Ellis insists he wants to stay at RichmondDaniel Cherny
The Age
22 July 2019 Free agent Brandon Ellis has stressed that he wants to stay at Punt Road, indicating that he is hopeful of signing a new contract with Richmond soon.
The premiership Tiger has loomed as a possible victim of the club’s salary cap squeeze, with the restricted free agent linked with clubs including Carlton and North Melbourne.
Dropped on the eve of last year’s finals, and overlooked for round one this year, Ellis has enjoyed a resurgence, playing 15 games this year and enjoying strong outings in the recent wins over Greater Western Sydney and Port Adelaide.
Richmond coach Damien Hardwick conceded earlier in the season that he had focused too much on Ellis’ weaknesses rather than the wingman’s strengths over the preceding year. Ellis said the mea culpa was well-received.
“It meant a lot. I didn’t feel I was backed in, I just thought that every time they’d make a mistake that’s what they’d look at, they wouldn’t look at my good stuff,” Ellis told The Age.
“But we swept that under the carpet, started clean and Dimma’s [Hardwick] been amazing. Obviously I’ve still got flaws in my game but I just try and win my strengths every week and keep working on my weaknesses.
“Dimma backed me in, put me in the midfield where I think I play my best footy. He’s just sort of backed me in to play to my strengths each week, which I’m loving and love doing.”
Asked if a development on his playing future was close, Ellis said, “I hope so.”
“I leave that to my manager [Marty Pask] and [Richmond list manager] Blair Hartley and the club to sort out. Hopefully we’ll get something done soon.”
But he was adamant that he wanted to stay. “I love this club. I love what we’re about.’’
Ellis has played 168 games since being taken as a first-round draft pick in 2011.
Knowing first-hand about the selection axe, Ellis suggested that no Tiger was safe, following the recent omission of fellow premiership players Josh Caddy and Kamdyn McIntosh.
“Our VFL’s flying, so it’s a credit to [VFL coach] Craig McRae who’s a coach of the VFL program. He’s been amazing. For [Josh] Caddy to be kept out of the team because we’ve got [Shai] Bolton playing well, [Sydney] Stack playing well, it just shows how much depth that we’ve got.’’
With four wins on the trot, the Tigers are on the verge of breaking into the top four, and will have the chance to do so against Collingwood at the MCG on Friday night.
https://www.theage.com.au/sport/afl/ellis-insists-he-wants-to-stay-at-richmond-20190721-p5298z.html
