TALKING TIGERS PODCAST: In this week’s off-season episode, the hard-working, committed, remaining members of the TT team - ‘AC’ and ‘Greeners’ - analyse Richmond’s trade period philosophy, bring you up-to-date on the latest news from Tigerland, and are joined in the TT studio by special guest, Club Recruiting Manager Francis Jackson.
AUDIO link:
http://www.richmondfc.com.au/news/newsarticle/tabid/6301/newsid/149789/default.aspx#embedvideoplayerFrancis Jackson draft summary* Next 3-4 weeks put together our final rankings of the draftees and put them in order. Tidy up all the loose ends.
* Boys can't wait for preseason to start.
* We have 3 whiteboards going - one for this year's draft which is very detailed, one for next year's draft started after the U16s and one for the 2014 draft. After the rookie draft we codify our videos for next year's draft and keep an eye on the kids that we've watched from the U16s and more than likely will get drafted. Preseason U18 games start in February.
* Everytime a recruiter or scout views a kid they write a report. So a kid (eg: one of the top 10 kids in this draft) will have 47 reports on their strengths and weaknessess over a two year time frame.
* We have 3 full-time recruiters plus 2 part-time recruiters in each of SA, WA and Vic. Doing work also in PNG and USA. So we can cover talent Australia-wide, spread our resources and develop a good database on each draftee's strengths and weaknesses.
* Generally we go best available with our first pick but it evolves over time. A rule change such as a interchange cap then we need to re-evaluate our mids - they would need to be more multi-talented so they could stay out longer on the ground (eg: be able to play forward while 'resting'). Would suit players such as Cotch, Lids, Dusty and Vickery who can go on ball. So we'd need to look at endurance etc more. Statistics has become more and more important over the past 4 years. As the game evolves, the weightings we apply over various (football and athletic) aspects changes as well.
* FJ believes it's an average draft year (two missing in O'Meara and Crouch). First round has depth but question marks on some of those. All will be revealed in 4 years time. He said it's going to be a tough draft.
* This time last year had concerns with our defence but Rance and Grimes developed and Morris came into our backline. Players hopefully will develop over the next 12 months and perceived weaknesses at the minute will no longer be. FJ mentioned Helbig (showed his wares when he returned to the seniors), Arnot (ankle injury hinder his progress, hopes he steps up) and Conca (still has significant improvement left in him). So there's plenty of improvement left in our kids. Vickery, Elton and Griffiths vital for our structures but still have plenty of growth left in them as they are still relatively young and inexperienced.
* Our philosophy is to turn an opinion when watching a kid play into a statistical opinion. So it's more a science and we can analyse and compare.
