hill.
CHOOSE AGAIN, TIGER!
RICHMOND DRAFTED OVERLOOKED
1999 Aaron Fiora (pick 4) Matthew Pavlich (5)
Ezra Poyas (22) Jason Blake (24)
Scott Homewood (39) David Hille (40)
2000 Kayne Pettifer (9) Shaun Burgoyne (12)
Chris Hyde (40) Mark Williams (43)
Steve Sziller (57) Graham Johncock (67)
2002 Jay Schulz (12) Jared Rivers (26)
Tim Fleming (41) Kade Simpson (45)
Bill Nicholls (47) Adam Selwood (53)
Daniel Sipthorp (62) Nick Malceski (64)
2003 Alex Gilmour (21) Jed Adcock (33)
Thomas Roach (f-s, 37) Ricky Dyson (44)
2004 Richard Tambling (4) Lance Franklin (5)
Danny Meyer (12) Angus Monfries (14)
Adam Pattison (16) Nathan Van Berlo (24)
Luke McGuane (36) Mark LeCras (37)
Dean Limbach (52) Chris Knights (56)
2005 Jarrad Oakley-Nicholls (8 ) Shaun Higgins (11)
Cleve Hughes (24) Garrick Ibbotson (26)
Travis Casserly (40) Andrew Swallow (43)
2006 Shane Edwards (26) Kurt Tippett (32)
Daniel Connors (58 ) Josh Hill (61)
2007 Dean Putt (51) Cale Hooker (61)
HOW TIGERS COULD BE LINING UP ...
B: Graham Johncock Jared Rivers Jason Blake
HB: Nick Malceski Cale Hooker Adam Selwood
C: Nathan Van Berlo Andrew Swallow Kade Simpson
HF: Angus Monfries Matthew Pavlich Mark LeCras
F: Kurt Tippett Lance Franklin Chris Knights
R: David Hille, Shaun Burgoyne, Shaun Higgins
Int: Jed Adcock, Ricky Dyson, Mark Williams, Garrick Ibbotson
FIRST ROUND KNOCKOUTS!
1987
pick 1 - Richard Lounder, Richmond - 4 games
pick 3 - Graham Wright, Collingwood - 201 games
1999
pick 3 - Aaron Fiora, Rich/St Kilda - 140 games
pick 4 - Matthew Pavlich, Fremantle - 213 games*
2004
pick 4 - Richard Tambling, Richmond - 95 games*
pick 5 - Lance Franklin, Hawthorn - 102 games, 305 goals*
2005
pick 8 - Jarrad Oakley-Nicholls, Richmond - 13 games
pick 9 - Mitch Clark, Brisbane - 46 games*
* still playing