Should Richmond target Levi Casboult? The case For and AgainstSportingNews
10 August 2017The rumours linking Carlton key forward Levi Casboult to Richmond are strong as the Tigers seek a player to take some of the heat off Jack Riewoldt, but is he the right man for the job?
Too old, too expensive, just not good enough?
And what about the kicking for goal?
Sporting News looks at the pros and cons of luring the big Blue to Punt Road.
Slide on to see if Levi is worth the risk …
Riewoldt needs a hand and Ben Griffiths isn’t the answer. Griffiths has shown he’s got the ability, can take a great mark and kick the ball a mile, but his attack on the ball has never been in relation to his physical size. Also his penchant for concussions makes his future a risk.
Casboult is prepared to throw his body around, smash packs and bring the ball to the ground if he isn’t marking it.
However, chances are he will take a clean grab. Levi leads the league for contested marks in 2017, an all the more impressive stat considering Carlton has the second-fewest inside 50s.
He’s a free agent so the Tigers wouldn’t need to trade, and as a late bloomer he isn’t going to cost the earth.
He’s also quite durable, missing less than three games a season in the past four years.
Casboult can take a mark, no-one denies it, but it’s what he does next that’s the problem.
He’s notoriously one of the worst set shots for goal in the league and messing up good passages of play with a crap finish can demoralise a team.
At an estimated $600K to $700K he would be taking money the Tigers would be better off using to keep genuine stars like Dustin Martin and putting aside for Rioli, Butler and Bolton’s future contracts. If they lost one of those kids because they had to pay an ageing Casboult it would be a disaster.
Levi turns 28 before next season starts, which isn’t young, and the beating his body takes will likely see him done in another four years, so where’s the long-term planning?
Richmond would be better off saving its money and investing in big kids in the draft.
The forward set-up they’ve got seems to be going just fine without a second tall – hell, they’re even winning without Jack down there!
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